I pray that God will change our lives for His glory by the study of His Word!
Digging Deeper 11 James 2:10-13
These past couple of weeks has been full of reminders to be thankful. It is so important that we realize that God supplies our needs according to His riches in Heaven. We must be thankful to God for the clothes on our backs and the food on our tables, the roof over our heads but knowing any one of these or all of these can be gone tomorrow causes us to understand that to be truly thankful is to realize that we have a relationship with God through Christ and that nothing can separate us from. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-40 It is for this reason that we can always come to the Lord with Thanksgiving. Let’s dig a little deeper in God’s Word.
James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. The set up here is guilt. James is following the previous thought that if we show partiality then we have sinned. How can the guilty be partial, deciding who should receive the grace of God? If we stumble at all we are guilty of all! There is not one of us that have kept the law of God to perfection which makes all guilty of all the character of God.
James 2:11 For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. God is holy and to do anything outside of His holy character makes us guilty against His holiness. James now makes reference to one of the laws of God; maybe you are not guilty of adultery but if you are guilty of murder than the fact that you are not guilty of the adultery is a mute point. Holiness is pure without any sin at all. That is why that we can never be just guilty of small sins but innocent of the big stuff because of “He who said” is God and anything outside His holiness is sin!
James 2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. This is a direct reference again to the previous verses concerning partiality. We should speak and act like people who have liberty. We should not be legalistic in our view of others because we to are guilty, rather we should act and speak as people who have been freed from our guilt. It is not condoning some ones sin when we show mercy, we are not freed to sin but we have been freed to enjoy the liberty we have in Christ not to sin. We have not been freed to become judge and jury of others but to show mercy as we have experienced in the law of liberty we have in Christ!
James 2:13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. The will be no mercy for those that show no mercy. God’s mercy is abundant but at judgment time there will be no mercy. God is the eternal judge so who are we to withhold mercy? Then James makes this profound statement “mercy triumphs over judgment.” When mercy is shown there is still hope, there is still a chance that things can be worked out. But when a judgment is made it is finished. While we are living in this world we experience the mercy of God but there will come a time when mercy will be no more. Hebrews 9:27 And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment. There are grave consequences for not showing mercy to one another. Mercy’s triumph over judgment is good guidance in living for Christ.
Now that we have Dug a little Deeper what do we believe?
What do we believe about God?
1. God is holy and to do one thing contrary to His holiness is a trespass against His entire character.
2. God is merciful.
3. God’s mercy will not strive forever there is a judgment.
4. Mercy triumphs judgment.
What do we believe about ourselves?
1. We are all guilty of the whole law of God.
2. We are in no position to judge who should receive God’s grace.
3. Without the mercy of God we are stand guilty before His judgment.
4. Mercy triumphs judgment.
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