The Royal Law
THE ROYAL LAW
JAMES 2:8-13
Why and how should we love one another?
It might have been objected that James was making too much of this one point. After all, it is a natural tendency, and it is only a small thing. James’ reply has two aspects: first, it is not a small thing, and secondly it is a sin and all sin is serious.
It is not a small thing, for the supremely important thing in living the Christian life is to practice love. James calls the requirement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” the “royal law.” That is to say, it is the supreme law, the law that matters above all others. It fits in with the words of Christ himself when he summed up the obligations resting on his followers to love both God and people (Mark 12:29-31). It is not without its interest that the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself is taken from Leviticus 19:18, and that in the immediate context we read, “you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great” (Leviticus 19:15). So to give special consideration to the rich, while putting the poor in a place of low respect, means to go against what is laid down in God’s law. It is to commit sin. Those who do this are transgressors (2:9).
Nor is there a defense that it is only a minor commandment that has been broken. To break any commandment is to become a lawbreaker. This is often lost sight of. Almost everybody in our society thinks they are generally living a fairly good life (it is always other people who do the really bad things). People are usually ready to admit there are some things they do which they ought not and that there are some things they do not do which they should. But it always seems to work out that the really serious sins are never those they themselves commit. In the face of such a common and natural human attitude, James still has something to say. To break a law of God, any law, is to become a lawbreaker. Nobody who thinks seriously about it can regard any sin as unimportant. We are responsible people. One day we must give account of ourselves to God. Judgment is a serious business. But James’ last word is on mercy (2:13).