Romans 13:8-10

“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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