Ministry of Grace Church

For whoever shall keep the whole law, but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all of them.

Truth to Learn

Even a single little accidental sin condemns us as unrighteous.

Behind the Words

The Greek verb translated “shall keep” is tereō which is the word used of a guard keeping watch over a prisoner. This word can also mean to “hold fast” or to “keep.” It is expressed in the subjunctive mood, so it could be translated, “might keep.”

“Whole” is translated from holos, which means “the whole thing.” Hence, James is referring to the entire body of laws which the Jews were expected to keep.

The word “stumble” is a form of ptaiō, meaning “to trip or stumble.” James’ point is that this is an unintentional commission of an act.

“Guilty” is translated from enochos which is made up of en, meaning “in or on” and a form of echō, meaning “to have” or “to hold.” Therefore, this word means “to be ensnared” or “to be held on to.”

The word translated “of all” is pantōn, meaning “all” but it is a possessive plural adjective. Hence, it means, “of all of them.”

Meaning Explained

James is now drawing an application based on the summary that he just declared in the past two verses. After reading these two verses, someone might say, “But it’s not such a big thing to show favoritism. I mean, it’s not like I just killed someone!”

Some churches teach that there are minor sins and there are major, or cardinal, sins. James disputes that. He uses exaggeration here to make his point. He says that if there were someone who should be able to keep the entire body of the law, and yet should accidentally slip-up on one little thing, he is just as guilty as if he had broken every law – including murder.

In God’s book of records, He judges us all based on keeping all of His laws. Unless we live a perfect life and do not violate a single part of His law, we are marked as unrighteous. And, according to Romans 6:23, the penalty for our sin is death. Jesus Christ is the only man who is able to live His entire life without violating any of God’s laws (because He is God). We, on the other hand, have a sin nature and are incapable of living a sinless life, which is why we need a sinless Savior who was willing to pay the penalty for our sins with His life.

So – if we treat others differently, simply based on how they look or how they dress, we are guilty of sin no matter how insignificant we think this type of action might be. Even if we do it unintentionally, we are guilty and must pay the penalty.

Application

Are you trying to please God by living as good a life as you can? If so, then one day, when you stand before the Judgment of God, you will be declared unrighteous and sentenced to eternal death in the lake of fire. No ifs, ands, or buts. On the other hand, if you have humbled yourself before Almighty God, confessed yourself to be a sinner, and accepted His free gift of life through the blood of His Son, then you are now legally declared to be righteous and you will spend eternity in heaven with Him.