What is YOUR interpretation of James 2:10 ?

[johnjanuary1984]

I'm curious. Does this passage mean that if you break just one of the 10 commandments your just as guilty as the guy who broke all of them ????

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

The 2 verses before it.

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

We cant pick and choose what we will keep.

and
15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

 

[Gregory Thompson]

the point is you cannot keep the old law, because you'll break one of the points. The point of the message is to direct the jewish christian audience towards the teachings of Jesus as illustrated in the post before mine.

 

[johnjanuary1984]

The 2 verses before it.

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

We cant pick and choose what we will keep.

and
15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

Does James 2:10 mean that those who broke only 1 of the 10 commandments are just as guilty as the guy who breaks all of them ????

 

[johnjanuary1984]

the point is you cannot keep the old law, because you'll break one of the points. The point of the message is to direct the jewish christian audience towards the teachings of Jesus as illustrated in the post before mine.

Does James 2:10 mean that those who broke only 1 of the 10 commandments are just as guilty as the guy who breaks all of them ????

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Does James 2:10 mean that those who broke only 1 of the 10 commandments are just as guilty as the guy who breaks all of them ????

That's what it says, so that's what it means.

Even the concept of saying "you say you are God's Son, so this makes you equal with God" is that generation's logic .. it wouldn't exactly follow today because the culture is radically different.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

There's this concept in the scripture that seems to communicate that the seed = the tree = the fruit / they are the same.

It's related to this concept also.

 

[coffee4u]

I'm curious. Does this passage mean that if you break just one of the 10 commandments your just as guilty as the guy who broke all of them ????

The ten are but a tiny part of Old Testament law, there were over 600 laws. God wants us to know that as human beings we are not capable of keeping his laws which is why we need Jesus. That was the point of the law, not only to give guidelines on how to to live but to show mankind just how wrenched he really is and how in need of saving he is. That this is all of God's Grace to us, not by our own striving, not by our own goodness. It is God's gift to us. Given to us while we were undeserving.

Romans 3:24


24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

 

[Minister Monardo]

I'm curious.

Has he not established partiality in dishonoring the poor equal to murder and adultery?
11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”
Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become
a transgressor of the law.
Do you affirm the truth he presents here? How much weight do you give it?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith
and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

If you consider v. 11 in isolation, there seems to be a no-brainer.
If you are a murderer, the fact that you never committed adultery is beside the point.
If you commit adultery, the fact that you never committed murder is beside the point.
The fact is, the topic is showing favoritism. Will we take this seriously?
Hear what the Spirit is saying by the hand of James and also by Paul.
James 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Romans 2:
1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever
you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge do the same things.
2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who
practice such things.
3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things,
and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

Will you be conformed to the image of His Son? Then know this:
Romans 2:11 For there is no partiality with God.

For this is the conclusion of the matter for James.
James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.

The Lord has made this clear.
Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint
and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:
justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

James and Paul are both dealing with weightier matters.

 

[Ahermit]

To break a law is to harbour a 'conditional' mindset. . . the very thing that breaks all the laws.

 

[Minister Monardo]

Does James 2:10 mean that those who broke only 1 of the 10 commandments are just as guilty as the guy who breaks all of them ????

No, he is saying if you have broken one, the fact that you didn't break the other nine
is pointless. You are a law breaker.
One is enough, for there is a sin that is unto death. 1 John 5:16, 17.

 

[Soyeong]

I'm curious. Does this passage mean that if you break just one of the 10 commandments your just as guilty as the guy who broke all of them ????

I think that James 2:10 is one of the verses that is most commonly taken out of context to in order to apply to something that has nothing to do with the point he was making. In James 2:1-11, he was speaking to people who has already commit the sin of favoritism, so he was not telling them that they needed to have perfect obedience because that would have already been too late, he was not telling them that they aren't capable of obeying God's law, and he and he was not discouraging them from trying to keep it, but rather he was encouraging them to repent and to do a better job of obeying God's law more consistently. So if someone does not commit adultery, but still commits murder, then they are still a lawbreaker and still need to repent and to return to obedience by faith. For verse 11 clarifies the meaning of verse 10 and verse 10 is not suggesting that if we commit murder, then we become guilty of commit adultery and of transgressing all of God's other laws, but that breaking any law causes someone to become a lawbreaker, who then needs to repent.

There a legitimate and illegitimate reasons for not following a particular law and James 2:10 is only speaking in regard to legitimate reasons. For example, Jesus did not follow the laws in regard to having a period or to giving birth, or the Israelites were given a number of laws with the condition "when you enter the land..." while the were still wandering the wilderness for 40 years. However, if someone were being selective about which laws that they were choosing to follow out of all of the laws that they are legitimately applicable to them, then that is what James 2:1-11 is speaking against.

 

[Minister Monardo]

However, if someone wen re being selective about which laws that they were choosing to follow our of all of the laws that are applicable to them, then that is what James 2:1-11 is speaking against.

Does he not place favoritism as serious an offense as murder and adultery?
His main point is found in his conclusions, to which v. 11 stops short.
12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.

This is the weightier matter. (see post #9)

 

[Minister Monardo]

However, if someone were being selective about which laws that they were choosing to follow our of all of the laws that are applicable to them, then that is what James 2:1-11 is speaking against.

