Not good enough

If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 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. – James 2.8-11

The Law was a great thing. It set down God’s standard. It told the Jews, and it tells us, what sin is. It was our ‘schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Jesus summarised it pretty simply – ‘love God and love others’ because that is what all the Law amounted to.

So James writes ‘if you keep the law to love your neighbour as yourself’ you are doing a good thing; but…’

There always seems to be a ‘but.’

‘But that isn’t good enough’ James writes, ‘if you still show partiality you commit sin.’

James goes on to explain it – ‘if you keep the whole law, and only miss in one point, you are guilty of breaking the whole law.’ If you commit one sin you fall short of the glory of God. One sin – that makes the whole world guilty. Close isn’t good enough. All it takes is one slip up. Keeping 99.99% of the Law would do no good. When the Law is broken – it is totally broken.

And that’s why we need Christ. Only Christ completely fulfilled the Law – and He is willing to stand in my stead so that God chooses to look on the one who could complete the Law and pardon me who had no hope.

There is a ‘but’ but praise God there is another ‘but.’ I could never fulfil the Law, but Christ did it for me and offered me the benefit of it. My responsibility to the Law could not be completed in me, but it was when I accepted Christ almost 41 years ago.