Romans 13:8-10: "Love is the Fulfillment of the Law"

Paul begins this section where he finished the last section, speaking about the Christian's financial obligations. He begins, "Owe nothing to anyone". This is a quick statement which will bridge the last section, regarding the Christian's obligation and duty to obey his government, to this next section, which is our duty to love others. Speaking of the phrase "owe nothing to anyone", MacArthur writes, "that phrase is sometimes interpreted to mean that a Christian is never justified in going into debt of any sort. But neither in the Old nor New Testament categorically forbids borrowing or lending . . . it is obvious that lending, and therefore borrowing, were common and legitimate practices in ancient Israel. The Law carefully regulated lending by prohibiting charging interest to those who were destitute, but it did not forbid lending with honest and reasonable interest". The basic idea behind "owe nothing to anyone" is that the things which we borrow, we must honor that agreement by paying on time and in full. By owing nothing to anyone, it carries the idea of letting no one hold anything over your head, so that your testimony could be discredited. If we have agreed to certain terms on a loan, we must pay the full amount and on time, to maintain a good testimony.

Paul now transitions into our obligation to others. Making sure we owe nothing to anyone, we must make sure that we are obligating our debt of love towards others. Paul says, "owe nothing to anyone except to love one another". John 13:34-35, again speaks of our testimony, "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another". This one another refers not only to believers, but to unbelievers as well. Matt. 5:44, Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you". It is a command that we continuously and generously give our love to others. The result of this command is the ultimate reward, "for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law". It will be true that those left to themselves, who do not follow Christ, will never be able to truly love the way Christ commands. Apart from Christ, man is only able to please himself. Loving others, is a mark of a true believer. We can only love because Christ first loved us, and it is only those who have Christ in their hearts that can truly love, and therefore, only those who have Christ in them have fulfilled the Law through Christ's death.

Paul has now told us that as we fulfill our obligations to others by loving them, we are fulfilling the law. He now will prove his point by quoting five specific OT laws (four of which come from the Ten Commandments). When love is present in a believing heart, you will "not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet". MacArthur writes, "Godly love does not commit adultery, because such sinful defilement of a person shows disregard for another's purity. Love highly values the virtue of others and will do nothing that is morally defiling . . . The same principle applies to just as obviously to the person who would commit murder or who would steal". There are truly some people without Christ that can live moral lives and never outright break any of these laws. However, Christ was not concerned with outward obedience, but he looked at the heart, and put a new standard on these laws. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ warned, "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court. And you have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt. 15:21-22, 27-28). Therefore, we can see that this is impossible to keep, unless you have received the love of Christ and have the Holy Spirit living within you.

Paul now moves to the last of the five commandments, which will sum up all the others, and prove the point he made at the beginning of this section, "and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'. Love does no wrong to a neighbor;". MacArthur writes, "All laws of God that concern human relationships are summed up in this saying, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'". If we truly love others as ourselves, we will not want to do them any harm. This law that Paul quotes is taken from Lev. 19:18, and Jesus declared it to be second only to the supreme commandment to 'love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind' (Matt. 22:37-39), which is taken from Deuteronomy 6:5". It is a true statement that in our sinful flesh, before Christ all we cared about is self. It is natural for us to desire to preserve self, look out for self, please self. With this in mind, Paul is telling us we must "love your neighbor as yourself". This is not to lift up self, but rather to lower ones self to lift up others. If we all have each other's interests in mind, and love others as we have been commanded, all other areas of life will fall into place, and we will be fulfilling the law. MacArthur writes, "Paul's point is that a Christian who allows God's love to rule his life is divinely protected form sin and inclined to righteousness.. The loving Christian does not obey God's law because he fears the consequences of disobedience but because He loves God and seeks to please Him by loving others". Therefore, Paul has come full circle with his explanation, and closes the section with, "love therefore is the fulfillment of the law". Christ has commanded us to love Him with all our hearts, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. By being obedient to Christ and following His commands out of a desire to please Him, we are fulfilling the law. We have been given an extraordinary capacity to love, as God gave us His only Son to sacrifice on the cross for Him. We must remember this as Christ's love for us fulfilled the law, so we at least owe him obedience to His commands.