In Christ There is No East or West- James 2:1–13 (Part 2)

Rationale- 2:1–7 God-centered living sees people with God’s perspective

Biblical Support- 2:8–13

Our main focus for this section of James’s letter is…

God-centered living lives by the Moral Law of God

Although the term moral law of God may not be familiar to you, the concept is. Although humans are born in sin and naturally oppose God, they, by nature, know God’s moral laws. Paul writes this in Romans 2:14 “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law [referring to the Mosaic Law], by nature do what the law requires [referring to the Moral Law (i.e., the 10 Commandments)], they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.”

People all over the world have the same basic ideas of right from wrong. How is this so? Because when God created humanity, He made us in His image (Gen. 1:27), which included many aspects, one of which is morality.

Adam, when he rebelled against his good and gracious Creator, brought all mankind after natural procreation into the Fall. Although our natures were changed, we still retain the image of God (as James himself declares in James 3:9). One aspect of this image of God that moral law is still instilled, though it is ignored and rebelled against, as Paul teaches us in Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Romans 1:32 “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Alright, we have now laid the ground for our introductory overview of the Law in James, which will then help us understand the “royal law,” and the rest of the first half of James chapter 2.

In order to do that, we need to consider this in light of the story line of Scripture. Because the moral law is bound within the unfolding nature of the Bible itself, we must understand the Covenants in the Bible.

God-centered living lives by the Moral Law of God

I. The Importance of Covenants- Select Scriptures

We will unpack this thought a bit before diving into this section of James. First, as when we consider the Scriptures as a whole, or canonically, it is apparent that covenant is an important feature between the interactions between God and men.

The most important are well known: the covenant of works or the creation covenant (made with Adam in the Garden of Eden), the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and my personal favorite, the New Covenant.

It is through the New Covenant, or what some call the Covenant of Grace, that all humanity who will be saved are saved. In the Old Testament times, individuals who were saved were saved by believing the promise of the coming of Messiah through whom the New Covenant would be enacted, or “completed” in the language of the 2LCF 7.3. In the New Testament times, individuals are saved by believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it being the full discovery of the person and work of the Messiah Jesus.

But why covenants? Why does God interact with us on the basis of covenants?

Covenants, simply put, are binding commitments between two or more persons. We refer to marriage as a covenant (binding commitments between a husband and wife). We refer to church membership as covenant membership (binding commitments between members and the church.

Those examples are covenants among mutuals. Both husband and wife are human beings. Covenantal membership is between human beings.

Our relationship to God, however, is vastly different. We must always remember and maintain the Creator–creature.

“The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience to Him as their creator, yet they could never have attained the reward of life but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which He hath been pleased to express by way of covenant.” -2LCF 7.1

Unlike the covenants made between human beings, there are no mutual benefits for the members of covenants between God and men. Men are the sole beneficiaries and God is the sole benefactor.

Paul states this distinction well in Acts 17:24–28 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’”

Covenants are important. They are also necessary.

II. The Necessity of Covenants- Select Scriptures

Covenants, then, are vitally important, or we could accurately say are necessary. It would be impossible to have our sins forgiven and the righteousness of Christ deposited into our accounts without God condescending into covenant with His people.

A. Covenant of Works (Or, Nature, Creation, Life)- Gen. 1, 2, Hos. 6:7

*The importance of this Covenant can be seen in Scripture such as Rom. 5:12–19; 1 Cor 15:21–22. Adam was the “federal head,” the “representative” for humanity

*Gen. 3:15 will be unpacked with the remaining covenants and fully revealed in the New Covenant “This Covenant [of Grace] is revealed in the Gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of Salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the new Testament” (2LCF VII.3)

B. Noahic Covenant- Gen. 8–9

The Noahic Covenant guarantees a stable world into which the Seed of the Woman would come to save His people.

“The covenant doesn’t promise universal salvation, but it does guarantee universal preservation.” Tom Schreiner, Covenant, 35

“This covenant is a comfort, therefore, that however insane life becomes, however much instability we see around us, God’s promises will be fulfilled.” Sam Renihan, The Mystery of Christ, 82

C. Abrahamic Covenant- Gen. 12:1–3; 15; 17

There is a shift from mankind as a whole (Covenants of works and Noah) to a narrowing of God’s plan to the people of Israel from whom the Seed of the Woman would come.

