March 13, 2023
For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. James 2:11
In highlighting two of the Ten Commandments, James is essentially highlighting all of them for us. Each one is integral to each of the others. God created us to be relational, the relationship with Him being foundational to building a life of good relationships with others. Integrity of body, mind, and spirit hinges upon accepting the love and the law of God while learning to wholeheartedly love and obey Him. The Holy Spirit’s message to us given through James identifies essential elements in a life of faith and obedience, harmoniously interwoven.
The sins of our opening verse are easily identified. Or are they? Jesus added depth when he said that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). A spiritual understanding comes with the realization that anything in my priorities placed ahead of the Lord’s will is spiritual adultery or idolatry. And if I claim to place the Lord first in my life, yet I treat with coldness others who do not agree with me on this or that point, then I have erected a barrier between others and God because of my unloving, angry attitude. According to Jesus, anger without a cause (Matthew 5:22) is on the same spiritual level as murder.
If I choose to accept only some of His words while rejecting others, I have fallen for the strategy of the enemy which is intended to prevent the gain of eternal life. And since the only alternative is eternal death, might I be an accessory to murder? This may seem a bit of a stretch, but should not every follower of Jesus seek His grace daily to attract people into God’s eternal kingdom? Only a genuine response to His love will empower me to see the heavenly potential in others. Initiated by His love, my response of obedience to Him may truly help another to find Him.
We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:9