The Royal Law
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Today we’re continuing our series on a book of the bible that Jesus’ little brother wrote called James, and today James is gonna talk about a topic that’s very fitting for Mother’s Day. He’s gonna talk about the topic of love, in particular the topic of loving others, and even if you didn’t have a very loving mother growing up you’d still agree that a mother’s love is important. You’d agree a mother should always love her children, and if she has more than one child she should show love to each of them, without showing partiality or favoritism to any of them. In a similar way this is what James is teaching us in ch. 2. He’s teaching us to not show partiality or favoritism to anybody, but instead to show love to everybody, and like I said last week that doesn’t mean we can’t show or express our love in different ways to different people because we will. You’ll show your love in different ways in a marital relationship, than you will in a parental/child relationship, than you will in a sibling relationship, a friendship, or any other relationship you’re in. The way you show your love to people will depend on the nature of that relationship, but regardless of the relationship James is saying we need to show love to everybody, and today he’ gonna teach us this is more than just a moral ethic on equality, it’s actually a Royal Law from God. It’s a Royal Law from God, it’s a Royal Law from his big brother Jesus. So let’s turn to James 2:8-13 and get into it. The title of today’s message is “The Royal Law.” Jesus is our King, he’s given us a Royal Law, and his Royal Law is for us to love people not judge people...We’re to love people not judge people.
Context:
Here’s your context. In the end of ch. 1 James talks about the importance of being not just “hearers” of the word, but being “doers” of the word, meaning we need to practice what we preach. If we say we love Jesus, we need to strive to live out the teachings of Jesus. We need to be not just hearers of the word, but doers of the word. Now in James ch. 2:1-7 he gives us an example of how some Christians in his church aren’t being doers of the word, in particular when it comes to them showing partiality to the rich over the poor, they’re showing favoritism to the rich over the poor. James speaks against this partiality teaching them to not show partiality to anybody, but instead to show love to everybody, and today he’s gonna teach us this is more than just a moral ethic on equality, it’s a Royal Law from King Jesus. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
James 2:8-13 states this, “If you really fulfill the royal law...” James is talking about something his older brother taught. The royal law’s something Jesus taught. It’s first mentioned in a book of the bible called Leviticus, and in Matthew 22 Jesus gives it even greater worth by calling it the greatest of all God’s laws. I’ll read it so you can hear what the Royal Law is from Jesus himself. Matthew 22:34-40 states, “But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ 37 And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” So after looking back on all the laws of the Old Testament, all 600 plus laws Jesus says, “Here’s what it’s all about, here’s what the big idea of God’s laws is really about. It’s about love...It’s about love... If you love God and love your neighbor as yourself, you’re fulfilling everything God ever asks of you.” It’s all about love. In fact the word love is mentioned over 680 times in the bible, which tells us love is a major theme in the bible, and Jesus being a royal loving king gives us a royal loving law to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. The Royal Law is all about love. But some of the Christians in James’ church aren’t living out this Royal Law especially when it comes to loving the poor, so James is reminding them of the Royal Law to love. He’s reminding them that Jesus is our King, and his royal law is for us to love people, not judge people.
Again vs. 8, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.” Okay there it is, there’s the Royal Law. James is saying if these early Christians were really living out the Royal Law, if they were really being “doers” of the word and not just “hearers” of the word, they’d be loving the poor rather than showing partiality to the rich over the poor. The reason they’re doing this is because they’re selfish and have selfish motives. They’re not loving the rich to love the rich, they’re loving the rich hoping to get something out of the rich. They’re selfish, and the reality is the world doesn’t have a love yourself problem, it has a love God and love your neighbor problem. You and I, we don’t have a love yourself problem, we have a love God and love our neighbor problem. I mean don’t get me wrong, you might go to church, pray, read your bible, take care of the kids, take your neighbors trash can in, even let the person in the Publix parking lot walk in front of your car. But at the end of the day you love yourself, you’re more concerned about yourself than you are God and other people. The person consuming the most time in your head isn’t Jesus or your neighbor, it’s you. You’re the #1 consumer of your time, thoughts, and actions. Of course all this is true except for moms. The only break some of you moms get is if you lock yourself in the bathroom. The bathrooms like a safe room for you, but even that’s not a guarantee...Some of you moms give a lot of yourselves, but even you struggle with selfishness, even causing you to serve your family begrudgingly not lovingly. We all struggle with selfishness, and would rather be served than the one serving. Our issue isn’t love yourself, it’s love God and love your neighbor.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t love and care for yourself because you should. The Royal Law teaches you to love God and love your neighbor AS yourself, meaning you’re to love and care for yourself too. So I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with treating yourself to a pedi, a message, or some Bass Pro. I’m just saying you’ve already got that box checked off. We already have the love yourself box checked off. But the Royal Law teaches us to also love God and love our neighbors. So Jesus is like, “You already have the love yourself part down. In fact you’re loving yourself so much, that we need to reorder some things. We need to start with you loving God first then move towards loving your neighbors. I want you to put your eyes on me, so you can take your eyes of yourself and start seeing the neighbors beyond yourself. If you love me first, I’ll help to make your heart like my heart so you can love like I love.” The Royal Law starts with loving Jesus first, then moves to loving our neighbors. It starts with Jesus pouring out his love FOR you, then moves to Jesus pouring out his love THROUGH you. James says if we live this Royal Law out, we’ll be doing well, we’ll be doing exactly what his big brother Jesus wants us to do. Jesus is our King, and his royal law is for us to love people, not judge people.
