"Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
Paul tells us in Romans 13:8 that whoever loves fulfills the law. With that in mind, we come to verse ten where he drives home the notion of love fulfilling the law and adds that love does not hurt anyone. Paul’s teaching reminds us that keeping the command to love others naturally leads to following the more specific commands of God’s law which protect our neighbors—and ourselves—from harm.
However, it is vital that we understand keeping the command to love our neighbors does not mean we can obtain our own righteousness. We gain righteousness through Christ, and Christ alone. This verse also does not mean we avoid sharing truth in the name of love; telling a neighbor a difficult truth can be the most loving thing we do.
Paul’s words simply remind us who are in Christ that we are called to keep God’s commands by loving our neighbor in the same way we love ourselves.
