Are we obliged to do Gods commandments?

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Yes, it is absolutely certain that we are obligated to do them if we want to save ourselves from eternal destruction!

As is known in the history of the Holy Church, there were heretics who claimed that for eternal salvation it was not necessary to keep all of God's commandments, but that only faith was necessary. These heretics opened Heaven wide to adulterers, robbers, thieves, murderers, and all sinners who had faith even though their deeds were completely bad and gravely sinful.

Indeed, if this were true, then every person could be saved quite easily, because then faith would not be too difficult for even the greatest criminal. However, is this really so, or can a person be saved without keeping all of God's commandments?

No, it is not so, because the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles and the holy Church speak and teach quite differently. They teach that it is not enough to just believe, but that along with faith, a person is also obliged to keep all of God's commandments, that is, if he wants to be saved, he is obliged to have love for God and his neighbor. Therefore, the Lord speaks and teaches: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Mt 7:21).

Therefore, it is not the believer who only believes in the Lord Jesus Christ who will be saved, but the one who believes and also does what the Lord God wants, that is, the one who keeps and fulfills all of His commandments out of love. And that this is true is seen from the Gospel where a young man asks the Lord: "Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?" (Mt 19:16).

The question arises, what did the Lord answer him, or did He tell him that he actually did not need to do anything but just believe and thus he would enter eternal life? No, the Lord did not answer him that way, but He told him: "But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17).

From all this it is evident that faith alone is not enough, but only he who believes and as such keeps and at the same time does all of God's commandments in love will be saved. This is the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ left to the apostles to teach those who wish it.

Likewise, the apostle James teaches that faith alone does not save when he says: "What does it profit, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but has no works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself." (James 2:14-17).

In these words, the apostle James wants to say that the poor are not helped by compassion expressed in words, but by a deed of mercy done out of love, that is, that faith is completely dead without the work of love.

Therefore, it is quite clear that we cannot be saved by faith alone, but that along with faith, both spiritual and corporal works of mercy are necessary, that is, our love for God and our neighbor.

Opponents of the Holy Church, to prove that faith alone saves, refer to the Apostle Paul who says: "We truly hold that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law" (Rom 3:28).

However, the apostle Paul is not speaking here about works that follow faith, but about works that were done before faith, that is, about the works of the Israelites and the Gentiles who did not yet have the holy Christian faith. To the Israelites and the Gentiles who did not accept the holy Christian faith, the good things they did were of no use, because faith is the first condition of salvation.

The Apostle Paul explicitly states that only faith that works through love, that is, faith that is manifested through faithful observance of God's law, justifies, and that faith, no matter how great, is of no use without love, which he clearly confirms with the words: "And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing!" (1 Cor 13:2).

That the Apostle Paul necessarily demands the fulfillment of all of God's commandments in order to achieve salvation is evident from the fact that in his epistles he reminds the Christians of his time of a holy life: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor child molesters, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of heaven" ( 1 Cor 6:9-10).

The Fathers of the Holy Church also teach that we cannot be saved by faith alone, and they especially emphasize that the false doctrine that one can get to Heaven without keeping all of God's commandments was taught by completely heretical people. Therefore, the Council of Trent rightly declared: "If anyone asserts that in the Gospel nothing is commanded except faith, and that everything else is optional, neither commanded nor forbidden, but free, or that the Ten Commandments do not concern Christians, let him be excommunicated."

Therefore, believing and lovingly keeping all of God's commandments belong together. Both are necessary for us to be pleasing to God and to be saved as such. Each of us, when we find ourselves at God's judgment seat, will be asked by the Eternal Judge how we believed and how we kept and kept all of His commandments in love. Only then, if we answer these two questions of investigation favorably, will we enter with the Elect into the eternal joys of Heaven.

From this it follows that we are obliged to keep all of God's commandments, because what is true of one also applies to the others, because each one is given by God to be obeyed. If we seriously transgress even one commandment, then we are acting against God's will and are bringing upon ourselves the wrath and just punishment of God. That is why Moses asked the Israelites to conscientiously obey all of God's commandments when he clearly told them: "But you shall keep and do all the statutes and ordinances which I am setting before you today" (Deuteronomy 11:32).

The Lord Jesus Christ also commands that all the commandments be kept and fulfilled, because when sending the apostles into the world, he clearly instructed them: "Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you!" (Mt 28:20).

And in these words of His, the Lord teaches and commands the same: "Whoever therefore breaks one of these least commandments and teaches others to do so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19).

St. Augustine, Jerome and other Church Fathers interpret this part of the Gospel in such a way that they believe that the Lord wanted to say that the believer who considers the commandments related to his sanctification as nothing and teaches others in this way is not a truly devout believer and will not be able to be saved.
In Israel, the scribes and Pharisees thought that the one who keeps most of the commandments and breaks one or two satisfies God's will and can be saved. The apostle Paul opposes this opinion, arguing that it does not benefit a person to fulfill only a few of the precepts of the Law, because because he breaks just one single commandment of God he becomes a transgressor of the entire Law and will be subject to the curse pronounced by Moses, which the apostle Paul repeated in the words: "Cursed is everyone who does not keep the Law by doing everything written in it." (Gal 3:10).

This truth is also taught by the apostle James when he says: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:10-11).

The Apostle James, in his above statement, is not saying that a believer who breaks the Law in only one commandment deserves the same punishment as a believer who breaks it in all, because it is quite obvious that this second believer sins more severely than the first. He means that a believer who breaks only one commandment of God breaks the entire Law, because all the commandments are closely related to each other. By breaking one part, the entire commandment that is formed and given in the Law is broken.

