abstract: James teaches that it is not our place to be judges of God's law, but to be doers of the God's law

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by William Einwechter

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.... (James 4:12).

In James 4:11-12, James is rebuking certain Christians under his apostolic oversight for speaking evil of one another and for judging one another. To enforce his call to stop this evil practice, James tells them that he who speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother is actually speaking evil of the law of God and judging the law of God! How is this so? In His law (torah), God commands: "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people...." (Lev. 19:16). If a man knows this law and chooses to disobey it, his actions speak against the goodness of the law and condemn it. Mayor states:

...[W]hoever deliberately breaks a law and does not repent of it, thereby speaks evil against it and treats it as a bad law, since it is the essence of a law to require obedience, and he who refuses obedience virtually says it ought not to be a law.1

James teaches that it is not our place to be judges of God's law, but to be doers of the God's law (James 4:11; 1:22; 2:8; cf. Rom. 2:13). It is our duty to obey whatever God's law commands. But when men think that they first should decide if a law is good before obeying it, or, when men simply choose to disregard the law without even considering it, in either case, they set themselves up as judges of God's law. In effect, such men see themselves as their own lawgivers: they will decide for themselves what the law for their life shall be.

James counters this rebellious mind-set with his Spirit-directed affirmation that there is only one lawgiver. James says, in effect: "How dare you sit in judgment of God's law and set yourself up as an independent lawgiver who has the liberty to accept or reject God's commands as you see fit! God is the only lawgiver, and it is the duty of men to abide by His laws." To add force to his words, James reminds his readers that the divine lawgiver is sovereign, and that He has the power to save or destroy: if you obey He will save; while if you disobey, He will destroy.

Having briefly considered the flow of thought in James 4:11-12, let us now look closer at the meaning of the statement that there is "one lawgiver," and then draw some good and necessary conclusions therefrom.

The statement, "There is one lawgiver," is emphatic. The structure of the Greek text highlights both the numerical term "one" and the noun "lawgiver." The word "one" is put first in the sentence for emphasis--there is one and only one--while the idea designated by the word "lawgiver" is that which is decisively defined by the sentence. The sense is that there is only one supreme lawgiver over men, and, as the context makes plain, that lawgiver is God.

The Greek term translated "lawgiver" (vnomoqeths) refers to him who has the power, on the basis of legal sanction, to ordain, enact, or establish law. The "lawgiver" has the right to frame the laws that others will be compelled to live by. In other words, the "lawgiver" is a legislator that "lays down the law" for others.

James' epistle demonstrates throughout his knowledge of and dependence on the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Seeing that James' use of the Greek term for "lawgiver" is the only use of it in the New Testament, and that the noun (vnomoqeths) and verb (vnomoqeteo) form of this word appear nine times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint, or the LXX), it is reasonable to suppose that James had these Old Testament texts in mind. The noun appears in Psalm 9:20 (9:21 in the LXX). The translation of that verse in the LXX is as follows: "Arise, O Lord, [appoint, or be] a lawgiver over them, that the nations might know that they are men." The sense is that the nations will know that they are men when God arises and makes Himself known as the supreme lawgiver over them, who renders judgment--blessing or cursing--according to their obedience or disobedience to His law. Psalm 9 emphasizes the rule of God's throne over all men and nations, and that Yahweh ("Jehovah") will "judge the world in righteousness" (Ps. 9:4, 7-8, 16). James, in accord with Psalm 9, also would have his readers know that they are mere men who have no right to sit in judgment of God's law. James' statement that the divine lawgiver is one who saves or destroys fits closely with the id ea expressed in Psalm 9:19-20.

It is significant to note that the LXX translators may have been influenced here by Messianic considerations in their choice of the term "lawgiver." The Messiah is spoken of as a "lawgiver" in Genesis 49:10 and throughout the psalms and the prophets as He who will rule all nations (Ps. 2:9-12; 22:27-28; 110:1-2; Isa. 2:4; 9:6-7; Dan. 2:44; 7:13-14). The prayer of Psalm 9:20, if understood in a Messianic sense, would be that God would establish the Messiah as lawgiver over all nations and teach these proud rebels, who boast of great things, that they are mere men who answer to the Lord's Anointed in all things.

The verb form of the Greek word for "lawgiver" (vnomoqeteo), appears eight times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. In Exodus 24:12, it is used to describe the action of God at Sinai in giving His law and commandments to Israel. In Psalm 25:8, 12, Psalm 27:11, and Psalm 119:33, 102, 104, it is used of Yahweh who sets forth (KJV, "teaches") His "way," "judgments," and "statutes" (i.e., His law) to men. The only time when the verb is not used to describe the action of God as a lawgiver is in Deuteronomy 17:10. Here it refers to the duty of the people to submit to the decision of the high court of Israel when they give their judgment on a case brought before them (Deut. 17:8-13). The action of the court in giving their decision is designated in Deuteronomy 17:10 as that of establishing law. But it is important to remember that the duty of judges and the high court in Israel was not to originate law, but to interpret and apply to specific cases the law given to them by God (Deut. 1:17; 16:18-20). The decision of these judges is not viewed as the creation of law, but as an authoritative interpretation of the divine law.

Hence, the verb form of "lawgiver" is used in the Septuagint in all except one instance to refer to God's action as the supreme lawgiver who instructs men in their duty by revealing and teaching His law to them. The only instance where it is used of men, it refers to the work of God's appointed ministers as they interpret and apply the law of God to specific circumstances.

