In what manner, and in what respect are Christians to fulfill God’s Law in the New Covenant? Are you doing so?
Am I Fulfilling Loving My Neighbor as Myself?
James 2:8-13
Please turn to James 2:8-13. As you are turning there, I want to get our minds jump started into thinking about things concerning God's Law. For a lot of folks, when they think of the Law of God, they immediately think of the ten commandments handed to Moses on stone tablets at Sinai. They think about those commandments, or they think about all the 613 commands that are found all throughout the full Old Covenant Mosaic Law. For us Christians, when we think of living according to the Law, we should be thinking about living according to a New Covenant recognition, and a New Covenant understanding of God's particular Law for His church. Let's keep this in mind, because James uses a lot of law language in his epistle. Since He does this, we need to know exactly what he means. For example, when we Christians are urged to abide by God's law, we need to know what that means in the New Covenant. What shape does that take?; And, how do we know what shape it is? We need to know, because this is the language in our passage under study this morning. Please read our passage along with me now, James 2:8 through 13;
"8 If, however, you are fulfilling ["If you really fulfill"] the royal law according to the Scripture, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,' you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 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. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by [or under, ESV] the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be [is] merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." James 2:8-13
Prepare your hearts with me for the sacred preaching of God's word, in this sermon titled,
Am I Fulfilling Loving My Neighbor as Myself?
[prayer]
James is telling us that we do well in fulfilling the royal law to love our neighbor as ourselves according to the Scripture. Love is a fruit of the Spirit, and we do this fruit of the Spirit ourselves according to the word of God. Love is the substance of the royal law and it is the supreme law of God Who is the Sovereign of the universe, and also of Christ the King of the Messianic kingdom Who is Christ the Lord of the church. As a template for living, James goes on to say that we must speak and act as people who are to be judged by this law, which is not a law of bondage, but rather, it is the law of liberty. The law of liberty, according to James, brings judgment upon those who do not practice it, and it indicts without mercy in recognition that it has been broken. Mercy, though, on our part, as a love manifestation, triumphs over judgment, and so when we practice the law of love, (especially in mercy) there is true liberty for us. Wonderfully, we are judged as doing what we are judged by. Though it may not seem to be, the amazing fact is that this is the true freedom in Christ that we have in obeying Him as our King. But, (and this is very important) all of this has to do with the principle that our Father actually commands us to be obedient and obey this law. But a lot of Christians don't understand this. They get all bent out of shape when you mention that God mentions rules, precepts, anc commands for Christians to do. They go wacko when you mention a law that has to do with living the Christian life. They say;
This isn't rue freedom.
This isn't true liberty--what love is this?
Recently, I read some very revealing words by New Covenant theologian, John Reisinger. They are words that reflect some essential issues in our day when it comes to preaching and living according to God's commanded precepts. Listen, as I read, and you will get the sense of what I am talking about. Reisinger says,
"The message to the believer is not "rely and relax," as is preached so glibly today, but it is "trust and obey." If we are not accused of being antinomians when we preach justification, we are not preaching a clear message of sovereign grace ..." John Reisinger
An antinomian is someone who does not believe that we are to obey God's law. So Reisinger is saying:
The message to the believer is not "rely and relax," as is preached so glibly today, but it is "trust and obey." If we are not accused of being (people who do not believe that we are to obey God's New Covenant law) when we preach justification, we are not preaching a clear message of sovereign grace.
But this is only half of the quote, and we need to get the rest to get the full meaning of what Reisinger is actually intending. He continues with his actual words to explain the critical balance,
"... Likewise, if we are not accused of preaching legalism when we preach forcefully that it is just as essential for a believer to experience biblical sanctification as it is to be justified, then again we are not preaching the whole council of God."--John Reisinger
The whole issue of what James is writing in our passage under study, and the focus of what I am preaching this morning, where I am urging us to ask ourselves the question; Am I fulfilling loving my neighbor as myself?, has to do with trusting God in salvation, and then from that trust, going on to make it your operating ambition to obey God by obeying His New Covenant commandments, and more specifically what should be recognized as fulfilling His law to us in the New Covenant. This is not legalism. It is Living the Law of Lovism. To understand what all of this talk about New Covenant Law means, in respect to royal law, and law of liberty, we must back up a bit to the first chapter and get the essential definition from what James says in 1:21-25. James has already touched upon the foundational groundwork. He has been building upon it layer by layer. It is there that we need to remember that James says,
"21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ...
