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James 2:12 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
¹²So speak and so act as men who are to be judged by the law of liberty.

The Israelites under the Mosaic Law were in slavery, while Christians are free from the penalty of sin. (Gal. 4:24-26) This freedom that Christians possess is exemplified in what the apostle Paul called the ‘spiritual Israel.’ If they, like the Israelites, were under the Mosaic Law, they would be judged as transgressors, not being innocent nor capable of having a righteous standing in the eyes of God. Thus, Christians need to behave as such, fully realizing that they are not under the Mosaic Law but under another law, “the law of liberty.” “The genitive “of liberty” (ἐλευθερίας [eleutherias]) remains descriptive, depicting a “liberating” law.”^[1] They are no longer enslaved to sin, which sin the Mosaic law made more noticeable or prominent. (Rom. 7:8, 10) What they say and do will be judged by God under the conditions of his new covenant. – 1 Peter 2:16.

Jeremiah 31: 31-34 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

³¹“Behold, days are coming,” declares Jehovah, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant which I made with their forefathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares Jehovah. ³³For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Jehovah: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know Jehovah,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares Jehovah. For I will forgive their error, and I will remember their sin no more.”

This law of liberty does not exempt Christians from obeying God, for he writes his law on their hearts. They have a living faith in Christ, knowing that they will be judged as God had promised. God will see that they have genuine faith, as it will be evidenced by their works. Jesus Christ is the mediator of this new covenant that Jeremiah prophesied and Paul quotes in Hebrews 8:8-12, and it is his propitiatory (covering over) sacrifice that the new covenant is set in place. God the Father says, “I will forgive their error, and I will remember their sin no more.” – Jeremiah 31:34.

Accordingly, Christians under the law of liberty know that God is not some fault-finding God, seeking to find wrongdoing within them. The Psalmist makes it clear that God makes allowances for our human imperfections and our limitations. “If you, O Jehovah, should mark errors, O Jehovah, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” Micah, the prophet, tells us, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk modestly with your God?” – Psalm 130:3-4; Micah 6:8.

James tells his readers that they need to speak and act like men who are to be judged by the law of liberty. We are told to speak and act because it is with our words and actions that favoritism is shown. James wants his readers to understand that the very law of God, which they were breaking, was the same law that would judge them when God judges them. These needed to understand, comprehend, and accept responsibility for their impartiality before they would ever make the necessary changes to their Christian self. They needed to speak and act as Christ would expect them to do, i.e., setting aside favoritism and replacing it with loving-kindness for all. Moo writes, “God’s gracious acceptance of us does not end our obligation to obey him; it sets it on a new footing. No longer is God’s law a threatening, confining burden. For the will of God now confronts us as a law of liberty—an obligation we discharge in the joyful knowledge that God has both ‘liberated’ us from the penalty of sin and given us, in his Spirit, the power to obey his will. To use James’s own description, this law is an ‘implanted word,’ ‘written on the heart,’ that has the power to save us (Jas. 1:21).”^[2] Christians are to be judged by God’s law of liberty. God’s law set Christians free from the wages of sin, death (Rom. 6:23), but believers are still judged by the law of liberty, which in this context, restricted people with favoritism.

The Bible difficulty is this: James is saying that the law of God brings liberty into the Christian life, while the apostle Paul says that the Law of Moses is “bearing children into slavery.: (Gal. 4:24) Thus, James’ words seem to be at odds with the apostle Paul. We should take a moment and unpack James’ words.

The Mosaic law code was not “the law of liberty” or, literally, a law of freedom. (Gal. 4:24-26) This level of freedom did not belong to the Israelite people but rather to the “Israel of God,” namely, spiritual Israel, that is, genuine Christians within true Christianity. If Christians were judged by the Mosaic Law, it would be a condemnation to death as lawbreakers, receiving no declaration of innocence, with no hope of a resurrection. Therefore, Christians are not judged by the Mosaic law but rather by another law, by “the law of liberty,” literally, that is, a “law of freedom.”^[3] In other words, Christians are no longer enslaved to sin, and the condemnation of death that is the sin that the Mosaic Law highlighted. (Rom. 7:8, 10) The Israel of God, namely, “the twelve tribes” of spiritual Israel, are not under the Mosaic law, but rather, they are under the “law” of the new covenant. (Jer. 31:31-33) Christians, the Israel of God, will be judged based on the new covenant. – 1 Peter 2:16.

This law of liberty or law of freedom does not mean that Christians are free to do as they please and need not be obedient to God, as the law has been written on their heart. Through a genuine faith in Jesus Christ, Christians are confident that they will be found favorable on judgment day. They will have shown an evident demonstration of their faith. Jesus Christ is the mediator of this new covenant. It is based on his propitiatory sacrifice that the new covenant is established and that God may complete the words of that covenant, that is: “I will forgive their error, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:34) Therefore, the ones living under the law of liberty (a law of freedom), they carry themselves, not as though God is seeking them out, to find fault with them, but rather as ones who continue in their walk with God, jealously guarding their covenant relationship with him. – Psalm 130:3-4; Micah 6:8.

The law of Christ is continually connected with freedom. (John 8:31-32) Of course, there has never been nor will ever be absolute freedom for humankind; it is relative to their position under God’s sovereignty. Nevertheless, the law of liberty or law of freedom offers us far more freedom than its predecessor, the Mosaic Law. Unlike the Mosaic law, no one is born under the law of Christ. Factors such as race and place of birth are immaterial. True, genuine Christians freely choose in their hearts to accept to live under and be obedient to the law of Christ, that is, “the law of liberty” or the law of freedom. They do not find the law of Christ to be a burden. (Matt. 11:28-30) We have to remember that the Mosaic Law was a part of the object lesson that God has been teaching mankind since he expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. It was designed to teach man that he is a sinner worthy of death, who is in dire need of a ransom sacrifice that will redeem him. (Gal. 3:19) On the other hand, the law of Christ teaches us that the long-awaited Messiah came, paid the ransom sacrifice with his perfect life, freeing us from the terrible oppression of sin and death! – Romans 5:20-21; John 3:16.

Our trusting in Jesus Christ involves our living by the law of liberty, that is, the law of Christ. This would mean obeying all of Christ’s commands, which does not require that we memorize hundreds of laws and statutes. Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, was inspired to pen about 613 laws and statutes. The Mosaic Law for the Israelites. Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, never wrote down a single law. Rather, he lived this new covenant perfectly, this new law, setting the example for us. We have a pattern to follow by walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ as we take in knowledge of his life and ministry. (1 Pet. 2:21) If we recall, we would note that the first-century Christian’s worship was called “The Way.” (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:22) To those early Christians, the law of Christ was represented in the life of Christ. For them and us, to imitate Jesus was to obey the law of Christ. Their intense love for Jesus Christ showed that this law was, in fact, written on their hearts. (Jer. 31:33; 1 Pet. 4:8) If we are obedient because of our great love, we will never feel as though we are being oppressed, but rather, we will feel liberated, set free from sin and death.

Love was a central part of the Mosaic Law. Moreover, love is the very essence of the law of Christ. Christian law would include the new command to have a self-sacrificing love for one another. In other words, Christians are to love as Jesus loved, being willing to offer their lives on behalf of their brothers and sisters both figuratively and literally if need be. (John 13:34-35; 15:13) The law of Christ is an even higher expression of theocracy, that is, rule by God under his sovereignty, than the Law of Moses was.

[1] Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 119.

[2] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000), 117.

^[3]Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, et al., The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition (Interlinear with Morphology) (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993), Jas 2:12.