He is not so much speaking against being selective, choosing laws to follow, but that they
were underestimating the serious nature of the offense. You can formulate "Thou shalt not
show favoritism" from an enlightened understanding of the Law, such as Paul saying:
Romans 13:10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
An understanding that they had not grasped if they had shown favoritism.

 

[Soyeong]

The ten are but a tiny part of Old Testament law, there were over 600 laws. God wants us to know that as human beings we are not capable of keeping his laws which is why we need Jesus. That was the point of the law, not only to give guidelines on how to to live but to show mankind just how wrenched he really is and how in need of saving he is. That this is all of God's Grace to us, not by our own striving, not by our own goodness. It is God's gift to us. Given to us while we were undeserving.

Romans 3:24


24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Nowhere does the Bible say that God wants us to know that as human beings we are not capable of keeping His laws, but just the opposite. In Deuteronomy 30:11-14, it says that God's law is not too difficult to obey and that obedience brings life and blessing, while disobedience brings death and a curse, so choose life! So it was presenting as a possibility and as a choice, not as something that we are not capable of keeping. Thinking that we are not capable of keeping it would mean that God essentially gave the law with the goal of cursing His children, which would be expressing an extremely negative view of God, when in reality His law was given as a gift for our own good in order to bless us (Deuteronomy 6:24, 10:12-13). Likewise, in 1 John 5:3, to love God is to keep His commandments, which are not burdensome, so denying that we are capable of keeping God's laws is denying that anyone has ever loved God and denying that they are not burdensome. Furthermore, we have examples of people who did keep God's laws, such as in Joshua 22:1-3 and Luke 1:5-6.

In Psalms 119:29-30, David wanted to put false was far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faithfulness, so God shows His grace to us by teaching us how to keep His law, and this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.

 

[pasifika]

Does James 2:10 mean that those who broke only 1 of the 10 commandments are just as guilty as the guy who breaks all of them ????

Yep...because it's all God's commandments ie it either all or nothing..

 

[Soyeong]

Yep...because God it's all God's commandments ie it either all or nothing..

I'm curious, what is your view on Didache 6?:

Didache 6:1
See lest any man lead you astray from this way of righteousness, for he teacheth thee apart from God.

Didache 6:2
For if thou art able to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, thou shalt be perfect; but if thou art not able, do that which thou art able.

Didache 6:3
But concerning eating, bear that which thou art able; yet abstain by all means from meat sacrificed to idols; for it is the worship of dead gods.

 

[pasifika]

I'm curious, what is your view on Didache 6?:

Didache 6:1
See lest any man lead you astray from this way of righteousness, for he teacheth thee apart from God.

Didache 6:2
For if thou art able to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, thou shalt be perfect; but if thou art not able, do that which thou art able.

Didache 6:3
But concerning eating, bear that which thou art able; yet abstain by all means from meat sacrificed to idols; for it is the worship of dead gods.

Hello @Soyeong, sorry I don't understand what's the "Didache" is..

 

[Soyeong]

Hello @Soyeong, sorry I don't understand what's the "Didache" is..

"The Didache (/ˈdɪdəkeɪ, -ki/; Greek: Διδαχή, translit. Didakhé, lit. "Teaching"),[1] also known as The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), is a brief anonymous early Christian treatise written in Koine Greek, dated by modern scholars to the first[2] or (less commonly) second century AD.[3] The first line of this treatise is "The teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles (or Nations) by the twelve apostles".[a] The text, parts of which constitute the oldest extant written catechism, has three main sections dealing with Christian ethics, rituals such as baptism and Eucharist, and Church organization. The opening chapters describe the virtuous Way of Life and the wicked Way of Death. The Lord's Prayer is included in full. Baptism is by immersion, or by affusion if immersion is not practical. Fasting is ordered for Wednesdays and Fridays. Two primitive Eucharistic prayers are given. Church organization was at an early stage of development. Itinerant apostles and prophets are important, serving as "chief priests" and possibly celebrating the Eucharist. Meanwhile, local bishops and deacons also have authority and seem to be taking the place of the itinerant ministry.[2]"

Didache - Wikipedia

 

[pasifika]

"The Didache (/ˈdɪdəkeɪ, -ki/; Greek: Διδαχή, translit. Didakhé, lit. "Teaching"),[1] also known as The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), is a brief anonymous early Christian treatise written in Koine Greek, dated by modern scholars to the first[2] or (less commonly) second century AD.[3] The first line of this treatise is "The teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles (or Nations) by the twelve apostles".[a] The text, parts of which constitute the oldest extant written catechism, has three main sections dealing with Christian ethics, rituals such as baptism and Eucharist, and Church organization. The opening chapters describe the virtuous Way of Life and the wicked Way of Death. The Lord's Prayer is included in full. Baptism is by immersion, or by affusion if immersion is not practical. Fasting is ordered for Wednesdays and Fridays. Two primitive Eucharistic prayers are given. Church organization was at an early stage of development. Itinerant apostles and prophets are important, serving as "chief priests" and possibly celebrating the Eucharist. Meanwhile, local bishops and deacons also have authority and seem to be taking the place of the itinerant ministry.[2]"

Didache - Wikipedia

Okay thanks, I can get their teachings from the Bible NT.

So, I think their(apostles) teachings is for Christians to live a "holy" life and to do that Christians have to believe and obey the Gospel message in which they proclaimed.