Keep the royal law? Aren’t we under grace? Why would any New Testament book call us to keep the royal law?
The phrase in James 2:8 is literally the law of the king. What king? (Hint: did the writer belong to the royal family?)
What law? Is this something new? Or was it part of the Old Testament law?
James envisages nothing less than the complete restructuring of society. The governance of King Jesus fundamentally changes how humans treat each other, the value we place on each other and how we use the resources God has given us.
In the preceding verses, James spells out exactly what kind of values form the foundation for the kind of community he believed the king had decreed for his kingdom.
This podcast was recorded at the final gathering of Riverview Joondalup, 2022-06-26.
Texts
Open James 2:2-8.
Stan Grant quotation.
Related posts
- The king who sorts it out (Mt 25:31-33)
- The focus of your life (Mt 6:19-24)
- Transformative justice (Rom 12:9-21)
- God’s kingdom and social justice
Seeking the kingdom 