“Law of Liberty.” What an interesting phrase.
Notice how it juxtaposes two seemingly opposite ideas: Law and Liberty.
Laws limit; Liberty releases.
Laws restrict; Liberty unleashes.
Laws say “no;” Liberty says “yes.”
What an interesting oxymoron. So where does this phrase come from? James 1:25.
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
Why do we have such a hard time reconciling the ideas of “law” and “liberty?” Probably because we live in a fallen world in which our laws are imperfect and lacking.
But James is describing something different from our incomplete man-made laws. He is describing the law of God –the “perfect law.”
In this sense, I think James is talking about “God’s Law” in a general sense –not necessarily the moral law, ceremonial law, or civil law found in the Old Testament. Instead, “God’s law” implies our complete obedience and submission to Him.
God’s law has something man’s laws lack: complete transforming power. Man’s laws merely manage people –God’s laws change people.
That’s why the idea of a law leading to liberty seems foreign to us.
To help gain perspective, picture yourself as a prisoner in an old penitentiary. Your body is worn and your eyes have failed. You sit every day obeying the laws of the prison: Get up, shower, eat, work, sleep, etc.
One day, you hear the cell door open and a voice calls out to you, “stand up and follow me.” This isn’t the voice you’ve been accustomed to hearing over the years. Instead, there is a sense of hope in this voice.
You stand and take steps forward. The voice calls out to you, “three steps to the left,” “turn right,” “stay straight.”
After what seems like hours of obeying every command, you feel the warmth of the morning sun falling on your skin. You are free.
After years of obeying one kind of law –the law that managed you in your prison- you had the privilege of following a better law –a law that leads to freedom!
God’s “law of liberty” is like that. The more we obey, the more freedom we enjoy from this fallen world.
God’s perfect law is in His Word. That’s why, in the context of this verse, James exhorts us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only…” (James 1:22).
So take a moment to rejoice –God’s law is not like man’s law. God’s law brings freedom! No wonder the psalmist exclaimed, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).
Scott – Great discussion and a hot topic. You said,
“I think James is talking about “God’s Law” in a general sense –not necessarily the moral law, ceremonial law, or civil law found in the Old Testament. Instead, “God’s law” implies our complete obedience and submission to Him.”
I think this is what most of Christianity believes. Unfortunately, when we remove James and the other Apostles from the context of their Judaism (albeit with the fulfillment of the arrival of the Messiah), we are left with ambiguity and a complete loss of parameters which define sin. If James is referring to another “law of liberty” than what is defined in the Torah (the Pentateuch – the “books of Moses”), then were can we find this law and its parameters?
Many believe it’s a new law, written on our hearts. But if that’s the case, there is no longer a definition of sin, nor a standard of righteous behavior. The lines of right and wrong are erased and we are left to try and define sin, righteousness and truth in relative, humanistic terms, rather than using the definitions God gave us. This is why the church is struggling with the ability to say sin is sin, and why the church is losing the battle in regard to homosexuality and other issues.
When we erase God’s law and replace it with some vague notion of right and wrong, we no longer have the ability to say God’s Word is relevant and authoritative. When we say that God’s law is merely, “complete obedience and submission to Him,” we are left with a loss as to what that means, how it is defined, it’s parameters and objectives. “Obeying God” for one person could be becoming a pastor, while “obeying God” for another could mean committing adultery (I’ve actually had this case argued to me). The only thing which defines God’s will is the Scriptures, and when we discount the foundation of the Scriptures because we misunderstand Paul’s teachings to Gentiles as a blanket statement against the Law as a whole, we can’t help but find ourselves in this precarious situation.
The Torah is the very lifeblood of God’s people. God promised the Israelites, “If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.” (Deuteronomy 30:16). The prophet Ezekiel reminds us of this principle by saying, “I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.” (Ezekiel 20:11).
While Jews and Gentiles have different obligations to the Law — for example, as a Gentile I am not obligated to wear tzitzit (ritual fringes) — we have to realize we are all obligated in some fashion to this initial revelation of God to the world. It is the self-disclosure of His Divine Will for His redeemed people. Our struggle should be one of “how” do we apply, rather than “should” we apply.
Hope this makes sense. Blessings and thanks for your inspiring and thought-provoking posts.
-Darren
Darren, I agree with you. The phrase “in general” wasn’t the best choice of wording. I was just trying to direct the conversation away from the “what parts of the law are applicable today” discussion and stick to the main idea.
You are completely right -God’s law is not ambiguous or subjective. It is recorded in Scripture.
Sorry for the confusion. Hope that makes sense.