The Law of Love

The Law Of Love Fulfills All Of God's Law
The "Law Of Love" fulfills all of God's law for mankind.
If we truly love others as we love ourself, we have met all of God's requirements for us.
"LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." The Law Of Love
"LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF"
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For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14 RSV)
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The Law Of Love is derived from The Great Commandment, given by Jesus in three different places in the Bible: in Matthew, in Mark, and in Luke. The Great Commandment, In Three Different Places

MATTHEW 22:34-40 (RSV)


34
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the
Sad'ducees, they came together.
35
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.
36
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
37
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38
This is the great and first commandment.
39
And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.
40
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."
MARK 12:28-31 (RSV)

28
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with
one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him,
"Which commandment is the first of all?"
29
Jesus answered, "The first 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, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength.'
31
The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no other commandment greater than these."

LUKE 10:25-28 (RSV)


25
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test,
saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life?"
26
He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you
read?"
27
And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as
yourself."
28
And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and
you will live."
The Great Commandment was based on two earlier commandments given in the Old Testament. Old Testament Roots Of The Great Commandment
DEUTERONOMY 6:4-5 (RSV)

4
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD;
5
and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your might.

LEVITICUS 19:18 (RSV)


"You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons
of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:
I am the LORD."
Jesus broadened the Old Testament concept of "neighbor" to include all people, not just "the sons of your own people." When He did this, He opened up God's Kingdom to all people, not just the people of Israel. Jesus Answers The Question, "Who Is My Neighbor?"
LUKE 10:29-37
29
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And
who is my neighbor?"
30
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and
beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31
Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when
he saw him he passed by on the other side.
32
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw
him, passed by on the other side.
33
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was;
and when he saw him, he had compassion,
34
and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil
and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him
to an inn, and took care of him.
35
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to
the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever
more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
36
Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the
man who fell among the robbers?"
37
He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said
to him, "Go and do likewise."

God accepts our love for others as if it were love for Himself. So when we give love to other people, we are giving it to God, Himself. Thus the Great Commandment requirement to love God is fulfilled when we love our neighbor.
This is the meaning of the Parable Of The Sheep And The Goats.
MATTHEW 25:31-46 (RSV)
The Sheep And The Goats
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31
"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will
separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats,
33
and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the
goats at the left.
34
Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come,
O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world;
35
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and
you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36
I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited
me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
37
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see
thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?
38
And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or
naked and clothe thee?
39
And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit
thee?'
40
And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as
you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you
did it to me.'
41
Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from
me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels;
42
for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty
and you gave me no drink,
43
I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you
did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not
visit me.'
44
Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison, and did not minister to thee?'
45
Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did
it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to
me.'
46
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the
righteous into eternal life."
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So now we have shown The Great Commandment and its roots in the Old Testament. We have seen how Jesus expanded the definition of "neighbor" to include all people. And we have seen how God accepts our love for other people as if it were love for Himself.
Thus we arrive at The Law Of Love, which is LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. And we see that The Law Of Love fulfills all of God's law, as stated directly in Galatians 5:14. _____________________________________________________________

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14 RSV)
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Other Scriptures confirm that the The Law Of Love fulfills all of God's law. Romans 13:8 (RSV)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves
his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:9 (RSV)
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not
kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other
commandment, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:10 (RSV)
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling
of the law.
James 2:8 (RSV)
If you really fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.
Proverbs 10:12 (RSV)
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
1 Peter 4:8 (RSV)
Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love
covers a multitude of sins.


as found on http://patriot.net/~bmcgin/pearl-lawoflove.html