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Seventh-day
Adventism Refuted:
What is the Royal Law of
Liberty in James 2:8-13?
There are two different laws being discussed
in this passage, not one. The royal law of liberty and the
Old Covenant Law.
James 2:8-13
says,
8)
If you really fulfill the royal law
according to the Scripture, “You shall love
your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing
well (The Royal Law is the gospel’s law of love).
9)
But if you show partiality, you are
committing sin and are convicted by the law
as transgressors
(The Old
Covenant Law).
10)
For whoever keeps the whole law but
fails in one point has become accountable
for all of it
(The Old Covenant Law).
11)
For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,”
also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not
commit adultery but do murder, you have
become a transgressor of the law
(The
Old Covenant Law).
12)
So speak and so act as those who
are to be judged under the law of liberty
(The
Royal Law of love).
13) For judgment is without mercy to one who
has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over
judgment.
James 2:8
says the royal law is Christ’s law of love. It
was superior to all other laws. If you show
partiality, you are committing sin. James
was alluding to Leviticus 19:15, which
prohibits favoritism to either the poor or
the rich (see James 1:25; Lev. 19:18;
Matt. 22:39; Mark 12:28-31; Rom. 13:8-10).
In James 2:10, we are told
that the person who shows favoritism towards
another person “is guilty of all” the law
because God does not allow for selective
obedience. We cannot choose to obey the
parts of the Law that we like and disregard
the rest. Some of the Pharisees were guilty
of this. They carefully observed some of the
requirements of the Law, such as
Sabbath-keeping, but ignored others, such as
honoring their parents (compare Mark 3:2 and
Luke 6:7 with Mark 7:1-13). Sin is a
violation of the perfect righteousness of
God, who is the Lawgiver. James was saying
that if you want to keep the Old Covenant
law then you have to keep the whole law
perfectly to be accepted by God. Any
violation in either thought or deed, of even
one commandment separates the individual
from God.
Paul says the
very same thing in Galatians 3:10-13, “For
all who rely on works of the law are under a
curse; for it is written, “Cursed be
everyone who does not abide by all things
written in the Book of the Law, and do
them.” Now it is evident that no one is
justified before God by the law, for “The
righteous shall live by faith.” But the law
is not of faith, rather “The one who does
them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law by becoming a
curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
Despite what some people think, James and Paul were in complete agreement!
They both quoted from Deuteronomy 27:26 to
show that failure to keep the law perfectly
brings divine judgment and condemnation on
the guilty party. Even one violation of the
law brings the person under the curse ( Deut. 27-28 ). James and Paul were
saying the same thing, no one can keep all
of the Law’s commands perfectly (Rom. 7:7-12).
Love is the
fulfillment of the Law:
James 2:12-13 tells us that “believers
will be judged by the law of liberty, which
is the law of love.” Only those who practice love
and mercy will triumph at the judgment seat
(see James 2:5, 8 ). James’s statement,
“judgment is without mercy to one who has
shown no mercy” is comparable to Paul saying
those who do such things are under a curse.
We are saved by God’s free
gift of grace through faith alone and not by
keeping the laws of the Old Covenant.
The purpose of the Law was to show
our inability to fulfill God’s righteous
standard.
Romans 3:20 says,
“For by works of the law no human being will
be justified in his sight, since through the
law comes knowledge of sin.”
Romans 5:20
says, “Now the law came in to increase the
trespass, but where sin increased, grace
abounded all the more,”
Romans 7:6-8
says, “But now we are released from the law,
having died to that which held us captive,
so that we serve in the new way of the
Spirit and not in the old way of the written
code. What then shall we say? That the law
is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been
for the law, I would not have known sin. For
I would not have known what it is to covet
if the law had not said, “You shall not
covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity
through the commandment, produced in me all
kinds of covetousness. For apart from the
law, sin lies dead.”
Galatians 3:19 says, “Why then the law?
It was added because of transgressions,
until the offspring should come to whom the
promise had been made, and it was put in
place through angels by an intermediary.”
Galatians 3:24 says, “So then, the law
was our guardian until Christ came, in order
that we might be justified by faith.”
