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A
The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. The law of liberty is mentioned two times in the Book of James. What is the definition of this term and how is it applied to the Christian's life or to the church? This is Grace in Focus. Thank you for being with us today. We are a ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We'd love for you to know more about us by going to our website, faithalone.org One thing you will find there is a free subscription to our magazine, also called Grace in Focus. It is a full color, full length magazine with great articles and you can get it for free. Free means free, but you do have to pay postage if you live outside of the 48 contiguous United States. Sign up subscribe today@faithalone.org now with today's question and answer discussion, here are Bob Wilkin and Sam Marr.
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B
So Sam, I think you've got another question there.
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C
Yep. We've got a question from ET Phone home. Yeah, not the extraterrestrial. The question is, is there a clear definition of the law of liberty?
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B
Well, the expression the law of liberty does occur in the New Testament. It's found, well, it depends on your translation, but in the new King James it's found in the the letter of James, chapter 1, verse 25 and chapter 2 and verse 12. Let's see, in 125 it says, but the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed in what he does. And then also I think, do you have two 12 there? James 12. 200 and twelve. It also has law of liberty.
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C
Yeah. 212 says speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. Now that's the NIV translation. NIV translates it the law that gives freedom rather than the law of freedom or the law of liberty.
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B
Yeah. Now the new King James would be law of liberty. And in terms of a definition, commentators give their own definition of this. We have a commentary that we put out by Zane Hodges. And do you have there, Sam, what he says about the law of liberty?
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C
Yeah, he, he first he translates it as the perfect law of liberty. And then Hodges definition of it is the perfect law of liberty is the spiritual mirror into which a believer looks when he hears the implanted word. Since the commands of the Christian law are in accord with his innermost nature as a born again person and they are not in any way a form of bondage, but rather they are a law of liberty or of freedom.
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B
Okay, now when he talks about the implanted word, do you remember where that comes from? Sam? It's earlier in James 1. If you look at verse 21, therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. Well, now I'm introducing a new problem because there's a new verse to explain. But the salvation of the soul in James, as well as the entire Bible is saving one's physical life. And that's what's involved here, is delivering one's physical life. And he's saying that we need to receive with meekness the word that's been implanted in us, the implanted word. So the question there is, in what sense is the word of God implanted in us? Now, what a lot of people would argue is that in the New Covenant, you remember, God says he will write his law in their hearts, Jeremiah 31, 31, 33. But the new Covenant is not with the church. The New Covenant is with Israel. And God's going to write the Mosaic Law in the hearts of, of Jewish people in the coming millennial kingdom. But that's different than saying we have the implanted word. I would suggest that what he's saying is the Word is implanted in our lives or our hearts or our minds when we hear it taught. And so James's readers had heard the word of God taught and it had been implanted in them. And, and now they need to continue to receive it, that is, continue to apply it to their thinking and to their mind so that their behavior will be transformed. And so read the Hodges quote again. Then he says that when we look into the perfect law of liberty, it's.
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C
Like looking into the spiritual mirror into it to believer looks when he hears the implanted word.
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B
Okay, so when we're in church and we hear the word of God taught, it's now implanted in us. If we're listening, if we're paying attention, if we're longing for the pure milk of the, of the Word, like Peter says in 1st Peter 2:1 and 2, if we're doing that, it gets implanted in us. And then if we keep our attention and focus on it, it has a transforming impact on, on our lives. And so it's a law of liberty because it does set us free from sin's bondage. And so I would say in answer to ET's question, that the definition of law of Liberty is that the precepts found in God's word for this age, that would be the commands of the New Testament, which is called the Royal law, or it's also called the law of liberty, that those precepts are that which change our minds, which renew our minds. Romans 12:2, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. And so, as God changes our thinking from the implanted word, we're now experiencing the law of liberty.
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A
We will rejoin in just a moment. But years ago, Zane Hodges wrote the Gospel Under Siege. Sadly, this is still true, and GES President Bob Wilkin has recently written its sequel. Bob's new book, the Gospel is Still Under Siege, is a book about theological clarity on the biblical teaching about eternal salvation. It is available now. Secure yours today at the Grace Evangelical Society's bookstore. Find it@faithalone.org store. That's faithalone.org store. Now back to today's content.
