Introduction

James 2:10-11 ESV  For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.  (11)  For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  (12)  So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

• Now at CLC we preach through the Bible… Line by line, verse by verse.
  • I pray about what book to go through than we preach through that book until we are done.
  • Currently the Lord has us going through the book of James.
    • And if you were with us last week then you know very well the context of the verses that we just read.
    • The context is this: The Christians whom James is writing to have been holding church services.
      • These church services have been growing.
      • And the people running these church services have started showing partiality… treating some people differently than others.
      • Specifically, they were treating the wealthy people who came to their churches better than the poor people.
        • This is something we see happening in churches all the time…
          • Sometimes it has to do with wealth.
          • Other times is has to do with race.
          • Sometimes it even has to do with age.
      • Now James calls this out and makes it very clear that treating people differently based on this external factors is sin!

James 2:1 ESV  My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

James 2:8-9 ESV  If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.  (9)  But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

• Now, we talked all about this last week when I preached the sermon “Can we just be a Christian church?”
  • I don’t want to be a white church, or a black church, or a rich church, or a poor church, or a young church, or an old church. I JUST WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
    • I just want to gather together with the family of God and worship, praise, pray, and grow together.
• Now what I love about James is the same thing I love about Paul… man… JAMES GOES HARD.
  • It’s not enough for James to just say “Hey this is a sin, you have to stop doing it”… no, James has to make it real!
    • He makes it plain… he says “Don’t you DARE think that the sin or partiality is ok. DON’T YOU DARE DISMISS THIS REBUKE AS SOME MINOR ISSUE. Because when you sin, you are breaking the holy law of God. And if you break any part of the law, you are guilty of the whole law!
  • This is what we are going to talk about today… we are going to talk about being guilty of the whole law and about serving a just judge.

• Guilty of the Whole Law

• Point one: Lawbreakers are guilty of the whole law…

Point One – Lawbreakers Are Guilty of The Whole Law

James 2:10-11 ESV  For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.  (11)  For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. Many laws give the death penalty, you don’t have to break them all.

• These verses right here are some of the most mischaracterized, misunderstood, and misused verses in James.
  • They are used to explain away sin.
  • To avoid guilt and the consequences of sin.
  • To try to normalize sin as if it is ok.
    • I was tempted to say (Now don’t say amen, ok) but I was tempted to say “Because of these verses we know that all sin is the same… amen? All sin is the same in God’s eyes! Amen?!”
    • But I tried something like that last week and a few too many people said amen and I felt bad… so I am just going to give it to you straight today…
  • THESE VERSES DO NOT MEAN THAT ALL SIN IS THE SAME.
    • No no no… whoever told you that was wrong… they may have had all the best intentions in the world… but they were wrong.
      • The Bible FIRMLY disagrees with the statement that all sin is the same.

Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV  There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:  (17)  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  (18)  a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,  (19)  a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

• Wait wait wait… if all sin is the same, then why is God calling out six things that are abominations to Him?

Matthew 10:14-15 ESV  And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.  (15)  Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

• If all sin is the same, why does Sodom and Gomorrah get of easier than towns that reject Jesus?
  • But pastor… that is talking about cities… not people…
  • OK, well what about Luke 20L46-47?

Luke 20:46-47 ESV  “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,  (47)  who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

• If all sin is the same, why do some people get a greater condemnation?

Matthew 12:31 ESV  Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

• If every sin is the same, dear Saints, then why is one sin unforgivable?
• NO, CHURCH, NOT EVERY SIN IS THE SAME. BUT EVERY SIN IS SIN.
  • EVERY SIN IS SIN…
    • Remember, the definition of sin is to break God’s law.

