Love Is the Fullfillment of the Law

Lesson 13

Love Is the Fulfillment of the Law

(Matthew 5 & 22, Romans 7,8 & 13, James 2)

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: Are emotion and logic opposed to each other? Do you think less or more of someone who makes decisions based on emotion rather than logic? If you answer, “Yes, I think less of emotion based decisions,” should decisions always be based on logic rather than emotion? The matter is complicated because being rational improves the emotional outcome for everyone. When I was growing up, my father taught me that doing something because my peers were doing it was not a sufficient reason. For many things giving in to peer pressure did not matter. But when peer pressure was opposed to doing the right thing, I generally did the right thing and I never regretted the outcome. Is the law connected to love in that same way? Meaning that if you keep the law you promote love? Let’s jump into our study of the Bible and learn more!

1. The Love Connection

1. 1. Read Matthew 22:36-40. On what do all “the law and Prophets” depend? (On two commandments which require love.)

1. 1. 1. Does this seem logical to you? Love is an emotion. You can obey a commandment whether you like it or not. Obedience is not an emotion.

1. 1. 2. Is this saying that we cannot properly obey if we do not love?

1. 2. Read Exodus 20:2-7. Can you explain how these four commandments are related to love?

1. 1. 1. Can you command love? (While you could command it, the result is not love. Love is an emotion.)

1. 1. 1. 1. Are these four commandments compelling emotion? (No. They are commanding or prohibiting actions.)

1. 1. 1. 2. Can that shape your emotion?

1. 3. Look again at Exodus 20:5-6. God says He punishes those who serve other gods, but He loves those who love Him and keep His commandments. How is love connected to obedience in these verses?

1. 1. 1. Notice that God repays “hate” with the results of “iniquity,” and “love” with love. Is that an example we should follow? (We just studied Matthew 5:43-46 which tells us not to do that, and states that God does not do that.)

1. 1. 1. 1. How do you resolve this apparent conflict? (The resolution seems to turn on Matthew 5:45 which says that God gives “common grace” to bad people. At the same time, Exodus 20:5 states that those who hate God suffer from their actions. What I understand this to say is that sin has natural consequences. Obedience has natural consequences.)

1. 4. These days I am told that we should ignore violations of God’s law based on the greater value of God’s love? Is that logical? (No. Love and obedience are connected. It is not that God stops loving the sinner (and we should not stop loving the sinner), but the logic of the matter is that sin harms the sinner. To encourage the sin is to encourage greater harm. That is not love.)

1. 5. Read Romans 13:8-10. What do these verses say results from love? (That we refrain from doing the harmful things listed in the last six of the Ten Commandments.)

1. 1. 1. My concern is that it does not say the reverse, that if we refrain from doing those harmful things we love our neighbor. Should it say the reverse? Or is there a reason it does not say the reverse? (I fear there is a reason. It would be great to just check off the boxes and then say, “I proved that I love!”)

2. The Sin Connection

1. 1. As the reader can see, I have been hoping that the Bible texts we just studied would conclude that if we obey God, then that demonstrates that we love God and our neighbor. Unfortunately, the texts do not seem to say that. Instead, they say that if you love you will obey. Read Romans 7:5-6. What darker message do we read on the subject of obedience bringing love? (This tells us that if we try to keep the law our “sinful passions” arise, not our love!)

1. 2. Read Romans 7:7-10. Does the law cause sin rather than love? (Read these verses closely. They do not say that the law caused sin, rather they say that the law produced an awareness of sin. Sin then caused us to want to violate the law.)

1. 3. Read Romans 7:11-13. What good is the law? These verses say that the law is “holy and righteous and good.” How is that? (Read Romans 7:15-19. The law shows how terrible we are. We want to do good, but we do what is wrong.)

3. The Road to Love

1. 1. Read Romans 8:1-4. How is it that we are free from the grip of sin? (Jesus obeyed for us. “God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.”)

1. 1. 1. What is the logical response to Jesus saving us by doing what we “could not do?” (Gratitude. Love.)

1. 2. Go back and read Matthew 22:37-40. Does this now make logical sense? (Yes. We love God because He has saved our life. We love Him because of what He has done for us. That should spur us to show love for others. Why? Because we appreciate God’s love for us.)

1. 3. Read Jeremiah 31:31-33. In what way is the law within us? (It is written on our hearts. This tells us that what Jesus has done for us changes our hearts.)

1. 4. Read Hebrews 10:12-18. These verses specifically link Jesus’ sacrifice to our perfection. What do you think it means to have the law in your “heart” and the law written on your “mind?” (Instead of the law stimulating us to sin, instead we have an attitude to avoid sinning. We know as a matter of love and logic that sin is not a good thing.)

1. 5. Re-read Hebrews 10:15, Romans 8:4 and then read Romans 8:9-10. How important is the Holy Spirit to this new attitude? (He is central. He is what writes the law on our hearts and our minds.)

4. The End of Bias

1. 1. Read James 2:1. Should our hearts be free of bias and prejudice? (Yes. It is inconsistent with our faith.)

1. 2. Read James 2:2-4. Why would we be partial to the rich? (They can do a lot for our church.)

1. 1. 1. Are these distinctions wrong? (James calls them “evil.”)

1. 1. 2. Do you know those who have a bias towards the poor? Is that also wrong? (James says we should not have any bias.)

1. 3. Read James 2:5-7. Does James seem to be biased against the rich? (He does!)

1. 4. How about you? Are you biased against people who are not like you in terms of money, education, or color?

1. 1. 1. Is one bias fine and another not?

1. 5. When my wife and I bought our first home it was very small, but our cars were new. One day I realized the foolishness of this and we switched. We purchased a very nice home and we drove old, inexpensive cars. We had very stringent car inspection laws where we lived. But we discovered an inspector who loved the poor and disliked the rich. When my wife brought our cars to him, he was very lenient with us. One day our next door neighbor brought his new Lincoln in for inspection when my wife was at the garage. When our neighbor greeted my wife, the inspector asked how she knew him. The inspector knew where the Lincoln owner lived. My wife confessed he was our next-door neighbor. Thankfully, she had developed a friendship with the inspector so that he was still kind to us when inspecting our old cars.

1. 6. Friend, we are all like the inspector, we harbor bias and prejudices in our heart - even though we might not recognize it. It is the love of Jesus, and His loving deeds for us that can break our sinful attitudes. Our sinful attitudes will be replaced with a Holy Spirit guided love that turns our hearts to God and gives us an attitude of proper treatment towards others. Will you accept Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf? Will you ask the Holy Spirit to change your mind and heart? Why not do that right now?

5. Next week we begin a series of studies on Bible prophecy.