We find this passage in Romans 13. There, starting
from verse 8 we read:
Romans 13:8-10
"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves
another has fulfilled the law. 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."
"Love does no harm to a neighbor". We will not do any harm to
our neighbor when we love him. We will not steal him, nor lie to him, nor
deceive him nor harm him in something. All the law, the "you shall not
commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear
false witness, you shall not covet and any other commandment" as the Word
says, is summed up in this single phrase: in "you shall love your neighbor
as yourself." Here is what the Lord said concerning the magnitude of this
commandment:
Mark 12:28-31
"Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning
together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is
the first commandment of all?" Jesus answered him, "The first of all
the commandments is: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
`And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first
commandment. "And the second, like it, is this:
`You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other
commandment greater than these."
Though the scribe asked Him for the first commandment, the Lord answered
him with two commandments. The "you shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your
strength" and together the "you shall love your neighbor as
yourself". As He said this commandment is LIKE the first one. As
another gospel adds to these words of the Lord: "On these two
commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:40).
Also as I John 4:20-21 tells us:
I John 4:20-21
"If someone says, "I love God," and hates his
brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen,
how can he love God whom he has not seen? And his commandment we have from him:
that he who loves God must love his brother also."
Many try not to fail in this or the other point, or not to deviate from
this or that commandment. However, what the Word of God tells us is that all
this will come to pass, will be kept, simply when we love our neighbor. All the
commandments are summed up in this love. If we don’t love, then we will in
vain try to keep what only through love can be kept.
Tassos
Kioulachoglou
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