1 John 3:4 ESV  Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

• And James is making the clear case that if you break God’s law, then you are a law breaker.
  • You are not “Mostly innocent, except for this one thing” no, you are a law breaker!
    • That doesn’t mean that you have broken every law… but it does mean you are still fully guilty of breaking God’s law… let me give you an example to make this clear:
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• • This is a chain, right? It’s got links… it’s being held together…
  • Pretend this chain goes on and on and on… held together, holding strong.
    • Now I want you to think of this chain as being the full law of God.
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  • Each link represents a commandment, if you break the commandment, if you sin that way, you have broken the link.
  • The entire chain is the law of God, but each link is a specific commandment…
    • Ok, you following me here… now what happens when you break one of these commandments… when you sin.
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  • You break that link.
    • Now, is this chain broken?
      • Yes absolutely it is now a broken chain.
      • It does not matter how long the chain is.
      • It does not matter if only one link is broken and there are a thousand unbroken…
        • The chain is broken. God’s law is broken.
    • But just because the chain is broken does not mean EVERY LINK is broken. The links are individual and distinct, they each have there own purpose.
      • Therefore to commit the sin of partiality is to break the chain in the same way as to commit the sin of adultery, or the sin of murder… either way you are still breaking the whole chain.
      • But that does not mean that each link is the same.
• I will give you another example:
  • In America there are 42 laws that, if broken, can result in the death penalty.
    • 42 different crimes that each carry a maximum sentence of the death penalty.
      • One such crime is murder.
      • Another is espionage.
      • Another is terrorism.
      • One, which is very specific, is the use of a weapon of mass destruction.
    • 42 different laws that carry the death penalty.
      • The point that James is making is that you only have to break 1 of these laws to be found guilty and deserving of the death penalty.
        • You don’t have to break all 42, just 1.
      • The point James is NOT making is that murder is just as bad as setting off a nuclear bomb.
        • I think we can agree that both murder and terrorism is evil, that both deserve the death penalty.
        • But the guy who killed a coworker in a fit of rage is not nearly as evil as Osama Bin Laden who spent years planning a devastating terrorist attack that killed thousands of Americans.
          • Both of those deserve death, but that doesn’t mean they are the same.

James 2:11 ESV  For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

• If you commit murder, but not adultery… you are a transgressor of the law.
  • You are not an adulterer, you are a murder… but either way, you are a law breaker.
    • This is what James is saying.
      • In other words, you can be a felon for selling weed.
      • And you can be a felon for murdering children.
        • Those two things ARE NOT THE SAME, but you are a felon either way.
        • The take away should be YOU DON’T WANT TO BE A FELON.
• James’ takeaway is: You shouldn’t want to be a sinner!
  • It just takes one felony to be a felon, it just takes one sin to be a sinner…
    • This is what it means that law breakers are guilty of the whole law.
• So why then do people say “Every sin is the same” because they want to minimize their sin…
  • And this is a problem, because minimizing sin minimizes the Gospel.
    • That brings me to point two this morning: The Fullness of the Gospel Covers the Fullness of Transgression.

Point Two – The Fullness of the Gospel Covers the Fullness of Transgression

James 2:11 ESV  For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Romans 5:1-11 ESV  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (2)  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  (3)  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  (4)  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  (5)  and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  (6)  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  (7)  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—  (8)  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (9)  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  (10)  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  (11)  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Proverbs 20:6 KJV  Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

• Most men will proclaim to everyone their own goodness.
  • In other words, most people love to tell people how good they are.
  • Which means, on the other hand, most men like to minimize their own sins…
    • They want you to think “They are not that bad”.
• And this is where the lie of “Every sin is the same” comes in and starts wrecking havoc…
  • I remember once, when I was pastoring in North Carolina, a young man in our church was caught sleeping with a married woman in the church.
    • This young adulterer was, in the sanctuary of the church, telling me in a jovial way about how “Yeah I probably shouldn’t have done it, but she is SO HOT.”
    • It made me sick! So I called him out on it.
    • “Bro! You are disgusting! You dishonored this church, you dishonored that marriage, you dishonored your relationship with God… God hates divorce and you just committed the one sin so bad that even God says it’s ok to divorce after it!”
      • And you know what he said back to me… this is true… “Dude, chill… I bet you drove over the speed limit to get here. Romans 13 says you got to follow the law… All sin is the same bro”.
    • *Shake head in confusion*
    • WHAT?! You think that driving over the speed limit is the same as sleeping with a married woman?!
  • Time and time again church, I have heard the phrase “All sin is the same” used to minimize sin. To minimize guilt. To minimize the consequences of sin.
    • Never once have I heard that phrase… “All sin is the same” used to maximize the effect of sin.
      • I have never seen someone sobbing and on their face crying out to God because they stole a pack of gum when they were 7.
        • OH GOD! OH I AM SO SORRY! ALL SIN IS THE SAME, THEREFORE I AM AS BAD AS HITLER! I CAN’T BELIEVE I AM HITLER! I AM THE WORST OF THE WORST!”
  • But here is what is crazy, people use these verses from James to minimize their big sins… but in Context James is actually using this reasoning to MAXIMIZE the churches seemingly “small” sin of partiality.
• James is saying “Don’t you get it! Whether big sin or small sin… your sin breaks the fullness of God’s law. The chain is broken. You may not be a murderer, you may not be an adulterer… but you are guilty of sinning against the same God murderers and adulterers sin against.”
  • He is not saying that partiality is the same sin as adultery. He is not saying adultery is the same sin as murder. BUT HE IS SAYING THAT ALL SINS ARE AGAINST THE SAME GOD AND THEY ALL CARRY THE DEATH PENALTY.

