James 2:8-13

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{ “The Law!” }

Bible Text: James 2:8-13

Intro:

(TEXT SLIDE #1) Today we are going to continue with our verse by verse Bible study series through the book of James.

And as you can see up on our video screens, the focus of our Bible verses today is on THE LAW!

Now when I mention THE LAW, what MEMORIES POP INTO your minds? (INTRO SLIDE #1)

There are some of us here that when we think about the law, we think about the teachers or nuns that we grew up with in school, THEY WERE the law! (INTRO SLIDE #2)

For many of the men here (including me) when we hear that word “LAW” we think about the POLICE and the times that we have been arrested for BREAKING THE LAW! (INTRO SLIDE #3)

For you Holy People, when you hear about THE LAW, you think about God giving the law, or the 10 commandments to Moses up on Mount Sinai! (INTRO SLIDE #4)

But the law that we are going to learn about this morning is God’s law that HE has WRITTEN OUT FOR US in the pages of our Bibles.

And this word “LAW” is actually a very common Biblical word.

The word “LAW” is mentioned 642 different times in your Bible.

And we are going to see the word Law brought up 4 different times in the Bible verses that we are going to be studying this morning. (INTRO SLIDE #6)

And if you are taking notes, in our Bible text God’s word is going to reveal to us…

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4 Purposes of THE LAW for us as Christians! (REPEAT)

So let’s get started and please open up your Bibles with us to the book of James Chapter 2.

And we will begin where we left off a few weeks ago , by reading verses 8 and 9.

James Chapter 2, and we will begin by reading verses 8 and 9 together.

Bible Text: James 2:8-9 / Background

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8-9- If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you [e]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

As we get started here, keep in mind what the author James, (who was a Pastor in the early church in Jerusalem) is writing to us about.

As we saw last time and then see again right here in verse 9, James has been warning us as believers about the SIN OF FAVORITISM.

We must do our best to love and respect everyone equally just like God does.

But as we pick up here in verse 8, James tells us to… keep the royal law found in Scripture.

So what is this LAW that the Bible is bringing up here?

We find out what this law is right here in the middle of verse 8… the royal law of Scripture is TO LOVE your neighbor as yourself.

And that brings up the first of our four purposes of the law for us as Christians.

And that is…

#1-The Royal law (or most important law) is love.

(REPEAT)

So why does James call this the royal law of scripture?

The main reason James gives it that name is because this law of Love was given to us by the King of Kings Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ.

And this Law of LOVE is the law that Jesus is going to rule with in His future Kingdom.

And since Jesus is our King, and as Christians we are part of His Spiritual Kingdom today, His Royal law of love needs to be a priority for us!

Do you remember the story of when Jesus FIRST INSTRUCTED US about this Royal law of love?

The Gospels tell us that one day the enemies of Jesus who were the Jewish religious leaders came to Jesus trying to trick Him with a question about the Jewish law.

And I want to read the exchange that Jesus had with them and we find that conversation over in…Matthew 22:34-36

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“34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

So they were asking Jesus this question… “Which law or commandments of God is the VERY MOST IMPORTANT of all to keep?

And we find Jesus’ answer to this question in the following verses,

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Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Bingo, THAT’S IT, Jesus made it CRYSTAL clear which law He believes is the most important for us to follow.

It wasn’t only loving God, which everyone would understand, but to everyone’s surprise Jesus added to that and brought up the importance of us loving our neighbor, loving the people around us!

That’s what Jesus said and that’s what Jesus lived out, and we are never more like Jesus than when we are Loving God and loving others!

Let’s continue on by reading verses 10 and 11 together. (SLIDE)

James 2:10-11 “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”

So in these verses James continues his teachings about the law and did you catch what he said about BREAKING THE LAW here in verse 10?

Let’s read verse 10 again…For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

And then in verse 11 we are then given an example from the 10 commandments found in Exodus Chapter 20 of how if we break just one law, we are guilty of breaking all of it.

And that is what the Bible teaches, that even if you could live a perfect life and at the very end we messed up and sinned in just one area, we would still be guilty as lawbreakers.

We can try and picture breaking the law this way…

It’s like a guy hanging off a cliff on a long chain. How many links of that chain have to break for the guy to fall? JUST ONE, and the guy is a goner!

God’s law works the same way, and the Bible teaches us that as lawbreakers, we are sinners that deserve the judgment of a righteous and holy God.

WOW Derek, isn’t that kind of harsh? Is God that mean?

No, because if God is going to be a GOOD GOD, than He must also be a HOLY GOD, and the only way that God can be both Good and holy is if He deals with all sin!

