Proclaiming the Sabbath More Fully

“8. If ye fulfil the Royal Law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.” James 2:8, 9.

In 1John 3:4 we read:

“4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1John 3:4.

And, from Romans 7:7, we read:

“7. What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
Romans 7:7.

From these two texts, it is commonly understood, because Paul refers to the Tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not covet…, that sin is transgression of the Ten
Commandments.

But, James informs us, “If ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin.” Where in the Ten Commandments are these words found? They are not there. The
object of this paper is to show that James 2:8, 9 describe a definition of “sin”that has not been comprehended, nor taught, as a New Testament definition of what
constitutes sin.

Lets get a larger perspective of the context of these verses from James, chapter 2:

“1. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons.

2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my
footstool:

4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

8. If ye fulfil the Royal Law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is guilty of all.

11 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.

12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:1-12.

All my life I have been taught that the “Royal Law” of James 2:8 is defined by the quotations from the Ten Commandments in verse 11. But, James, himself,
gives an example of the “Royal Law” by quoting from it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Thus, James identifies the “Royal Law.” He quotes from
Leviticus 19:18:

“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18.

Further, while quoting from Leviticus 19:18 to identify the Royal Law, and that portion of it that he is concerned about, the context of James’ statement is in a
discussion about being a “respecter of persons.” These words are found in the Mosaic Law in the following verses:

“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not RESPECT the PERSON of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: [but] in righteousness thou shalt judge
thy neighbour.” Leviticus 19:15.

“Ye shall not RESPECT PERSONS in judgment; [but] ye shall hear the small and the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment [is] Elohim’s: and the
cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.” Deuteronomy 1:17.

“Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not RESPECT PERSONS, neither take a gift, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.”
Deuteronomy 16:19.

James wrote, “If ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin.” He does not quote from the Ten Commandments. He refers to the Mosaic Law. From the
context, it appears that by quoting Leviticus 19:18, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” in the context of speaking of not being a respecter of persons, and
since Leviticus 19:15, that commands: “[T]hou shalt not RESPECT the PERSON of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty,” is only a couple verses
away, James seems to be especially concerned with Leviticus 19, a portion of the Mosaic Law. THUS, JAMES INFORMS US THAT RATHER THAN
QUOTING FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, JAMES STATES, FROM THE MOSAIC LAW, THAT TRANSGRESSION OF THE
COMMAND, “thou shalt not respect persons,” IS THE COMMISSION OF SIN!!!

FURTHER, BY QUOTING FROM THE MOSAIC LAW, JAMES IDENTIFIES WHAT THE “ROYAL LAW” IS. IT IS THE MOSAIC LAW.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 explains that Israel’s kings were to make a copy of the law that was before the priests.

“14. When thou art come unto the land which YHWH thy Elohim giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the
nations that [are] about me;

15 Thou shalt in any wise set [him] king over thee, whom YHWH thy Elohim shall choose: [one] from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a
stranger over thee, which [is] not thy brother.

16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as YHWH hath said unto you, Ye
shall henceforth return no more that way.

17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of [that which is] before the priests the
Levites:

19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear YHWH his Elohim, to keep all the words of this law and these
statutes, to do them:

20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, [to] the right hand, or [to] the left: to the end that he may prolong [his]
days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

In 1Kings 7:21 we read that Solomon set up two pillars at the front of the Temple that he built:

“21 And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name
thereof Boaz.” 1Kings 7:21.

According to the following texts (and the historical record about them), the kings of Judah, at their coronation, would stand in front of one of these two pillars,
and would be anointed by the pouring of oil upon their head, while holding their copy of the scroll of the Torah. (The priests were anointed in front of the other
pillar and regularly read the Torah to the people during worship services while standing in front of the same pillar.)

“14 …the king stood by a pillar, as the manner [was], and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets:…”
2Kings 11:14.

“1. And the king [Josiah] sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

2 And the king went up into the house of YHWH, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people,
both small and great: and he [Josiah] read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of YHWH.

3 And the king STOOD BY A PILLAR, and made a covenant before YHWH, to walk after YHWH, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His
statutes with all [their] heart and all [their] soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.” 2Kings
23:2-3.

Please note the words, “the king…made a covenant before YHWH…and all the people stood to the covenant.” In the historical setting, this covenant, because a
“king” was involved, was a Suzerain Treaty. According to the ancient custom of the Suzerain Treaty, the King’s code of Law was written identically on the
front and back of a scroll to protect against changes. According to the Torah, the ideal was that the scroll of the Torah that the King or Priest held was the very
copy he had made himself.

According to Jewish writings, the copies of the Torah were to be made upon the skins of certain of the animal sacrifices. The Jewish writings indicate that
animal skins were chosen over papyrus because of their “permanence.” There are copies of scriptures that were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls that date back to
390B.C., nearly 2400 years old. This is hardly “temporary” as is asserted by some theologians. The association of the scroll of the Torah to the skins of the
animal sacrifices associate the Torah to Messiah our sacrifice.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.” What is the will of the
Father? That we keep his commandments. Christ, to enforce the will of his Father, became the author of the statutes and precepts given through Moses to the people of God.
Christians who extol Christ, but array themselves against the law governing the Jewish church, array Christ against Christ.” Ellen G. White, Second Advent Review and
Sabbath Herald, May 6, 1875, The Law of God.

The Suzerain Treaty, (with the concept from Deuteronomy 17 that the king of Israel was to rule himself and his kingdom, to make judgment, based upon the
double copied scroll of the Torah, written in front and in back) is the basis for the seven sealed book that is handed to the Lamb to open in Revelation chapters 4
and 5.

In conclusion, because Deuteronomy 17:18-19 requires that the king of Israel was to make for himself a copy of the scroll of the Torah that was before the
priests; because the King would hold a copy of the Torah while standing in front of the two Solomonic pillars, Jachin and Boaz, at the time of their anointing for
kingship; because Josiah shows this custom and commits himself and the people of Judah to a covenant to keep not just the Ten Commandments, but also the
“testimonies” and the “statutes with all [their] heart and all [their] soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book”; and because James
quotes from Leviticus 19 when identifying the “Royal Law, THEREFORE, the Royal Law is the whole Torah, not just the Ten Commandments as is commonly
taught. Here is a new perspective of what constitutes “sin” as defined by the New Testament. Here is the fullness of the Law that we are to obey.

“31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31.

“1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in SIN, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2.

“9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit SIN, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.” James 2:9.

Here is the Law from which the Lamb in Revelation, as He sits as King in Judgment, announces judgment upon its transgressors. Here is “The Royal Law,” the
Scroll of the Torah.