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The Bible Teaching Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Foundations

Commentaries that specialize on training the teacher!

Love One Another

Romans 13:8-10

Romans 13:8-10 a great summary statement,

"Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:8-10)

The World says	Jesus says
When one is free from commandments and restrictions, then they are independent and free.	When one lives by the commandments and teachings of the Lord, then one is truly free.
Self takes Love is doing my will, expressing my self, fulfillng my needs and doing what I want	Love gives Love is dying to self, lifting up the interests of others above our own preferences and own desires.
The world loves itself and therefore focuses on itself. People of the world only like loving those people they like. This is because of their intolerance with those who do not admire them and their thinking. They sometimes justify their hate for others by pretending to be spiritual and make their enemies out to be God's enemies. Love today is seen as the supreme natural expression of one's own interest and likings. Due to the materialism of our society the spiritual and soul are denied of any value or existence. Materialism dogmatically states that only what one can see, hear and touch is real. Only the chemical reactions in the person are real. Man calculates love by numbering the increase of his heart rate as he thinks about a certain boy or girl. The awareness of his interests is done by noticing these reactions in himself toward another. The expression of his desires toward the one stimulating him is what is commonly called love. Since this situation is seen only from a material perspective, there are no rights or wrongs. Affection and significance perpetuates its superior guidelines of behavior. If there is love, then whatever is needed to express and maintain that love is found to be okay. People justify fornication because it brings 'meaning' in their lives. The significance is so important that they are willing to suffer all sorts of horrible diseases, rejection from parents, and denial of reality just to grab hold of this significance.	God's love gains by giving. It is built on sacrifice. God's love is seen in a person keeping His Law rather than spurning it. Love completes the Law and goes beyond its purpose and restrictions but never outside of it. We can look at the laws as markers on the two sides of the road. Anything against the law is by definition unloving. A person who acts righteously but isn't loving is not righteous at all but has sinned. Others have acted loving or warm but again have not done right. Righteousness is living in a loving way toward each other. Love for All Love is not just for our friends or the people we like. Love is also for our enemies. Clearly in Matthew 5:44 it says, "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." In verses 46-47 he continues by challenging us not to love only those who love us. Even the tax-gatherers, a despised and selfish people, would love those who like them. Jesus challenges us that it is not good enough to love only those in our Christian fellowship groups. It is no good to have two standards to live by, one for Christians and one for non-Christians. In God's kingdom, love is clearly within certain boundaries. God's love alway stays within the boundaries set up in God's Word.

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Conclusion
The greatest gift and blessing to oneself is to live for the benefit of others. We then step beyond our own selfishness and bring God's care to others. What can you do today to care for someone nearby? Next

See many other resources on Romans including Bible studies.