James 2:12
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
…..”the law that gives freedom…” It is the Spirit of the Law as Christ taught, that gives freedom, not the Letter of the Law, as practiced by the Pharisees, which pins down and punishes people who don’t know better. The Spirit of the Law is truth and mercy and calls us to a higher standard that considers how godly agape love interprets it. Mercy in judgment, which will be shown to those who practice mercy, will result in one giving others the benefit of doubt, refraining from judging by appearances and deferring to God, who judges according to the heart and knows all the circumstances and history of one’s actions and motives.
The law that gives freedom from sin’s consequences of death also gives freedom for obedience and assurance. If you embrace only freedom from death and not freedom for the new life, you have only gotten half the blessing.
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