In Him Ministries:

Seventh-day Adventism Refuted: What is the Royal Law of Liberty in James 2:8-13? There are two laws at issue, not one! The Royal Law of Liberty and the (Mosaic) 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 equals 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 Mosaic Law was the Old Covenant). 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 the gospel). 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (ESV) James 2:8 says the royal law is the 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; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:28-31; Romans 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 permanently. 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”. 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 of God ( Deuteronomy 27-28 ). James and Paul were saying the same thing, no one can keep all of the Law's commands perfectly (Romans 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 7:7 says, "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.” 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." 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 stones. Every time you try to live by it you will fail: Deuteronomy 28:15 says, "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you." 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." Galatians 3:10-12 says, "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.” 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: Deuteronomy 27:26; Jeremiah 11:3-5; Romans 2:23-25; Romans 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.” (Galatians 5:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 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 (Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14; 3:23-26; Galatians 4:4-5; 4:21-5:6). Paul then appeals to the Galatians to engage in ethical behavior by walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), being led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18), and fulfilling "the law of Christ" through bearing one another's burdens (Galatians 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 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 Corinthians 9:19-23). 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.” 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 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 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 (John 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 John 2:3, 4, 7; 5:3). When we do that we are practicing the royal law of love (John 13:34; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14; 1 John 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. 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) “Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible" "Used by permission. 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