ACC ~ Romans 13 v8

SIN AS DEBT. ORIGEN: In many cases debt is equivalent to sin. Paul therefore wants us to owe nothing on account of sin and to steer clear of debts of this kind, retaining only the debt which springs from love, which we ought to be repaying every day. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

LOVE THE NEIGHBOR. AMBROSIASTER: Paul wants us to have peace with everyone and love the brethren. Then we shall not owe anybody anything.

He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law of Moses. The commandment of the new law is that we should love our enemies also. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FULFILL THE LAW. CHRYSOSTOM: Love is a debt which you owe to your brother because of your spiritual relationship to him. … If love departs from us, the whole body is torn in pieces. Therefore love your brother, for if you can fulfill the law by befriending him, then the benefit you receive puts you in his debt. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 23.

CHARITY ACCOMPLISHES WHAT FEAR COULD NOT DO. AUGUSTINE: Paul shows that the fulfillment of the law is found in love, i.e., in charity. Thus also the Lord says that the whole law and prophets depend on these two precepts, the love of God and neighbor. So he who came to fulfill the law gave love through the Holy Spirit, so that charity might accomplish what fear could not. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 75.

LOVING THE PATTERN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE PERSON. AUGUSTINE: The only way of cleaving to that patternis by love. If we love another whom we believe to be righteous, we cannot but love the pattern itself, which shows us what the righteous soul is, in order that we too may become righteous. Indeed, if we did not love the image of God in him, we would have no love for the person, since our love for him is based on the pattern. Yet so long as we ourselves are not righteous, our love of the pattern is not enough to make us righteous. THE TRINITY 8.9.

EVERYONE WITHOUT DISTINCTION IS YOUR NEIGHBOR. PELAGIUS: Do not fail to repay debts. Only the debt of love should remain, because it can never be paid in full. According to the parable of the Lord, who bids us show mercy to everyone without distinction, we must think of every person as our neighbor. Paul mentioned love first because he was writing to the faithful and dealing with behavior proper to righteousness. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

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