law – Page 5

What is the Royal Law?

January 24, 2022 by Paul Ellis

What is the royal law? Do you need to keep it and what happens if you don’t?

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. (James 2:8)

What is the royal law? It is the commandment to love others as you love yourself.

It sounds terrific. It isn’t. But first…

What makes this law a royal law?

Why is the command to love your neighbor a royal law? It is not a royal law because Jesus invented it. He didn’t. This law comes straight out of the Law of Moses:

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Lev. 19:18)

Nor is it a royal law because Jesus put his kingly seal of approval on it. Jesus mentioned this law on occasion (Matt. 19:19), but he spoke about other laws as well. He never said this one was particularly special, and he even added to it (see Matt. 5:43–44).

Nor is it a royal law in the sense that this law should rule you like a king. We are not under law.

So what makes the love-your-neighbor law a royal law? It is the king of laws because loving others fulfills all the other laws.

For the whole law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal. 5:14)

Keep this one law and you will keep all the laws.

So far so good.

The royal law in James 2

Go back to James and notice the if at the start of that verse.

James is making a conditional statement. If you keep this law, you are doing well. Conditional statements are a hallmark of old covenant law and that’s what James is preaching here. In context, he is preaching the second commandment to law-loving Jewish people.

James: “Hey, it’s great if you love your neighbor, but if you are discriminating against poor people, you’re a law-breaker” (see Jas. 2:9–10).

Does this royal law have any relevance for us? It has none at all, for we are not under law but grace. We are to be led by the indwelling Spirit rather than ruled by external laws.

In the new covenant, we don’t love our neighbors because it’s a law but because God loves us and out of the overflow of his love for us we are able to love others.

But what about this verse:

He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. (Rom. 13:8)

There are two ways to read this. An old covenant mindset says, I had better love my neighbor so I can fulfill the law. But a new covenant mindset reads it as written. When we love others, we fulfill the law.

Which brings us to the most important question of all.

How do I love my neighbor?

How do I love my neighbor who voted for the wrong party?

How do I love my Muslim neighbor, my gay neighbor, or my vaxxed/unvaxxed neighbour?

And that’s just for starters. Jesus raised the bar when he said I must also love my enemies. How do I do that?

How do I love the jerk who bankrupted my business?

How do I love the adulterer who wrecked my marriage?

How do I love the drunk who killed my child?

How do you love the unlovable? The royal law can’t help you. It simply says you must love them as yourself.

Good luck with that.

Under the old covenant, you provided the love and whatever else was needed to fulfil the law, and if you couldn’t do it, you were condemned as a law-breaker.

Do you see how unfair this is?

Someone destroys your family or your business, and the law says you cannot pursue vengeance or bear a grudge, but you must love them as yourself.

It’s like trying to walk on water.

A new law

Like any old covenant law, the royal law is brutal and merciless. It demands that you do the impossible and condemns you when you fail.

Thank God for Jesus who gives us a new law for a new creation. Thank God for the law of Christ which says this:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. (John 13:34)

Jesus does not say “Love others as you love yourself.” He says, “Receive my love and out of the overflow of that love, you will be empowered to love others.”

It is a brand new kind of law and a brand new way to live.

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835. Things Seldom Heard in Church: You Are Righteous – Apart From Works

November 28, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

We continue our discussion this week on the differences between faith and works. When it comes to salvation and justification, it has to be one or the other, and the Apostle Paul made it clear within the revelation of the New Covenant, we are not bound to a law of works, but the law of faith.

This eliminates any boasting on our part, as we receive the gift of His righteousness, which occurs apart from a law based upon works. Faith will lead to God working in and through us, allowing Him to bear His fruit instead of our own.

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834. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Faith Has Nothing to Do With a Law of Works

November 21, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Sometimes when people discuss faith, if you listen carefully, you’ll begin to hear them vocalize something that is more based upon their works, lifestyle choices, and what they perceive to be an improvement in moral character. If we’re not careful, it can become about us and what we do or don’t do, instead of placing a complete trust and faith in what God has done for us through His Son. Depending upon our abilities to attain right-standing with God—instead of choosing to believe in God’s ability—is not based upon faith.

When the Jewish people were pursuing righteousness through a law of works, it was not a righteousness of faith, but it was based on their inconsistent works, which did not bring peace with God. For those who were described as having lived by faith or done great things because of faith, it had nothing to do with the law or their own works. Do we need those old rules and commandments to lead, teach and guide us as believers in Christ? No, we have Someone who lives in us who will fill that role much better.

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832. Things Seldom Heard in Church: The 10 Commandments Not Written on Our Hearts

November 7, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In the 8th chapter of Hebrews, the writer was looking back at a prophetic statement from the book of Jeremiah. He was explaining how the previous covenant containing the law was not the same as the New Covenant which was established by Jesus, our new High Priest. God declared to Jeremiah the New would not be like the Old when it was given to Israel at the time they were delivered from Egypt!

When God spoke about His laws being put in our minds and written upon our hearts in this better covenant, the assumption by many church folks is that this is a reference to the Ten Commandments. But why would God want to write something on the hearts of His people which brought condemnation, resulted in sin increasing, and wasn’t based upon faith? In the previous chapter, the writer had just declared that old ministry as one that became nullified or cancelled because it was weak and unprofitable, unable to bring a required spiritual perfection. Our hearts now contain and reflect something new and better than a law of sin and death—it’s “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” It’s based upon the ministry of God’s Spirit in us, the gift of righteousness, faith, love and liberty.