Again vs. 8, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” James is telling the Christians in his church that what they’re doing is wrong, the partiality they’re showing the rich over the poor is sinful. He’s calling them out on being “hearers” of the Royal Law, but not “doers” of the Royal Law. For them loving your neighbor as yourself has become just another moral ethic to know, rather than a Royal Law to be lived. But James is telling them if they don’t live the Royal Law out, if they show partiality towards others, they’re committing a sin against the Royal King Jesus himself, because Jesus is our King...and his Royal Law is for us to love people, not judge people.
Again vs. 9, “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” Notice James says if we “fail at one point” in keeping God’s laws, then we’re guilty of failing in all of it. It’s because all the laws of God fall under the Royal Law. He uses adultery and murder as an example, but his point is regardless of the sin, regardless of it being a lie, gossip, adultery, or murder it’s all considered an unloving act against your neighbor and violates the Royal Law. He’s not saying all sins are equal in their temporal consequences or the effects it has on people, but he is saying all sins are considered a violation of the Royal Law. He’s not giving these Christians any wiggle room to justify what they’re doing, to justify their sin. But some people are like that, they try to justify their sins. They’re like little self-defense attorneys trying to minimize their sins, or compare their sins to other people so their sins don’t look as bad. They’re like, “Oh my sins not that bad. At least I’m not like that guy. I mean it’s not like I murdered anybody.” But James is saying regardless of the sin it’s all a violation against the Royal Law. “Yeah but I’m a good person and I do good things.” Don’t change the subject, because it’s not about being good or bad, it’s about being guilty or not guilty. Using James’ words it’s about being a “transgressor” or a “non-transgressor” of the Royal Law, which James is saying we’re all guilty of. But some people don’t act like they’re guilty of sin, instead they look down on other people for their sins. They run around judging people for breaking God’s laws, while overlooking or minimizing their own breaking of God’s laws. They judge the teenager who gets pregnant outside of marriage, while overlooking and minimizing their own sin of gossip. They judge the person struggling with porn, while overlooking and minimizing their own sin of greed and lack of financial giving to Jesus’ church. All of it’s a violation of the Royal Law, but we tend to judge others for the laws they break while overlooking or minimizing the laws we break. It’s hypocritical for us to do that, and James is saying regardless of the sins we commit, it’s all a violation of the Royal Law. He’s saying we’re all guilty of violating the Royal Law, which means nobody has the right to judge. Nobody has the right to judge others, except Jesus, which is James’ next point. Listen to vs. 12.
Vs. 12 states, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged...” James says to speak and act “as those who are to be judged.” He’s referring back to James ch. 1 saying they need to be doers of the word in both speech and action, and he says to do this as those who are going to be judged by King Jesus. Some Christians don’t realize this, they don’t realize they’re going to be judged by King Jesus. They think just because they believe in Jesus they won’t be judged, but that’s not true. We’re most certainly going to be judged by King Jesus. We’re going to be judged for our commitment to help spread the gospel and for how we’ve lived out the Royal Law. We’ll be judged for the way we serve the church, give to the church, help the church to advance the gospel, and for the way we’ve live our lives in and outside the church. Your service, your giving, your very own life has eternal purpose, it matters to King Jesus, and you’ll be judged for your commitment to help spread the gospel and for how you’ve lived out his Royal Law. So Happy Mother’s Day, you’re gonna be judged by Jesus!..Some of you are like, “Well this isn’t a very happy message. It feels more like judgement day than Mother’s Day.” But it is a happy message, we just need to keep reading to see it. Listen to what James says next, here comes the good news.
