JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q3. The Perfect Law - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q3. What is this "perfect law" that James mentions? How would you define it? How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)? In what sense does it bring liberty?

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Love is the perfect law. I am coming to understand that the Bible is a love story...God's love to us and His guidance for living the very best life and beyond. This is his plan for us. Love is the perfect law...the law that the Prince of Peace gave to us. Love God with all your soul and all your strength and love one another as yourself. ALL ELSE hang on these laws. You are never in conflict with God's laws for living by choosing to act on these two laws. I'm amazed that He made these laws so simple, that even a child could follow them. He loves us so much, that he wants NONE of us left out of his kingdom. In fact, we really need to struggle to be left out. This is, the perfect law.

The perfect is to "Love the Lord with all your mind, heart, soul & strength" and to "love your neigbor as yourself" as all the commandments are hinged on this.

If we love the Lord with all our being we will automatically desire to do His will. The Lord loves to love so we would also love as the Lord does. However, the Holy Spirit is key here because our fleshly nature is very selfish and it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can be capable of loving as the Lord loves. Liberty is being free from all the sin that entangles us and keeps us in bondage. When we love God and obey His word we are kept from being slaves to sin, thus being free to God.

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[color="blue"]3a.) Loving God as perfectly as He loves us. I find it neat that when God and love are used together, it is agape love that is God.[/color]
3b.) How would you define it?
[color="blue"]3b.) Vine's Expository Dictionary defines it: "In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the deep and constant "love" and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential "love" in them towards the Giver, and a practical "love" towards the Giver, and a practical "love" towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver. Page 382[/color]
3c.) How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)?
[color="blue"]3c.) John tells us; "God is love." Since we are His children through faith in Jesus Christ, should we not reflect the character of Our Father? Fits perfectly with the Jesus' teaching on this. No surprise.[/color]
3d.) In what sense does it bring liberty?
[color="blue"]3d.) You do not have to try to keep a running tally of what to do and not to do. If we are in the agape relationship with God, our love for others will give us freedom.[/color]

I agree with you all... Love the Lord... Love your neighbor...
Why do we find these two simple and perfect laws so diffiult to follow at times?
I love how trying to follow them makes me a better person for the Lord everyday... Someday I hope to get it all right.

I think the perfect law of liberty, which we are to study to do it, is everything that Jesus has said, everything in scripture that pertains to living an effective Christian life, eg being a servant, a good samaritan, a preacher of the gospel, one who listens before he speaks, who studies scripture for its reproof, instruction and correction in righteousness, who sets his friend's need before his own, who has learned to turn the other cheek and to love his enemies etc.

The Royal law is to [color="red"]LOVE[/color] God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and your neighbour as yourself. This fulfils the spirit of all the Old Testament law and contains the perfect law of liberty.

If we are filled with and obedient to God's Holy Spirit of LOVE/TRUTH/HUMILITY/POWER, then certainly we will never again know fear of man and of the things which are death to the spirit of man. Satan's two unsubstantial weapons of fear and lies will have no power over us. We will live in total freedom from the power of the spirit of the air (Eph 2:2)

Q3. What is this "perfect law" that James mentions? How would you define it? How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)? In what sense does it bring liberty?

I think the perfect law is God's Word. It is what He has told us in the Bible and we are not only to study it daily but we are to live it and thus produce fruit. The royal law is love. God has commanded us to love him and our neighbor and if we do this we will be obedient to the perfect law. It brings us liberty because we are no longer a slave to sin, but free in Christ Jesus.

Q3. What is this "perfect law" that James mentions? How would you define it? How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)? In what sense does it bring liberty?

The perfect law is the one Jesus lifted up as fulfilling all the law--"Love your neighbor as yourself!" All the commandments relating to our actions with others--giving honor to parents, do no evil, abstain from unclean words and deeds, don't steal, don't lie, don't covet--will be heeded by loving our neighbor as ourselves! If we "love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind", we will be drawn to fulfill this perfect law.
I think the "royal law" refers to loving God--as above, and the "perfect law" refers to the law of "love your neighbor as yourself." The two are complementary.
It brings liberty from worrying about the pickey stuff that the Pharaisees loved to debate about in the Law! If we pray for the ability to fulfill this "Love your neighbor as yourself", you will fulfill the Law as God meant it to be fulfilled--no worry about the "pickey" stuff!

