Charles Ellicott Commentary James 2:12

"So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty." — James 2:12 (ASV)

So speak ye, and so do.—The writer has shown how unsuspected sins lead quickly to a violation of the Law, and in concluding this part of his Epistle, he returns to the warning against an unguarded tongue with which he began in James 1:26.

The law of liberty.—The term is only found here and in James 1:25, and seems to be one of which James the Wise was particularly fond. What, however, did he precisely mean? Neither the ceremonial law, nor the moral law, most certainly; but the spiritual law of One greater than Moses.

The idea, however, is present in most of the New Testament writings, and particularly St. Paul’s. (Romans 8:21; 1 Corinthians 10:29; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 2:4; Galatians 5:1; Galatians 5:13; and 1 Peter 2:16.)