Okay, I want us to be thinking about James' usage of the phrase, "the word," and in particular, his urging us to be "doers of the word." These terms are very important. What James says next is also important when he uses the exact same language of 2:18-13. Notice the mirror language, and notice that being a doer of the word mirrors being a doer of the perfect law of liberty;
... 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." James 1:21-25
Immediately we see that there is a connection to what James calls the word, and being a doer of it, and the perfect law--the law of liberty, of which being a doer is the same thing. This is because the word of God is the law of God. Let's survey this scene some more to get a good breakdown of what James means in 1:21-25. This is important because this is our key to our text this morning of 2:8-13. The main point that I want us to see as quickly as possible is that the word of God to us, is the law of God to us in the respect that it is His decrees, precepts, good news, and revealed truth. Additionally, of course, the Word is also Christ. Keeping this in mind, there are three important things that are welded together in a holy union that reflect our reception of the word in respect to the New Covenant:
1) When the Word, which is God in Christ, is implanted within you in the spiritual sense, His righteousness is imputed to you. This is the sense that Christ is in you, Colossians 1:27, and also, you are in Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:30.
2) When the word of God, in His law, His precepts, and His decrees, is implanted within you in the learning sense, His righteousness is imparted to you, Hebrews 5:13-14, ie. "word of righteousness."
3) When you do the law implanted within you, in the practical sense, then you are fulfilling it in your actions, which is to be impacting both yourself and others with God's righteousness, James 1:21-25.
This is how we have imputed righteousness in Christ, and it is how we have imparted righteousness in the form of revelation in how to understand, and live out the righteousness of Christ, and it is how we have impacting righteousness in living out the righteousness of Christ. In all instances, the word implanted is a certain love-work in regard to the law of Christ, which is the Law of our King of kings and Lord of lords, which is also called the royal law. In 1:18, James says that the gospel is the word of truth, where God gave us birth by the word of truth. Then James says that we saved people are to receive the word implanted in 1:21. James is talking about the word of God, and he is mentioning it in the respect of comprising many categories. The word of God is the gospel, which means good news. The word of God is God's precepts. The word of God is the whole canon of Scripture as the Bible. The word of God is His revelation to us. The word of God is the word of truth that James has been writing. The word of God is the royal law, which is the law of love, which is our great perfect law for life-actions in the New Covenant. All Christians are saved by the word of truth, and so we must also live out our saved lives according to the word of truth, which is God's law. And so James continued his explanation in chapter 1, in verse 22 to say, prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. Likewise this means don't just be a hearer of God's law as His revelation to you, but do God's law, and the essence of it is love. This is what James means in our immediate passage under study and this is what James has been explaining, where he has touched upon the word of God as the canon, as the Bible, as truth, as gospel, and as precepts--as also the perfect law, as the law of liberty, as the royal law, which is the law of love; where James says,
"25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." James 1:25
All of these things that James has covered from the beginning of his sermon epistle to the Israelite Christians, informs our understanding of what our text means this morning. In a nutshell--what this means, is:
Our perfect Law is the Law of love, and you and I are to do it.
Jesus taught on His royal Law in Matthew 22:36-40. Jesus also taught it as a new commandment to His students by changing it from loving your neighbor as yourself, to loving your fellow Christian as Jesus loves you in John 13, where he said;
"34 A new commandment I give to you, [His students, or disciples] that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John 13:34
Post resurrection, John, who was there when Jesus gave that new commandment, and recorded it for us with his own pen in John 13:34, later puts it as two statutes,
"This is His commandment, that
a) we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, [which is to love God with your whole heart] and
b) love one another, just as He commanded us." 1 John 3:23
This is important background information about this New Covenant law. So with all of these things in mind, we come to our text and we get the very important exhortation for how to be doing well in our Christian walk, and we all want to be doing well. Look at our text, James 2:8,
"8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,' you are doing well."