What is this "perfect law" that James mentions? How would you define it? How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)? In what sense does it bring liberty?

the law of GOD! the law that says believe in me and let GOD take the reins. he won't steer you wrong.

as for the royal law if you think good of yourself then it will also work. but i remember a time when i thought myself not worthy of anything good.( before i truly believed in GOD) and i didn't care what happened to me . then that law wouldn't be to good. the devil can't be involved in the law what-so-ever. the royal law (human law) has a large enough crack for the devil to squeeze in.

Q3. What is this "perfect law" that James mentions? How would you define it? How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)? In what sense does it bring liberty?

The perfect law--is the law of liberty--liberty is the freedom to do what is right/righteous--not to be confused with license which is lawlessness. Through Christ we are free to live in and obey God's law which condensed is: Love the Lord your God with all your mind/soul/spirit and the second which is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.

Through Christ, we are able to obey this royal law--we are freed from the constraints of the sinful nature which focuses on self/pride/etc. and able to focus on Christ--and others!

We spell Joy:

Jesus
Others
You

The "perfect law" that James mentions is Christ's law of love.
It is the law written in the heart of the one who has received Jesus Christ as personal Savior.
It is the same as the "royal law"
It brings liberty in that we are free in christ. Free to live Luke 6:27-28.

Today I went to the funeral of a great lady of our church. I know it was a very sad time for the family, she was not much older than myself. It sure makes you stop and think, have I really made a difference in the world? Have I thought more of others than I have of myself? Have I thought of you Lord the way I should have?
Have I loved you with all my heart, mind and soul?
I know we all make New Years resolutions. To loose weight, to quite smoking, to do so many things, and some of us do stick to what we promised to do, some do not.

What does Jesus tell us to do... He said to seek first His Kingdom and His way and all the things we need will be added to us. Seeking Him! I use to think it was being good, reading my Bible, praying, all of these are some of the things we must do, but the most important thing is to love Him with all our being. But how can we do that, I don’t think we can in our own ability. We must depend on Him to pour His love in us. I know When I pray and ask Him to answer a pray I have made to Him and He answers me it makes me know He hears me and cares about me. That makes me love Him more.

But there is still a hunger in me that wants to love Him more. But how?

Matthew22:34 - 40 "But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?' And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets.'"
Agape love:
What is it?
The Scriptures use the Greek word agape to show the type of love that God requires in loving Him and in loving others. Agape is a self-giving love. This is giving one's self over to someone or something. To love someone this way is to put them first and to consider them above oneself. Agape love is different from the more common understanding of love defined by the word phileo. Phileo is the affection that friends or family members have for one another. It is a mutually beneficial love that depends on receiving as well as giving. This affection lasts only as long as it is beneficial. Phileo love will disappear when it no longer receives, but agape love will continue giving even though it is not reciprocated. Self-centered fallen man knows well phileo love but cannot comprehend a relationship of agape love.

Q3. What is this "perfect law" that James mentions?

To love others as we love ourselves .. giving respect and attention to others in an equal manner. Not loving according to how we are treated .. or loving according to another's reputation and social acceptance .. or loving according to how we are feeling at the time .. but loving constantly and equally, all the brethen.

How would you define it?

Unconditional love.

How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)?

It is the same.

In what sense does it bring liberty?

It frees us from sin against our neighbors. We will be less likely to sin against our brother, if we are doing as the Word says .. Love one another as you love yourself.

The perfect law is "love your neighbor as yourself". I would define it as doing unto others as you would do unto yourself. The royal law found in James 2:8 is the same. It brings liberty in that what once was spoken to chosen people and passed down through man can now be obtained directly from God the source of love. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on thier hearts.' He plants in us a seed that grows and flourishes as we learn of Him and abide by his word. He gives us a yearning to want to know him....So that once we are apart of the family we just don't sit well until we come unto the throne of grace seeking understanding from the God. So we are liberated, we are free, we are no longer bound by Satan and the things of t his world.

