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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
The title passage from which this series gets its name is James 2.12-13. It reads: “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." This text contains the expression Mercy Triumphs over Judgment as well as another phrase of interest, the law of liberty. Yesterday, we noted that this latter phrase is contained in James 1.25 except it is amplified by the addition of the word perfect before it such that it reads the perfect law of liberty. This somewhat paradoxical expression is the focus of this three lesson sidebar which will end tomorrow.
We will summarize some earlier observations as we begin today's message. 1) Law and liberty are not mutually exclusive; in fact they complement one another. 2) Perfect things, especially laws, come only from God. 3) There is but one perfect law of liberty. 4) Grace and mercy are not external to the perfect law of liberty; they are inherent within that law (the Gospel system).
We add a fifth point to the list above; Liberty gained through the perfect law can be forfeited or lost. Paul wrote to the Galatian brethren, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law [of Moses]. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by [Moses'] law; you have fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5.1-4). The perfect law of liberty in James 1.25 is equal to the liberty by which Christ has made us free in Galatians 5.1. In as much as mercy and grace are inherent within the perfect law of liberty, those who turn back and who do not stand fast in that law “have fallen from grace.”
A sixth point in the current effort is this: Liberty is produced by law; not vice versa. In this case, liberty is the object of the law, hence the expression “law of liberty.” Without that law, the law which has liberty as its objective, there can be no liberty. This concept is fully consistent with the fact that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14.6). Jesus came to set at liberty the captives (Luke 4.18) and He made that possible through the Gospel system. Since things are equal to each other that are equal to the same things, “The way” of John 14.6 is equal to the Gospel, and these are equal to the perfect law of liberty! This law produces liberty from many things, but the most important consideration is the fact that it produces liberty from the burden and guilt of sin. No other law can do that, period! Just as surely as there is but one Jesus, there is but one way, and that way is the perfect law that produces liberty!
As we segue to the final installment concerning the perfect law of liberty, I would like to pose some questions for consideration; here they are: 1) Is the perfect law of liberty a law of the letter or a law of the spirit? 2) Is it possible for people who follow this law to become legalistic and nullify a portion of its effectiveness? 3) Is there a way to prevent and/or deal with legalism that might derive from following the perfect law of liberty?
God's way is always right! We know that it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps (Jeremiah 10.23). We also know that God cares enough that He will not leave us without the means that we need to arrive and remain in a place of spiritual safety. Sin is crippling; liberty is exhilarating and contagious. The perfect law of liberty is God's way of guiding our steps aright!
Questions:
1. What result did Paul say occurred when believers attempted to be justified by the law of Moses (Galatians 5.4)?
2. Jesus was a man; not an inanimate object, yet He said He was the way. How is He the way? Are directions needed to follow a way? From whom do such directions come if we are speaking spiritually?
3. Does law imply legalism? Why or why not?
4. Is it possible for grace and mercy to be inherent within the perfect law of liberty? Why or why not?
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