Fulfilling the Law

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 20th of September, 2026.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome lately, for a number of reason.  First and foremost, it’s what the Spirit has led me to.  Which probably resulted in the other reasons.

I’ve mentioned before that Paul wrote this letter in part as an introduction of himself to a church he hoped to visit, but had not yet had the chance to.  So reading this letter lets us know the great evangelist a little better.  Paul uses this opportunity to give clarity to the Gospel message, as well as to address and heal the cultural and religious tensions between Jewish converts and Gentile believers.  And let’s face it…  we have some cultural and religious tensions right here in the United States, don’t we, and between our various Christian denominations at times.  So we could use a little of that healing, too.

But an even greater reason for spending a little extra time in this letter is that Paul instructs us in how the Gospel message should change our everyday behavior.  In other words, he tells us believers - we Christians - how we should live and act each day we walk this earth, especially as relates to interacting with others.

Remember that before his conversion, Paul was a devout and devoted Pharisee.  He was very familiar with God’s Law as handed down by Moses, so familiar that he saw this Jesus movement, this New Way, as a violation of that law.  You might say that Paul was an enforcer of the law.  That all changed when Jesus came to him on the road to Damascus.

Please listen and follow along as Paul tells us how to fulfill all of God’s law, and why, in verses 8 through 14 of the 13th chapter of the Apostle’s Letter to the Romans, and I’ll be reading this from The Living Bible version of our Holy Bible this morning…

8 Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others — never finish paying that! For if you love them, you will be obeying all of God’s laws, fulfilling all His requirements. 9 If you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself you will not want to harm or cheat him, or kill him or steal from him. And you won’t sin with his wife or want what is his, or do anything else the Ten Commandments say is wrong. All ten are wrapped up in this one, to love your neighbor as you love yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to anyone. That’s why it fully satisfies all of God’s requirements. It is the only law you need.

11 Another reason for right living is this: you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of the Lord is nearer now than when we first believed. 12-13 The night is far gone, the day of His return will soon be here. So quit the evil deeds of darkness and put on the armor of right living, as we who live in the daylight should! Be decent and true in everything you do so that all can approve your behavior. Don’t spend your time in wild parties and getting drunk or in adultery and lust or fighting or jealousy. 14 But ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help you live as you should, and don’t make plans to enjoy evil.

--Romans 13:8-14 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for changing Paul’s heart and making of him a great missionary and evangelist.  Through his efforts, and in spite of the tribulations and suffering he endured, many churches were formed and people throughout the known world came to Jesus.  And through his writings and correspondence, we today can gain greater insight into Your law and what You expect of us.  Thank You, Father, for giving the Apostle that words to share with us that helps explain what Your law boils down to, and why we should follow it.  And now, Father, please open our hearts to receive Your message this morning.  Touch each of us with Your most Holy Spirit that we might be moved to more closely follow Your law.  In the precious name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.

This is going to be a rather long story, but please bear with me.  I think you’ll appreciate it.  It was told by Brennan Manning in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel.

A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of WWII, was called by adoring New Yorkers ‘the Little Flower’ because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel.  He was a colorful character who used to ride the New York City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the New York newspapers were on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids. 

One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city.  LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.  Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread.  She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving.  But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges.  “It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor.”, the man told the mayor.  “She's got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”  LaGuardia sighed.  He turned to the woman and said “I've got to punish you.  The law makes no exceptions -- ten dollars or ten days in jail.”

But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket.  He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero saying: “Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat.  Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”  So the following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York City policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.

The law makes no exceptions – it must be fulfilled.  But sometimes the Judge forces us to truly understand the law as He sees it.  And then makes sure we fulfill it the way He wants.

Our passage opens with Paul telling us to pay all our debts except for the debt of loving others, which we should never “pay off”.  It can be easy to overlook the first part of that because of the impact of the second part.  As Christians, we should pay off all our debt, owing no one except for owing them our love.  Admittedly, that is nearly impossible in our times, with exorbitantly high prices and costs of everything, not to mention relatively easy credit.

Then Paul gets into the meat of the message.  All of God’s commandments – do not murder or steal, do not lie or covet others or commit adultery – all of them are summed up in the one rule to love our neighbor as we love ourself.  When we practice love, we will be purposeful in doing no harm, for loves does no wrong to others, fulfilling God’s moral law by not murdering them or lying to them or any of the rest of the commands.

Paul tells us that the time is growing short, that we need to wake from our spiritual sleep, which also means that we need to double-down on our efforts to help others come to Jesus – in itself an act of love.  Finally, the Apostle warns us to cast off our sinful behaviors and live more honorably, more righteously, focusing on Jesus rather than on living to enjoy what this life offers.

Earlier, right before our responsive reading, I said that loving others can be tough.  Well, trying to keep the Ten Commandments can be tough, too.  If that were easy, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come into this world and die for us to be redeemed.  But what if we could condense all those ten into one?  Wouldn’t that make it easier?

When Paul claims that all ten of God's commandments are wrapped up in the one that says to love your neighbor as you love yourself, he is echoing the words of Jesus to the scribe as reported by the Apostle Mark in the New King James Version of chapter 12 verses 29 through 31 of his Gospel account, when Jesus said…

29 “The foremost of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

--Mark 12:29b-31 (NKJV)

Now, remember that Paul never knew Jesus before Jesus blinded him on the road to Damascus.  He didn't walk with Jesus during His ministry.  He didn't hear Him speak to the scribe or the Sadducees or the crowds.  So how could he know what Jesus said?  Because during his three days of blindness, Jesus told him everything so that he could carry out the mission the Lord was about to give him.

Paul also says the time is running short, that we should live righteously while we can, for Jesus will return when we least expect it.  The Apostle John is shown what will happen on that day, as he recorded for us in the 7th verse of the 1st chapter of his Book of Revelation when he wrote…

7 See! He is arriving, surrounded by clouds; and every eye shall see Him — yes, and those who pierced Him. And the nations will weep in sorrow and in terror when He comes. Yes! Amen! Let it be so!

--Revelation 1:7 (TLB)

All of the earth will see Him and know He has returned.  But most of the population will cringe in terror, finally understanding the truth.  Jesus said it first, though, when He warned His disciples as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in verse 30 of the 24th chapter of his Gospel account, by saying…

30 “And then at last the signal of My coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning all around the earth. And the nations of the world will see Me arrive in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”

--Matthew 24:30 (TLB)

And for most, it will be too late.  Paul warns us to not be in that doomed group.

Family, we have been chosen to believe in Jesus as the Son of God, the Christ, our Redeemer and Savior.  We have been given the faith to believe, and to know Jesus as our Friend.  We put our faith and belief into practice by fulfilling God’s law, by loving others.

Let us ignore differences, put aside prejudices, forgive past wrongs, and love one another.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who showed us what love is all about.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You again for inspiring Paul to be so prolific in his writings to instruct us and tireless in his efforts to expand Your Son’s church and Your kingdom.  When we study his letters and his life, we gain greater insight into righteous living and what pleases You.  Please help us follow his example of faith and dedication.  Help us in our efforts to truly love our neighbor.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your law and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for emphasizing that loving God and loving others are the greatest of the commandments.  So many times during Your short ministry on earth, You spoke of the importance of loving others.  And You lived Your life that way, loving all by offering them salvation, coming to us so that all might be saved.  Thank You, Lord, for showing us what love means.  Please help us obey that command to love others.  Help us put aside all preconceived notions and show Your love through our love.  And in showing our love, help us seek the lost and lead them to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.