James 2:8, 12 (ESV)

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well….  So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

There are two laws referenced in this passage, really three. The first is the Royal Law. That is defined by Jesus words quoting Leviticus, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). The second is the Law of Moses which is summarized by “love your neighbor as yourself.” It is implied by the discussion in verses 9-11 by the truth that if you break one law, then you are guilty of breaking the whole law. The final law is the Law of Liberty. The reader is challenged to speak and to act “as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” The Law of Liberty is a law of mercy. That’s why James writes says that mercy triumphs over judgment.

As believers, we are no longer under the Law of Moses. Here is the interesting thing, the Law of Moses can be summed up by “Love God and love your neighbor,” but the Law of Moses cannot produce love. The Law of Liberty grows in the believer the very thing the Law of Moses cannot. It changes us. It produces love and mercy. James challenges the believer to speak and act as one under the Law of Liberty. Understanding that we are new creations in Christ both motivates and empowers the believer to speak in love. Believing that we are new creations in Christ motivates and empowers the believer to live in mercy and express that same mercy to others. It understands that the Cross covers all my sins. It also understands that the Cross covers your sins as well. I can show mercy to others because I have been show mercy by God.

Christmas is a time of “Peace and Goodwill.” We can’t conjure up feelings peace and goodwill by simply putting up colored lights, mailing cards, and giving gifts. Peace and goodwill start in the heart rightly related to God through Jesus Christ. Peace and goodwill grow in a heart transformed by the grace and mercy of God. It overflows in grace and mercy to others. We do not show grace and mercy because we will make God angry if we don’t, but because the Spirit of Christ indwells us, empowers us, and grows grace and mercy in our hearts. We are to live as those judged, not by God’s Law of Moses, but by God’s Law of Liberty. What a difference it makes when we begin to understand that God evaluates us according to his mercy, not according to his justice. His justice was satisfied at the cross. We live by the Law of Liberty. It is not a law to obey, but a law that defines who I am in Christ. Obedience, love, and mercy flow out of that identity. That is the spirit of Christmas. That is the Spirit of Christ.