Fulfilling the Royal Law

James 2: 1-10

 

 

          When you stand back and look at the New Testament as a body of work, it begins to speak to you. There are the Gospels, the semi-eye and ear-witness testimonies to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are followed by Acts, the history of the early Church. Then comes Paul and his letters to the church plants all over the region and to some individuals, all espousing the grace of God through the gift of Jesus and the gospel he brings. Paul’s letters are joined by those of others, including Peter, John and the writer of Hebrews. Revelation ends the New Testament with a form of apocalyptic, (end times) literature.

          Then there is James. James is the misfit. James quotes less Scripture than any other New Testament writer. His book would be more at home in the writings section of the Old Testament with Proverbs. It is an essay on ethics and seldom mentions Christianity at all. Martin Luther called it an “epistle of straw” and thought it lacked the standard of the other New Testament texts.

There has always been a debate among the heavyweights in theology as to whether James’s emphasis on works is at the expense of grace.

          If James were to come to market today, it might be placed in the “how-to” section of Christian living and ethics. In five chapters, he takes up the subjects of testing and trials, hearing and doing the Word, the sin of partiality, faith without works, taming the tongue, being too worldly, boasting of the future, being rich and suffering with patience. He ends his circular letter to the Jews outside Jerusalem with a call to pray in faith. It is a pep talk, a warning and a call to action all rolled into one short letter.

          Now, James is not the Son of God. Only Jesus could claim that. But when reading James, one cannot help but notice the brotherly connection in the way he writes. James writes not with a bucket load of quotes and arguments like Paul, but rather with an authority that reminds us of his half-brother. James writes with a “been there, done that” sort of approach. He wastes no time or words and gets right to the point.

          Curiously, the one Scripture that James does quote is Leviticus 19:18, where the Lord is speaking to Moses to tell the people and says: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” James is in good company, Jesus himself quoted the same scripture. In Matthew 22, Jesus responds to the question of a Pharisee, a lawyer, about the Law, saying that “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like unto it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. In these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets.”

          James called this the royal law. What did he mean? Was it the highest? The law of kings? The law of supreme excellence? Leviticus didn’t call it the royal law, so what does James mean? I think this is where James’ practical, down to earth style can get lost in a sea of study throughout the centuries. But what James says is not hidden. It just has to be sifted a little to see his connection to Jesus and the gospel.

          First, In James 1: 22, he says to be doers of the word, to not just be hearers of the word. Then, back up to James 1: 18. James refers to the word of truth. What word is James talking about? Is it the written Word of God or the living Word of God? Later, in chapter 2 at verse 12, James talks about being judged under the law of liberty. So James talks about the word and the law, but what word and what law? What does James mean and to what or whom is he referring?

          As Christians, we speak of God’s Word in two ways. Either it is scripture, the written Word of God, or it is Jesus, the living Word of God. They don’t contradict each other, but they are two different ways to see God. When we think of the written word, we normally are talking about the Old Testament and, in many cases, the Law given as the Ten Commandments and that scripture which accompanies them. I have long thought that James, who was speaking to the Jews of the diaspora, that is, those outside Jerusalem, was referring to the Scripture when he talked about the word in his letter. I don’t think so anymore.

          James talks about the “word” three times in Chapter 1. Verse 18 sets the tone of his meaning when he says that God brought us forth by the word of truth. He goes on to say that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. That just doesn’t make much sense when read in light of Old Testament scripture. But when we read it in light of the gospel, it makes perfect sense. We are the firstfruits of the word of truth as revealed by Jesus, the living word of God.

          Later, when we read that we are called to be doers of the word, we can interpret this to be called to do the will of God as revealed by his living word, Jesus Christ. Again, in James 2: 12 and 13, James tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment; that we should speak and act as those who are judged under the law of liberty. James is speaking of the liberty obtained through the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, the living word, not the liberty gotten through the meticulous observation of Old Testament law. Indeed, James reminds us in verse 10 that whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. This is not only James’ point. It is made over and over by the apostle Paul. If we live by the law, we must be judged by the law and will die by the law. To live in the gospel is to find the law of liberty and the love of God through the grace of the gospel of Jesus.

          This brings us back to our original question. What did James mean when he talked about the second great commandment as the royal law? If we read his comment in the context of his other references to the gospel of Jesus, we must and should conclude that James saw loving our neighbor as ourselves as a law handed down from Jesus, the king of kings. No matter that it was first written in the Old Testament. The words are from God and Jesus is his son, now laying down the law of love in his gospel. It is Jesus to whom James refers. It is Jesus to whom every knee should bow, that every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord [Phil 2: 9-11]. It is Jesus who came to save and who gave us the law of liberty and the word of truth.

          So what do we glean from this “royal law?” Simply this. We are to show no partiality. Money doesn’t matter. Power and influence don’t matter. The only family pedigree that matters is the line leading to belief in the gospel. It’s not faith trumping deeds, but deeds proving faith. Douglas Ward puts it this way: “James reminds his community that the behavior that demonstrates faith is the behavior that is obedient to God and lifts up others. Likewise, the behavior that is obedient to God (love the Lord your God…) and lifts up others (love your neighbor…) is behavior that demonstrates the content of a person’s faith.”

           Partiality is prejudice by another name. Jesus knew no prejudice. He knew only a bias toward love and a heart for forgiveness. Prejudice strikes at the very heart of the Christian faith. We should oppose it and oppose it vigorously wherever it rears its ugly head. Fulfilling the royal law is opening the doors of our church and our hearts to the poor, the stranger, the lost. Fulfilling the royal law is seeing everyone as your neighbor and seeing your neighbor as good as you.

          And that’s the gospel truth!