Rom 13:8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.Rom 13:9 The commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment--all are summed up by this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Rom 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.
How many times have you heard in church: "The Law does not apply to me…" or "I’m a New Testament believer, so I don’t have to follow what is in the Law." I have heard this on more than one occasion. As I was reading through Romans, I came across these verses that deal with this issue.
Now I know that if we look at verses likes Romans 6:14 which say, "For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace," we know that as Christians we are free from the Law. This is not the issue I would like to deal with because I do believe that we are free from the Law; what I find interesting is that we still fulfill the Law without even knowing it.
How do people know that we are Christians? John 13:35 says, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Our love for other Christians (that "one another" statement means "one of the same kind" so this is referring to Christians not unbelievers) is the proof of our love for Christ. According to Romans, that love is the fulfillment of the Law in a Christian’s life. How is that? Any commandment (don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, etc.) is encompassed in the command to "love your neighbor." To love your neighbor (love one another) is the main commandment for Christians.
We may not be bound by the Law anymore, but as Christians we are still fulfilling the Law in our lives when we are obedient to Christ through our love.
Aaron Taylor
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