Commentaries:
Just as a little leaven in bread quickly spreads completely through the dough, one "little" sin affects our whole being. As James points out, if we break one commandment, we are guilty of breaking the whole law. One sin begets another unless the chain is broken through repentance.
Staff
Holy Days: Unleavened Bread
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James presents a tall order for God's people to live up to—and one impossible to do that unless one has the Holy Spirit.
James speaks of the "royal law," meaning the Ten Commandments, since he cites the specific requirement, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." In this, he parallels Christ and Paul, finding in love of neighbor the sum of the law and its true fulfillment. James confirms that respect of persons is a breach of this "royal law" and leads to those indulging in it being convicted by the law of transgression.
Then, he affirms the solidarity of the law: that a breach of a specific commandment is a breach of the whole, making the transgressor guilty of all. This is a far-reaching principle that Paul also suggests by quoting Deuteronomy 27:26 in Galatians 3:10: "Cursed is everyone who continues not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them." Paul also indicates it in Romans 7, where he explains that the conviction that he had broken the tenth commandment made him realize that he had broken the whole law.
Martin G. Collins
The Law's Purpose and Intent
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Matthew 23:23
Luke 11:42
Luke 16:16-17
Galatians 3:10
Galatians 3:19
Philippians 3:18-19
James 2:11-13
Library resources that contain this verse:
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