And this brings up one of the main reasons why God has given us the law, the law is like a perfect mirror that we can examine our lives with and it shows us our every flaw and our every sin.

And that brings up the 2nd of our four purposes of the law for us as Christians in our Bible study today.

And that is:

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#2-The law shows us that we are sinners in need of a Savior.

(REPEAT)

Now this truth that ALL PEOPLE ARE SINNERS is very controversial in our world today, and do you know why?

Because people don’t like to think of themselves as sinners, instead, everyone likes to think of themselves as what… “A GOOD PERSON!”

Every single non Christian that I know believes that they are a good person!

And many of them don’t think that they need Jesus or the church because they are going to get to heaven anyway, why? They are A GOOD PERSON!

One of the most popular arguments that Non Christians try and make against God today, is they say “I just can’t believe in a God that would send “GOOD PEOPLE” to hell!

So what is the answer to that question?

First off, according to the Bible, there are no good people!

But then secondly, God doesn’t want anyone to go to hell, instead God’s will is that none shall perish but that all shall come to repentance!

Jesus talked a lot about this topic of people being good, and I want you to listen to what Jesus had to say about over in…

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Matthew 19:17

Jesus speaking here said… 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? [f]No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

So according to Jesus, there are no good people, only God.

Now when people make that popular claim of… “I AM A GOOD PERSON” we know what they are doing when we do it.

They are looking around and COMPARING THEMSELVES to the people around them.

And anyone can find someone else that is more wicked and more sinful than they are, and when I compare myself to those kinds of people, sure I am a BETTER PERSON than they are.

But the problem is, other people are not our standard for goodness.

God the CREATOR get’s to set the standard for goodness, and Jesus told us God’s standard for being good over in

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

And Jesus described God’s standard this way …

48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (That’s God’s standard, perfection!)

So as James reminds us here, the law of God shows us that all of us are NOT GOOD, but we are lawbreakers and sinners.

Now the good news for all people is that God HAS PROVIDED A WAY for anyone to be righteous and holy and yes GOOD before God!

And that is by receiving forgiveness and salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Over in the theologically rich book of Romans, the Apostle Paul lays out God’s plan of salvation for us very clearly. (SLIDE)

And this famous plan of salvation in the book of Romans has come to be known as “The Romans Road (to salvation)”

And the Romans road to salvation is a great tool for every Christian to memorize because in it, we have four key Bible verses that teach us how any person can be saved.

And if you have never heard of the Roman’s Road or you don’t know it by heart, I want to encourage you to write these 4 Bible verses down because they will help you understand your own salvation and help you share your faith with others.

We have our first stop in the Romans road in…

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#1- Romans 3:23 “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

What this verse teaches us is that no one is perfect, and no one is good, because we are all sinners that have fallen short of God’s perfect standard.

And again, this is really the main intent of the Old Testament law, to show people that they can’t get to God on their own because NO ONE is good enough or spiritual enough to do it!

The 2nd stop in the Romans road is found up in the first half of…

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#2- Romans 6:23a “ For the wages of sin is death,…”

What this Bible verse teaches us is that not only are we sinners, but the price that our sin requires IS DEATH.

Not only physical death eventually, but more importantly this is talking about spiritual death through separation from God.

So all non believers are permanently separated from a Holy God, WHY? Because of their unforgiven sin, but there is good news.

And that brings up our 3rd stop in the Romans road is the 2nd half of…

(SLIDE)-

#3- Romans 6:23b “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What this verse teaches us is that God has paid the price for our sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

And through Jesus, forgiveness and salvation and eternal life in heaven are FREELY OFFERED as a Gift to all people.

How can a person receive Jesus?

The fourth and final stop in the Romans road of salvation tells us and that is found up in…

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#4- Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

How can a person be saved? By crying out to Jesus in faith and repentance, and BELIEVING in Him for your salvation!

So church, that is the famous ROMAN’S ROAD TO SALVATION, and those are four great Biblical truths that you can share with people as you share the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel with them.

We will finish up this morning by reading verses 12 and 13 together.

(SLIDE

James 2:12-13 “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Here at the start of verse 12 the Bible tells us how we need to respond to the laws of God that we have been taking a look at.

And how does that verse open? By mentioning the words…SPEAK AND DO!

The Bible doesn’t tell us that we need to…. know these things and believe that they are true…NO!!!

It doesn’t tell us that we need to… agree with these principals and share them with others… AGAIN NO!

We are told to SPEAK AND DO, and this is talking about the words that we speak, and the things that we do.

