“If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” James 2.8
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But which law is the “royal law”, the “law of liberty”?
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In the context of his statement – James 2 – the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ is discussing the Ten Commandments. In that same chapter he warns Christians against acting like “judges with evil thoughts” by showing partiality to rich people over the poor – a precept he appears to have derived from Leviticus 19.15.
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In chapter 5 of his epistle James condemns those who do not pay wages in a timely manner – a standard of justice based on the eighth commandment and drawn from the civil law of Israel in Deuteronomy 24.14, 15.
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Certainly James means by “the law of liberty” the Law of God as expressed in the Ten Commandments, and elaborated, illustrated, and explained by the civil laws of ancient Israel. Can this possibly be? Does James, writing in the New Testament, in the age of grace, mean to say that the good works God has redeemed us for are the very ones outlined in the Law of God, and that this Law is the standard for Christian conduct?
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I see no other alternative. The Law of God, contrary to the views of the vast majority of contemporary Christians, including most preachers, is the “law of liberty” and the standard of goodness by which we are to live unto the Lord.
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But in what sense can this Law, which many of us have been taught is a burden from which Jesus freed us, serve to liberate us?
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As we shall see in this series, in many wondrous and glorious ways, indeed.
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The psalmist says that the righteous person meditates day and night in God’s Law (Ps. 1). Would like to get started in this discipline? Order a copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics and The Law of God. The first will explain the importance3 of God’s Law, and guide you in taking up the practice of daily reading and meditation. The second provides all the statutes, precepts, and rules of God’s Law organized under their proper number of the Ten Commandments.
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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).
Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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