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The Royal Law; James 2
“If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.” James 2:8
How we live matters more than what we say we believe. At the core of James 2 is the “royal law” - loving your neighbor as yourself (James 2:8). It’s not a suggestion; it’s the backbone of following Jesus. James shows us how this law exposes our failures and demands that our faith shows up in our actions. This isn’t just ancient advice; it’s a challenge for us right now. The royal law needs to shape our lives. Your faith depends on it.
James 2:8 puts the royal law in focus, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” First found in Leviticus 19:18, Jesus Himself promotes the royal law in Matthew 22:39. In Romans 13:9, Paul points out that loving your neighbor wraps up the whole law. Don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet - all of it comes back to loving your neighbor. It’s not complicated, but it’s not easy either. This law isn’t just words; it’s the standard God holds us to every day.
Partiality breaks the royal law. In James 2:1-7, he paints a picture of two guys walking into our assembly. The first is a rich guy in fancy clothes, while the second is a poor guy in dirty rags. If you roll out the red carpet for the rich man but shove the poor man to the side, you’ve just violated the royal law. Love doesn’t care about bank accounts or social status. It doesn’t care about what a person looks like. God does not play favorites. In Samuel 16:7 we’re told, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Love for our neighbor challenges us to develop the same sort of vision. When we fail, we’re not just being rude; we’re sinning.
Faith proves itself in action. James says very clearly, “faith, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). If that were not enough, he repeats this in James 2:26, “faith without works is dead.” Loving your neighbor isn’t a feeling, it’s an action. He’d already warned us in James 1:22 to be “doers of the word, not merely hearers.” Talk is cheap; real faith moves. In the context of James 2, if you fail to love your neighbor - if you show partiality - then your faith is dead.
Abraham’s example of offering Isaac may seem to challenge the notion of love for your neighbor as the royal law. In fact, Abraham’s example reminds us of a crucial aspect of our faith. While loving your neighbor is the royal law, love for God is “the great and foremost commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). Love for God demands obedience to His commands without exception (John 14:15; I John 5:3). More than that, we actually demonstrate our love for others when we love God and obey Him. I John 5:2 says “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.” James also gives us the example of Rahab. She risked everything to hide the spies because she trusted God (James 2:25). Her faith wasn’t quiet; it acted. Both show us that living out the royal law isn’t optional, it’s proof our faith is alive.
The royal law isn’t a side note in James 2; it’s the main event. Loving your neighbor as yourself means rejecting partiality and backing up your faith with real, tangible works. We can’t claim to love God while dismissing the people around us. Be extra careful not to play favorites. Put your faith into action. Live out this royal law every day, and you’ll show the world what following Jesus really looks like.