What is the perfect law that James mention's


I think i'm going to go have to go in a little different direction. Jame's write's according to the Jewish New Testament in chpt.1v25

But if a person looks closley into the perfect Torah (law,teaching) which gives freedom,and continues,becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires,then he will be blessed in what he does.

Looking at perfect Law- The word perfect means, Brought to it's end Finished (Yeshua came to fulfill the Law) That which is perfect (Yeshua was perfect) Consumante human integrity and virtue ( again, Yeshua)

The word Law is anything establish, A Law, A Comand, A law or rule producing a state of approval by GOD, Command by Observance approved by GOD. Again,GOD'S answer for us, YESHUA When James says to look into the perfect law which gives freedom and continues it reminds me of when John said, If they were with us they would continue with us but they left us and we know there not of us (paraphrasing)
Im going to have to say the perfect law is YESHUA

The way it relates to the Royal law is it is the second greatest command, To love your neighbor as your self. YESHUA said No man comes to GOD except thru me We must come to YESHUA for salvation,after that we can love our neighbor as ourselves because the third part of the question has been fulfilled, The reason it gives us Liberty is because we are set free from the shakel of sin and are Brand new creatures in YESHUA

[font="Geneva"]The perfect law is the law of liberty. It is perfect because it is flawless and divine. It brings us liberty and freedom—no longer are we enslaved by bonds of sin’s passion and ****.

The “royal law” is LOVE—[color=green]love your neighbor as yourself (Jas 2:8)[/color]—[color=green]love one another as I have loved you (Joh 15:12b)[/color]—from which the commandments “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “love your neighbor as yourself” follow.

We are offered true liberty from sin, and peace among one another, through the grace of God.
[/font]

THE PERFECT LAW

WRITTEN BY GOD IN
OUR MINDS AND OUR
HEARTS.

WE HAVE THE REST OF OUR LIVES
TO SEEK THIS PERFECT LAW
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

I DEFINE IT AS AN SPIRITUAL LAW
THAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL
THE GOOD PRICIPLES OF LIFE

THE PERFECT LAW AND THE ROYAL LAW
RELATE EACH OTHER BY THE LOVE OF GOD

THE SECOND GREATEST COMAND AND THE
LESS USE IN OUR JOURNEY WHEN WE ARE
TOTALLY INTO OURSELVES. "LOVE ONE ANOTHER"

THIS LAW GIVES US THE FREEDOM TO DO
GODS WILL. THAKS BE TO GOD

MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU.

To live in harmony and love each other. The perfect law is for all to follow, not just a certain few. Love your neighbor as yourself, so with that love within us there will be an overflow given to others. To know who God is and that He loves us and that we must show love to others is how He wants us to live. Know that we are not God. Let Him work through us to accomplish what needs to be done. Just be a willing vessel.

Q3. What is this "perfect law" that James mentions? How would you define it? How does it relate to the "royal law" (2:8)? In what sense does it bring liberty?


[color=green]The 'perfect law' given by Jesus is love your neighbour as yourself. Love your God.
The underlying principle is "love" Love conquers everything. Love is the answer. When we truly and deeply look into the facets of this agape love, then everything becomes clear. We can never define that kind of love. We have to learn to love like Jesus loved us. By constantly putting ourselves in Jesus' shoes and comparing what Jesus would do in those circumstances, can we achieve some resemblance to what this perfect law is. The Royal Law is also part of the agape love. Love sets you free. The bondage one suffers due to various entanglements are set free once you know how to love. Agape love conquers everything and in the process brings liberty and freedom to the mind.[/color]

The perfect law is love your neighbor as thyself. We have to have the love of God in us inorder for us to love the way God requires us to love. This is not emotional love, we are to love regardless and inspite of. God loved us that he gave his only begotten son that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

We are no longer bound by a set of written rules and regulations that we are unable to keep. We are free because we have the law in our mind and
heart. What a blessing!