Tiago 2

Tiago 2

Piper - True obedience to God (not just to lists of laws) means more than outward performances which can be tallied in percentages (like 80 percent obeyed). Rather, true obedience is to be so transformed that we delight to do God’s will at multiple levels. We delight in his will as the excellent expression of his wisdom and justice and love. We delight in personal, close communion with him as our guide, which we would lose, at least for a season, if we acted against his counsel. We delight in his gift of a clean conscience. We delight in the smile of his approval. We delight in God himself whom we see and know more clearly when we walk in unbroken fellowship and obedience. We delight in the prospect of ongoing assurance and hope, which is jeopardized and weakened if we gradually slip away from him in callous disobedience. The point of James seems to be that willfully doing our own thing in one area while claiming to be doing God’s will in several other areas is a misleading and self-justifying way to look at it. As Alfred Plummer says, “To detect ourselves thus balancing a transgression here, against many observances there, ought at once to startle us into the conviction that the whole principle of our lives must be faulty. Our aim is, not to love God, or to obey Him, but to get to heaven, or at least to escape hell, on the cheapest terms” (The Expositor’s Bible, vol. 6 [New York: George H. Doran Co., n.d.], 588). READ: James 2:8-13 Lord, make me ever more aware of the eventual and inevitable results of my sin. May I realize that by violating Your spiritual laws I damage myself and the ones I love, not the law. Relieve me of my foolish thinking which tells me that because the consequences are not immediately evident, there are none. Oswald Chambers - The law and the gospel For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:10. The moral law does not consider us as weak human beings at all, it takes no account of our heredity and infirmities, it demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never alters, either for the noblest or for the weakest, it is eternally and abidingly the same. The moral law ordained by God does not make itself weak to the weak, it does not palliate our shortcomings, it remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we do not realize this, it is because we are less than alive; immediately we are alive, life becomes a tragedy. “I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” When we realize this, then the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a man gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Jesus Christ is a farce to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful binding sense of the law, it makes a man hopeless—“sold under sin.” I, a guilty sinner, can never get right with God, it is impossible. There is only one way in which I can get right with God, and that is by the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the lurking idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience—which of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection! We only realize the power of the moral law when it comes with an ‘if.’ God never coerces us. In one mood we wish He would make us do the thing, and in another mood we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in the ascendant, all compulsion is gone. When we choose deliberately to obey Him, then, with all His almighty power, He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us. GOD'S MERCY SYSTEM "Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty in all." - James 2:10 God's pardon is so full and free, For Jesus died on Calvary; It's granted to each sinful soul Who truly longs to be made whole. -- Dennis J. De Haan God's justice condemns us -- but His mercy redeems us 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. Amplified For He Who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not kill. If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become guilty of transgressing the [whole] Law. Phillips The one who said, 'Do not commit adultery', also said, 'Do not murder'. If you were to keep clear of adultery but were to murder a man you would have become a breaker of God's whole Law. Wuest For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not commit murder. Now if, as is the case, you are not committing adultery, but are committing murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. NET For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. GNT ὁ γὰρ εἰπών, Μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, εἶπεν καί, Μὴ φονεύσῃς· εἰ δὲ οὐ μοιχεύεις φονεύεις δέ, γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου. NLT For the same God who said, "You must not commit adultery," also said, "You must not murder." So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. KJV For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. ESV For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ASV For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. CSB For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker. NIV For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. NKJ For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. NRS For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. YLT for He who is saying, 'Thou mayest not commit adultery,' said also, 'Thou mayest do no murder;' and if thou shalt not commit adultery, and shalt commit murder, thou hast become a transgressor of law; NAB For he who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not kill." Even if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. NJB He who said, 'You must not commit adultery' said also, 'You must not kill.' Now if you commit murder, you need not commit adultery as well to become a breaker of the Law. GWN After all, the one who said, "Never commit adultery," is the same one who said, "Never murder." If you do not commit adultery but you murder, you become a person who disobeys God's laws. BBE For he who said, Do not be untrue in married life, is the same who said, Put no man to death. Now if you are not untrue in married life, but you put a man to death, the law is broken. DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY: Ex 20:13-14 De 5:17-18 Mt 5:21-28 19:18 Mk 10:19 Lu 18:20 Ro 13:9 Now if you do not commit adultery,: Lev 4:2,13,22 Ps 130:3,4 James 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Exodus 20:13-14+ “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. Deuteronomy 5:17-18+ ‘You shall not murder. 