Introduction
This is the second of our two studies under the
heading the "Royal Law".
The Royal law according
to the scriptures" This Law is Royal in its Source.
It is the Sovereign law of God, which is settled in
heaven.
It is the law of Christ’s
kingdom and as such, it is to control all the subjects
of that kingdom who are in fact royalty.
James highlights a particular
portion of scripture, to describe the Royal Law, it’s
the command. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself"
To abide by the Royal
Law, we must love our neighbour as we do ourselves.
The
Declaration of the Law.
James 2:9 But if
ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced
of the law as transgressors.
James 2:10 for
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in
one point, he is guilty of all.
James is saying that
if you show favoritism "you sin" and are convicted
as lawbreakers. You have offended God by your actions.
In God’s eyes favoritism is not a trivial thing,
it’s intolerable. We are reminded that no sin is
to be regarded as small or insignificant, because God
forbids all sin. No Christian can afford to be careless
with "The Royal Law of God". James reminds
us why we must not be careless with the Word of God.
A
Day that we must Face verse 12
James 2:12 so speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law
of liberty.
This
is a Strong Statement. James is saying, that
the Law of liberty shall judge us. This statement is
Inclusive and not an exclusive one. The Bible makes
it very clear that for some people there will be "no
condemnation" Yet it does not say that there will
be "no judgement"
A.
The Judgement of Sin.
This has already taken
place in the Past. It’s over. Sin was judged at
Calvary when God poured out the fury of His wrath as
Jesus hung on the cross.
Jesus gave Himself for
our sins that He might deliver us from this present
evil age.
The Believers sin has
been dealt with! God has no more charges against you.
"There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus"
2.
The Judgement of Sons Is
Present--- The Believer is now being judged as a son,
as a child in the family of God. God the Father does
not allow His Children to live, a law unto themselves.
Heb
12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth.
3.
The Judgement of Sinners
This will take place at the Great White Throne.
This great judgment comprehends the judgment of all
the unsaved of all ages
Rev.
20:11-15. All who are not found in "the book of
life" are cast into "the lake of fire."
4
The Judgement of the Nations—
This judgment is referred
to in <Matt. 25:31-46>.
The Lord will subdue
the Gentile Powers. He will rule with a rod of iron
and He will judge the Nations.
The peculiar basis of
this judgment is the way all nations have dealt with
Israel during the Tribulation period preceding the second
advent of Christ.
These nations will then
be subordinate to Israel as the millennial state merges
into the eternal state.
Judgement will come to
all. How sad it is that the unbeliever lives from year
to year without giving thought to eternal things.
God has forgotten, he
will not call me to account. Such are living in a state
of delusion.
Illustration.
William James-- a psychologist
once said "every physical sensation and every contact
that man has with the outside world, leaves a permanent
trace on a thousand million cells in the human brain".
What a sobering thought!
Everything that we say and do leaves its mark in the
human make up and it is recorded permanently.
Will God who made these
wonderful recording instruments forget what has been
recorded? Man likes to think that God has forgotten
but the law of God states
Eccl
3:15God requireth that which is past.
The sinner will be judged
for God will bring all things to judgment and all will
be judged according to the Royal Law of liberty.
5.
The Judgement of the Saints.
The day is coming when
every believer will be examined. They will be judged
by the law of liberty.
2
Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things
done in his body, according to that he
hath done, whether it be good or bad.
This is the day that
we must face! There is no question of the believer being
shut out of heaven or loosing their salvation.
For the judgement of
the believer’s sin took place at Calvary when Jesus
paid our dept in full. It is the examination of our
service.
It will be a judgement
of fire when all the service of wood, hay, and stubble
will be consumed and only the true God glorifying service
of Gold, Silver, and precious stones will remain.
On that day, it will
not be the quantity of a persons service for God that
will count but the quality
Beloved, on that day
the one whose eyes are like a flaming fire will judge
our Words, deeds, and attitudes.
Mat
12:36 But I say unto you, that every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in
the Day of Judgment.
Mat
12:37 for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
We cannot sin lightly
and serve God Faithfully. We need to be fervent in spirit
serving the Lord.
Lord
in Thy Name I go-- My daily labour to pursue
Thee
only Thee resolved to know
In
all I think or say or do
(A)
A Strong Statement "we shall be judged"
(B)
A Sure Standard "by the Law of liberty".
The Law of liberty shall
judge us. The law that gives us freedom, as Christians,
shall judge us, the law of God’s grace in the Gospel.
The Law of liberty has
set us free from the Law’s Covenant, which demanded
perfection, but only showed up our imperfection. Paul
states--
Rom
3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no
flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the
knowledge of sin.
No one shall be declared
righteous in God’s sight by observing the law.
It was the Jew’s ignorance of this truth that broke
Paul’s heart.
Rom
10:2-4 For I bear them record that they have zeal of
God, but not according to knowledge.
For
they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going
about to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth. KJV
The Jewish people, knowing
their need to have a right relationship with God, sought
to establish their own righteousness, and failed to
submit themselves to the righteousness of God. They
failed to realise that Jesus Christ is the end of the
Law for all who put their trust in Him because he has
perfectly fulfilled all the conditions of the law on
man’s behalf.
Bless God we are free
from the Law oh happy condition, for Grace has redeemed
us once for all
Illustration.
In Bruce Hunt’s "For a Testimony"
He tells of being captured by the Japanese during the
Second World War. He was then tried on some trumped
up charge.
The court made its decision
and the verdict was read in Japanese and then it was
interpreted into Korean. It came across to Bruce Hunt
like this "You are without crime"
Hunt then asked if this
was a suspended sentence? "No it is not a suspended
sentence! It is a suspended judgement". "Why
is this" asked Hunt?
