Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 NABRE
Paul is describing a new way of thinking within the new covenant. With the old covenant God provides a law for the people to follow. In earlier verses Paul describes some of the law by listing some of the commandments; not to commit adultery, not to kill, not to steal, not to covet. These are the laws that apply to our neighbor. Paul adds you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Here Paul is underscoring the continuity between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The law and the gospel message direct people to the same thing. The law from the commandments have been revered for centuries as the pillars for community life in Israel. The obligations remain for the Christian community to this day. The quoted line closes this topic and adds definition of love. Love does no evil to the neighbor, Christian charity disallows all sinful actions when it comes to personal relationships, actions that would do physical, spiritual, emotional or financial harm to another. So it is that love is the fulfillment of the law. It is not to say the law no longer is fulfilled, but that by loving we have a new and a different approach. Obedience to the commandments is no longer dependent on following the law and human effort. Loving we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit from within, grace strengthens us to love our neighbor.
When we love we are aided by God, through the Holy Spirit. Choosing love, we receive grace and fulfill the requirements of Christian charity. Thus we are blessed when we love our neighbor. The law is fulfilled not by following rigid requirements, rather we receive grace and demonstrate charity plus our neighbor feels revered.
Does loving make you feel blessed? Could you love your neighbor without God’s help?
When we love we are aided by God, through the Holy Spirit. Choosing love, we receive grace and fulfill the requirements of Christian charity. Thus we are blessed when we love our neighbor. Click To Tweet#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity#dailybibleverse @youversion #law#love #neighbor #Paul #everybodyalways#god #jesuschrist #jesussaves #godisgood#dailydevotion #biblestudy #scripture#bibleverse #verseoftheday #pray #prayer#goodnews #loveeachother #godisgreat#bocaraton #youversion #everythingalways