Galatians 5:14
14 For [gar] all [pas] the law [nomos] is
fulfilled [pleroo] in [en] one [heis] word [logos], even in [en] this; Thou
shalt love [agapao] thy [sou] neighbour [plesion] as [hos] thyself [heautou]. KJV-Interlinear
14 For the whole Law is fulfilled
in one word, in the statement, " You shall love your neighbor as
yourself." NASB
There is a companion passage found in Rom. 13:8, ‘for
he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.’
The word for love in both passages is, ‘agapao,’ which refers not to the
emotions but to the principles and content of doctrine. And here is where nearly everyone fails to
understand and therefore fail in their spiritual life, because too much
emphasis is placed on the emotions of love rather than the principles of
doctrine.
After all, it is far easier to ‘feel’ about
something, which simply means that you don’t have to do anything or be
responsible, and certainly not study daily, and that is where the excuses and
therefore the failure exists.
People want to say they obey God, but they do not
want to do what God tells them to do.
After all, again, obeying God means that you have to fulfill the
obligations He expects of you, that you have to become responsible with respect
to your spiritual life, and that means that you cannot make things up yourself as
you go along, conveniently pretending to be spiritual when you are not.
To anyone who knows the difference, then you make a
fool of yourself. And to those who do
not know the difference, then you are playing to a naïve and foolish crowd. A fool playing to fools. No glory in that.
So the fulfillment of the Law is what? Truth.
But what is the Law?
Well, if you have been around for a while then you
know that the Mosaic Law represents the path to perfection through works, but
more than that, it reveals that no person is capable of achieving perfection,
and therefore no person is capable of fulfilling the Law, or capable of
achieving perfection.
Meaning simply that we need something else to
achieve perfection, lest we remain imperfect forever and thus lost to oblivion
forever.
Why would we want to be perfect?
So that we can live with God. God demands
perfection and if you do not have that then you cannot live with Him. That leaves you out, so to speak, with your
only option the Lake of Fire.
The Lake of Fire is a place without God. And where
there is no God, there are no rules, no order, nothing to bind elements
together, just pure terror and aloneness, and horror and chaos and far, far
worse because it never ends. And if that
appeals to you, then you really need to take some medication to bring you back
to reality and common sense.
So, how does one achieve perfection so that you can
live with God, and not in that chaos?
The answer is right here. Love. But
not just any love. Not the, make love
not war kind. Not the, lovey-dovey
kind. Not the do-gooder kind. Not the, I am holier than thou, kind. Not the, I am better than you, kind. Not the, I am elite and you are not,
kind. Not the, work for God, kind. Not the, God accepts me as I am, kind (most
people are really confused on this one).
And certainly not the, I am good enough and do not have to comply with
Gods mandates, or I can comply by doing things my way, which is also good
enough, kind.
So, all of these and many more examples, are all
rejected by God and none of them fulfill the Law. None of them make you perfect. None of them make you better. All of them perpetuate and assure your utter
failure.
But, there is one way, to achieve perfection, and
that way is doctrine, which is herein identified as love, but a specific love,
namely ‘agape’ which is the content of the scriptures.
And you are introduced to the scriptures by way of
salvation, believe in Christ, and then beyond that to your spiritual life by
way of a daily study.
That is perfection, or the transformation of the
soul by way of knowledge, learned by study through instruction, day after day, throughout
your entire life.
To be perfect is to be mature, spiritually
mature. And to be spiritually mature
means that you have to comply with Gods mandates. Namely, first being saved of course.
Then after salvation, confessing on a regular basis
so as to function in fellowship, then learning through a daily study, then
utilizing what you learn within your daily life, and repeating this every day
every moment of your life, for all of your life.
To love thy neighbor as thyself, simply means to
apply doctrine and its principles to others, just as you would to your own self. Be responsible, be accountable, be honest, be
polite, be charitable, don’t be naïve, don’t deceive, don’t be deceived, etc,
etc, etc.
