THE ROYAL LAW
INTRODUCTION
A. By the 1st century the Jewish rabbis had counted up the laws of God to be 613. They believed & taught that if a person kept the ones they regarded as the most important ones, they would be justified. Of course, they should have been looking for mercy.
B. James is going to tell us that if we comply with just one law it will be ok with God. That one law is mentioned by him in chapter two verse eight – “‘If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well.’”
C. From James’ statement we can make the following conclusions:
a. loving your neighbor as yourself is the kingly law (above all others)
b. it was included in Moses’ law (Lev.19:18)
c. the Jews applied it only to those they considered to be a “neighbor”
D. From a couple of other passages in James’ letter, we can also conclude that “the royal law” is:
a. Perfect – “perfect law of liberty” (1:25)
b. a law of freedom – “the law of liberty” (1:25; 2:12)
E. Let’s examine what James has to say about “the royal law.”
I. THE CONTEXT IN WHICH JAMES USES THE ROYAL LAW
A. (Jas.2:1-13) Discrimination has been a problem down through the ages. Concerning the Jewish Christians James addressed, some of them discriminated against others solely on the way they dressed.
B. The only regulation that God has when it comes to dressing for worship is – don’t over do it (1Tim.2:9,10).
C. When a person shows partiality, whether it relates to clothing or something else, they are not being motivated by “the royal law” of love.
II. THE ROYAL LAW FREES US TO EXTEND MERCY
A. Law, by its nature, acts as a restraining force. It places emphasis upon precepts or rules and they must be fulfilled regardless of circumstances. It is only interested in justice, not mercy.
B. But “the royal law” (love), which is “the law of Christ,” is different. It frees us, so it is called “the perfect law of liberty.” Why?
a. love, as our governing principle, frees us from being indebted to the flesh in keeping law for our salvation (Rom.8:12)
b. love frees us from the slavery of passion & evil desires (Phil.4:8)
c. but it does more as James reveals in the context – it allows for mercy
C. (Jas.2:8-11) While James’ readers might have argued that they had not committed adultery & other evils, they were guilty of violating the greatest command of all by failing to love those whose apparel did not measure up to what they thought one should wear to worship.
D. (Jas.2:12,13) Instead of acting like people governed by a cold, unbending legal code, they were to speak & behave like people governed by the principle of love, which James calls “the royal law” & “the law of liberty.”
a. under a legal code, if there is ever a conflict between mercy & law, the law must be fulfilled regardless of circumstances
b. under “the perfect law of liberty” it is different – “mercy triumphs over judgment”
c. instead of focusing upon a precept of law someone might have violated, we need to focus more upon the person & show mercy (Mt.9:13; 23:23)
d. always remember God will use the yardstick by which we measure others as the criterion for measuring us (Mt.7:1-5)
E. If we view it our job to be God’s policemen, measuring everyone else by what we think the Bible says, then to borrow the words of James, “we become judges with evil thoughts.”
F. But if we view it our job to examine ourselves only, realizing we are imperfect & in constant need of mercy, then we will be merciful to others and God alone will occupy the place of being judge.
CONCLUSION
(Jas.2:8) Are you fulfilling “the royal law”?