By writing this… James is telling us… NOW START PUTTING THIS TEACHING INTO PRACTICE with your words and actions!

And that brings up the 3rd of our four purposes of the law for us as Christians.

And that is…

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#3-Obeying the law takes effort.

(REPEAT)

It’s not easy to obey God’s laws, and it certainly doesn’t happen all by itself.

Your sinful tendencies like laziness and selfishness will battle against your Spirit to obey the laws that God has set in place to help you and guide you.

And where all of this SPEAKING and ACTING in accordance with God’s laws needs to start is right there in your home.

God expects us to fight the good fight in order to put these Biblical truths to work in the most important place of all, in the nitty gritty day to day difficulties and routines of family and real life.

Because that is where we need them the most!

But this will take effort and patience, it takes trying again and again even after you have failed a few times.

Next up, did you notice how James described the effects of the law here at the end of verse 12?

We read there… So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

When we follow God’s laws for us, especially the royal law of love, it brings us freedom, those laws are designed to set us free.

And that brings up the 4th and final of our four purposes of the law for us as Christians.

And that is…

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#4- Obeying the law brings freedom.

(REPEAT)

When we obey God’s laws, it breaks the chains of sin in our lives, and it also helps keep us free of the bondage of our enemy Satan!

Now getting back to our Bible text, here in verse 13 James shifts gears a little bit and he begins to talk about the themes of JUDGMENT and MERCY.

And listen again to what James says about judgment and mercy there… For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

So first off, let’s talk about judgment.

We know that this letter of James is written to Christians in the church, so what kind of JUDGMENT for believers is the Bible talking about here?

Didn’t Jesus take all of the judgment for our sins upon Himself on the cross?

Yes, Jesus did take all of the judgment for our sins on the cross, but the judgment that the Bible is talking about here, is the judging of our works FOR REWARDS!

Did you know that the Bible teaches us that as Christians, all of our works will be judged in heaven where we will be rewarded with eternal rewards?

Listen to what the Bible says about that over in..

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2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Listen to what the resurrected Jesus says in the book of Revelation about His return to the earth in…

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Revelation 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

At the “judgment seat of Christ” also called “The bema seat”, our works and our motives of everything that we did down here on the earth will be judged.

And for the things that we did OUT OF LOVE FOR GOD AND OTHERS, we will receive amazing rewards the Bible describes as Gold and silver and precious stones.

But for the things that we did for selfish or sinful motives, we won’t be rewarded for them, but instead they will burn away just like worthless… wood, hay, and stubble.

And all of that is an important reminder that WHAT WE DO HERE ON THE EARTH MATTERS A LOT in heaven.

Now James ends up this section by talking about MERCY as He tells us at the end of verse 13… MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGMENT.

So what is mercy? Could you define it?

A good Biblical definition of mercy is: NOT GETTING WHAT WE DESERVE.

And as Christians, we are not going to get what we deserve as sinners! Why? God has lavished His mercy upon us!

And in the same way that we have FREELY RECEIVED MERCY from God, in return, God asks us to FREELY GIVE MERCY to the people around us.

Listen to what Jesus said about the importance of GIVING MERCY TO OTHERS in His famous sermon on the mount.

Jesus put it this way in…

(SLIDE)-

Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

Christian, do you want to be blessed and happy?

Then do what Jesus says here… Be merciful, freely give to people what they do not deserve!

And like all of the blessings of God, Mercy should begin at home.

Christian, every day God is going to give you some new opportunities to be merciful!

Let me give you an example of how this might work.

You might not know this, but the people closest to you, even your spouse and children, aren’t always going to treat you kindly and respectfully!

So when they mistreat you… what can you do about it?

REVENGE!!!!!! EXPLODE IN ANGER!!!!! NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We need to try and see mistreatment and disrespect as an opportunity that God has given us to show mercy! (and not to give the people back what they deserve!)

And Christian, God’s mercy IS ALWAYS FLOWING from His throne down to you, so we just need to try and keep that mercy flowing out from us onto the people around us.

Listen to how the Bible describes God’s mercy over in…

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Lamentations 3:22-23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.”

Do you know that the Bible teaches us that there are three things that God gives us fresh and new every day?

#1-God’s blessings are new everyday

#2-His strength is new everyday

#3-His mercy is new every day

Can I tell you why God’s mercy is new every day? Because we need it every day, and the good news for us is that as Christians

WE HAVE IT!

And as God gives us His mercy every day, He wants us in turn to give out mercy to the people around us!

And Fit 2 Serve Family, that is our good news today about

THE LAW!

Amen?

PRAY