Again vs. 12 states, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” There’s the good news. There’s the good news, there’s the joyful part of this verse. It’s that James says we’re gonna be judged under “the law of liberty,” meaning the law of the gospel, the law of grace, the law of being forgiven of our sins because Jesus died for our sins. That’s the law of liberty, it’s the law of the gospel, and what this means is when you become a Christian you’ll still be judged, but not condemned...You’ll be judged, but not condemned, and knowing this should cause you to not serve Jesus out of a fearful burden of judgement, but instead out of a grateful joy because you know his law of liberty’s on your side. It should cause you to feel the weight of your responsibility in helping to advance the gospel and live out the Royal Law, but not be crushed by that weight because you know the law of liberty’s covering your inability to perfectly live that responsibility out. Jesus knew you and I were going to struggle with sin, so he came to die for our sin, and knowing this should cause you to respect Jesus’ judgement, but be thankful for his law of liberty setting you free from having to fear condemnation after judgement. You’ll be judged, but not condemned, and having received such grace, should cause you to want to extend such grace towards others. Having received such grace, should cause you to want to love people not judge people, which is exactly James’ point. His point’s that we’ve all violated the Royal Law of King Jesus, but King Jesus still gives us the law of liberty, still extends his love and grace to us anyways, so we should do the same. We should “speak” and “act” towards others according to the very grace we’ve received, according to the “law of liberty.”
Again vs. 12, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James says “mercy triumphs over judgement,” and mercy’s what happens when you don’t get the punishment you deserve. It’s what happens when you deserve to be punished for something, someone has the power and right to punish you, but instead of punishing you they have mercy on you. It’s like when you’re guilty of speeding, but the officer lets you go. You deserved a ticket, the officer had the power and right to give you a ticket, but instead of giving you a ticket they gave you mercy. Mercy’s where you don’t get the punishment you deserve. So when James talks about mercy triumphing over judgement, he’s talking about how we should receive eternal punishment for breaking the Royal Law, but Jesus is willing to have mercy on us. He’s saying you and I, we’re the neighbors...We’re the neighbors who don’t deserve Jesus’ love because we continually break his Royal Law, but instead of condemning us Jesus chose to take our punishment for us. Instead of condemning us he chose to pour out his Royal Love for us. Instead of condemning us he chose to come off his royal throne, enter human history, fulfill every aspect of his Royal Law, and give up his very own life as the greatest expression of his Royal Law. We broke his Royal Law but he’s such a great, loving, merciful king that he chose to pour out his Royal Love, and his mercy on the cross will always triumph over any eternal judgement or punishment we deserve. The good news for both Christians and non-Christians is that Jesus has enough mercy for us both, he has enough mercy to forgive anyone who repents of their sins, repents for breaking his Royal Law. If you’re not a Christian you need to know Jesus loves you, but you also need to know he’s not gonna let your rejection and rebellion against him last forever. But he most certainly loves you and is even extending his mercy to you even right now giving you a chance to turn to him. He has enough mercy to forgive you, me, and anyone who repents of their sins and turns to him. He’s that great, loving, and merciful of a king. His mercy will always triumph over any judgement. Those being not my words, but the words of Jesus’ very own little brother. James says Jesus’ mercy will always triumph over judgement.
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. Jesus is our King, he’s given us a Royal Law, and his Royal Law is for us to love people not judge people...Jesus’ Royal Law is for us to love people not judge people...So who’s your neighbor?..Who’s your neighbor, who’s the person or people groups you have a hard time loving and showing mercy to?..Is it a conservative, a liberal, a heterosexual, a person in the LGBT community?..Is it an ethnic group, an economic group, your spouse, your ex, your very own children? Some of you moms and dads are so stressed out that the neighbor you’re having a hard time loving and showing mercy to is your own kids. Who’s the neighbor you’re having a hard time loving and showing mercy to?
Look the truth is everybody’s our neighbor, and sometimes our neighbors are hard to love...Sometimes our neighbors are very hard to love, but James tells us we need to show love and mercy to them anyways. We need to show love and mercy to everyone, because it’s Jesus who showed love and mercy to us. That doesn’t mean you need to be agreeable with everyone or tolerant of sin, because Jesus wasn’t agreeable with everyone or tolerant of sin. Jesus loves us, but he doesn’t always agree with us. He transforms our sinful life, but he doesn’t tolerate our sinful life. So you don’t need to agree with everyone’s beliefs, you don’t need to be tolerant of sin, but you do need to be loving to everyone. James says the way to do that, the way to live out this Royal Law, especially with neighbors who are hard to love, is for us to look at the very love and mercy Jesus poured out on the cross. The more you look at Jesus, the more you look at his display of love and mercy on the cross, the more you’ll realize you have no right to judge others, because you’re the underserved neighbor. You’re the undeserved neighbor, but Jesus chose to show love and mercy to you anyways. The more you look to Jesus and realize that, the more he’ll change your heart to love like his heart. The more you look to Jesus, the more he’ll change your heart to be merciful like his heart. The more you look to Jesus, the more you’ll realize Jesus chose to become your neighbor to show you love and mercy as his neighbor, and he sends you out to spread his love and mercy to your neighbors. So let’s go do it. City Awakening let’s go advance his royal name, by living out his Royal Law to love people not judge people. Let’s advance his royal name by showing the people in our lives, homes, schools, workplaces, and city that it’s the loving mercy of Jesus, that will always triumph over judgement.