It is very natural for James to bring in the law. He was raised a Jew and many of his readers were Jews, and the Jews prided themselves in their law-keeping. Now he has convicted these Christian Jews that they were lawbreakers rather than law-keepers. In this verse and the next, he drives this truth home with even greater force.

"... whosoever ..." The word "whosoever" is a grand word in the Gospel. How we love it in John 3:16. How lustily we sing, "Whosoever will may come." But some whosoevers in the Word are not so pleasant, and our verse has one of that kind. "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." This might well strike terror to the hearts of those who are trying to get to heaven by law-keeping. To fail in only one point makes them guilty. Then how wonderful, when one realizes his guilt, to turn to Acts 2:38, and read, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Then in John 3:16 we read, "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The law not enough: Someone once said, “Just give me the law; that’s all I need.” To which came the reply, “You need more than that. If you are a sinner, you need Christ.” Still there are those who believe that all they need is the law. Such are not easily persuaded. Perhaps there are several like that – priding themselves in their law-keeping. Let such beware. If they offend in only one point, they are guilty of all.

"... keep the whole law ..." And who has kept the whole law? The Lord Jesus is the only one who ever did. Moses came down from Mount Sinai with two tables of the law in his hands. The very start of it says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." The children of Israel were in the act of breaking the first commandment as he came to them with the law. They were dancing around a golden calf. He smashed the two tables of stone to pieces on the rocks.

Man has been a lawbreaker ever since: Man has been a lawbreaker ever since. How many of the Ten Commandments have you kept inviolate? Well, you say, "I’m no idolater; I’ve never made a graven image; and I’ve never fallen down to one." Well, most of us have never done that either; yet none would dare say I have never had any idols in my heart. While we may never today worship a golden calf, have we ever been known to worship gold? Some worship other men, or perhaps their own families; their homes, cars, or boats. Even some elders may actually worship their congregation. Often they act as though they are in control of every aspect of its work. To put anything at anytime above the Lord is to be a breaker of the first commandment.

The first commandment of the second table: The law was composed of two tables of stone. The laws of the first table were aimed toward God; the second toward man. The first commandment aimed at man is, "Honor thy father and thy mother." One might say, "I have always done that." Most of us would like to think so, anyway. But, as a youth did you ever get anger or grieve your father, causing your mother to weep. Perhaps you can remember when your actions brought complaining neighbors to your house. Not many of us can truthfully say, "I have always honored my father and mother."

The rich young ruler: The rich young ruler (Mark 10:17) came to the Lord Jesus and asked, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" The Lord takes him up on the ground of his doing and gives him the law. The young man professes to have been a law-keeper. He says, "Master, all these have I observed from my youth." The Lord does not argue with him and tells him, "Young man, you may be sincere in what you say, but I fear you know neither the law nor your own heart." He does not try to show him that he is a lawbreaker, but raises the standard from the letter to the spirit of the law. He says, "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me." To sell all that he had and give to the poor, would be to love his neighbor as himself, and to take up his cross, and to follow the Lord Jesus, would be to love God with all his heart, all his strength, all his mind, and with all his soul. This higher standard was too much for this young man, and he went away sorrowing. Who would dare to say in the light of this higher standard, that he has kept the whole law? This is the one point in which James' readers had failed. They had not loved the poor man who came into their assembly as themselves.

Not saved by law-keeping: James does not say that law-keeping brings salvation. If he did, he would be in direct opposition to Paul. Paul says, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Rom. 3:28). "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Gal. 2:16). If we could be saved by the law, then Christ need not have died. And it is also not part faith and obedience to the Lord, and part law-keeping. The work of Christ is absolutely sufficient for our salvation.

The curse of the law: The man who rejects Christ and turns to the law voluntarily puts himself under the curse. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse" (Gal. 3:10). But the moment one turns from the law to Christ, he is free from the curse. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3:13).