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831. Things Seldom Heard in Church: We Don’t Love God Because Law Commands Us

October 31, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Continuing from last week’s thread … in John’s first epistle, he explains the love of God from the perspective of the New Covenant. This also connects with our love for Him and for others. Jesus was asked what the greatest commandments were under the law (from the first covenant given to Israel). Jesus answered with this from Matthew 12: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Nobody has ever achieved being able to follow those commandments which had the entire law wrapped up in them. This is quite different from what John stated, where the truth revealed that it wasn’t that we loved God, but He loved us. As we begin to receive and understand the fullness of this perfect love, it allows us to freely love God apart from the commandment—because we want to do so—and that love which abides in us also enables us to love others in the same way God loves us. Perfect love casts out fear and provides us with confidence in the day of judgement. It’s better than depending on your own inconsistent strength and abilities which always leave people falling short.

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830. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Keeping Commandments – New Covenant Style

October 24, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

This week, we look at a couple of verses—from 1 John chapter 2—that the legalistic mindset will focus upon outside the context of the New Covenant. It’s a perspective based upon a mixture of law and grace which comes from sources who believe “maintaining” salvation involves the working of our own efforts instead of the work of Christ alone. They’ll pitch salvation as a gift apart from works, but then try to sell you an extended warranty, suggesting you can forfeit so great a salvation based upon your actions. It’s nothing but complicated double-speak.

John writes about keeping commandments, but he isn’t very specific in listing them out. Covenant clashers would try to have us believe he is referring to the Ten Commandments and may selectively throw in a few extras for good measure. If John was encouraging believers in Christ to embrace a stone tablet ministry of commandments, then he not only contradicted the Apostle Paul, but also would have contradicted himself in this very same letter. Peter and Paul stated the commandments which came through Moses were burdensome and unbearable. Jesus said the same thing. But John said the commandments he was referring to are not burdensome. Either John disagreed with them … or (and let’s go with this) he is referring to something different as it relates to the New Covenant.

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828. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Law Fruit: Sin Abounded; Death & Condemnation

October 16, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When the Christian religion campaigns that the stone tablet ministry should be put on display as a guide to live by, they have completely missed the vast differences between an expired covenant of works once established with Israel … and a new and better way which came by grace through Jesus.

Things rarely heard in church buildings: The law given to Moses resulted in sin increasing, not diminishing. It was described by the Apostle Paul as a ministry of death, condemnation, and no longer has any glory because a more glorious ministry of the Spirit has surpassed it.

More from Paul … the law bore fruit for death, it was the strength of sin, it was a ministry of bondage, it could not provide life or righteousness. He stated how the law is not of faith but was a guardian … until faith would come (Christ), resulting in no longer being under the old guard of the law. The law demanded it be kept perfectly but could make nothing perfect, therefore was considered weak and useless. Jesus came to redeem Jews from it, not bring Gentiles into it. A new and better covenant replaced that old, ineffective ministry, which nobody could ever live by.

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827. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Jesus Fulfilled the Law

October 3, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Religious corporations which tout the keeping of the stone tablet commandments have neglected to recognize or minister the New Covenant established by Jesus. Very few church attendees have ever heard that believers in Christ are not under that ministry of commandments which came from God through Moses. But spiritual legal advocates will attempt to argue against this truth by quoting a single Bible verse: “But Jesus said He did not come to destroy or abolish the law but to fulfill!” This is a true statement from Jesus as He was speaking to His disciples early in his earthly ministry.

But what religion has frequently failed to recognize is what was accomplished by Jesus at the cross and resurrection, which allowed for the annulment of that ministry—where Jews were unable to attain righteousness—and Gentiles had no hope or covenant at all. God was able to tear down the barrier of commandments and bring these two groups together in Christ by fulfilling the law perfectly in us.

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How Condemnation Holds Us Back

June 14, 2021 by Sandra

Guilt and condemnation is such a trick of the devil, yet I lived buried under it for decades and I’ve spoken to so many friends on my grace journey this […]

How Condemnation Holds Us Back

June 14, 2021 by Sandra

Guilt and condemnation is such a trick of the devil, yet I lived buried under it for decades and I’ve spoken to so many friends on my grace journey this past 9.5 years who are also in the process of digging themselves out. Many have said, Wow, I never realized that I lived under so […]

802. The 800 Club: Looking Back – We Have No Relationship With the Mosaic Law

April 11, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

We continue to celebrate the recording of our 800th program as we look back over some foundational discussions we’ve had over the years. Have you ever had religious folks from church tell you that we’re meant to try to live by the standard of law that God worked out in a covenant with Israel which came through Moses? The problem is … they cheapen the law by eliminating significant chunks or changing it to fit their mold. This was a perfect standard that required perfect results—which nobody has ever accomplished.

The world needed a Savior who could fulfill the law for us and bring us into a better covenant of grace. Perfection would come to us, but not by what we do. Grace isn’t cheap, it cost Jesus everything and it was free for us. But cheap law dominates many man-made church doctrines and leads people away from the gospel.

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801. The 800 Club: Looking Back – The Law-Based Words of Jesus

April 4, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Celebrating our milestone of 800 programs, we’re looking back at some of the vital discussions we’ve had over the years. One of those topics is the many times that Jesus was not providing new information or directives to those who would eventually become Christian believers, but quite often His focus was to minister the Mosaic law to the Jews who were under it. This included the entire Sermon on the Mount. His purpose was not to try to get them to be better law-keepers, but to show them their inability to live by the requirement and reveal the need for a better option—a Savior who could fulfill the law, free them from it, and provide salvation for the world.

We’ve been accused of hyper grace by legalistic “ministries” who have stated we’re running from the words of Jesus. We’re actually running to the words of Jesus but prefer to consider them within the proper context of both the Old and New covenants.

Past podcast episodes that we mentioned in this episode:
•The Non-Christian Teachings of Jesus (Growing in Grace #444)
•Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (series) (Click for Part 1, then click "Newer Post" for each subsequent episode.)
•Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (YouTube playlist)