The Truth About How Love Fulfills the Law
Would you agree that … love fulfills the law!
Jesus summed God’s Law up with these words…
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37–39
And He said…
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Matthew 5:17 (NIV)
The Spirit inspired Paul to write that love fulfills God’s law…
Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
Romans 13:10
Jesus fulfilled the Law by loving God and people perfectly, and He told us to follow His example. If we want to love like Jesus, we need to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. (Romans 12:1) And love people by respecting and protecting them physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Paul explained it like this…
Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Romans 13:8–9
So, when we love God, we love people because love fulfills the Law. Love obeys God’s commands. It does not commit adultery, murder, or steal, and it doesn’t lie or envy.
Got Questions puts it like this…
“It is impossible to love God and not love people. God’s heart, His very nature, is love. If the Spirit of God dwells in us, His love will flow through us to others (1 John 3:10, 14, 16; 4:2–20). Our love for God will cause us to see people as God sees them and love them as God does.“
That last sentence states it perfectly, expanding on John’s words…
We love each other because He loved us first.
1 John 4:19
Yes, love fulfills the Law! Our obedience demonstrates our love for God and His love for all.
But…
Love does not overlook sin. Some teach that it’s loving for Christians to overlook sexual sin, and caring to excuse sins committed by those who come from a disadvantaged background.
But Scripture tells us to speak the truth in love. And that means the loving thing to do is to share God’s truth honestly and compassionately.
Jesus welcomed and loved sinners, and taught them the importance of trusting and obeying God’s will.
He said that love shows itself in obedience…
“If you love me, obey my commandments.”
John 14:15
No, we won’t obey perfectly, but that doesn’t excuse giving up or giving in to selfishness, pride, and disobedience. When we love the Father, we will do our best to love Him and our siblings. When we love Jesus, we will do all we can to model His love.
And that is how love fulfills the law.
Let’s pray…
A Prayer to Trust and Obey
Love Fulfills the Law
Heavenly Father, I can only begin to thank You for Your love and all You have done for me. You graciously sent Jesus to show us how to love as He perfectly obeyed Your will. He taught us Your truth about forgiveness and obedience. And He suffered our punishment to set us free to trust and obey.
I want to love like Jesus. I want to love and obey You perfectly, but I know I don’t. I want to love people unselfishly, showing them Your love, but I fall short. I’m so sorry, Father. Please forgive me.
I know I can’t obey Your commands if I don’t know them. Please give me a longing to SEEK You first in my life. Help me forsake pride and selfishness. And make me a better steward of the blessing of time, and intentionally spend it with You and the people I love.
By Your grace, bless me with the courage I need to speak truth in love. And may the truth I speak always be grounded in Your Word. I love You, Lord, and look forward to worshiping and adoring You today, tomorrow, and always. I pray this in and through my Savior, Jesus. Amen.
Here are some quotes to encourage us with the truth about love and obedience…
“You cannot obey God without your obedience spilling out in a blessing to all those around you.” Adrian Rogers
We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey His commandments.
1 john 5:2
“Our obedience to God’s commandments comes as a natural outgrowth of our endless love and gratitude for the goodness of God.” ~ Dieter Uchtdorf
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
John 14:23
“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day.” ~ Max Lucado
What if we make obeying God too complicated? What if it’s honestly surrendering ourselves to the Father and asking Him to help us love like Jesus, through the power of His Spirit?
May we all be blessed to live with LOVE that fulfills the law.
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We humans can most certainly make things more complicated than they need to be. May we choose to love God first and everything will fall into place. Love does fulfill the Law. Blessings, Deb!
Amen!
As Rev would say, “That’s downright Biblical!” Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. Luke 12:31 Blessings and HUGS!
Yep, during the hardest times in my life, I know my husband and I complicated things. I didn’t know I was still welcome in the kingdom of God, but He said Come as you are, I did, and the rest is history! I believe in my whole heart surrendering to God, surrendering everything to God, is the way to live life. His way is so much better than mine. And when it gets hard, He gives me the tools I need to get thru it…”If God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it”!
Thank you Deb and friends❣️
What a beautiful testimony, JoAnne! I completely agree. It’s a statement of faith that grows through His faithfulness to keep His promises. He has gotten me through things I never thought I could endure. God bless you!