James 2:11 KJV
[11] “For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.”
I heard an illustration on the radio by the late, great Bible teacher and radio preacher, Bro. Lehman Strauss, that I thought was interesting. He told of a man in his community arrested for the murder of a girl. He was tried for the murder and found guilty by the jury. During the trial, several witnesses testified of the man’s character and all of the good deeds that he had done.
When it came time for sentencing, it was evident that the judge and jury had not been impressed by his good deeds. The prosecution pointed out that the man was not being tried for the laws he had not broken but for the one that he had. The judge then called the man forward and sentenced him to death in the electric chair.
The man in the story was not guilty of the adultery mentioned in our verse, but he was guilty of murder. Therefore, the final verdict was guilty. He was a transgressor of God’s law. For sinners to be saved, they must realize that they are guilty. They must understand that they have transgressed the law of God, which is a difficult task when dealing with a religious but lost person. They cling to their religion, and good deeds like a drunkard clings to his bottle. The good deeds of a religious man are as much the Devil’s poison as the Devil’s brew itself.