Luther: All the Commandments are Impossible to Us

The following is from the web page Luther, Exposing the Myth, under the heading "The Commandments":

“Thou shalt not covet,’ is a commandment which proves us all to be sinners; since it is not in man’s power not to covet, and the same is the drift of all the commandments, for they are all equally impossible to us” [De Liv. Chris. Tom. 4:2 ] .

Luther Exposing the Myth says their stated purpose is to show that "from Luther’s own words we shall see him for what he really was, that is a rebellious apostate, who abandoned the faith and led many into apostasy from God under the guise of “reformation” in order to follow his perverse inclinations." With this quote, they attempt to show Christ said keep the commandments, while Luther says the opposite, because the commandments can't be kept.

Documentation
Luther, Exposing the Myth originally cited "De Liv. Chris. Tom. 4:2", but later removed this reference. Now, no documentation is given. A few years back I pointed out this reference didn't make any sense. I've since uncovered the quote was taken from this source, which documents the quote as "De Lib. Chris. Tom. 4:2." Back in 2006 I speculated the quote appeared to be a condensed version of a section from Luther's "The Freedom of a Christian." "De Lib. Chris" is indeed an abbreviated title of this treatise in Latin: De Libertate Christiana. The Latin text can be found here, begining on page 219.

The quote is indeed condensed, and earlier citations of it from the 1800's prove so: " 'Thou "shalt not covet,' is a commandment.... it is not in any " man's power not to covet; and the same is the drift of " all the commandments, for they are all equally impossible to us."—(Luther, de lib. Chris., tom. iv., 2.).


Context
Should you ask how it happens that faith alone justifies and offers us such a treasure of great benefits without works in view of the fact that so many works, ceremonies, and laws are prescribed in the Scriptures, I answer: First of all, remember what has been said, namely, that faith alone, without works, justifies, frees, and saves; we shall make this clearer later on. Here we must point out that the entire Scripture of God is divided into two parts: commandments and promises. Although the commandments teach things that are good, the things taught are not done as soon as they are taught, for the commandments show us what we ought to do but do not give us the power to do it. They are intended to teach man to know himself, that through them he may recognize his inability to do good and may despair of his own ability. That is why they are called the Old Testament and constitute the Old Testament. For example, the commandment, “You shall not covet” [Exod. 20:17], is a command which proves us all to be sinners, for no one can avoid coveting no matter how much he may struggle against it. Therefore, in order not to covet and to fulfill the commandment, a man is compelled to despair of himself, to seek the help which he does not find in himself elsewhere and from someone else, as stated in Hosea [13:9]: “Destruction is your own, O Israel: your help is only in me.” As we fare with respect to one commandment, so we fare with all, for it is equally impossible for us to keep any one of them" [LW 31:348].

Conclusion
Luther, Exposing the Myth's usage of this Luther quote implies they have an underlying Pelagianism. They seem to be implying that mankind has the ability to keep the commandments. They contrast this Luther quote with "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17).

Matthew 19:17 in context is a striking declaration of the impossibility of being saved by keeping the law. Salvation by the works of law is indeed a way to salvation: unfortunately, since mankind is dead in sin and hates the law no one can be saved by keeping it. By striving to do so, one learns the need for Christ the savior who did keep the law. The rich young ruler who spent his life attempting to keep the law is given the truth by Jesus that he hasn’t even begun to keep even the first of the commandments. Upon seeing this, the disciples ask in astonishment, “who then can be saved?” The Lord responds, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Rather than Christ teaching that salvation is accomplished by works, the passage demonstrates the futility of achieving it by works, and Christ declares that salvation is completely the work of God.

Luther is saying what Jesus did in Matthew 19. No one as a member of sin-filled humanity can keep the commandments, and knowledge of that inability leads to despair and drives one to Christ. Luther goes on a few sections later to point out that a Christian is the only one who can do good works. A faith-filled Christian does works to the glory of God. In other words, the regenerate are those who seek to lead godly lives, and not covet, or break the other commandments. For an in-depth look at the relationship of faith and good works in Luther’s theology, see, Did Luther Say: Be A Sinner And Sin Boldly?