James 2:8,9 - Love your neighbour as yourself

2:8

When asked what the greatest commandment was Jesus named two. The first was to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength. The second was like it, and was to love our neighbour as ourselves. James quotes the second one here. These two commandments come from the Law, and show that the Law does not become irrelevant with the gospel. Indeed, you can only believe that it does by ignoring the New Testament and turning off your brain, though there are some who seem to manage this feat! This also shows that the Jews were not all blind legalists, they were aware of the principles in the Law as well. Here James urges us to follow the primary principle about loving our neighbour.

2:9

Showing favouritism seems to have been something of an acute problem in the church. James comes back to this issue and stresses that if we show favouritism then we are sinning. For if we show favouritism to the rich man, but ignore the poor man, then we are not loving the poor man as ourselves. This is law breaking!