Verses 9-13: But if you show partiality, you are
committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet
stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For
He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now
if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a
transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be
judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who
has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
In no uncertain terms, James clearly states that to show partiality you are committing sin. This word ‘committing’ has the meaning not just of doing, but of continually working or producing sin. The distinction is made because the believer’s life is not to be characterized by the production of sin, but by the production of divine righteousness. The production of divine righteousness is what is meant by the phrase at the end of verse 8, doing well, in contrast to the production of sin.
James, inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this epistle, could have found them guilty of sin, but instead, he points to the ultimate authority of Scripture. They are transgressors because the law of God states:
You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. (Leviticus 19:15)
The violation of this law is the disobedience of the ‘royal law’ which was stated in verse 8: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Now James sets up a principle of doctrine concerning the keeping of the ‘whole law.’ By the ‘whole law’ he is not referring to the ‘royal law’ as was mentioned in verse 8. The royal law is an extraction of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Within the context of this passage, verse 11 illustrates that the ‘whole law’ is referring to the Decalogue, as we will note in the next verse.
Each of the Ten Commandments contains detailed points of what the overall command requires. For instance, the Second Commandment as stated in Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The detailed points are in the following verses: making idols (v. 4), worshiping/serving them (v. 5), and seeking out mediums or spiritists (Leviticus 19:31). What James is trying to convey is that if you keep all Ten Commandments, including all of their detailed points, except that you make a false idol, a violation of one of the detailed points of the Second Commandment, then you are guilty of the whole law. Not that you have violated every commandment and every detailed point, but you are guilty of disobedience to the One who instituted the law.
God doesn’t grade on a curve. Just because you’ve been obedient in the majority of instances doesn’t mean that He will overlook your single failure. It must be remembered, the benchmark set for the Christian is to be holy and perfect:
But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
Now in verse 11, James expands the principle set forth in the previous verse. He prefaces this with “He who said” referring to God when He was giving the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1). This establishes the authoritative premise for what follows.
James states that anyone who violates even one of the commandments, they ‘have become a transgressor of the law.’ The reason for this is that the Ten Commandments are a single unit in the eyes of God and the infraction of even one point indicates defiance to the will of God by the believer.
It is curious to note the two commandments that James cites – adultery and murder. The reason these two are mentioned may well be that they are sins that can be committed mentally or overtly. Observe what our Lord had to say about the mental sins of murder and adultery:
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries...” (Matthew 15:19)
Specifically of murder:
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Matthew 5:21-22)
And specifically of adultery:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)
Divine Directive
In verse 12, James reaches back to chapter one verses 19 and 26 in order to highlight two previous points: be slow to speak and bridle the tongue. He contrasts this with the present instructions "so speak." So far James has not specified the exact problem of what they have been saying, but in their show of partiality there must have been much discussion amongst themselves.
He also instructs them to "so act." This word 'act' means to be doing, to do. Our words and actions should reflect the character of Christ to all around us. By not showing partiality we 'are doing well' (2:8) and demonstrating our adherence to God's standards. The Apostle Paul likewise advised how our speech and actions coincide:
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)
James reminds us that we will be judged by the law of liberty. In 1:25 he explained that if we abide by the law of liberty—that is, continuing to employ our attention and energy to the application of what we learn—then we will be blessed and not suffer the disciplinary judgment he outlines in the next verse.
But first, James states that the judgment will be ‘merciless.’ Which means that divine discipline will be meted out to all who fail to obey God’s commands; no one will be excluded or ‘let off the hook’ from the consequences of disobedience.
Notice that this judgment is for those who have shown no mercy. This word ‘shown’ is the same word in the Greek translated ‘act’ in the previous verse. Again, this is an assertion that our lives have a specific meaning and purpose in the plan of God. We are to be producers of divine good, divine righteousness—from our thoughts, words and actions. This is the ultimate will of God for our lives: to demonstrate that our lives are centered in Christ and that His supreme law of liberty is the pattern for our lives in order to reflect His glory to a lost culture.
He adds a final fitting remark: Mercy triumphs over judgment. The word for triumph is used only 4 times in the New Testament. It has the distinct meaning of exultation, as in a victorious circumstance. Dr. Marvin Vincent makes a logical point:
While judgment threatens condemnation, mercy interposes [intervenes] and prevails over judgment.1
What James is telling us, is that demonstrating mercy is a win-win proposition, for us and God—He is glorified and we are not disciplined.
[1] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word Studies in the New Testament (1:743). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
© 2023 David M. Rossi
No comments:
Post a Comment