Back To Home Page To Archives - Spring of Life - H. Roger Bothwell James 2:10 One of my students asked about James 2:10. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." He coveted his roommate's girlfriend. Did that mean he could kill his roommate so he could have her? As badly as he wanted her he knew something was very wrong with that logic. It is a salvation issue. If one is using the law as one's standard of justification then it matters not which law you break. Only one transgression will keep you out of God's kingdom. The standard for entrance to eternal life is perfection. A big flaw or a little flaw is still a flaw. One cannot pick and choose which laws to keep and which to ignore. If you are going to be saved by the law you have to perfectly keep it all. We realize if this is the way, then no one will be saved. There is only one who ever lived without sin. His name is Jesus. See Hebrews 4:15. In Ephesians 2 Paul tells us we are saved by grace. It was God's idea in the beginning and in the end. So, my student asked, "Does this mean it's okay to steal once I'm saved?" He knew better. He just needed the rational, which is quite simple. Once we are saved, Jesus lives within us and we begin to live not by law but by the principle of love. If I steal from you I'm not loving you. I end up keeping the law as fruit of my salvation instead of as a means of salvation. I'm Roger Bothwell and my address is roger.bothwell@verizon.net or 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453. Thank you for your support of our faith ministry. Past devotionals can be accessed at Archives