Fulfilling the law through love means living in a way that actively seeks the other person's highest good, which makes breaking the law impossible.
Les Feldick teaches that love is the fulfilling of the law, quoting Romans 13:8. This love is not instant gratification or mere emotion; it is a God-given love that works in the believer through the Holy Spirit. Because it seeks the other person's highest good, it cannot coexist with adultery, stealing, false witness, murder, or coveting. Paul says plainly that love worketh no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13:8-10 — Paul explicitly states that he who loveth another hath fulfilled the law, then concludes that love is the fulfilling of the law.
Matthew 22:37-40 — Jesus summed up the law and the prophets as love for God and love for neighbor, which underlies Les's two-table explanation of the law.
Romans 13:8-10 is the central passage. Paul writes, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." He then names commandments from the law — "Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet" — and says these are comprehended in the saying, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." He concludes, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Jesus also summarized the law in terms of love. When asked about the great commandment, He said the first and great commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, and mind, and the second is like it: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." He declared, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Les Feldick teaches that love is the fulfilling of the law. He emphasizes that believers are not under the law but under grace, yet the law is not thrown out. As Paul says in Romans 13, when we love our neighbor, we fulfill the law. Les defines this love carefully. It is not instant gratification or the kind of "if you love me" pressure a young man might use. True love seeks the other person's highest good. Because of that, when love is operating, you cannot break the commandments — you cannot steal from, slander, commit adultery against, or murder someone you truly love. Les grounds this in the cross. The epitome of love that fulfilled the law was expressed on the cross; it was love that put Christ on the cross and caused God to pour out mercy. That same love has been imparted to believers through the Holy Spirit and now works in their lives from the inside, fulfilling what the law demands.
Les teaches that love is the fulfilling of the law because a person who truly loves someone cannot do that person wrong. He argues that no one can love someone and steal from them, slander them behind their back, or enter into an immoral relationship with them. When love is operating, Les says, you don't commit adultery, you don't kill, you don't bear false witness, and you don't covet. These are all from the Ten Commandments, and love makes breaking them against a real person impossible.
Les points to the cross as the ultimate example of love fulfilling the law. It was Christ's love for lost mankind that set His face like flint toward the cross; it was love that nailed Him there. This love caused God to pour out mercy at the cross. When that same love is imparted to a believer, it becomes the believer's attitude toward people around them, even enemies.
Les says that saying believers are not under the law does not mean we throw the law out. In Romans 13, Paul shows that loving our neighbor fulfills the law. The law's practical commands still touch the home, the family, neighbors, and coworkers. What changes is the power: instead of trying to keep the law from the outside, the believer has the love of God working from the inside through the Holy Spirit.
Les is careful to define what fulfills the law. It is not the instant gratification of someone who says "if you love me." The love that fulfills the law is a deliberate concern for the highest good of the other person. A young man who truly loves a young woman will not try to lead her into immorality, and a neighbor who truly loves his neighbor will not look for ways to do him harm.
The Law's Two Tables
Les explains that the Ten Commandments fall into two areas: love for God in the first five and love for fellow man in the rest, covering home, family, neighbors, and co-workers.
True Love Seeks the Other's Highest Good
Les defines true love as seeking the other person's highest good and shows that when love operates, you cannot break the law against that person.
The Cross: Love That Fulfilled the Law
Les says the cross was the epitome of love that fulfilled the law; it was love that put Christ on the cross and brings that same love to believers.
God-Given Love Working Inwardly
Les explains that the love of God imparted through the Holy Spirit fulfills the whole law and produces a changed lifestyle in the believer.
Love Fulfills the Law Under Grace
Les insists that being under grace does not mean casting out the law; loving our neighbor fulfills the law.
Love Cannot Break the Commandments
Les lists the Ten Commandments that love fulfills — no adultery, killing, false witness, or coveting — and notes Paul repeats nine of the Ten Commandments.
Christ Fulfilled the Law by Love at the Cross
Les says Christ fulfilled the law through His love, the ultimate, by being nailed to the cross.
Inward Power Fulfills What the Law Demands
Les says that in Christ believers become everything the law demands, but from an inward working power, and quotes Romans 13:8.
Romans 13:8: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Paul states directly that loving another person equals fulfilling the law.
Romans 13:9: For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Paul lists specific commandments from the law and says they are summed up in loving your neighbor as yourself.
Romans 13:10: Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
This is Paul's concluding statement that love fulfills the law.
Matthew 22:37: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Jesus identifies the first and great commandment that relates to love for God.
Matthew 22:39: And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Jesus identifies the second great commandment that relates to love for neighbor.
Matthew 22:40: On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Jesus says the whole law and prophets depend on these two love commandments.
Les says we don't throw the law out. Romans 13 explains that when we love our neighbor we fulfill the law. The practical commands still define what it means to love in daily relationships with home, family, neighbors, and co-workers.
Not instant gratification or selfish desire. It is a deliberate concern for the highest good of the other person — the same kind of love God displayed at the cross and imparts to believers through the Holy Spirit.
Les says the epitome of love expressed that fulfilled the law was on the cross. It was love that put Christ on the cross and displayed God's mercy to lost mankind.
In principle, yes. When love is operating you don't commit adultery, kill, bear false witness, or covet. These are from the Ten Commandments, and love fulfills the law by making lawbreaking against the person impossible.
Watch the Teaching: The Ten Commandments Explained: Why "Love" Isn't Mentioned