18 ‘You shall not commit adultery. CLASSIFYING FAVORITISM WITH "SERIOUS" SINS For (gar) - James will illustrate the unitary nature of the law by explaining that to break one law is to break the whole law. In so doing, he shows that favoritism is no minor sin, but ranks with sins considered far more "serious." Clearly, James is trying to make the point that practicing favoritism is a serious transgression, for these "serious" sins and favoritism are both equally glaring violations of the law of love (cf Ro 12:9, Ro 13:10, Ro 15:1-2, Gal 5:14). James now illustrates the unitary nature of God's Law by showing that to break one command is to become a transgressor of the whole Law. His point is that favoritism is not a minor offense that can be excused or overlooked. By placing partiality alongside sins such as adultery and murder, James demonstrates that it belongs in the category of serious violations of God's revealed will. The issue is not that all sins have identical consequences, but that every sin is an act of disobedience against the same divine Lawgiver. Thus, the person who shows favoritism cannot minimize his guilt by comparing his sin with what he considers more serious offenses. James is driving home the truth that partiality is a serious transgression because, like adultery and murder, it is a blatant violation of the royal law of love (cf. Romans 12:9; Romans 13:10; Romans 15:1–2; Galatians 5:14). In God's sight, favoritism is not merely poor judgment or social prejudice; it is sin against His Law and against one's neighbor. 🙏 THOUGHT - The practical implication would be that if there were any in the assembly who were actively practicing this sin, they need to understand it was serious and they needed to confess and repent of it. Don Anderson - God doesn’t grade sin. Sin is sin. And you’re saying “What about adultery? And murder? Certainly partiality’s not as bad as that?” Well James has been reading your mail! (Notes) POSB adds that "Partiality is a sin that selects and favors one person over another. It ignores and neglects a person. It casts one into oblivion, wipes one out; treats one as though he is nothing, absent, or non-existent. Thus, it is comparable to murder. It is the same root, the same cause, the same selfishness, the same lust, the same sin as killing. This stresses the seriousness of showing partiality. Scripture is clear in its warning: the church and believers are not to show partiality or favoritism to anyone." (Borrow The Preacher's outline & sermon Bible) Simon Kistemaker - James has selected the two commandments that are mentioned first in the section of the law that pertains to the neighbor (see Mt. 19:18-19 and parallels). The simple logic is that if a person keeps the one commandment but violates the other (ED: BECAUSE OF THE UNITY OF THE LAW), he is nonetheless a lawbreaker and God declares him guilty. (Exposition of James) Bruce Barton comments that "Jewish theologians of the day would have disagreed with James, saying some laws were "light" and some "heavy," meaning that breaking some was not as serious as breaking others. It might seem that stumbling on the act of showing favoritism is breaking one of those "least commandments," not nearly as bad as committing adultery or murdering. But God's law was not written with "heavy" and "light" commands so that obedience to some outweighed obedience to others. Believers are called to consistent obedience. From our perspective, there do seem to be degrees of sin. The immediate effects of some sins seem much more destructive and horrible than others. This is true. What we must remember, however, is God's perspective. He not only sees immediate effects, but he also sees hidden and long-term effects. And the long-term effect of all sin is rebellion against God." (See James - Page 53) He who said - Hiebert calls this "another Jewish circumlocution for God." Kistemaker adds that "this is a typical Jewish way to avoid using the name of God." Interesting thought considering the Jewish background of the believers James is addressing. Hiebert explains that "God explicitly set forth both of these laws. The one Lawgiver underlines the unity of the laws He established. The two laws cited, the first two precepts of the second table of the Decalogue, are both negatively stated: the negative mē with the aorist subjunctive expresses a peremptory prohibition; not even a single act of adultery or murder can be condoned. But the interest of James centers not on the individual commands but on the fact that the same God gave both. They equally express the will of the one Lawgiver." (Commentary on James) DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY (moicheuo)," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER (phroneuo)"- So to illustrate the seriousness of favoritism, James selects two of what most of us would consider the "more serious" sins, the breaking of either of which in the Old Testament would incur the death penalty. James will go on to conclude that those who commit these "serious" sins have become a transgressor (parabates) of the law just those who committed the sin of favoritism were considered as transgressors (parabates) of the royal law (James 2:9). A T Robertsonnotes that "The unity of the law lies in the Lawgiver who spoke both prohibitions." Craig Blomberg on adultery and murder - But why these two examples? One answer looks ahead in James, where in Jas 4:2–4 these ideas return, as people “murder” out of envy and are “adulterous” in their relationship with God (Jas 4:4). Another option is to look at the Sermon on the Mount in Mt 5:21–30, where these are the two laws out of the Ten Commandments that Jesus picks out to expand. Davids adds that murder was “frequently associated with discrimination against the poor and failure to love the neighbor,” which would fit James’s context well. In any event, his point in Jas 2:10–11 is to show that neglecting the poor transgresses a central tenet of God’s will. (James - Page 119) R Kent