For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, this is how He responded You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. The totality of the law can be summed up by simply loving God with all our being and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
As followers of Jesus, we no longer live under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was based on God's law. Under the New Covenant, the law of God has been written on our hearts. We are now simply led by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within us, and it is the Holy Spirit that directs us on how to live and leads us into all truth.
As followers of Jesus we are brand new creation. All of the things that Paul list here: You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” All are found in the law of Moses. God gave Israel the law not to earn their righteousness but to guide their lives as a people set apart for God and His kingdom.
But the difference today is that the third person of the Trinity lives within us. The Israelites of old never had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them because the blood of Christ had not yet been shed. They had to perform animal sacrifices repeatedly. Those sacrifices would cover sin but not fully remove it.
But that has all changed in Jesus Christ. Today, our sins have been removed, and we are declared righteous. If we do sin, we simply need to confess, and our Father in Heaven is faithful and just to forgive us. In Jesus Christ, we are brand new creations. May His character and nature be manifested within us.
May we be committed to living and walking in love. May we love as Jesus loved. May we not see people as they are but as they can become by the power of God's grace and love. The law and the prophets all culminate in simply loving God and our neighbor as ourselves. It is not complicated, and by His grace, we will be the people He has called us to be.
Prayer
Father help me today to live by your grace. Help me to rely upon you for everything. Fill my life with your love and grace. Help me to love you with everything and to love my neighbor as myself. Remove from my life anything that would hinder your work in my life and may I be desperate for you. In the name of Jesus, Amen!
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 22:37–40.
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