by Harry BuererThe apostle James wrote one of the earliest epistles that became part of the New Testament. We’ve already mentioned that he alluded to the fact that believers to whom he was writing met in synagogues (2:2), even though most Christian translators won’t translate it literally.
Admittedly James (or Jacob) seems to be writing to a Jewish audience, as he addresses them as “the twelve tribes”. But he does mention the Law at several points during his epistle, and always in a positive context. Let’s look at these instances.
In James 1:22 he is speaking about not merely listening to scripture, but doing what it says. As a remedy, he prescribes looking “into the perfect law that gives freedom.” This often takes us aback because we’re not used to thinking of God’s Law as giving freedom. We sing hymns with lyrics like, “Free from the law, oh happy condition.”
James does seem to be alluding to passages like Psalm 19:7, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul”, and Psalm 119:96, “To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless”. He may also be alluding to passages like Psalm 119:32, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.”
Many of us think, inaccurately, that it is the law that Jesus has set us free from. Paul discusses this in Romans 7 and 8. He goes to great lengths to show that it was not the law that enslaved, but sin. The law, of course, defines sin, so in a sense it can be said to be a contributor. But Paul emphasizes that, “The law is holy” (7:12), “the law is spiritual” (7:14), and “the law is good” (7:16).
Paul says that “I delight in God’s law” (7:22) and I “am a slave to God’s law” (7:25). But he contrasts that with what he calls a “law of sin” making him a slave and a prisoner. It is this sin principle that Jesus sets us free from, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
“The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God” (8:6-8). But those that are controlled by the Spirit can. Paul says that God condemned sin, “in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (8:4). This is consistent with the words of the prophets in speaking about the new covenant, that the law will be internalized (Jer. 31:33), and that it will be the Spirit of God that moves people to keep his laws (Ezek. 36:27).
James echoes his words later in the epistle when he says, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom” (2:12). This idea of the law giving freedom seems to be central to James’ thought in this epistle. And it is to be the standard by which we are to live.
This is contrasted in chapter 4 with the idea of judging the law. James equates judging a brother with judging the law, and “When you judge the law you are not keeping it” (4:11). Clearly James is opposed to judging the law and in favor of keeping it.
The other place that the law is mentioned is in James 2:8. “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’, you are doing right.” Lest we think that James is only endorsing this one command, he goes on to say that the law is a whole; if you break one part, you are guilty of breaking all of it.
This particular command, given in Leviticus 19:18, is used by Jesus, along with the command in Deuteronomy 6:5 to love God, as a summary of all the commands in the law (Matthew 22:37-40). It’s not a substitute for the others, but an encapsulation. All of the commandments involve either our relationship with God or with other people.
It’s clear from James’ mentions of the law as perfect, royal, giving freedom, and to be kept rather than judged, that James is on the same page as the writer of Psalm 119 who said, “All your righteous laws are eternal” (119:160). He didn’t expect them to be time-bound or obsolete.