Love Does No Wrong To Others

ROMANS 13:9-10
“For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
”‭‭Romans‬ ‭13:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬
‬https://www.bible.com/114/rom.13.9-10.nkj

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Jesus paid our past, present, and future debt of sin by taking our place on a cross, satisfying the Law and fulfilling every religious act, and then on the third day, He was raised, defeating death for all time, giving us all the glorious hope of eternal life.
Therefore no religion or its religious acts can save us, nor works, or good deeds, nor money, nor status, nor any other person on this earth.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
My beloved, all we need do is know Him, form a heart felt relationship with Him, and believe (MARK 16:16; ROMANS 10:9-13).
But does that mean we can continue to live in sin? No of course not! God’s Laws are perfect and purposeful and we Christians need to remain obedient them.
The problem is, we humans inherited sin and cannot remain obedient to the Law in our own strength.
My beloved, even if we could, we cannot be saved by works or religious acts, for we have already sinned.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
‭‭I John‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
But God is merciful; He sent His Holy Spirit to each and every committed believer to give us the very help we need to walk in His righteousness.
Jesus said, ““If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14:15-18 NKJV
Though God sent His Holy Spirit to help us, He doesn’t take away our free will; therefore we have a choice, to walk according to our flesh, or to walk by the leading of the Spirit. It’s my way or God’s way; my way leads to disaster and God’s way leads to life everlasting and continuous peace.
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:16-26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
There are many commandments and rules to keep, but to “love” covers them all. If you love your neighbour, you shall wish him no harm.
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:37-40‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Interestingly, love is the first fruit of the Spirit.
Love is more than a feeling or an emotion; it is a choice and an action, a selfless act of care toward others.
If you really care about your neighbour as you do yourself, you will never deliberately harm him or her, but rather reach out to help when one is in need and share the treasure you have found in Christ.
Your neighbours are not just the people in your street, village, or even city; your neighbours are all people nation-wide, including your enemies.
Jesus said, ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:43-48‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
If only we could all put these two great commandments of love into practice, this world would soon become a better place to live. For “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.