Love is the fulfilling of the law — when the love of God works in a believer, it produces the conduct the law demands.
Les Feldick teaches that the believer fulfills the law, not by law-keeping as a means of salvation, but because the love of God imparted by the Holy Spirit operates from within. When that love is present, a person will not commit adultery, kill, bear false witness, or covet, because love worketh no ill to his neighbour. The law is not cast aside; it is fulfilled by love.
Romans 13:10 — This is the Bible's direct statement that love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8 — Paul says that he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Romans 8:4 — It shows the law's righteousness is fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh.
The Bible directly connects love and the law in Romans 13. Verse 8 says, 'Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.' Verse 9 lists specific commandments — 'Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet' — and then says they are briefly comprehended in the saying, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' Verse 10 concludes, 'Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.' The Bible also reveals the law's limitation: 'the law worketh wrath' (Romans 4:15). It could not bring anyone to be an heir of the promise through obedience. Yet the righteousness of the law is 'fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit' (Romans 8:4).
Les Feldick teaches that love is the fulfilling of the law. When love is operating, the believer naturally doesn't commit adultery, kill, bear false witness, or covet (Clip 1). This is not outward commandment-keeping but something that comes from within: 'Everything that God said thou shalt does not now become permissive. It now becomes that which comes from within' (Clip 3). He emphasizes that the Ten Commandments are not cast out — Paul repeats nine of them, the only exception being the Sabbath (Clips 1, 3). The law itself had no power to help anyone obey; it could only condemn (Clip 7). But the love of God, imparted through the Holy Spirit, enables believers to fulfill the whole law (Clip 5). The supreme expression of this love was at the cross, and that same love becomes the believer's attitude toward others (Clip 2).
Les is clear that grace does not give a person freedom to break the law. 'Paul doesn't say that the Ten Commandments are now of no earthly good' (Clip 3). The believer automatically adheres to the things given in the law — not from outward demand but because love is operating. Paul repeats nine of the Ten Commandments in his letters; the only one he does not repeat is the Sabbath (Clips 1, 3). The commandments remain as clear guidelines, but the believer fulfills them from an inward working power rather than by trying to earn acceptance.
The law could say 'don't steal' or 'don't commit adultery,' but it had no power to help a person keep those commands. It only stood in stark reality and condemned (Clip 7). Even the command to love God cannot be forced — love must spring from within (Clip 7). The answer is the imparted love of God through the Holy Spirit. When the love of God works in a believer's life, he fulfills the whole law (Clip 5). This is the very thing the law demanded but could never produce.
It is not selfish or instant-gratification love. It is the God-given love expressed at the cross. Christ's love for lost mankind 'set His eyes as flint to the cross,' and it was love that nailed Him (Clip 2). That same love, imparted to believers, becomes their attitude toward the people around them — even enemies (Clip 2). Because this love works no ill to a neighbor, it is impossible to love someone and break the commandments against him (Clip 4).
The Law Works Wrath
Paul explains that the promise to Abraham was not through the law, because the law worketh wrath — so law-keeping cannot bring anyone to be an heir of the world.
Love Is the Fulfilling of the Law
Les shows from Romans 13 that when love operates, a believer doesn't commit adultery, murder, bear false witness, or covet — love naturally fulfills the law.
Love Expressed at the Cross
The epitome of love fulfilling the law was the cross; that same love, now in the believer, becomes the attitude toward others, even enemies.
Love from Within, Not Commandment
The difference between law and grace is that the believer obeys from a heart of love, not by outward demand; Paul never says the commandments are useless.
Love Makes Breaking the Law Impossible
Les asks whether you can love someone and break any of the commandments against him — it's impossible, so love is the fulfilling of the law.
Imparted by the Holy Spirit
The God-given love imparted by the Holy Spirit fulfills the whole law in the believer, marked by a changed lifestyle and appetites.
In Christ We Fulfill the Law
Romans 13:8 says he who loves another fulfills the law; in Christ we become everything the law demands from an inward working power.
The Law Could Only Condemn
The Ten Commandments, written on stone, could only stand and condemn; love cannot be forced and must spring from within.
Romans 13:8: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
This verse directly answers the question by saying love for another fulfills the law.
Romans 13:9: For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, 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 sums up the commandments against harming others in the command to love your neighbor.
Romans 13:10: Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
This is the concluding statement that love is the fulfillment of the law because it does no harm.
Romans 8:4: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The law's righteousness is fulfilled in believers who walk by the Spirit, not by human effort.
Romans 4:15: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
This explains why law-keeping cannot be the basis of the promise; the law brings wrath.
Ephesians 6:1-2: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
Paul repeats the commandment to honor parents, showing he continues to affirm the Ten Commandments.
No. Les says Paul never tells believers they are free to break the commandments. Instead, the believer automatically adheres to the things given in the law because love is operating from within. Paul repeats nine of the Ten Commandments; only the Sabbath is not reiterated.
Because the law could not save. It could only act as a standard that condemned lawbreakers. That is why the promise to Abraham came through the righteousness of faith, not through the law.
The love of God is imparted through the Holy Spirit. As the believer walks after the Spirit rather than the flesh, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in him, bringing a change in lifestyle and appetites.
Watch the Teaching: The Truth About Grace, Faith & Abraham — Romans 4:13-25