It is from Gen. 12 onward (at least until the book of Acts) that the nation of Israel takes the forefront of treatment. There are three key points in this covenant:

Abraham is the focus (federal representative) as well as the individual through whom the Seed of the Woman would come

The land is promised (Canaan) in which the Seed of the Woman would be born

Blessings for the nations—it is through Israel that the Word of God would come, both written and incarnated—and through whom every nation, tribe, people, and language would be eternally blessed

D. Mosaic Covenant- Exodus

The Mosaic Covenant expanded and specified the Abrahamic Covenant, particularly with the people of Israel. It provided the instructions, blessings, cursings, and protections for Israel to live in the land of Canaan.

It also served pedagogical purposes, as Paul points out in Gal. 3:24. It was instructional to the people of Israel of their need for a heart transplant and (this is really important) the inability of human beings to “keep the Law” and need for a substitute (sacrifices).

E. Davidic Covenant- 2 Sam. 17; 1 Chron. 17

“A Davidic king will be the means by which the promises of land, offspring, and worldwide blessing will be realized.” Tom Schreiner, Covenant, 75

“Abraham’s inheritance of Canaan continues to determine the boundaries of the kingdom. The Mosaic Covenant simply expands on the obligations of the people in that land. And the Davidic Covenant focuses the kingdom into one person through whom obedience must be rendered, and through whom blessings and curses will fall on the nation.” Sam Renihan, The Mystery of Christ, 134

The Davidic Covenant, then, focused the means of the blessings to all nations into one Person, whom we know from Gen. 35:11 and 49:8–10 to come from the Tribe of Judah.

F. The New Covenant (Or, Covenant of Grace)- Jer. 31, Heb. 8

All of these previous covenants pointed to and anticipate the revealing, as the London Confession phrases it, of this glorious New Covenant, or Covenant of Grace.

Whereas the Mosaic Covenant could not forgive sins (Heb. 9:9–10), the New Covenant would enjoy complete and eternal forgiveness (Heb. 9:13)!

Whereas the blessings of the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants were stipulated on Israel’s obedience, the obedience of the Seed of the Woman guaranteed the enjoyment of the blessings for those whom He saves.

There is so much more we could say at this point, but for the sake of time we need to connect these covenants with the Moral Law as we study the book of James together.

III. Covenant and Moral Law

Our main thought this morning is: God-centered living lives by the Moral Law of God. What does this have to do with covenant, or for that matter what James is teaching us regarding favoritism/partiality? Much! In order to receive the full benefit of James’s teaching in James 2:1–13, we are going to pause and consider this vital topic of God’s covenant with us through Jesus Christ.

There are two ways, biblically speaking, to achieve eternal life: one through works and one through faith in Christ. Now, before you respond with objections let me say, no one can be saved through works.

Paul clearly teaches this in Galatians 3:10 “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.””

In other words, if you obey the Law perfectly, you will live. But Paul would go on to say right after that in Galatians 3:11 “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.””

The other way, the only way for salvation, is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He became man to obey and fulfill the Law in its entirety, take our sins upon himself, endure the holy wrath of God in our place, and rose from the grave the victor over sin and death that has plagued humanity for thousands of year. By whom, when we believe this Gospel (good news) we are saved.

Romans 10:8–13 “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

Connecting this back to James, consider our main thought this morning: God-centered living lives by the Moral Law of God.

The Moral Law, or natural Law, is the morality that stems from the holy character of God. It is universal, always current regardless of what time we examine in human history. For example, murder was wrong in Genesis 4:8–16, although there was not a written prohibition against murder such as we find in the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20:13. Why was it wrong? It violated the moral law, the law of nature, the character of God.

Believers live by the Law, not for salvation, but as a Rule of Life. Everyone else, those who are not saved by the grace of God, live by the Law (or, more appropriately try to live) attempt to gain salvation but will, as we see in James 2:13 will face the full judgment of the Law without mercy.

Doxological Response

Obedient Response

Gospel Response

Sinful Response