SEPTEMBER 12, 2024
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10)
Paul transitions here from discussing what is owed to human authorities, including respect and honor, to what is owed to everyone. The command to owe no one anything should not necessarily be read as a command to Christians to never borrow money for any reason. The Greek sense is that we should not let any debt remain outstanding. That may be understood as a requirement to always pay what we owe promptly according to whatever agreement we have made with the lender. Or, put another way, to not live lives of constant dependency, borrowing, or unreliability.
Paul’s concern here is not primarily about financial debts, but about our eternal obligation as Christians to love others, including our neighbors. He seems to suggest that the debt of love is one we will never fully repay. Our journey of ‘paying’ love to each other will never truly end.
So, how does our continuous payment of love fulfill the law? Paul is echoing the two greatest commandments of Jesus, to love God and our neighbors (Mark 12:29–31). He demonstrates that Christlike love has the power to inspire us to keep all the other commands in the law.
As an example of the entire law, Paul lists four of the Ten Commandments, those forbidding adultery, murder, stealing, and coveting. Paul then adds the statement, “…and any other command.” This shows that he has in mind all the commands in the law, especially those about human relationships. All those commands can be summed up in “love,” from the command to love your neighbor as you love yourself. You cannot love someone and murder them, cheat on them, steal from them, or covet their belongings. In this way, if we obey the command to love our neighbors, we will fulfill all the other commands by default.
We should note that Paul is not teaching that if we succeed in loving others, we will obtain God’s righteousness on our own. Nor is Paul’s command suggesting that anything that displeases or bothers another is, by definition, unloving. For example, Christians are commanded to speak the truth in love; truths such as the reality of our sins are sometimes hard to hear. Paul means that acts of love – in and of themselves – are not a source of harm. When we act for others’ best interests, we do nothing to harm them.
The last five of the Ten Commandments are all encapsulated in this royal law, “…thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Leviticus 19:18) This command is not to be taken lightly. It requires us to love our neighbor with the same sincerity that we love ourselves. Those who love their neighbor as themselves will naturally desire the welfare of others. This is the foundation of the golden rule of doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. Love is not just a passive feeling, but a living, active principle of obedience to the entire law. Let us not only avoid causing harm to others, but actively seek to be helpful in every station of life.
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