Love Fulfills the Law

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.