As the law also says. Now, James tells us, tells his audience to keep the law and not sit in judgment over it.
Let's read that one.
James 4.11. Let's read that one.
James 4.11. He tells them to keep the law and not sit in judgment. So you can see we're going to need some teachings we walk through this. Are you seeing? I'm showing you these New Testament verses for you to say, why we're often confused, not really clear. What is the relevance of the Law for today.
James four eleven.
Go ahead if you don't mind. If you judge your brother, you're judging the law. And if you're judging the law, you're not a practice of the law. So are you starting to see why we need some clarity? Because these are clear-inspired writers that are speaking, if taken one or two verses out of context, you can see why people would say, Well, the law has no place. And yet you see The same writers like James and Paul and others. I think it'd be good for us to read
Romans thirteen and nine because here Paul, and I've heard people say, there's nowhere in the New Testament is the law reaffirmed or quoted or spoken, but Romans Paul refers to the Ten Commandments, and he identifies adultery, murder, theft, and coveting. Four of the Ten Commandments is mentioned there. And then he ends up quoting, love your neighbor as yourself, which is
Leviticus 19:18. You'll see that also in James, where he cites that authoritatively.
So let's read
Romans 13 9. I think it'd be good. We're not going to read every verse, but some of these I want you to hear yourself read it. Okay.
Romans 13 9. Read it real loud if you don't. Just in case the other commandment.
Now we'll get into the idea where you heard where Jesus was asked. Which is the greatest commandment, everybody knows his response. He said, Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. So he's actually referring to the first four of the Ten Commandments and the last six of the Ten Commandments, isn't he? To love God with all of your heart, you're going to honor him. You're not going to have engraving images. You're not going uh to use his name in vain. You're not you're going to honor the Sabbath.
Sabbath, he said, was made for man, not man for the Sabbath Possibly quoting Mark 2:27. So therefore, if you're a Christian, you're keeping the Sabbath. Because you've entered into the rest of In Christ. Does that make sense? So the first four, love God is keeping the first four. Loving your neighbor as yourself. So the Ten Commandments do have a place in the life of a Christian, according to Paul. To love your neighbor as yourself, then would not be
committed adultery, would not be murder, would not steal, not bear false witness Possibly quoting Luke 18:20 either. That's why he said, if there's any other commandments. Love your neighbor. It fits into that. So I can see why there is an argument in the body of Christ, law or no law is the law. So where is that confusing confusion coming from? We've already seen where James is pretty strong, uh, where he in chapter 2, verse 9 and 11 condemns uh partiality among people, you know, being partial. Uh he he signs that along with adultery and murder. And he says it's contrary to the law. So in all of these passages, including First Peter, where he tells them to be holy, even as I am holy. Paul affirms that we have seen in our recent series
that the law is holy and the commandment holy, righteous, and good Possibly quoting Romans 7:12. Some translations say just. Okay? But it's holy, righteous, and good. So if the law is holy, if the law is righteous, if the law is just, if the law is good, if the law is spiritual, then the law is not a four-letter word. The law is not bad. And we get the idea of it's bad.
