“7 Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor. 8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.”
In the previous devotional, Paul called us to use our freedom from the law in Christ not for ourselves, but in service to others. If we truly want to love both God and our neighbors, we will be careful to do all that God has commanded us through His law. Love does not replace the law, but rather, love fulfills the law. Those who love God and love people will, by nature, keep the law. Today, we will look at the Ten Commandments to see examples of how love fulfills each requirement of the law:
- Do not have other gods besides me. (Exodus 20:3) Love is loyal. If we truly love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, then we will love Him exclusively. All that we have: our life, our breath, our provision, our salvation; all of it comes from God, so to love Him means to recognize no other god.
- Do not make an idol. (Exodus 20:4-6) Love is unadulterated. In context, God makes clear that we are not to make an idol in the likeness of anything in heaven or earth. Absolutely everything has its origin from God. Nothing is from outside of Him. To make an idol out of what God has created is to worship the creation rather than the Creator. If we love God, we will love Him for Him, and because we owe Him our love. We will not love God only for His gifts, blessings, creations, or anything else. Rather, we will love God because He is great, He is our Creator, and He demands our love! Note: God does not forbid us from enjoying His blessings. We must, however, never worship them. Certainly, it is right to thank God for what He has given us in the way of His blessings.
- Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God. (Exodus 20:7) Love is respectful. When we have love for someone, we will not dishonor their name. The ESV Bible translates the word “misuse” as “use in vain”. This respectful love has to be even greater where it concerns God’s name. In Scripture we see God’s name invoked to cast out demons (Acts 19:13-17), deliver salvation (Romans 10:9), bring healing (Acts 3:1-10), give blessing (Numbers 23:18-24), pronounce judgment, cursing, plagues, and diseases (Exodus 7-12), and to seal commitments and promises (Matthew 23:20-22). Not only do we want to avoid bringing dishonor to God’s name, but we also must avoid invoking it when we really do not mean to. To use God’s name in a flippant, nonchalant manner is to leave God’s power unrecognized and put ourselves and others in danger.
- Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11) Love is focused. The Lord makes clear that the Israelites were to set aside the seventh day of the week, not doing any unnecessary work, but to focus on what God has done for them. Love brings with it an intentional desire to set aside time and focus on the needs and concerns of others and to reflect upon and remember what God has done for us.
- Honor your father and your mother. (Exodus 20:12) Love is obedient. One who loves God and their father and mother will by nature of their love, act in obedience towards them. No one who rightly loves their parents can willfully disobey them. This is true with others in authority over us whom we are called to love, the foremost of which is God Himself.
- Do not murder. (Exodus 20:13) Love is life giving. It seems obvious that we would not murder someone we love, but Jesus takes it a step further, telling us that when we have hatred towards anyone, it is akin to murdering them in our heart and we will receive judgment as such. (See Matthew 5:21) One who loves as Christ loves has no room in their heart for hatred towards others, only for hatred toward sin. Jesus is the ultimate example of love like this. Jesus came, not to be served, but to serve others, even to the point of giving His life for us. In His sacrifice, those who repent, believe, and confess will have everlasting life. True love brings life.
- Do not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14) Love is faithful. This commandment goes hand in hand with commandment number 1, do not have other gods besides me. This commandment relates more to our faithfulness to other people, specifically our love towards our spouse. If you truly love someone, you would not sleep around behind their back. This is sin, and clearly has no place in biblical love between a married man and woman. The same could be said for our relationship to God. When we put our love for other things ahead of our love for God, we commit adultery.
- Do not steal. (Exodus 20:15) Love is content. If we love God and others, we will be diligent to pay all that we owe when we purchase something and to be content not to take things that belong to others.
- Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16) Love is honest. Love does not conceal or distort the truth. Love is truthful, even when it is difficult. This is exactly what Paul was talking about in chapter 12, to love someone is to tell them the truth about their relationship before God. To bear false witness, to lie, is not to love.
- Do not covet. (Exodus 20:17) Love is joyful. Love does not covet what our neighbors have. Love is joyful for others and the way that God has blessed them. We must be satisfied to rejoice with our neighbors when they receive blessings from God, and we must be content enough to keep from desiring to take what God has gifted to them.
In addition to these examples of love, how else can we love our neighbors more than ourselves? Jesus and Paul both say that the law can be summed up in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. (See Galatians 5:13-14 and Matthew 22:25-30) On a physical level, we provide food, clothing, and shelter for ourselves. Are we doing this for our neighbors in need? On a spiritual level, by God’s grace, we embrace the gospel, we seek discipleship, and we yearn to grow in our understanding of God and His Word and to grow our sanctification. Are we providing support and opportunities to this end to our neighbors? This is what it means to love. This is what it means to fulfill the law.
“Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love.” — 1 Corinthians 16:13-14