Keep All of God’s Law

Some things are easier than others and we may not even recognize that we have committed sins in part. James addresses one that may slip past us. Partiality. Some may consider this as discrimination, and they may be right to do so.

“³and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ ⁴have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” – James 2:3-4 (ESV)

This partiality to the rich man may not be something that we are even aware we are doing. We will just advise folks based on what we believe would be expected in situations. But aren’t we sinning by not treating everyone equally under the Law of the LORD. And in doing so, we are sinning and are to be accountable to that sin just as any other.

“⁸If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” – James 2:8-10 (ESV)

I feel I know what some will say, “but if we give the good seat to the poor man, isn’t that being partial to him as well?” I agree that when we are elevating one over another it is a sin of partiality, so that would not be wrong in thinking. It is in the intent of actions where we are accountable in this instance. If we are giving the seat to the first that came, regardless of who that is, then we are not being partial except to the early arrival. For that would be partiality, it would simply be following the process and following the Law of the LORD.

We are called to obey the LORD and do His work. Where this sin of partiality may not be conscious sin, it is still sin and we are to be accountable to that sin. We are to follow the Law of the LORD in its entirety and not just when we are conscious of it. We are accountable to sin, regardless of our knowing of it. Where we fail, we are to seek forgiveness, from God and others we have transgressed against.

What laws have you gone against? Do you even think about your transgressions that may not be conscious? What if you were to seek forgiveness daily from where you fail in God’s Law, even in those you were not conscious of at the time?

We Sin Because of the Law

Do you remember your parents telling you not to do something and as such you had an almost insatiable desire to do it now that they said not to? I know that I do. I remember with my first B.B. gun I was told not to point at something that I did not intend to shoot. Well, I did and pulled the trigger and shattered the back window of my uncle’s pickup. I did it because I was told not to. This is the effect of sin in our lives as well.

I know it sounds as though I am making an excuse for sin, saying that it was or is the law that made me do it. I am not doing that. I am saying that we know about the negative impacts of sin through the law that tells us not to do and our nature is such that we are drawn to that thing to really test the validity of the law.

“⁷What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ⁸But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.” – Romans 7:7-8 (ESV)

We see here that Paul is saying just that. He would not know what is or how to covet, had the law not indicated that it should not be done. And as he now knows, he is drawn to it like the moth to the flame, ultimately to his detriment. Had he not known of this thing called covetousness, he would not have been drawn to it. As he notes in the last part of verse eight, if he had not known, the he would not have sinned.

Now, as I have read, studied and written, just because we don’t know does not absolve us of the sin. I may not sin consciously, but I do sin subconsciously every day. And I pray for forgiveness every day. I am still accountable to all of my sin whether conscious or subconscious. The difference is in my heart. Without knowing of the sin through the law, I am not looking to sin. I am aware and do it because of my nature to test the bounds of the law. Without the law, I am working through things based on what is written on my heart thanks to God.

“⁹I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.” – Romans 7:9 (ESV)

So, I was alive and now I am dead. Not physically, but I am no longer free to simply live by way of the law on my heart that is placed there by the LORD. I am a slave to the law in knowing that this and that are against the LORD and thanks to my nature, I choose to do them anyway because I know. I choose sin thanks to knowing of sin through the law.

What is the law to you? Are you of the view that it keeps you from sin? What if you consciously sin because of knowing the law and what if you leaned on the law of your heart as the LORD wrote there?

Seek to be Pleasing to God

I have to remember that sin is sin is sin. There are things that we don’t think about being sin that are, like lusting in your heart. When we lust after another that is not our spouse, then we have committed sin. No, it is not a sin to admire another, but lusting after them certainly is. Omitting something so as “not to offend” them is a sin in that it is a lie of omission. So being pleasing to God is so hard in this life.

“¹⁸Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” – Hebrews 13:18 (ESV)

The writer of Hebrews asks for prayer to assist in the acting “honorably in all things”. The writer knows that we are not free from sin and need help as they “desire” to do be pleasing to God.

This verse and passage is so telling and the honest approach that each of us should have. There are so many things in our life that corrupt us into sin. Whether we are consciously aware of them or not. I know that I pray for forgiveness daily for the sins I have committed and will commit. I know that I have sinned, maybe not consciously, but subconsciously for sure. I cannot get through a day without sinning in some fashion and no one can. But, I can seek to be pleasing to God. I can strive to be better.

I don’t steal and I don’t kill. These are the conscious sins that everyone can see and I do well in avoiding these sins. But, look at how I open this post and the subconscious sin that we may not be aware. Those are the ones that get me. I will commit those sins that are under the surface that hurt God the Father. He knows of them before I am aware and is hurt by them. They are not pleasing to Him, and I must ask for forgiveness for those.

The verse above is a great one to remind me and us that we are to seek honor in everything we do. We are to do those things that are pleasing to the LORD. I am tasked with bring glory to the LORD and avoiding sin does that, but confessing sin and asking for forgiveness does as well. Allowing the LORD to work in my life gives Him glory and therefore brings joy to His face.

What is your view on being pleasing to the LORD? Do you believe in the idea that if you avoid the known sin you have somehow won the battle? What if you were to seek to please the LORD by allowing Him to work in your life?