There Is One Lawgiver


I. Introduction: The world, including those professing to be religious, like to label things “conservative”, “liberal”, “traditionalist”, “moderate”, etc.

A. Since days long ago God has demanded that His followers stay the course without turning to the right or the left (Deuteronomy 5:32 and Joshua 1:1-9).

  1. There is a way that leadeth unto life that few find (Matthew 7:13-14).
  2. That way is not your way or my way (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).
  3. You don’t know the Lord if you don’t keep His commandments (I John 2:3-6).

B. Men often create standards and identities that allow them to move away from the will of God (Colossians 2:20-23).

  1. Some add to God’s will (Act 15:24) while others subtract from God’s will (I Corinthians 5:1-5).
  2. What matters is not whether men think we are “too strict” or “too lenient,” but whether we abide in the doctrine of Christ (II John 1:9).

II. Body: James 4:12

A. The Lawgiver is the Lord (Isaiah 33:22). *Not elders, preachers, men, etc.

  1. For us specifically, our lawgiver is Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).
  2. Jesus gave us the will of our Father (John 5:30, John 6:38, John 8:26, John 12:49-50, and John 14:10).
  3. He accomplished this through the Holy Spirit revealing His will through the Apostles (John 16:13).
  4. The Apostles gave the commandments of the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:1-2).

B. Even in matters of authorized liberties, we have to know our place (Romans 14:4-13).

  1. Weak brethren may struggle with scruples of conscience and the strong need to bear with them (Romans 15:1-3 and I Corinthians 8:4-7).
  2. Authorized liberty does not give man authority to become a lawgiver (Romans 14:1-3).

  1. We live under the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25; 2:12).
  2. We cannot redefine good and/or evil (Isaiah 5:20).

C. If man assumes the position of lawgiver the word of God is rendered ineffective (Mark 7:1-13).

  1. Therefore, we cannot go beyond what is written (I Corinthians 4:6).
  2. One deviation is an entire deviation (James 2:10-12).

D. Before we conclude, let’s come back to James 4:12 and briefly cover the fact that the lawgiver is also the judge!

  1. Again, this clarifies who we are talking about as our lawgiver (John 12:48).
  2. Furthermore, think about what that says about a person who is acting as the lawgiver. They are, by extension, also acting as the judge. Think about whose throne that person is trying to take (Ezekiel 28:1-10)!

III. Conclusion: God did not call us to wear labels such as conservative, liberal, traditionalist, or moderate. He called us to be hearers and doers of His law (Romans 2:13). To do so, we must continually humble our thinking before the wisdom of God (Isaiah 55:6-9), submitting ourselves to the true Lawgiver and Judge instead of attempting to sit in judgment ourselves (James 4:6-12).


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