We know what the royal law of the New Covenant is. Now, we need to check ourselves to see if we are fulfilling it. This is the big concern, and what I want to get across is that it takes all of God's New Covenant revelation to us for us to understand completely what it means to fulfill the royal law, or as the ESV renders the Greek, to really be fulfilling the royal law. We know that it has to do with love, and we know that James has been rebuking people in the church for showing personal favoritism for the rich, clean, and famous Christians, over those Christians who are poor, dirty, and not so famous. To show such partiality is not to be fulfilling love. Being concerned and caring for every so-called financial class of the body of Christ is one important way we fulfill the royal law. There are other ways to manifest this love, But please listen to what I am about to say:
Before you can manifest fulfilling true Christian love according to the perfect, royal, law of liberty, it must be done for you.
What I mean is that someone else must fulfill the royal law for you first, and then from that Person's perfect fulfillment, you are enabled, encouraged, and indoctrinated through the word, to fulfill love in your life toward other Christians. That Person who fulfills the royal law perfectly is Jesus Christ. Remember, Christ explained that the royal law existed within the Older Covenant, by explaining that even the whole Old Covenant Law of Moses depended upon it. The lawyer approaches Jesus and says,
"36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" Matthew 22:36
Jesus answers him,
"37... 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' 38 "This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-40
The problem is that no mere earthly human shall do, could do, or did do these requirements perfectly. Then there was the rich young ruler that thought he was keeping the commandments of the Old Covenant Law of God perfectly. Nevertheless, when Jesus gave him another commandment to love Him by following Him, we read of the impacting revelation;
"21 Jesus said to him, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'" Matthew 19:21
Two things--
1) come follow Jesus, is to love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.
2) go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, is to love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus was giving the high standard of perfection that is required, and the standard is perfect love. Remember--God requires perfection for salvation. But who can do it? This is the big question we must contemplate as we see what happens next,
"22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. 23 And Jesus said to His students, 'Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'" Matthew 19:22-24
It is actually impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, at least alive and in one piece, and aside from being a miracle of God. And as the exegetical scholar DA Carson points out, there is no recorded gate to any ancient city that was referred to as the eye of a needle. Calling the eye of a needle here in Christ's teaching, a supposed gate in a city, is something that was suggested in a sermon somewhere, or in a book, and for some reason many preachers became familiar with the references and started preaching it as a fact, but it is not a fact. Such a description of the gates to ancient cities of that region is a modern day fiction. Jesus was actually talking about a real little sewing tool called a needle--You know, where it sometimes takes a couple of tries to get the thread to go through the tiny hole, called and eye. But, the impossibility of this whole scenario is what is of great importance to us, and Jesus' students realized this too, so they responded,
"25 When the students heard this, they were very astonished and said, 'Then who can be saved?' ...
[They knew that Jesus was talking about a tiny sewing tool and a giant camel, so they see the daunting import of the illustration that Jesus gives, and it doesn't look very promising to the eyes of the flesh. Jesus knows that with people this is impossible too, and so Jesus goes on,]
... 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, 'With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:25-26
You see the high standard of love requires everything from you. This is the way it is with the perfect, royal, law of liberty. But it requires even more than everything from you. It requires perfection. With mere imperfect humanistic religious efforts it is impossible. In fact, even if you tried, you would fail, but with God all things are possible.