And 1 Timothy 1:9 says, “understanding this,
that the law is not laid down for the just
but for the lawless and disobedient, for the
ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and
profane, for those who strike their fathers
and mothers, for murderers,”
The Bible is very clear, if you try to live
by the Law, you must keep it all without
fail, or be condemned. The Law is a ministry
of death, engraved on stone tablets. Every time you
try to live by it you will fail.
2 Corinthians 3:6-11
says, “who has made us sufficient to be
ministers of a new covenant, not of the
letter but of the Spirit. For the letter
kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the
ministry of death, carved in letters on
stone, came with such glory that the
Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face
because of its glory, which was being
brought to an end, will not the ministry of
the Spirit have even more glory? For if
there was glory in the ministry of
condemnation, the ministry of righteousness
must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this
case, what once had glory has come to have
no glory at all, because of the glory that
surpasses it. For if what was being brought
to an end came with glory, much more will
what is permanent have glory.”
Romans 3:9, 23 says, “What then? Are
we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For
we have already charged that all, both Jews
and Greeks, are under sin, ... for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (see also:
Deut. 27:26; Jer. 11:3-5; Rom. 2:23-25; 3:19).
Christ has set us free from the Law
to be justified by His grace.
Romans 3:21-25 says, “But now the
righteousness of God has been manifested
apart from the law, although the Law and the
Prophets bear witness to it — the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
Christ for all who believe. For there is no
distinction: for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and are justified
by his grace as a gift, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God
put forward as a propitiation by his blood,
to be received by faith. This was to show
God’s righteousness, because in his divine
forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
(Gal. 5:1-4; Eph. 2:8-10; Rom. 3:24-26).
Christians are told
to live by a greater law, “the law of
Christ.”
Paul argues in the
book of Galatians that the law given at
Mount Sinai makes no claim on those who
believe in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile
(Gal. 2:15-21; 3:10-14; 3:23-26; Gal. 4:4-5; 4:21-5:6). Paul
then appeals to the Galatians to engage in
ethical behavior by walking in the Spirit
(Gal. 5:16), being led by the Spirit
(Gal. 5:18), and fulfilling “the law of
Christ” through bearing one another’s
burdens (Gal. 6:2). Paul said
Christians should refrain from demanding
their own personal rights out of love for
the weaker brother or sister. Paul said that
he adopted certain Jewish customs when he
was among the Jews, even though he was not
under the Old Covenant law of the Jews; and when he was
among Gentiles, he adopted some of their
customs, even though he was not without the
law of God, but rather “under the law of
Christ” (1 Cor. 9:19-23).
Jesus, James and Paul were in complete
agreement.
In
Mark 12:32-33, Jesus and the scribe agreed
that two commands were the core of the
entire Old Testament Law. All of the Old
Testament Law can be placed in the category
of “loving God” or “loving your neighbor.”
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one
than this, that someone lay down his life
for his friends.” (John 15:13)
And Paul said it like this, “Owe no one
anything, except to love each other, for the
one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
For the commandments, “You shall not commit
adultery, You shall not murder, You shall
not steal, You shall not covet,” and any
other commandment, are summed up in this
word: “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
therefore love is the fulfilling of the
law.” (Rom. 13:8-10)
The law of Christ, then, is to love God
with all of your heart and to love your
neighbor as you love yourself. Serving other
people demonstrates your genuine love for
God. Serving is an act of love. To serve a
brother or sister out of love fulfills the
Law of Christ.
The law of Christ is
the law of liberty. Christians live by it
because they want to out of love for Christ,
not because they feel obligated to. The
controlling force in their lives is not a
written code of laws, but a living person,
Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2; James 1:25; 2:12).
Just as Jesus
demonstrated his love for the Father by
keeping the Father’s commandments, so all
those who truly love Jesus will keep his
commandments to love (John 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 Jn. 2:3, 4, 7; 5:3). When we do that we are practicing the
royal law of love (John 13:34; Rom. 13:8-10;
Gal. 5:14; 1 Jn. 5:2-3).
When people say that James was telling
us to keep the Ten Commandments they are
ignoring the context of the passage and the
rest of what the New Testament says
completely. Christians live under the New
Covenant. It is a totally different covenant
from what the Jews had to live by. Love, not
law, should be what guides us.
Remember what 1 John 4:7-8 says,
“Dear friends, let us love one
another, for love comes from God. Everyone
who loves has been born of God and knows
God. Whoever does not love does not know
God, because God is love.” (NIV)
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