Let no debt remain outstanding,
except the continuing debt to love one another,
for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law”
(Romans 13:8)
Similarly, in Galatians 5:14,
Paul states,
“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping
this one command: ‘
Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The law Paul
is talking about in these verses is
the Law of Moses,
which was given by God
to Israel
(Exodus 20—40; Leviticus 1–7; 23
The law included the Ten Commandments and all the moral, ceremonial, and civil regulations that governed the life of the people of Israel in their covenant relationship with God. Paul indicates that the entire law can be summed up in one operative word—love. Believers can fulfill every demand of the Mosaic Law by loving others. The only legitimate debt and the one debt Christians can never fully repay is the ongoing obligation to love one another:
“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19)
Paul illuminates the truth that love is at the
core of the law.
The love command—“love your neighbor as yourself”
(Leviticus 19:18)
is at the heart of the law of Christ:
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ”
(Galatians 6:2; see also 1 Corinthians 9:20–21)
James calls the command to love your neighbor as
yourself the royal law: “If you really keep the royal law
found in Scripture,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right”
(James 2:8)
The law has always pointed to
Jesus Christ:
“For Christ has already accomplished the purpose
for which the law was given.
As a result,
all who believe in him are made right with God”
(Romans 10:4, NLT)
The Law of Moses is something humans are incapable of keeping
(Galatians 3:10)
We cannot meet the demands of the law in our own power (Galatians 3:24; Romans 8:4; 10:4).
Our Savior,
the Lord Jesus, fulfilled the law perfectly
and provided
His righteousness in exchange for our sin
(see Matthew 5:17)
By faith we believe
and
accept that Jesus Christ
bore the curse of the law
when He died on the cross
And through Him we receive
the Holy Spirit,
who enables us to keep the divine law of love:
“Love does no wrong to others,
so love fulfills
the requirements of God’s law”
(Romans 13:10, NLT)
Now, instead of
worrying about what we can never do,
namely, keeping the law,
we are free to yield to the Spirit and
allow Him to love through us.
One day when Jesus was teaching the crowds,
a Pharisee asked Him,
“What is the greatest commandment of the law?”
Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments”
(Matthew 22:37–40).
Christians now satisfy all the demands
of the law
by loving God first and then loving others
God’s heart,
His very nature, is love
(1 John 3:10, 14, 16; 4:2–20)
Our love for God
will cause us to see people
as God sees them
and love them as God does
Finally, it’s vital to understand
what the Scriptures mean by “love”
in these verses. Love that fulfills the law
is agape love.
This love is not based on emotions, but an
act of the will.
It is self-sacrificing, deliberate, active love