Romans 13:8-10·~1 min
Love Fulfills the Law
Love is the one debt that never expires, because life in Christ keeps obligating the believer toward the neighbor’s good.
B8e indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
The commandments converge in neighbor-love, and love fulfills the law because it refuses to do harm.
9The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Section summaryPaul shifts from civic debts to the one debt that never expires: love. Love does not discard the law but fulfills its aim by seeking the neighbor’s good and refusing harm.
Role in the chapterThis middle movement gathers the commandments into a single relational center. Christian ethics are not less than obedience; they are obedience animated and completed by love.