#BIBLESTUDY EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH. The Royal Rule - JAMES CH 2
Opening Statement
The spiritual needs of humanity take precedence over the political concerns of culture at large.
Background
I first read that sentence in a post by a long-time friend. Dr. Robert Smith is a former pastor, a gifted teacher, a Bible scholar, and a lover of fountain pens and all things Spam. His ability to explain Biblical truths in layman’s terms is a gift. I got permission to use his writing in my Timeless Truth post, “Serving the Gospel,” on 7/2/2020.
My Sunday school class is studying the book of James. The sessions are open discussions of a series of questions I provide. Often, insight from my class members humbles my thoughts on a topic.
I hope by the end of this three or four week (more if needed) series, you have an enhanced appreciation of James’s letter and a desire to address the Opening Statement in a manner you might not have considered before.
To give rightful credit to Dr. Smith, all quotes from his original “Serving the Gospel” are italicized.
Scripture quotes from James are from Eugene H. Peterson’s “The Message – The Bible in Contemporary Language.” Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson and used as allowed by the author.
The Royal Rule
8-11 You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: “Love others as you love yourself.” But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others. The same God who said, “Don’t commit adultery,” also said, “Don’t murder.” If you don’t commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you’re a murderer, period.
12-13 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.
Rules are a part of life.
- Without rules, society degrades to chaos.
- However, many societal norms evolve into rules over time.
The term “second-class citizens” is not found in the Constitution of the United States or the Bible.
- However, over time, all societies segregate members into castes or other forms of social rank.
- Jews in James’s time were not immune to the differentiation of rules for people in various societal levels.
For nearly 1000-years, most Jews were treated as second-class citizens, or lower, by their captors.
- Because humans are innately selfish without God’s spirit indwelling in them, there were always Jews of higher rank than most other Jews.
- Those Jews chose to “play up to... so-called important people.”
James makes it clear that not only is that wrong, but it’s also a violation of “The Royal Rule” of loving others as they loved themselves.
He goes on to clarify other thinking of the time.
- Sins can be ranked by badness.
- Not committing one of the worst sins removes the punishment for committing a lesser sin—or probably two or three lesser sins depending on the amount of badness separating the sins.
Negotiating your level of a sin's badness with God is not an option.
As I did last week, I’m letting James end this post.
- There’s no better way to live in this time in American history than
12-13 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.
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