In his continued discussion about the renewed mind, Paul orders all of our interactions under one word: love.
Paul begins with an interesting formulation: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other” (Romans 13:8). Love is not generally the type of thing that we think of as being owed. What does Paul mean by this?
He has just explained in the previous verses: “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:7). Paul doesn’t leave that thought in the air. Having commanded us to pay what we owe, he reminds us of a debt that is never fully discharged: love. Because love is not simply a good feeling, it is right action. “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). Do you want to do what is right? Do you want to obey the law of God? Love.
But again, Paul does not leave love undefined. Love is not merely an expression of what we think is good at the moment. Genuine love is governed by what God has commanded, and it expresses itself in obedience. Jesus makes the statement clear: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Our love for Christ expresses itself in obedience to Him, and one of His commands is that we love one another.
Paul’s examples are important to his final point that love does no wrong to a neighbor. If you love your spouse, you will not commit adultery against them. If you love your neighbor, you will not murder them, steal from them, or covet their possessions. Love is not simply a feeling; it is the catalyst for the action of obeying God’s law.
As fellow creatures of God, we owe each other this love, true love that does not ignore the law of God, but flows from love to love. Paul ended chapter 8 with a crescendo: nothing can “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39), and from that love, we love others.
Love received is the foundation of our actions as we obey our Lord and, in doing so, love others.
-steve