Law is Not Enough

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

To help my students think about the relationship between love and God’s law, I would ask them, “How would you like to use the following for your wedding vows?

“I promise not to kill you, not to steal from you, not to cheat on you, not to swear at your parents. . . .”

Not once did a student say, “Wow, that sounds great! Can you send me a copy for my wedding?” That’s because these are negative legal statements, not positive promises of love.

Laws prohibit harm, whereas love promises good. Of course, you wouldn’t want to marry someone who vowed to kill you or steal from you. But promising not to harm someone would not give them much of a reason to marry you, either. You should not harm anyone, of course. And you should promise lifelong love to only one person.

So how do love and law work together? In Romans, the apostle Paul explains that we show love by serving and obeying the Lord, whose law reminds us and guides us to love God and love others. Paul writes, “Whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

Still, plenty of questions remain. How is the law fulfilled by love? How does the work of Christ change our relationship to the law? Why do we still need to obey the law? The way Christians live out the answers to such questions will direct our lives.

Lord, thank you for your love and your law. Help us to love and obey you, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.