Romans 6:23 ESV  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• The penalty of sin is death! No matter the sin, you get the death penalty.
  • It doesn’t mean all sin is the same. But it does mean the consequence of sin is the same.
    • Some will get a worse death than others… but all lawbreakers of God’s law get death.
• Remember the Death Penalty example… 42 laws that carry the death penalty.
  • If you are a murderer you get the death penalty.
  • If you are a terrorist you get the death penalty.
    • Both get the death penalty, but not in the same way.
    • A murderer who killed his coworker in a fit of anger may get to live in prison another 20 years before being executed.
    • But the terrorist is getting hung shortly after the judgment is passed on him.
      • Right, there is a man named Raymond Riles who has been on death row since 1975.
      • Sadam Husien was hung 55 days after being found guilty.
    • Both men deserve the death penalty, but the severity of the death penalty is very different. Because what Sadam did was far worse than what Raymond did.
      • Raymond was found guilty of killing one man, Sadam was found guilty of killing 148 people and kidnapping and torturing 399 other people including women and children.
      • Raymound and Sadam are not the same…
• Your sin is not the same as your neighbors… But regardless, you both deserve the death penalty.

Matthew 10:15 ESV  Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

• Both towns are getting the death penalty… but one is getting it worse.
• So what does this have to do with the Gospel?
  • Obviously the Gospel sets men free… but free from what?
    • Free from a slap on the wrist?
    • Free from piddly little sins that are not that bad…
    • Or free from Death? Free from Damnation? Free from the guilt of breaking God’s law and the consequence of death that we deserve?
• Let me ask you a question: Which would be a greater discovery?
  • A cure for cancer… or a cure for the common cold?
  • The common cold is almost never fatal… yet more than half a million people die every year in the US alone from Cancer.
    • So I think it would be VERY fair to say that the cure for cancer would be a much greater discovery!
      • Why? Not because the cure is better somehow… but because what is being cured is much worse!
• When we minimize sin, as those James was writing too seemed ought to do…
  • When we minimize sin we minimize the gospel.
    • When you minimize sin, you are in turn trying to say “I am a pretty good dude… I am not that bad… God must have thought I was pretty nifty to want to die for someone like me”.
  • But look again what Romans says:

Romans 5:7-8 ESV  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—  (8)  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

• Dying for someone who is righteous… even the world would do that…
  • Jesus loves you more than the world will ever know how to love, church. His love is so much greater.
    • His love looks at you, a filthy dirty dog sinner, an enemy of God, abhorrent to even look at… and God STILL loves you enough to die for you.
• When you maximize your sin you say “Who am I that God would die for me? I am the scum of the earth. My heart is deceitfully wicked! I am guilty of transgressing God’s law. I desserve the death penalty, I am guilty, I am filthy, I am wicked… what kind of love is this that still God would die for me? What kind of love is this to look down on me, a sinner of sinners… and still sacrifice for me? What kind of love is this, to look at me a lawbreaker and to pay EVERYTHING so that I might be redeemed.”
• Church do you understand that JESUS DID NOT NEED TO DIE FOR YOU?!
  • YOU DIDN’T DESERVE IT.
  • YOU DESERVED HELL, AND SO DID I. YET GOD LOVED US ENOUGH TO DIE FOR US WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.
    • No my sin is not the same as your sin… but it is sin nonetheless…
      • We are both felons in God’s eyes… And we deserve judgment…
        • But thanks be to Jesus that mercy triumphs over judgment!
        • Praise be to God that even though I am guilty of breaking the whole law, the whole chain… even though I am guilty of breaking the whole law Jesus’ blood is able to redeem me.
        • The fullness of the gospel covers the fullness of transgression!
• Yes I broke that chain, but Praise God, Jesus has given me a new one!
  • You see my chain started out like this…
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• I was created perfectly, no sin, no shame.
• But as I got older I dabbled in sin… so my chain was broken.
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• Of course I sinned more than just with partiality, but listen I didn’t want to make new graphics… So I broke my chain….
  • Then, when I was 16 I gave my life to Christ and God gave me a new chain…
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  • Of course Jesus is not on the cross anymore… but it is His nail pierced hands that hold my broken chain together… that makes me righteous before God.
  • When God checks to see if I have broken His law, He will look and see my chain intact, held together by the blood of the lamb!

Romans 3:22-24 ESV  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:  (23)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  (24)  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

• There is that theme of partiality again… God is not partial, he is not a respector of persons… Christ came to die for all who would accept Him.
  • Let’s close with the gospel, amen?

Conclusion

• Gospel Call