In Christ's great sermon--the sermon that he preached on the mount that we find in Matthew 5-7, He preached under the Old Covenant while explaining the New Covenant. He explained that his students, and the various people who were listening were not to think that He came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. He did not come to abolish but to fulfill. In fact, Jesus said that until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Mosaic Law Covenant until all is accomplished. In the meantime, the Old Covenant Israelites were not to annul one of the least of the commandments, nor teach others to do the same. In Christ's teaching He said that unless their righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Generally, contemporary Christians think of Pharisees as unrighteous hypocrites. But, many Pharisees were very strict Old Covenant law keepers, and respect to Old covenant law righteousness some of them could be found blameless, such as Saul of tarsus, Philippians 3:5-6. In fact, there were Pharisees that believed in Jesus as their Messiah, and followed Him. So, we need to understand today that when Jesus preached to Old Covenant Israelites in the sermon on the mount, he is telling them that their righteousness needs to surpass that of men who are able to be found blameless in respect to the Old Covenant Mosaic Law, like the Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus. But the question for the Israelites to whom Christ was preaching, is;
Who among us can fulfill this commandment?
What Pharisee among Pharisees can fulfill being more righteous than themselves--the very Pharisees being referenced for comparison?
Who, my Lord--tell me who can manifest perfect righteousness?!
It would require loving more perfectly than the most loving Pharisee,
But who can do it?
The Messiah goes on preaching and he quotes the Law of Moses and says,
"21 You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.'" Matthew 5:21
To commit murder is to transgress the great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. But Jesus goes on and says,
"22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." Matthew 5:22
In other words, the command to love is deeper and more comprehensive than the harsh act of murder. The nuances of love even cover anger. Love covers name calling that demeans someone's value. But, who can fulfill the righteousness that this commandment demands? Unless it is done, fiery hell awaits you. Who can love in this way, which is the perfect way? Then Jesus preached,
"27 You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY';" Matthew 5:27
Committing adultery is to show people that you don't love them. When you commit adultery, you demonstrate that you have a certain kind of hate for your spouse, and then further, you demonstrate that you lust for another person in hatred for their life which is accountable before God. In other words, in adultery, you demonstrate that you have not loved your accomplice in sin, whereby you actively cause them to sin against God with you. But Jesus goes on and says,
"28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28
In other words, in your thoughts, you have shown what is paramount to be certain element of hatred for your spouse. In your thoughts your object of immoral lust is not loved as God's special child that is meant to be holy and sanctified before Him. Rather, she, or he, is lusted for as a sex object to be used in a type of hatred that satisfies your own flesh at the sake of someone else's value in purity. So the question pushes itself to the front of the line. It stands there conspicuously. It won't go away. Who can love perfectly? Who can love perfectly when the standard of love is there to reach down even into your inner chamber of secret thoughts about others. Everyone who heard the sermon on the mount realized that they fall way, way, short of the high standard. We realize it too. Then Jesus goes on,
"38 You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." Matthew 5:38-39
Jesus is talking about a high standard of love that seems, to the natural mind, to be impossible to fulfill. He says,
"40 If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also." Matthew 5:40
What love is this? You didn't ask for anyone to take you to court. But the Royal Ruler of the Royal Law of the Messianic kingdom says to give those litigants the shirt that they want, but give them even more! It is the supernatural, perfect love that the God-man is preaching, because the God-man defines what love is. But really folks--who can fulfill this love? Jesus says,
"41 Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two." Matthew 5:41
Is this not a very, very, high standard that Christ preached as a requirement in His sermon? And;
"42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you." Matthew 5:42
These are all the ways that God reveals in His word of truth for fulfilling love, and just so that the critics will be silenced concerning the fact that Jesus is talking about the perfect law of love, Jesus states it plainly in His next words,
"43 You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" Matthew 5:43-47
