3. The Synagogue of Satan

Also, the synagogue was called by the Lord Jesus the "synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9).

C. Teaching the Jewish Believers
to Keep the Law of the Old Testament

James taught the Jewish believers to keep the law of the Old Testament (1:25; 2:8-12; 4:11-12). What a mixture this is! Keeping the law was the responsibility of the Jews, not of the believers.

1. Confirmed by James's Word

This is confirmed by James's word in Acts 15:21 and 21:20-25. In Acts 21 we are told that James and his co-elders in Jerusalem told the apostle Paul that thousands of believers in Jerusalem were enthusiastic for the law. Based upon this, they asked Paul to show the Jews that he was not against the law but keeping the law. They proposed, according to the Jewish custom, that Paul make a Nazarite vow with God. This vow was completed with the offering of sacrifices. Paul went to the temple and waited for the last day of his vow to offer the sacrifices. He carried out this vow to such an extent, but God would not tolerate his offering the sacrifices and came in to disrupt it. Paul was arrested and eventually sent to Caesar's prison in Rome. God would not allow Paul to participate in carrying out the Nazarite vow, a strict Judaic practice.

2. James Appreciating the Law

James appreciated the law, calling it the "perfect law, the law of freedom" and the "royal law," as the psalmists did in the Old Testament (Psa. 1:1-2; 19:7-11; 119:10-11, 43, 142, 151). No doubt, these words were quoted by James from the Psalms to describe the law. He uplifted the law to the uttermost.

3. Christ Having Ended the Law

But in God's New Testament dispensation, Christ has ended (terminated and taken away) the law (Rom. 10:4; Heb. 10:9). The law was the way by which God dealt with His people in the Old Testament, but James is in the New Testament. In this New Testament, the way God takes to deal with His people is no longer by the law but by grace. Actually, the law was ended and taken away by Christ on the cross. Colossians 2:14 reveals that the ordinances of the law were crucified on the cross. Christ brought many things to the cross to be crucified with Him. He terminated you and me, the old man, Satan, sin, the world, and the ordinances of the law.