A Closer Look

It’s rather ironic that Martin Luther, the trailblazer of the Reformation, questioned keeping the book of James in the Bible. Luther’s conviction was that it’s by faith alone - we receive God’s free gift, we don’t earn it. 

And this is spelled out so clearly in James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” You see, to live a morally good life, it’s possible, but to live a morally perfect life is not. And what James is saying is that to break one law is to break the whole law - to be cursed. 

Previously, these commandments served as a guide for God’s people Israel.. This wasn’t just the ten commandments Moses received at Mount Sinai, but it’s the 613 laws Jewish people have counted in the Torah. Unattainable. 

So rather than giving us more laws in hopes that we could reach our Father in Heaven, God gave us himself. By living a perfect life and dying on the cross, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. He reversed the curse so you don’t live by what you do, but why what he's done.