The answer he received
was " The court did not find you guilty, and if
you do not get into trouble for a period of two years,
then everything will be alright.
Although the court has
not found you guilty, it has not declared you "Not
guilty" this is a suspended judgement. If you
do anything to offend the authorities during the next
two years then judgement will be executed.
Friends, the Believer
is not under a suspended judgement, because Christ has
redeemed us from the curse of the Law, becoming a curse
for us.
There is not a suspended
sentence or a suspended judgement hanging over our heads
because of our sins and our transgressions. The judgement
for our sin was meted out in full measure in the death
of Christ.
The
Wrath of God that was our due- Upon the Lamb was laid—
And
by the shedding of His blood the dept for us was paid.
The Christian is free
from the Covenant of the law and free from the Curse
of the Law. His suffering brought our release. His death
is our life and His hell is our heaven.
Because
my sinless Saviour died
My
guilty soul is counted free
For
God the just is satisfied to look on Him and Pardon
me.
Having received the law
of liberty through the gospel we are to live by and
to obey this Royal law. We are to love God with all
our hearts and our neighbours as ourselves.
A
Day that we must Face verse 12
James 2:12 so speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law
of liberty.
A Duty that
we must Feel v 12 "so
speak ye, and so do,
We are to speak and do
as those who are going to be judged.
1. Our Words will be judged—"speak
ye"
It is consistent of James
to bring this in first, for already he has touched on
the use of the tongue. Now he is writing in the context
of the day of judgement. What we say to people and how
we say it will come up before God. All our careless
words will be judged and every idle word.
Not only will those careless
and idle words be judged on that day, those words that
were carefully and deliberately chosen will also be
judged. Including those hurtful words of criticism,
those words of slander and deceit, and those words of
flattery and folly.
2. Our Works will be Judged. V 12 "and
so do"
The Apostle John wrote words which summarise
what James is saying.
I Jn 3:18 My little
children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue;
but in deed and in truth. (KJV)
We need to practise what
we preach. This was the desire of James for the Lord’s
people. They were not only to be hearers of the Word
but doers also. He stresses the importance of this by
placing this in the context of the Judgement to come.
Illustration—An
Anglican Bishop in giving his final charge to candidates
on the eve of their ordination into the ministry said,
"Tomorrow I will say to you "Wilt Thou,
Wilt Thou, Wilt Thou? But always remember that there
is a day coming that a greater than I will say to you
"Hast Thou, Hast Thou, Hast Thou"?
How important is this
phrase " so speak and so do"
We must ever speak and
act as those who are going to be judged at the judgement
seat of Christ.
The fact that God is
going to take every word and action into account on
that day, then surely we should take this into account
today.
1.
A Day that we must Face verse 12
James 2:12 so speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law
of liberty.
2. A Duty
that we must Feel v 12
3.
A Danger that we must Forsake.
James
2:13 for he shall have judgment without mercy, that
hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
James is telling us that
not only will our words and works be judged but
The way we treat others
will be judged. Our attitudes will be judged. As someone
has said, "what we weave in time we shall wear
in eternity".
James says in verse 13
if we have shown mercy to others in our speech and in
our actions, we will triumph at the judgement seat of
Christ.
James
2:13 for judgment is without mercy to the one who has
shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (NKJ)
The Greek word for triumph
is Kataauchomai, which means, "to have
no fear" for as we have judged others, we will
also be judged.
What a startling thought!
What a reality check! How we ought to live in a way
that will not cause us to be ashamed at the judgment.
It's a Royal Law, a Required
Law that the Christian shows mercy. The man who has
shown no mercy shall be judged without mercy. If we
have been mercifully toward others, God can be mercifully
to us.
Illustration:
When the saintly old Puritan theologian Thomas Hooker
lay on his deathbed in 1647, a dear friend said to him,
"Brother, you are going to receive the reward
for your labours," to which Hooker replied, "Brother,
I am going to receive mercy, because I've tried to show
mercy!"
Now I am not saying that
mercy can be earned, because it is impossible to earn
mercy. I am saying that the Christian, who shows no
mercy, shall have judgement without mercy. He will not
loose his salvation but his rewards.
Those Christians who
live selfishly, showing no love or mercy to poor and
needy men and women, will be shown no mercy when rewards
are given. James is applying what our Lord taught in
Mat 7:1 Judge not,
that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2 for with
what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Then James comes to
this conclusion. Verse 13 "And
mercy rejoiceth against judgement
Mercy triumphs over Judgement.
Receiving mercy from Christ saves us, and as we have
received His mercy then we should show mercy to others.
If we show mercy to others
then we will triumph at the Judgement seat of Christ.
A heart that is full of mercy will have no fear on the
day of judgement.
James is teaching in
this whole section that there must be no discrimination,
or favouritism based upon one's appearance, income,
or influence.
May we realize that from
God's standpoint, favouritism is ungodly, favouritism
is unreasonable, and favouritism is unlawful!! In light
of the Royal law. It is Unmerciful.
The Church is to reach
out in mercy to all, as Jesus reached out in mercy.
He was no respecter of persons. He reached out to the
richest and the poorest in society. He did not discriminate
because of race, respectability, or religious beliefs.
He displayed His love
and Mercy for all, when he went to Calvary to lay down
His life a ransom for many. At Calvary the ground is
level for rich and poor alike. It is level for all the
people of the world.
Red
and yellow, black and white, all are Precious in His
sight
May we ever remember
"Mercy Triumphs over Judgement"? The reality
of our faith is displayed in how we treat others.
May the Holy Spirit help
us to show mercy to others, that we might rejoice in
the mercy of Christ, as we stand before Him at the Judgement
Seat?
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