The Law of Liberty (1)

So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. James 2.12

Saved for good works
Martin Luther, the great 16^th century apologist for the doctrine of justification by faith, had some trouble with the Epistle of James, especially chapter 2. Here James labors to point out that true faith – saving and full faith – must be validated in good works.

Luther, concerned about the overemphasis on works in his day as the means to salvation, scratched his head over this and concluded that the book of James was a “right strawy epistle.” He didn’t reject it; he simply struggled to put together James’ insistence on good works with Paul’s explanation that justification is by grace through faith alone.

For many Christians today, that struggle continues. Grace has become an idol for many believers, who insist that God loves them just as they are, and He wouldn’t put any expectations on them that they weren’t up to fulfilling, especially not where the Law of God is concerned.

But the Apostle Paul reconciled the two ideas of grace and works in Ephesians 2.10, where he explained that those who have been saved by grace through faith are saved unto good works, specifically, those good works which God has before ordained for us to walk in.

The standard for conduct
Well, which good works might those be?

Back to James, and to his straightforward explanation: “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.” There is a standard for Christian conduct, and it has very little to do with what we think is right for us, what we feel is most agreeable. The standard by which we must speak and do, and by which God will judge our behavior, is the “law of liberty”, or, as James refers to it in verse 8, “the royal law.”

Christians should make sure that all our speaking and living are in line with this divine standard.

But this begs a further question: Which law is the “royal law”, the “law of liberty”? In the context of his statement – James 2 – and of the book of James as a whole, the apostle is quoting from 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. 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.

James believed that, in some very important sense, Christians, who are under grace in Jesus, are also under Law for the good works grace engenders.

The Law of God
So it’s clear that James means by “the law of liberty” the Law of God as expressed in the Ten Commandments, elaborated, illustrated, and explained by the statutes, precepts, and ordinances of ancient Israel.

Can this possibly be? Does James mean to say that the good works God has redeemed us for are the very ones explained in the Law of God, and that this Law is the standard for divine well-doing?

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. If we want to be increasingly free of the grip of sin and know the inward power of the Spirit of God, then we must embrace the Law of God and seek within its teaching the liberty and life only the Spirit of God can give (Jn. 6.63; 2 Cor. 3.12-18).

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? As we shall see in this study, in many wondrous and glorious ways, indeed.

For reflection
1.  Meditate on Psalm 1 and Matthew 5.17-19. What role does the Law of God play in your walk with and work for the Lord?

2.  Is it true that Christians are “under grace” and not “under Law”? Explain.

3.  Meditate on Hebrews 11.1 Christians are not saved by works, but we’re not saved without them. Explain.

Next steps: What is the position of your pastor and church leaders on the role of the Law of God in the life of faith? Ask a few of them.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 8 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “The Law of Liberty” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.