A Christian is not a lawbreaker: While a Christian is not saved by keeping the law, nor kept by keeping it, that does not mean that he may or should be a lawbreaker. Christ met every demand of the law; He fulfilled it; and we are seen as fulfilling it in Him. Someone might say, "Since I’m not under the law, then I can do as I please, even kill, and I will still go to heaven." Not so; a Christian no longer wants to do his own pleasure, and if he continues along that course will not be saved in the end – a Christian desires to do things that please the Lord. True, we are not under the law of Sinai with its thunder, lightning and earthquakes, but we are certainly under the law of Christ. Not continue in sin: Evidently some were saying similar things to Paul, for he says in Romans 6:1, 2, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid." No, a true Christian will sin far less after salvation than ever before. He desires to please Christ, even as a wife desires to please her husband. A Christian is under law to Christ, and is expected to walk worthily in this scene, and will be dealt with by his Father according to his disobedience. "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter" (Rom. 7:6). Perhaps before being saved we tried hard to keep the law, but we failed miserably; now with little effort we gloriously fulfill it in Christ. Because of love to Christ and an indwelling Spirit, we live on a much higher moral plane than ever before. Now, because of Christ within, we love our neighbors, and love is the fulfilling of the law.

"... and yet offend in one point ..." To offend in one point is to be a lawbreaker. Leviticus 19:37 is emphatic in insisting that all the statutes and all the judgments be kept. Galatians 3:10 says, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." So James here is positive in stating that one must keep every part of the law in order to be a law-keeper. You cannot offend in one point without being guilty of all.

The law is one: The law is like a seamless garment that is rent, although torn in only one place. It is like a chain that is broken apart by the breaking of one link; or a circle marred by one piece being out of place; or a chorus ruined by one voice being out of tune. So to break one commandment is to break the whole law, and to be disobedient to the will of the Lord. It demonstrates selfishness, and not love for the Lord and fellow man. Many professed law-keepers keep it when convenient, and break it when it is convenient to do that. To really keep it, means to keep it in every way whether it suits us or whether it does not.

Before the judge: Many seem to think that good deeds offset bad ones. This does not work in the law courts of our land, nor does it work in the courts of heaven. For instance, a man is before the judge. He confesses that he is guilty of robbery. Supposing he says to the judge, "Your honor, I am not such a bad man. I sometimes do good. I only broke one law. I did not injure or kill anybody." The judge might reply, "You are not being tried for your good deeds, nor for the laws you did not break. You are guilty of breaking one of the laws, and you must go to jail." So, before the Lord, to break one law is to be a lawbreaker, and as guilty as if the whole law was broken. It is useless to plead conformity to many parts of the law, if just one has been broken.

All sins not equally serious: Some have contended from this verse that all sins are equally serious. Whether one steals a penny or a million dollars, he’s a thief. They contend, too, that one might as well go ahead and break all the laws as break only one. Some sins are certainly worse than others. To commit murder is more serious than coveting a neighbor's ox. And to break one law is not as bad as breaking them all. James' readers were guilty of the sin of showing partiality, and he is pointing out to them that they were guilty of law-breaking by so doing.

Scripture Reading: James 2:11 (KJV)

In this verse we have the two most glaring sins against one's neighbor brought to our attention. James is using them to illustrate the fact that the violation of any one point is an infraction of the law of God, and makes one a transgressor.

"... he that said ..." Every part of the law was given by God. "He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill." He is the same who says, "Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty" (Lev. 19:15). "And God spake all these words, saying" (Ex. 20:1). The Lawgiver is one and the law is one. To break one command proves disloyalty to the Lawgiver and contempt for His authority.

A most serious offense: The greater the authority, the more serious the offense. To break a federal law is more serious than breaking a city ordinance. The story is told of a man in jail who said: “I stole a sweater; they sent me to prison for two years. Why so stiff a sentence? I stole it from a rural mail box, which is government property and that made it a federal offense.” The Lord God is a greater authority than any earthly government, and transgressions against His laws are the most serious. However, we can be thankful there is forgiveness even for the lawbreaker who is willing to trust and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.

