Key Text: James 2:8-12— “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is guilty of all…”

Key Text: James 2:8-12— “…For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” PRAYER

Last week we discovered various steps involved in conversion—the process of being born again.

Now we need to discover, what part does the law pay in this experience? So this week we shall see the connection between God’s Law and Grace. Our first text is James 2:8-12. POINT TO EMPHASIZE: James is talking about the Ten Commandments— verse 11 cites the seventh and the sixth Commandments.

POINT TO EMPHASIZE (cont’d): Evidently the Commandments were not done away with, because this was written about A.D. 60, twenty-nine years after the crucifixion of Jesus. If we break one, we are guilty of breaking them all. It is necessary, then, by God’s grace to keep all ten of them. We are judged by this law, which is called the “law of liberty” since the person who keeps it is free.

POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: Christ will not break His covenant or alter what goes out of His lips. The Law was the only thing God spoke from heaven directly to His people and then wrote it Himself (Deut. 10:1-5) and gave it to them. The psalmist declares (Psalm 111:7, 8) that all His commandments are sure. They stand forever.

POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: If we sin, we transgress the law. Sin is the transgression of the law. Therefore, violation of any one of the Ten Commandments is sin. We are told in Romans 4:5 that where there is no law, there is no sin. Therefore, we can sin only if there is a law. In Romans 6:23 Paul says that “the wages of sin is death...”

POINTS TO EMPHAISZE: – We are not at liberty to sin just because we are not under the law. – Grace gives us no right to transgress any part of the law, including the Sabbath. Rather, we need grace only when we break the law.

POINT TO EMPHASIZE: – Faith, or grace, does not make void the law of God but establishes it.

POINT TO EMPHASIZE: – The law is schoolmaster (or Guardian). It brings us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith.

POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: The woman caught committing adultery was condemned to death by the law. That is justice Christ pardoned her by showing unmerited favour, which is grace. She entered Christ’s presence under the law. She left His presence under grace. But notice that even though she was under grace, Christ told her to “Go, and sin no more.”

POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: We know God, if we keep His Commandments. If we claim to know Him and we are not keeping His Commandments, we are lying. When we keep God’s Commandments, it is evidence that His love dwells in our hearts. When we are Christians we are to walk in obedience as Christ did.

POINT TO EMPHASIZE: – The Lord says that His Law is holy, just and good.

POINT TO EMPHASIZE: – Commandment-keeping is necessary for eternal life. It is the fruit or evidence that a person is converted. – Revelation (12:17) says that commandment keeping is a mark of the “remnant,” or true church.

Christ offers His grace to each of us because we have broken the Law. Will you accept it? The choice is yours.

Thank God for His wonderful love in saving us. Pray that we may accept His grace and endeavour to follow His Commandments. Remember the needs of the family.

Next week we shall talk about one of God’s Laws—His Holy Day.