Insulting the Christ
If, however, you are fulfilling the 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 James 2:8-9
Royal – There are lots of laws, but very few of them come with this kind of authority. James calls it a royal law. Since we don’t live under a king, we don’t feel the impact that his readers did. On the official decree was the stamp of the king. To disobey meant death. That makes it absolutely imperative that we understand exactly what this law is – not just what we thought it was.
James uses the word basilikos. It is associated with basileia, kingdom. But it is not about a place. It is about the reign and rule of a person. Wherever the king’s authority presides, that is the realm of the king. Since this law comes from God Himself, it governs every action in the universe. It extends to every part of His reign and rule.
So what is this royal law? James quotes Leviticus 19:18. Of course he does. It is the royal law of Scripture and, for James, that means the Old Testament. The law of the King never changed. Since we know that God’s law is really just an extension of God’s character, we might ask, “What does this royal law tell me about God?” The answer is startlingly simple – and it becomes the simplest of guides for this law’s true application. What this tells us about God, God Himself made perfectly clear in another passage of the Law (Exodus 34:6). “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” God’s definition of Himself tells us all we need to know about keeping this royal law. To love my neighbor is to act with compassion and grace, be slow to anger and abound in lovingkindness and truth.
Forget all the contemporary psycho-babble about “you have to love yourself before you can love others.” The royal law does not rest on your inner, emotional disposition. The royal law is about action. How do we know that? Because God acted with compassion, grace, restraint, love and truth toward us – even when He had absolutely no need or reason to do so! If God can love me as His neighbor when I so richly deserve His wrath, what excuse can I possibly offer for not reflecting His spirit on those of my own kind?
Failure to act on the basis of the royal law is the equivalent of spitting in the face of the Christ as He hung on the cross! God’s ultimate act of compassion was to freely offer up His Son for my sin. If I withhold any portion of my receipt of that love by failing to act for the benefit of another, then I insult the Savior – and the One Who sent Him.
Who’s your neighbor? Does the thought bring some face to mind, someone whom you avoid, disparage, resent, ignore or just don’t like? Look closer. Maybe you’ll see a glimmer of the King.