It is the same with the Law as with a contract made between two or more. Just as one who violates only one part of the contract is rightly said to have broken the contract, so one who transgresses one single commandment should be said to have sinned against the entire Law.

Therefore, the one who seriously violates the Law in just one major matter will be eternally condemned just as the one who did not keep the entire Law. The only difference between them will be that the one who violated the entire Law will be punished more and more severely, because he sinned more and more seriously.

From this it can be concluded that the believer who thinks that he will be saved if he has kept nine and not one of the Ten Commandments is seriously mistaken. Indeed, he who thinks so shows his great unreason and imprudence. The transgression of just one of God's commandments in an important matter, that is, just one mortal sin, is enough for a person to be eternally condemned to the terrible torments of Hell.

Therefore, we should now look into the fire of Hell and see who is burning in it! Are they only those who have broken all of God's commandments? Indeed, we should believe that there are very few of them and that the vast majority of those eternally condemned are those who have broken only one or a few of God's commandments.

In Hell, evil spirits are first found, so the question arises, why are they condemned? Evil spirits are condemned only because they violated the first commandment of God and did not humble themselves before God by denying Him the respect and worship that He so rightfully deserves.
Furthermore, there is the proud Cain who violated the fifth commandment of God and killed his brother Abel. There is also the proud Absalom who violated the fourth commandment of God, because he rebelled against his father.

For this reason, we are obliged to examine ourselves and ask ourselves what our condition is in this regard, that is, how do we keep and carry out the Ten Commandments and whether we are seriously violating them in some important matter? Only if we answer these questions favorably can we consider ourselves on the right path and have the right to hope for eternal salvation.

Therefore, if we want to be saved, then we are obliged to carry out every commandment of God in its entirety, because each commandment has a greater or lesser scope, that is, it commands more or less of what we are to do or omit.
For example, the first commandment of God commands us not only to believe in God, but also to honor him in an internal and external way. Internally, to believe in him, hope in him, and love him, to show him respect and adoration, gratitude and zeal for his glory, and obedience and devotion to his will, and externally, to show this inner reflection to people. Therefore, through the external way of honoring God, it is quite clear how we behave as individuals in the service of God.

Therefore, we are greatly mistaken if we believe that the first commandment of God commands nothing more than to believe in God. This also applies to all the other commandments, because each one commands and prohibits many things.

In Israel, the scribes and Pharisees were very wrong in this regard. They mostly followed only the letter of the Law and did not pay attention to its spirit. Therefore, they considered that they were completely fulfilling the Law if they only did what its letter prescribed. Thus, they thought that the fifth commandment of God only forbade actual murder. On the other hand, the Lord Jesus Christ explained to them that this commandment contained much more than they thought, namely that it forbade not only murder, but also all unjust anger and all unkind mockery towards one's neighbor. For this reason, He warned them: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not murder; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' will be liable to the Sanhedrin. And whoever calls him 'madman' will be liable to the fire of hell." (Matthew 5:21-22).

Likewise, the scribes and Pharisees thought that the sixth commandment of God forbids adultery only by act, while the Lord teaches them that adultery is committed even when one looks with impure eyes at another's wife, as is clearly seen from His words: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).

The scribes and Pharisees also thought that the commandment to love one's neighbor extended only to friends, and that it was permissible to hate one's enemies. However, the Lord Jesus Christ teaches us and commands us that we are also obliged to love our enemies and to repay their evil with our goodness and mercy, as can be seen from his words: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:43-45).

When we do not know clearly what each commandment contains, then we partially fulfill God's commandments, and thus, out of ignorance, we break the commandments and very often sin gravely. As such, we are obligated to learn more about God's commandments, and if we fail to do so, then we commit a great and grave sin.

Anyone who does not want to learn also breaks certain commandments out of ignorance, and therefore his ignorance is sinful and is considered a grave sin.

Since there is so much Christian religious literature available today, anyone who cares about instruction can easily acquire the necessary knowledge of God's law. For this reason, we are obligated to diligently attend and access Christian instruction so that as believers we know how to conduct ourselves correctly in our lives.

There are many Christian books that explain religious truths and Christian duties in detail. We are obliged to read such books and acquire the necessary knowledge so that we as believers can behave correctly. Willfully ignoring such instruction is laziness, which is a grave sin against God and our neighbor.

Furthermore, we can violate God's commandments in many things not so much out of ignorance as out of malice. As such, we consider that of this or that commandment that which is in our favor as obligatory, and that which is not in our favor, or that which disturbs our passions, we omit, explaining that it is difficult for us.
Thus we can say that the third commandment of God only commands that Holy Mass be heard on Sundays and holidays, and that the afternoon is completely free and that then it is free to pursue various jobs and entertainments.
Every believer who speaks and acts in this way is completely unreasonable and unwise. Should God be guided by him? Should He abolish His commandments in that which does not please His passions?
Therefore, we must not deceive ourselves, because what God has commanded is obligatory whether we like it or not, and if in any part we seriously violate the commandments, then we will not escape God's just punishment.

When it comes to interpreting a commandment, our reason and moral conscience should speak, not our blind, immoral, and soul-destroying passions.

Therefore, we are all obliged to keep and fulfill all of God's commandments to the fullest extent, and only then will these clear words of the Lord apply to us: "You will remain in my love if you keep my commandments, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love." (John 15:10). Amen!