(8) Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  (9) For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (10) Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul turns from laying a doctrinal foundation of the Gospel to the application of principles for living.    Our obligation to God is the primary theme in our lives and in the Old Testament as emphasized by Jesus Christ.  We are now presented with the second great theme of the Bible where we love God by loving each other as the dominant and central theme of the New Testament.  

Paul commands us to owe nothing  to anyone,  meaning we are not to take on debt or obligations which we are unable to discharge.  The word except is then used here and references our duty to love one another.  The Greek word for love used  here by the Apostle Paul (agape) indicates an active selfless love which is more a decision than an emotion and is at it’s foundation, behavior.  

 The commandments which guide our relationships with each other, here enumerated by Paul in verse 9, will be satisfied by loving our neighbors as ourselves for, with this love/behavior, we would do them no harm.    We would fulfill the Law.   This is not a command to love ourselves – that is assumed – but we are to love others as an act of will.  We do not have this unconditional love by nature but we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and this love is manifested by specific action.  It is directed to all our neighbors including the unlovely and the unlovable, those who do not return our love and includes those we do not like. 

In Alcoholics Anonymous there is a saying “drag the body, the mind will follow”.  C.S. Lewis observed “Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor, act as if you did.  As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets.  When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.  If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more.   If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.”