James 2:8-9—The royal law

If, however, you are fulfilling the thebuddhasaidiamawake.com sale cialis tablets uk royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and viagra generico tadalafil meencantamurcia.es are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:8-9

You may think, Enough already, James! as the letter he wrote continues to expose preferential treatment in the church. But he had even more to say.

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

James started this thought with the word “if”. He wrote “If…you are fulfilling the royal law”. He knew full well that being born again did not automatically guarantee right thinking or godly behavior. Shocking as it may be, his use of the word if reveals that every believer has the capacity to choose contrary to God’s will.

He wrote that if you are fulfilling the royal law according to Scripture you are doing well. Within the cialis brandonshrair.com recreated spirit of us all is the power live according to the Word. Nevertheless, it is up to each one of us to develop the love walk in our own daily experience.

What is the royal law by which we should live? James quotes Leviticus. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (see Leviticus 19:18).

Evidently, James spent a lot of time meditating on this portion of Leviticus: “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord. You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:15-18).

This Old Testament exhortation carries the heart of the New Testament within it. James called it the royal law because it is the law by which the http://www.ithu.se/kamagra-nytt-pris/ King of the universe operates. Without the recreating power of Jesus, neither you nor I could ever dream of living this kind of life with any consistency. However, by His shed blood and the indwelling Holy Spirit, you are a partaker of His wonderful love nature, and because you are born of Him and bear His nature, you are capable of living this way. It’s up to you, though, to yield to Him and walk in it.

Do you ever wonder how you are doing in your Christian walk? James writes that if you love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. Walking in love toward God and man is your highest calling.

But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

No matter how much Bible knowledge you acquire; no matter how gifted you are in persuasion or prayer; no matter how selfless you are in giving or serving—without love you have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal; it profits you nothing; and you are nothing (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

James belabored this point due to the pervasiveness of Christian partiality. As believers, you and I are called to a higher walk, a royal lifestyle of loving with God’s love and being motivated by His motivations.

This simple, convicting, and profound truth is to dominate everything you and I do as believers of Jesus Christ. Functioning in any other way toward anyone in your life or your church is to live well below your calling. As a child of the King, you are royalty. Therefore the royal law is your law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Embrace your calling, child of the King!

Dorothy