It is love as is defined by God in its perfect standards, and so Jesus ends the point with the big bomb. It's the missile that eliminates all who think they are so pious that they succeed to do what only One can do,
"48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48
After the debris from the explosion of reality settles down, there is nothing but tight lipped silence, and an honest sense of devastating failure. This is the same problem that faced the rich young ruler. Nobody can, in their own self-generated efforts, be as perfect as God. Yet such perfection is required. Translated: Nobody can love in the perfect way that is required. Nobody--that is--except One--I'm talking about the perfect God-man Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Christ always loves perfectly, and so He fulfills perfection for us, and the way He did it is by becoming the New Covenant sacrificial lamb, resurrected, and living in us by His Spirit. And that, (my dear brothers and sisters), is the foundational point to get before you can ever go on to accomplish fulfilling the royal law in your own thoughts and actions as the body of Christ. Remember, Christ started out saying,
"17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished." Matthew 5:17
And then Christ went to the cross and said it is finished. Three days later, He rose from the dead as the living covenant according to Isaiah 42:6, and Isaiah 49:8. He is the living fulfillment of all righteousness, and so He imparts His righteousness to you, whereby it is in Him that you are empowered to love. Love is a fruit of the Spirit, and we do this fruit according to Scripture. And it is in the Spirit's words as Scripture, and Christ's actions through His life and the lives of the apostles, that we recognize what the law of love requires. So, Christ says,
"12 This is My commandment, [What is it?] that you love one another, just as I have loved you." John 15:12
Then He says in the next verse;
"13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you." John 15:13-14
Then greater Jesus demonstrated the greater love that He commands. Yet, He demonstrated it in the fact that He, as the God-man; the King of kings and Lord of lords; the great Messiah, not only laid down His own greater life for the sake of His friends, but He also did this for His imperfect enemies. Before salvation, we are all God's enemies. But we are rescued, as enemies, while enemies, by the greater love of God, and in reconciliation, we are made friends of God in His perfection and we are given the love of God in our hearts through the Holy Spirit,
"5 ... the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:5-8
While we were yet sinners--that means that we were all unrighteous enemies of God when He first loved us with His greater love. This is the summation then of why it is so necessary for Christ to fulfill love for us. James knows this, and so after telling us that we are doing well when we fulfill in our actions what has been fulfilled for us in perfection, James makes the same kind of point that Christ made in His sermon on the mount. Let's look at our text; verse 10,
"10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 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." James 2:10-11
It is abundantly clear folks; When you fail in one area of the royal law, then you fail the whole royal law. You say;
Q. How can that be?
Well,
A. To stumble and not be loving in one area is to not be loving.
You have become a transgressor of all of it. In context, when you show unbiblical partiality, then you are a transgressor of the royal law. God does not believe in the religious but wrong theory that He keeps a tally of our good love deeds on one side of a great scale, and then over on the other side of a balance, He keeps a tally of our bad deeds. What God sees is that just one bad deed tips the scales and topples all your love onto the floor, and it breaks into a million little pieces. But there are Christians who have this kind of thinking. It might be shaped a bit differently, but it is the same thing, and it is there in their minds. Who knows how it got there? Maybe they received bad discipleship. Maybe they have selective Bible reading syndrome. Maybe they have "I don't really read my Bible" syndrome. But it is there. And because they recognize that God is love, and that Christ fulfilled love for us perfectly in salvation, then, they think they are doing enough. It's all okay because enough is enough, and nobody is perfect, and after all, because we can only do so much, we are saved by grace anyway. So they justify their lack of love as hypocrites who think they don't need to make an alteration of their actions. Real love has real action behind it, and it is more than simply saying I am sorry. Just like faith without works is really dead faith, love without works is really dead love. Dead fruit of the Spirit is dead fruit. But God does not want us (His children) to be so random, careless, and so seemingly without conviction, that we are not seeking to live godly and to be living by the Spirit in love. This is so important--Because God has fulfilled love for you in imputation of His righteousness, He tells you that you not only can, but you should fulfill love in your thoughts, and actions as the body of Christ.
