When a murderer stands before a judge, it’s no use for him to describe what a good father he was to his children or what a good husband he was to his wife. None of the stories of how he helped people in need will make a difference. None of his good deeds will erase the murder he committed.

Before God’s law, he is guilty and must accept the consequences of the law, the punishment imposed by the law.

So, if you lie, it’s no use that you lived every bit of the law right. Many plusses do not erase one minus. When you’ve done one “small” sin, you are guilty before God.

Let’s put it in even more simple terms. The law is summarised by saying that we must love our neighbour like ourselves. When we then mistreat someone close to us somewhere along the way, say something nasty or are simply unfriendly, we are breaking the law.

Then we’re just as guilty as the murderer or the man or woman having an affair.

Sin doesn’t come in different degrees. There are no minor sins or big sins. The murderer is no worse than the liar. The unfaithful person’s wrong is not bigger than the one who cheats in the exam.

If you’ve committed one sin, whether it’s murder or whether you’ve not attended to one in your circle who’s hurting, you’ve broken the law. Then you are guilty before God.

¹¹The same God who said, “Don’t commit adultery,” also said, “Don’t murder.” If you don’t commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you’re a murderer, period.

I think we often whisper to ourselves that it’s not that bad. We just slipped up. We won’t do it again or at least try not to, and with this argument, we buy off our debt and think we’re innocent.

But we remain guilty, and, no, there’s nothing that we can do to erase the debt against our name. Just like the murderers and the liars, just like the adulterers and lazy ones, we are guilty of breaking the whole of God’s law.

Do you feel bad about your sin? Do you feel dirty and disappointed that you’ve failed and fallen again? Well, that’s quite fitting, because we should feel like that if we’ve broken God’s law. The law keeps us in chains. Nobody can escape it. That’s what laws do; they lock us up, load baggage on us, and take away our freedom.

Now, when we understand what we in fact deserve, Jesus’ death on the cross makes so much more sense. Then we realise what He actually did to break the chains of the law.

Thank you to Jesus, who indeed came to die for my transgressions against the law. He picks up that heavy load and I can live truly free together with the murderers and the liars, the adulterers, and those, like me, who do not always love the people close to me with my whole heart.

Scripture
James 2:8-13

Reflection
Where do you break God’s law?
How can you do that less?
What does Jesus bring to your life?

Prayer
Father, I often fail. I realise that a bunch of good deeds does not erase that one wrong deed. Please help me not to break the law so often. Thank you for Jesus’ death on the cross. Otherwise, I would indeed not have made it. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.