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B
And by the way, this is similar to Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1. You were in a class I taught this last semester on Galatians, and we went through the whole book in Greek. And when we came to 5:1, it's interesting that 5:1 begins talking with Liberty, and 4:31 ended talking with Liberty. And Paul's point in Galatians 5:1 is that we are to stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has set us free.
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C
Right. And this liberty, as you said, this is being contrasted against the law that they were previously under. So in chapter four, it's talking about he talks about the child of the slave woman and the child of the free woman. And so he's using those as the examples there. So that was actually I was going to ask you a question as a follow up to our email question about the law of liberty. If you and like Zane Hodges are saying if you stare intently into the law of liberty, those are the things that happens. Is that can you say the same for the law that the Jews were under at the time, and they were staring intently into the previous law, and they reaped sin out of that? Is that a fair assessment?
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B
Well, that's a very good question, because Romans 7 Paul does say that as he focuses on the Commandments, for example, you shall not covet it produced covetousness in him. But yet if you read Psalm 119, which is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it's an acrostic psalm, which means every one of the 22 letters in the Hebrew Alphabet are represented there. That means the first letter in the first word in each verse starts with the 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, but it's times 8. That's why it's 176. So the first eight verses all start with the Hebrew letter A, Aleph. Then the next eight all start with the Hebrew word for, basically B, beit, and then the Hebrew word for G, which is gimel. And so the next eight go that way and all the way through. All but about three or four of the verses mention the law of God. They mention the precepts of God, the commandments of God, the word of God, all through there. And so what's to be recognized is, yes, the psalmist is saying, we delight in meditating on God's Word. And he doesn't mean simply the Torah, simply the first five books of the Old Testament, but the entire Old Testament, the Tanakh, as it's called. And so, yes, the Old Testament saint would be set free by meditating on God's word, which included his commandments. But if they were a man after God's own heart, like David, they would not think that somehow they were sanctified and they were growing as a result of some sort of legalistic observance of the Commandments. Instead, they would be like David who said, sacrifices and burnt offerings, you haven't desired. What you want is a broken and contrite heart. He recognized that the commandments God gave us were set there so that our hearts would be properly aligned with God. So he recognized in God's Word the basic principle of Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18. And so it's wrong to think that the Old Testament believers were like the people who were constantly jousting with Jesus. They were jousting with him because they did not understand the Old Testament correctly. They thought they could have eternal life by keeping the commandments. And the Lord Jesus Christ made it clear, no, you can't do that. It's just by faith in me. And they thought they could be sanctified by focusing on and keeping the commandments. And that's not it either. We're sanctified by meditating on God's word, which includes the Commandments, but an awful lot more than the Commandments as well. So, yeah, real good question. And I think we need to recognize that the law of liberty is the law which sets us free. You remember Jesus said in John chapter eight, he says, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Right. Well, lots of people have given sermons and messages on that and powerful sermons and messages. But one of the things they fail to see is, is that what he's talking about there is freedom from bondage to sin. He's talking to people who are born again. John 8, 30 and 31, both times say he's talking to believers and he's saying, if you abide in my word, then you will be set free and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. So basically what the Lord said in John 8, 30, 32 is very similar to the law of liberty, James 1:25 and James 2:12.
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C
Yeah, so thank you for the question and hopefully for anyone that was also curious about the law of liberty because it is a term that people use a lot, but they don't always define it.
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B
Right.
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C
And it only appears, I think those two times in the New Testament.
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B
Right.
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C
So I think that was a good definition of it. Well, thank you all for listening and.
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B
Remember to keep grace in focus. Thanks everybody.
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A
We invite you to check out our Monday, Wednesday and Friday five minute YouTube videos at YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. You will love the content and learn a lot. There are a lot of costs involved in staying on the air. That's why we so much appreciate our financial partners. If you'd like to learn how to become one, you can find out more by going to faithalone.org on our next episode. Forgiveness and letting go. What's the difference? Please join us then. And in the meantime, let's keep grace in focus. The proceeding has been a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.