/1/ THE ROMANS 13 WAY
This leads us now to consider the question: Am I fulfilling loving my neighbor as myself? When we do so, we are doing well, (as James says) and doing well in our Christian walk is what God wants us to do. Let us answer the question by looking at God's revelation of how to do it. What we are doing is fulfilling outwardly what has already been fulfilled inwardly for us in Christ. The first way is the Romans 13 way. Paul says,
"8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. '10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Romans 13:8-10
The first way, is to do no wrong to your neighbor. We have already seen that we should not show unbiblical partiality of class distinctions between the rich and famous and the poor and dirty. But there are others. When you gossip about someone, you are tearing them down. You are doing wrong to them, and what this means is that you are not showing love for them. Actually, you are hurting someone with your words in gossip. You are dissecting them. You are cutting them down and destroying people in the ears of those who are listening to you. In fact, when you gossip, you are an active participant in causing other people to cut off love from the person you are gossiping about. Yes, you are spreading your vitriol and contempt through your own words. We can attempt to call this something more palatable, but no matter how you phrase it, when you gossip, you are doing wrong to your neighbor. You are not fulfilling outwardly what has already been fulfilled inwardly for you in Christ. People who gossip aren't bearing the burdens of others. They are being the burden on others. Another one that is similar is slander. Slander is the immoral bed partner of gossip. In slander, you accuse someone of something that destroys their character. It may destroy their business. It may destroy their family. It certainly destroys their reputation. It happens in so many ways and in so many areas that people have become use to it. They think they have a right to enter into the unloving practice of doing wrong to a neighbor in slander. The worst is to slander someone who is serving the Lord in ministry. Christians curse themselves all the time by cursing God's called and anointed servants with slander; with glib comments, and a little wink of the eye, as they make fun of a preacher. It is okay to disagree with something that is provably not biblically based. But, to slander someone whose whole desire is to serve God is not okay--especially when it comes to judging their motives for doing certain things in ministry. It's not love. How many of you realize that God says there is a proper way to bring an accusation toward a pastor to light? You find it in 1 Timothy 5:19
"Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses." 1 Timothy 5:19
Let me give you an example. For me, I don't preach a lot of sermons on giving money. Sometimes it is necessary as we go verse to verse because the text dictates the subject matter in the flow, and so in that respect, I need to be faithful to the context. But there are pastors out there who preach on money all the time. It's money, money, money,--all the time. Maybe some of those guys love money, and maybe that is why they preach on it so much, but then again, maybe they really have a burden to see others blessed according to their belief. In other words, if you really do believe that if you give to all these ministries, and you give some more, then because you do, God is going to make you rich, then shouldn't you be preaching what you believe is a blessing to others? I am not talking about selfish motives on the part of the preacher to fleece the flock. I'm not even talking about whether those guys are correct in their biblical interpretations, or not. We can judge their interpretations from an examination of God's word. But, we should not judge their motives and then slander them just because we suspect them based upon our own personal judgments. If I do, then I am doing them wrong, which is a judgment that I confess to you that I (Kerry) have carelessly, in lack of love, uttered about some of those guys myself. I admit to everyone here that in my gossipy slander, I have sinned in the past, in lack of love for those big media preachers. I don't agree with their doctrine, but that does not give me the right to accuse, judge, and prosecute their motives. So, I was wrong in my actions, and we are all wrong when we do this kind of thing. The point is that all along they may be trying to love the body of Christ with their words, and yet, in my words, I am hating them.
Another way we can wrong our neighbor and unfill love instead of fulfill love is by cheating. There are so many ways to do this. One way is to put a car up for sale and charge the price of a car that is in good shape, but in reality, you know that there are underlying problems with the car that make it a bad deal. You know what they are because those are the reasons why you are selling the car in the first place! But, you can't detect those problems by simply starting it up and driving it around the block. So, when the person asks if there is something wrong with the car, we can cheat them by saying something esoteric like,
It runs.
It's my favorite car.
Its a great deal.
Notice that the question wasn't really answered. The question was,
Is there something wrong with this car?
And the point is that we would know that there is, but, in lack of love for our neighbor, we are being clever. We would be wronging our neighbor. You are cheating them, which means that you are neither loving them the way you love yourself, nor are you loving them the way Christ loves you. Does Christ cheat you?
Another way is forgiving people. God has a high standard for fulfilling love. In other words, forgiveness without works is dead. The way you test whether your forgiveness is real, (alive) is whether you are able to reconcile your relationship with your brother or sister to such a point that you fellowship with them as part of yourself in the body of Christ. You see, when you forgive them, it is just as you would forgive yourself. You know that you have truly forgiven when you can think of that person who hurt your feelings as someone who is worthy of Christian fellowship that God desires and commands of His people in the Bible. I know, you think you've been wronged too badly. You say,
No you don't know. Kerry, I've been really wronged! I've been wronged beyond being reconciled in that kind of love.
