Love: The Heart of Fulfillment in God's Law

"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor therefore love is the fulfilling of the law now we've been expanding the connection of this with what's gone before and our suggestion is that the Apostle is summing up here all these various injunctions that he's been giving us from the beginning of the 12th chapter he's gone into details but he's summing it up again and he's M flossing as he did even as he introduced the subject this great principle of love." [00:42:86]

"The scriptures are always of course fundamentally of exactly the same importance it is a part of our preaching of the scripture to go on repeating that unlike those who don't regard the Scriptures as the inspired and the intelligible Word of God under there for ten to say that it's changes and that its message changes and must indeed change from age to age and generation to generation according to scientific discovery in the advance of knowledge and so on we say that the truth being God's truth and once and forever given but it's always the same and speaks to each generation of men in exactly the same way now that is a fundamental proposition." [01:16:39]

"True love for our neighbor begins with humility, recognizing our own spiritual neediness and the grace that has redeemed us. This humility allows us to see others not as adversaries but as fellow recipients of God's grace, fostering genuine compassion and empathy. It is only through this lens that we can fulfill the law's demands. The Christian life is not about adhering to a set of rules mechanically but about embodying the spirit of the law through love." [08:22:00]

"Now here you see is a teaching which we really must be quite proud of that people have misunderstood the very words that we are studying as meaning this that if you do love your neighbor you needn't worry about your love of God you're doing so automatically and that the way to love God is to love your neighbor a boob in evident came down top of the list because he loved his fellow men now this is a very specious and subtle teaching it is of the most vital importance that we should be clear about it." [06:05:76]

"Now this is the way in which this statement here must be interfere but then on top of all this we've got various appeals to help us to see this still more clearly and of course one of the most glorious of all in this respect is the great statement of it in the second chapter of Paul's epistle to the Philippians beginning of the third verse let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." [16:21:00]

"Love is the fulfilling of the law which means this that it is love alone that really in there gives us to fill the law right to the brim is it worth in other words merely by keeping the particularly in oceans of the law you're not carrying out the law fully you are carrying out the law but not fully because the law doesn't stop at negatives the Lord does really want you to go beyond not doing your neighbor any harm it wants you to love your neighbor and to love you neighbor as yourself." [25:30:46]

"Now this has been a great question a great subject of debate and discussion in the church throughout the centuries let me put it to you like this how am I to live this Christian life I've understood the truth the doctor how am I to live it in actual practice here's the great problem isn't it it's a problem for all of us it's always been a problem for Christian people how do we please God how do we live the Christian life." [30:25:03]

"Now we've seen so many statements to that effect in chapters 6 & 7 of this great epistle the trist will by nature under the law that is why we are told about our law that he was made of a woman made under the law we are all under the law of God not only as a way of condemnation but as a way of teaching us how to live but the important aspect of that phrase under the law is this that all thy nature are under the condemnation of the law the law condemns us all now you know that's stated so categorically in the 3rd chapter and of course you've got to keep on carrying this in your mind right away through now we know that what thing soever the law says it says to them that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin and you can never do more than that now if it was meant to do that is what it does now and the law condemns us all." [33:03:18]

"Now then what is my position well as he keeps on killing us we are not under the law but we are under grace but does that mean therefore that we've got nothing to do with them all now many of you interpreted it like that haven't they they say you mustn't talk about law to us as Christians we finished with it we are no longer under the law Paul says you are not under the law but under grace Romans 6:14 never mother mention law when you're dealing with a Christian now you're familiar I'm sure with that argument but you see you mustn't say things like that because if you do you're contradicting the Apostle Paul here is in this thirteenth chapter himself talking about the law and giving us some of the details out of the second table of the law and applying it to Christian people so we've got to be careful obviously in our handling of this we are finished with the law in the matter of vainly and uselessly trying to justify ourselves by it we finished with that we've also finished with the condemnation that the law pronounced is upon us but still we can be a blessed and appeal to in terms of the law how well like this the law is still the most perfect expression of the way in which God would have us live so it still applies to us like that in other words you don't sit back in a chair and think beautiful thoughts of love and say that's all that's necessary no no no you will never improve upon the Ten Commandments as a statement of the way in which God would have us live our lives that love is the fulfilling of the law yeah it is and he summarizes it in the love of God and love of the neighbor the two sections you remember in his reply to the Lord so that is how we are related to the law as Christians it is still the perfect expression of the kind of life that we should live so we must get rid of the idea that love is just some mere sentimental feeling love always expresses itself in action." [34:36:32]

"Now this is a most important matter you've got to take the end of Colossians 2 with these injunctions in Colossians 3 both of them apply to us now many have fallen into both these animals I often think that one of the greatest danger confronting the Puritans the great Puritans was this danger of legalism you know they drew up long lists of what people should do and shouldn't do they call it casuistry they're dealt with cases of conscience people kept on going and said what should we do in this instance and they gave them almost a complete set of rules for life the man who started it was a man called William Perkins a very great man but I always have a feeling that he leaned considerably in the action of a legalism no he was aware of it after a pipe there's a great fight it's very interesting to Chris this conflict in the thinking of the Puritans some of them tended to put the whole emphasis upon the spirit they called the radical Puritans what a credit and people like that I leave you before them let's not forget this that the great Bishop John Hooper of Gloucester and John Bradford burned here at Smithfield they put their emphasis on the spiritual side they did neglect the other but then packings and many of these others they were so concerned about the danger of antinomianism and I'm talking about love and doctrines and not practicing it that they tended to go to the other extreme and give you these long detailed lists which virtually comes under the condemnation of the end of Colossians 2 well it's very interesting I say to read that story so that ultimately you come to this and see the old importance of maintaining a balance both are necessary you mustn't only talk about the spirit the letter is also vital but you mustn't only talk about the letter for the letter killeth it is the spirit that giveth life what you need them well what you need is the letter and the spirit and that is what the Apostle is teaching here letter and spirit law and love love is the fulfilling of the law don't separate these things they must always and they invariably go together." [36:32:00]

"Now this is Christianity love your neighbor as yourself it's always easier to love people more than a long way off but your love the man who's next to you love your neighbor and love him as yourself very well it's all inclusive but the really important question that in some ways is raised here is this is the Christians relationship to the law you see here the Apostle addressing Christian believers but he quotes the law what is the relationship of the Christian to the law." [29:56:51]

"Now we've seen so many statements to that effect in chapters 6 & 7 of this great epistle the trist will by nature under the law that is why we are told about our law that he was made of a woman made under the law we are all under the law of God not only as a way of condemnation but as a way of teaching us how to live but the important aspect of that phrase under the law is this that all thy nature are under the condemnation of the law the law condemns us all now you know that's stated so categorically in the 3rd chapter and of course you've got to keep on carrying this in your mind right away through now we know that what thing soever the law says it says to them that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin and you can never do more than that now if it was meant to do that is what it does now and the law condemns us all." [33:03:18]