Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.  (9)  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  (10)  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Romans 13:8-10 

Explanation:

There are some who come to the conclusion that “owe no man any thing” is a prohibition against taking on any kind of debt.  There are good reasons to take a conservative position on debt.  Yet the Bible does not condemn investing in other passages of scripture.  The Bible does speak against taking advantage of the poor by charging outrageous interest rates.  In the context here it is my view that Paul is saying that we should pay our main debt to others that never goes away- that is the debt of love to others.  The focus is not on financial practice, but on the real obligation that we have to others to show them the love of Christ.

The love we show is the summation of the law as Christ said.  All of the ten commandments are repeated in the new testament except the sabbath day command. 

Application:

To love God rightly we must love our neighbor as ourself.  If we get the love of God right we will get the love of others right.  As we get love for others right we will keep the commands given in the law because “love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fullfilling of the law.”

Response:

• Who do you need to love better today?  
• How can you show that love to them?
• In what ways are you being unloving to others?