But, you see folks, love is demanding. The Holy Spirit wants to produce His fruit in you. So, love is not soft with you. Love is strict, and it never puts up with areas of unfulfillment. You say,
But I thought that love was all about grace.
Yep. It sure is, and in grace, love will not leave you alone to do wrong to your neighbor in your own absence of grace. Certainly someone may have wronged you. They may have done it in such a way that you can not trust them, and so now you do not want to risk physical hurt, if, in fact, physical hurt is a possible issue, but that is not what I am talking about. I am not talking about wise decisions toward safety. It's okay to protect your life and your family's life. I am talking about wise decisions in making every effort to truly forgive to where you restore fellowship in your heart with that brother or sister, and if possible restore active personal fellowship with them. They are not your enemy, but only true forgiveness (true love) will say that they are not your enemy, and will act like they are not your enemy. Okay that is the Romans 13 way to fulfill love by doing no wrong to your neighbor.
/2/ THE GALATIANS 5 WAY
Then there is the Galatians 5 way,
"13 For you were called to freedom, brothers; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'" Galatians 5:13-14
This gives us the second way, which is to serve one another. It is a simple and pure fulfillment of love to do things for others to help them. In Biblical language, this is called edification, which is to build others up. This means you value others by meeting their needs. There are so many ways to serve others that the list could go on and on, so what is important for fulfilling love in this way is that you need to be looking for ways to serve others. This is the big key. Are you looking for ways to do things for one another? Look for financial needs. Maybe someone you know mentions to you that they have lost their job. They have briefly mentioned that it is going to be difficult to pay the bills, or buy food for a time. If you aren't looking to love, then you aren't looking for the place to serve. But you have just had an opportunity laid out right before you. What else do you need--a kick in the pants? You can serve that person by helping them get some bread and milk. You can be a loving servant by helping them to find a job. Maybe someone has a broken down car and they are having a hard time fixing it, and you know how to fix it. You can manifest love for them by helping out. The point is that love serves.
/3/ THE GALATIANS 6 WAY
Then there is the Galatians 6 way,
"1 Brothers, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1-2
This gives us the third way, and that is to bear one another's burdens. Contextually, this is done by helping to restore a brother or sister who has fallen into sin. We all fall. Christ loves those who fall. It is called grace. It is a great fulfillment of love to restore people who have fallen. What a shame to have a kind of hybrid Christianity that turns its back on you when you fail. One sage has said,
The church is the only army that shoots its wounded.
But this is only true if the church is not fulfilling love according to the word. To bear one another's burdens means longsuffering. It means that you are going to have to lift some weight, and that takes effort. Effort means we are going to have to get out of our comfort zones. but that's what it takes to fulfill love.
