Love is the headline

Romans 13:8-10 applies the teaching from Romans 8:4 to our practice of faith.

Romans 8:4 states that the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us (not through us) who walk by the Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit works in us by giving the new life in us the power to live according to God’s righteous standards, which God has made clear through the law, among other things. Thus, a believer led by the Spirit “automatically” fulfills the righteous demands of the law without the law still being his rule of life, let alone the way to life.

Romans 13 then shows us what this means for our everyday faith. There, Paul makes it clear that the law is fulfilled through love for one’s neighbor. [1]

He lists four commandments from the second tablet of the law as examples and then says that these and all other commandments fall under the heading: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Now it is obvious that the love to which we are enabled by the new life in the power of God’s Spirit will do far more than simply obey the prohibitions, for it is agape–love modeled on the love of God that loves to give.

1. The love of the believing man for his wife will not be limited to not breaking the marriage. It will lead him to love her by giving himself completely to his wife (Eph 5:25, 28). The requirement of the law, “You shall not commit adultery,” is thus automatically fulfilled.
2. The same applies to the commandment not to kill. Love will not be content with not taking the life of one’s brother. It is willing to lay down its life for its brothers (1 John 3:16).
3. Love will also do more than not steal. It will desire to give to those in need (Eph 4:28).
4. Love will not be satisfied with not coveting. It loves to be selfless and to seek the good of others (Rom 15:1-2).

The headline—one could also say the more profound meaning—of all these prohibitions is therefore love in action. And Romans 13:8 calls it a duty to love one another. If love is manifested in the four points mentioned above, among others, then the duty also extends to these points. And in fact, these four points are also referred to as a duty (see Eph 5:28; 1 John 3:16; Rom 15:1, 2, 27).

The Spirit gives us the strength to live out the abilities of the new life within us, to love as Christ loved us. This “automatically” includes the fulfillment of our obligation to love our neighbor as ourselves, as well as the fulfillment of the law. It is moving to see that when Israel demanded a law (Ex 19:8), God primarily gave them prohibitions and, at the same time, sought people who loved Him and one another. For us, the question remains whether the Spirit can work in us so that this love can unfold in us.

Footnote:

1. We find the same idea in Matthew 22:39-40; James 2:8; Galatians 5:14.