Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  (9) For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,”  “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal, ” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (10) Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

THe apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Romans and our verses today focus on the second part of our Lord’s great commandment; to love others as ourselves. This biblical love is not an emotional response but an act of will. We owe this perpetual debt of love because we received God’s love while we were yet sinners. The faithful are saved through Christ by the mercy and grace of god – we are not to be comformed to this evil age as the faithful have been reborn.

God’s love for us is our source and motivation for our love for others.  To love others is a process and we can never pay off This debt. ITs so difficult because we are forgiven but still of a depraved nature –  for that changed man/woman love demands sacrifice and self denial.  This love is not just an act of emotion but one of action; a commitment. We are to behave as we believe.

Paul is probably countering criticism from the Jews when he tells us what we must not do. Paul has told the faithful that the civil and ceremonial mosaic law of the Jewish nation is finished. However, the moral law of God still remains to be honored. We are to practice biblical love – to seek the highest good for those we love.  We are fulfilling God’s moral law though love.

Christians may be the only examples of God’s love in practise that some men/women ever experience – it’s a very heavy responsibility for the faithful to repay the debt of having been granted salvation by God’s free mercy and grace – through Christ Jesus.