The Law of Liberty

Q. What does “the law of liberty” mean in James 2.12?

A. First of all, let’s define what the law of liberty is. Simply, it is the Torah; the commandments found in the Scriptures of what is call the “old” testament. That was the only Scripture James could have been referring to in the first century. Torah means “instruction, teaching” and is translated ‘law” in English. But it should be understood in the sense of teaching.

Now, what does liberty mean? The Torah and its commands have always been seen by believers as liberty. In Exodus 32.16 it says that God “engraved” the tablets given to Moses with His own hand. The Hebrew word for engraved is “charut” but it has the same root in Hebrew as the word for freedom “cherut”. In Psalm 119.45 it says that “I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts”. Psalm 119 is written in a poetical style that has 22 sections, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has eight verses that begin with that letter. For instance, the first section begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet “aleph”. Then each verse of that section begins with aleph. This goes from aleph to tav (last letter) which symbolizes the word of God.

Every verse of the Psalm 119 (176) mentions the commandments. So, there is no doubt what the writer had in mind when he wrote precepts. So, what James had in mind was the Torah when he wrote 2.12. He said that in everything we say and everything we do we are to keep in mind that it will be judged according to the word of G0d, the Torah. It has not been done away with and replaced as some teach. Sunday has not replaced Saturday as the Lords Day, we cannot eat pork and lobster,cannot hate our neighbor or commit adultery and so on. I see people in my hometown picketing a local restaurant because someone found a roach in their food. People are outraged and want monetary compensation, and yet these very same people will go out and pay 10.00 a pound for lobster to eat. Both creatures are arthapods and perform the same basic function in the earth. The lobster has been called “the roach of the sea” by some. The point is, if one followed the Torah, you wouldn’t eat either one, and that truth sets us free.

You see, civil law to a criminal is an enemy because it restricts him. He cannot carry out his criminal behavior without problems if he gets caught. But, to the law-abiding citizen that same law is an assurance of peace and safety and it ensures freedom. It’s the same thing with the spiritual law. The spiritually “criminal mind” wants to throw off the Torah and Gods law because he wants to carry out what he wants to do. He wants to work Saturdays and make money, he wants to eat pork and lobster and unclean creatures because he likes them. He gets even with his neighbor, curses his rulers, celebrates pagan festivals and has idols because he is law unto himself. But, with one who believes in the commandments, he can walk at liberty because he is free from spiritual anarchy.

He loves the commandments because he is free to serve the Lord. When people tell the story of the Exodus they always quote Moses as telling Pharaoh “Let my people go” but they forget the rest of what he told him. He said “Let my people go (actually it means “send my people out”) that they may serve Me.” Their freedom was given to them so they could go to Mt. Sinai and receive the commandments and serve the Lord. It’s the same today. We are set free by the blood of the Lamb and we go to Mt. Sinai to receive instruction (Torah) on how we are to serve the Lord. Most so-called believers want to go around Mt. Sinai right to the promises, but it doesn’t work that way. How the Torah sets me free can be described like this. I don’t have to wonder about many doctrines out their.

When someone tells me Sunday is the Lords Day, I know that wrong because His word says otherwise so I’m set free from wondering about who is right. When someone tells me I can eat whatever I want, I go to the word and see that isn’t true, again free. When I am confronted with the paganism and idolatry of what many call festivals and worship, I can go to the Torah and check it out…free! I have myself a lot of time, money and heartache by filtering the teachings of many through the Torah, again I’m free. I have by no means reached where I should be, but I’ve stopped at Mt. Sinai, received my instruction (Torah, teaching) and am traveling through this wilderness on my way to the Promised Land, free to serve the Lord. So, the law of liberty in James 2.12 is the Torah, the commandments.