Love Fulfills the Law
A Sermon on Romans 13:8-10
Originally preached Feb. 24, 1967
Scripture
8Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be …
Sermon Description
Debt is burdensome and being obligated to another is a constant weight on one’s shoulders. But there is one great exception, according to the apostle Paul. That exception is the debt of love. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones notes in this sermon on Romans 13:8–10 titled “Love Fulfills the Law,” Paul calls the church to be perpetually obligated in their love for one another. Paul himself was likewise indebted to all: to the Greeks and Barbarians and both to the wise and the unwise. He had the medicine in the gospel that they needed and this meant he was under obligation to share it. Paul expects nothing less from the church. The church in Rome, as well as the church today, are in a constant state of debt to one another. But Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns that if one thinks love and law are at odds with one another, then they have misunderstood the Bible. It is an abuse of the law – by the Pharisees, moralists, and in legalism — that is at odds with Paul’s thoughts on law and love. The law begins with the negative, but God’s commandments ultimately have a positive effect. In other words, “love is the fulfilling of the law.” Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides insight into this beautiful synthesis of law and love.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is concluding and summarizing his teaching on Christian relationships and conduct from Romans 12-13.
- Paul transitions by picking up on his previous point about paying what is owed to others. He says to owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.
- Loving one another fulfills the law. The law is an expression of God's will for how people should live and treat each other.
- The law forbids: adultery, murder, stealing, false witness, coveting. All other commands are summed up by loving your neighbor as yourself.
- Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love fulfills the law.
- It's important to understand the nature of God's law. It should not be reduced to a mechanical or legalistic following of rules.
- The law expresses God's love and care for people. The details help guide people into living rightly.
- Love and law should not be divorced from each other. Love fulfills the law. Law guides the expression of love.
- The Pharisees went wrong by missing the spiritual, loving purpose of the law and focusing on legalistic details.
- Moralism also fails by being primarily negative and concerned more with actions than with loving people.
- Christianity aims to produce loving personalities, not just correct actions.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.