Living the Royal Law
Wisdom From Above
June 20, 2021
Rev. Tim Sharpe
James condemns partiality in the church and calls believers to obey the "royal law"—loving your neighbor as yourself—enabled by Christ's mercy and freedom so the church reflects God's kingdom.
Summary
James rebukes the practice of showing partiality and says the church must instead live by the royal law: love your neighbor as yourself. To show favoritism is to transgress the law; to obey the royal law is to fulfill all that God requires. The gospel frees us from judgmentalism and debt through Christ’s mercy, which transforms our hearts and enables a life of liberty under the King. The result should be a church shaped by love for others, where each choice to love bears witness to our citizenship in God’s eternal kingdom.
Key Points
- Partiality is sinful and has no place in the church
- The positive alternative is the "royal law": love your neighbor as yourself
- Obeying this law fulfills what God requires; violating it makes you a transgressor
- The world lives by self-love and using others; the church must act differently
- The gospel and Christ’s mercy free and transform us to obey this law
- Loving neighbor is both a duty decreed by God and an expression of our new identity
- Each act of love matters because it demonstrates our citizenship in God’s kingdom
- The sermon closes with a prayerful longing for the church to embody this royal law
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