James' declaration that there is only one lawgiver is based on the theology of the Old Testament revealed in the usage of the noun and verb form of "lawgiver." In these texts and other related words and texts, it is established that God is King and lawgiver over all the earth (e.g., Isa. 33:22), that His law is supreme over all men and nations, and that men are not to sit in judgment of that law but are to obey it.

Having considered the text of James 4:11-12, the words "there is one lawgiver," and the Old Testament background and usage of the word, let us now draw some important conclusions from our study:

1. There is only one supreme lawgiver over men, and that lawgiver is God Himself. The essence of human rebellion is the belief that they can be their own gods and determine good and evil for themselves; i.e., be their own lawgivers. Sinful men believe that they are autonomous--a law unto themselves. But the Scriptures declare otherwise. As James boldly proclaims, there is only one lawgiver. Men are bound to submit to this truth. They must abandon their claim to autonomy in every aspect of life: personal, family, church, and state. The guiding presupposition that must control all of their thinking in regard to law, morals, ethics, rules, etc. is that God's position as lawgiver is second to none, and His revealed law is the righteous standard of truth for determining what is right and wrong.
2. Since there is only one supreme lawgiver, there can be no difference between the moral and legal standards of the Old and New Testaments. It is fashionable among some Christians to advocate that the New Testament holds to a different standard of law and morality (at least in some cases) than the Old Testament. This cannot be. If there is one God who is the sovereign lawgiver, and there is, and if this one God never changes, and He doesn't, than the moral standards of His law must remain unchanged from dispensation to dispensation and from age to age. To say that there are different moral and legal standards of law governing the Old and New Testaments is a serious error. Such a perspective is reminiscent of the heresy of Marcion who said that there were two gods representing two different codes of morality: the wrathful, vindictive God of the Old Testament, and the loving, peaceful God of the New Testament.
3. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the divine lawgiver that all men and nations are required to obey. In the sovereign determination of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God is the Word who reveals God and His truth to men. He reveals the nature of God, the plan of God, the work of God, and the law of God. The Son of God, the preincarnate Christ, revealed the law of God in the Old Testament. At His incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God taught, upheld, clarified, and further revealed the law of God. He did this during His earthly ministry and through His apostles after His ascension.

   Jesus Christ now rules and reigns over all men and nations (Dan. 7:13-14; Acts 2:32-36). He is the promised "lawgiver" (Gen. 49:10) who has come to overthrow the rebellion of men and bring them into submission to the rule of God ( Ps. 2 and 110). All are commanded to bow in humble submission to His lordship (Phil. 2:9-11). This means that His law is supreme. All persons, all fathers, all elders, and all citizens and civil magistrates are to obey Him and live and govern in terms of His revealed law.

4. The duty of civil magistrates is to interpret and apply the law of God to their own particular circumstances and to the cases brought before them. As men cast off the rule of God, they tend to substitute the rule of the state in its place. The vacuum in regard to law and order that is left in society when God's rule and law are set aside is inevitably filled by the state. The state assumes the role of supreme lawgiver over all men and institutions. Legislators become known as "lawmakers" who create law on the basis of human reason and political expediency. Judges become known as "activist judges" who decree what the law shall mean and how it shall be applied according to their own notions of "social justice" and of right and wrong. Divine law does not bind magistrates like these; they deny and despise the concept of a divine higher law that they must take into account and submit to in their legislation. The theory of legal positivism--that law finds its existence and sanction in the pronouncement of the state; that justice is upholding whatever the state says is law--is the explicit repudiation of the scriptural principle that "there is one lawgiver."

   But civil magistrates are not autonomous; they are servants of God who are required to govern according to His law (Rom. 13:1-6). Their role is illuminated for us in Deuteronomy 17:11. They are not the creators of law or justice. True law and true justice are determined by the Creator. The civil magistrate's duty is to interpret and apply the law of God to his jurisdiction. All human legislation is to flow from the principles of law and justice revealed in Scripture by the foremost lawgiver.

5. When men ignore and disobey the law of God in any sphere, they set themselves up as judges of the law of God and speak evil of it. There is no neutrality in the sphere of law. You either stand with and promote God's law or you set yourself against it.

   In the civil sphere, those magistrates and citizens who reject the rule of God's law and advocate their own notions of law and justice speak evil of God's law and judge it as being bad law. This is a form of blasphemy. And it is not God's law that is evil, but those who so act and speak against it.

6. Jesus Christ, as the divine lawgiver, has the power to save or destroy those under His authority. The law of God is enforced by divine sanctions-- blessing or cursing. This is taught throughout Scripture (cf. Deut. 28). These sanctions apply to individuals (Ps. 1) and to nations (Ps. 2). Jesus Christ has been given authority over all nations. He reigns at the right hand of God the Father as King of kings and Lord of lords. In the era leading up to His triumphant second coming (1 Cor. 15:23-26), He goes forth to conquer the nations and visit the wrath of God on those kings and rulers who fight against God's truth, law, and kingdom (Ps. 2:8; 110:1-7; Rev. 19:11-21).

   The only course of safety and blessing for rulers and their people is to humbly submit to Jesus Christ, who is the divine King and supreme Lawgiver. This submission is realized when willing service is given to God and when it is sealed in a covenantal oath of loyalty that binds the people and their leaders to the Lord Jesus Christ (Ps. 2:11-12a). Jesus Christ has the power to destroy or to save America or any country on the face of the earth (cf. Jer. 18:5-10). Which it will be depends on whether it is recognized in deed and in covenant that "there is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy."

William Einwechter is the vice-president of the National Reform Association and the editor of its publications. He is a teaching elder at Immanuel Free Reformed Church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Endnotes

1. As cited by R. V. G. Tasker in The General Epistle of James (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980), p. 100.

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