Pentecost Season · Proper 18 · Year A
Romans 13:8-14
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
The Lutheran home commentary on this Year A reading by a named seminary scholar.
Romans 13 - Submission and Love Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of love as the fulfilling of the law and the call to wake up.
Romans 13:8 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the debt of love.
Romans 13:8 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight
A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.
Background & Word Study
Romans 13 (Matthew Henry Complete) Bible Study Tools
Matthew Henry's full exposition of the chapter for a classic devotional reading of love and the near day.
Romans 13:8 Interlinear BibleHub
The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers, including the word for love.
Enter the Bible: Romans Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's book introduction to Romans for the letter's ethics of love.
Book of Romans Overview BibleProject
An animated overview of Romans that frames love as the sum of the law.
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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