/4/ THE JAMES 2 WAY
This leads to the last way, which is the way of our James text. It is the way of fulfilling outwardly what has already been fulfilled inwardly for us in Christ by showing mercy. James says,
"12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by [or under, ESV] the law of liberty [which is the law that gives freedom, NET]. 13 For judgment [is] merciless [which, means without mercy] to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over [boasts against, exults over] judgment." James 2-:2-13
God wants us to act like the law that gives freedom is what governs us and judges our thoughts and actions. The law of liberty has mercy because it is based upon the New Covenant of grace in Christ Jesus. So remembering that James is telling us that we do well in fulfilling the royal law to love our neighbor as ourselves according to the Scripture, James goes on to say that we must speak and act as people who are to be judged by this same law. Think about this. It is not a law of bondage, but rather, it is the law of liberty that gives freedom in Christ, so let us act like this law of love is what judges us. What this means is--either you will be judged according to the law of love as one who, in love, shows mercy, or you will be judged by the law of love as one who, in mercilessness, is not showing love. Remember, this law has far reaching and penetrating exposure. It looks into every area of your heart. This is why we need to look into every area of our hearts too. Consequently, the judgment of the law of love is merciless to those who break it. On the other hand, mercy as a manifestation of love always triumphs over judgment as that which is better. As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 13, love, being the greatest virtue, never fails. So James is telling the Christians of the 12 dispersed tribes that the law of liberty convicts those who do not practice it, and it convicts without mercy in the manifestation of love, so there really is no alternative for true doers of the word--you and I must do the love fruit. So the question is, Are we being merciful? Do you show pity with compassion and forgiveness for those who fail? Or do you swoop down like a vulture who is just waiting for your brothers and sisters to die because of the life cycle of sins that they produce? The thing about this manifestation of love is that in our minds, it may seem like an undeserved blessing that we give, but we must do it anyway. In other words, in lack of love, when someone transgresses, fails, falters, sins, and trespasses, the mistake, or I should say, the offense is still there. And since it is still there, we have a reason that we can consider for not being merciful. This is where the law of love probes your own heart like an astute prosecutor waiting to press a conviction, or it is ready to drop the case and pat you on the back as a godly servant who is a doer of the word. When you show mercy in such cases, even when you are angry; even when everything in you does not want to because of hurt, then you are crystalizing pure love in the form of a diamond of love in one of its most magnificent manifestations. Think about this. Think about what mercy truly is. Back during the French revolution, when Napoleon's was emperor, a young man committed a certain offense--not just once, but twice. Accordingly, judgment demanded death as the penalty. The young man's mother approached Napoleon to plead for her son's life. Napoleon explained the situation. He explained the transgressions, the failures, the faltering, the sins, the trespasses, the mistakes, the offenses, the crimes to the mother, and he explained that the young man deserved death. In Napoleon's mind judgment must triumph over mercy--after all it is just. There is a reason. It is a real reason, and it will not simply go away, and so justice has a basis for existence, and so justice must be dealt out. The mother said to Napoleon, "But, I don't ask for justice. I plead for mercy." Napoleon looked at the mother and said, "But your son does not deserve mercy." Brothers and sisters, we can always come up with some kind of reason not to fulfill love according to its high standards. We can easily do unloving things to our neighbor, and say,
But my neighbor does not deserve mercy.
I mean, we have our reasons, and they make sense, and they are there for all to see and agree with. Those reasons don't go away; unless, that is, if we don't cover them with love. Remember the resounding pronouncement that Peter makes,
"Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8
Love covers huge quantities of sin with its gentle soft blanket of grace. Do you believe that? Are you doing that? The woman said to Napoleon, "Sir, it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." She knew something didn't she? Mercy triumphs over judgment. Napoleon replied, "Well then, I will have mercy.' And the young man's life was spared. Sometimes love requires us not to seek justice for the list of things that we hold so dear as those which we point to for justifying our actions against a brother or sister who has trespassed. Love shows mercy to those who are not so lovely when compared to the gold ring Christians that outshine them. I'm talking about the poor and the dirty. But the love we have for them is a demonstration of the riches that God wants to bestow upon them. But, it takes you, and it takes me to do it. Don't expect other Christians to do your love fruit for you. I urge all of us to get very serious about what God is very serious about, and ask ourselves this question: Am I fulfilling loving my neighbor as myself? Don't ask this question for others. Don't ask it for your spouse. Don't ask it for your children, or for your parents. Ask it of yourself. Am I fulfilling loving my neighbor as myself? Am I fulfilling outwardly what has already been fulfilled inwardly for me in Christ? Think about the Romans 13 way. Love does no wrong to a neighbor, so let us all do right to others. Think about the Galatians 5 way. Through love serve one another. Become a humble loving servant where you become the hands and feet of Jesus to those around you. He humbled Himself in love. Humble yourself in love and serve even those who irritate you. Then there's the Galatians 6 way. Bear one another's burdens. This means you hurt for people. It means you hurt with people, instead of hurting them by being their burden. Be their strength and encouragement as the body to the body. It's a pure manifestation of love, and God commands it. In all ways, and at all times, I urge you to keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