Adam’s one sin: The story is told of a man who said, "I can't help it that I am a sinner. It is not my fault that Adam ate of that apple. It’s not fair that I should be held guilty of sin because of what Adam did.” Such is the argument of some. Although he could not help being born into a sinful world, God will still hold him responsible for the sins he commits. Also, he certainly would make the choice whether he rejected or accepted God's remedy for sin – Jesus Christ. However, the sin of disobedience on the part of Adam and Eve points out the seriousness of one sin – proving that to sin in only one point can truly be a calamity. It also proves the hopelessness of trying to obtain justification by obedience or law-keeping? We all need the Savior, Jesus Christ.

"... do not commit adultery ..." James puts adultery ahead of murder. This is the law order in reverse. We can conclude from this that he considers adultery a very grievous sin. Sometimes a person who condemns murder will think lightly of adultery. However, both are alike in that they are violations of the law of God. One need not be guilty of both to be under God's judgment.

A serious offense: Adultery is considered a very serious offense in the Scriptures. In Leviticus 20:10, we read how the adulterer and the adulteress were both to be put to death (see also Deut. 22:22). We see how serious God considered the sin of David with Bathsheba. Because of his confession and repentance, he was forgiven, but the effects of that sin troubled his house until the day of his death. The Lord's dealings with the woman taken in adultery (John 8) also shows that this sin can be forgiven, however, do not conclude from this story that adultery is not a serious sin. In almost every book in the New Testament there are warnings upon warnings against it. It is an interesting study to consider how the Spirit brings the seriousness of these sins to our attention over and over again.

Not guilty: Perhaps one may say, "Thank God, adultery is one sin I have never committed." And well one may be thankful, because this sin has been a terrible blight on the lives and bodies of many. Some today are in asylums, hospitals, and in their graves or close to it because of this sin. Venereal disease and AIDS are terrible scourges on humanity. Perhaps though, as we read Matthew 5:28, we do not feel so innocent. There the Lord transfers guilt from the outward act to the inward thought – "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Even thoughts along this line are bad, but of course, not as bad as the actual deed.

"... do not kill ..." Everyone knows that murder is a terrible crime. They say, even in prison the inmates instinctively shrink from a murderer. The news reported the story of a mother who, in a drunken rage, threw her two month old baby into a stove, burning her to death. How we recoil at such things; our blood boils. That same news report told of a woman who was brutally murdered by a robber not far from where she lived. The robber was apprehended and brought back to the scene of the foul deed. The news media reported that the police feared the angry crowd would kill him.

Murder punishable by death: Like the adulterer, a murderer was to be put to death. The Hebrew Bible says: "Whososheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man" (Gen. 9:6; see also Num. 35:30). There is nothing in the New Testament that removes the penalty of death for one who willfully takes the life of another.

Examples of murder: How soon this dread crime lifted up its ugly head in this world. Remember Cain and Able? – the first boy born, killed the second. What an awful calamity this must have been to Adam and Eve. It would be an awful blow to lose one of your children, especially at the hands of a murderer. This would be enough to put a parent in the grave. We have many examples of such in the Word of God, and dread consequences always followed. We have David's murder of Uriah; Absalom of Amnon; Joab of Abner and Amasa; Jezebel of Naboth; Herod of John the Baptist; etc. The whole course of man's history, from Abel until now, has been one of shedding blood. The greatest crime of all time was when wicked men crucified the Lord of glory. But, even murder can be forgiven. We see this with Saul of Tarsus and the stoning of Stephen. He was apparently one of the ring leaders at this terrible affair, but later became the great Apostle Paul.

Anger akin to murder: In Matthew 5:21, 22 the Lord Jesus transfers the guilt from the outward act to the inward thought. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." Anger is often the prelude to murder and is akin to it.

Other sins related to murder: Many other sins are related to murder. Anything that tends to ruin one’s health is in that class. Such is the sin of selling and drinking intoxicating liquor. Many a wayward young man has sent his mother to an early grave. Some husbands have done the same to their wives. Perhaps few of us can claim absolute innocence when faced with this sixth commandment. How wonderful to be born again – sheltered under the blood of Christ.

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