Pentecost Season · Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A
Romans 13:8-10
Love, for the Day is Near
September 6, 2026
Overview & Insights
“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10)
Romans 13:8–14 resumes Paul’s discussion about Christian love in 12:9–21. At the same time, 13:8–14 anticipates Paul’s challenge to the Roman Christians to love one another in 14:1–15:13. Romans 13:8–14 divides into two sections: the ethic of love (vv. 8–10) and the dawning of the eschaton (vv. 11–14). The two paragraphs are closely related: love is the power of the age to come, the stipulation of the new covenant; only it, not the law, can overcome the flesh of this present evil age. I outline these two sections in this way: 1. The ethic of love (13:8–10) a. The fulfillment of the law and the presence of the new covenant (13:8, 10) b. Love is the fulfillment of the law in the way it treats one’s neighbor (13:8–10) 2. The dawning of the age to come (13:11–14) a. The indicative of the age to come (13:11–12a) b. The imperative needed for the present evil age (13:12b–14)
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Commentary
Commentary on Romans 13:8-14 Working Preacher
Luther Seminary exegesis of love as the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13: Love and the Law Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik's verse by verse evangelical commentary on the debt of love and the commandments.
Romans 13:8-9 Commentary Precept Austin
A deep gathering of word studies and cross references on the debt of love that fulfills the law.
Romans 13:8 Commentaries BibleHub
Aggregates classic commentaries on love fulfilling the law in one place.
Barnes' Notes on Romans 13 StudyLight
Albert Barnes' notes on the whole chapter of Romans 13.
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A): Readings Agape Bible Study
A Catholic reading study that opens Paul's teaching that love sums up the commandments.
Background & Word Study
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
Why is Romans 13 an Advent reading?
Paul calls the church to wake from sleep, for salvation is nearer than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand, so we put on Christ and walk in love.
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