SEV Biblia, Chapter 13:8
No debis a nadie nada, sino amaros unos a otros; porque el que ama al prjimo, cumpli la ley.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Romans 13:8
Verse 8. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another] In the preceding verses the apostle has been showing the duty, reverence, and obedience, which all Christians, from the highest to the lowest, owe to the civil magistrate; whether he be emperor, king, proconsul, or other state officer; here he shows them their duty to each other: but this is widely different from that which they owe to the civil government: to the first they owe subjection, reverence, obedience, and tribute; to the latter they owe nothing but mutual love, and those offices which necessarily spring from it. Therefore, the apostle says, Owe no man; as if he had said: Ye owe to your fellow brethren nothing but mutual love, and this is what the law of God requires, and in this the law is fulfilled. Ye are not bound in obedience to them as to the civil magistrate; for to him ye must needs be subject, not merely for fear of punishment, but for conscience sake: but to these ye are bound by love; and by that love especially which utterly prevents you from doing any thing by which a brother may sustain any kind of injury.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. Owe no man anything , etc..] From the payment of dues to magistrates the apostle proceeds to a general exhortation to discharge all sorts of debts; as not to owe the civil magistrate any thing, but render to him his dues, so to owe nothing to any other man, but make good all obligations whatever, as of a civil, so of a natural kind. There are debts arising from the natural and civil relations subsisting among men, which should be discharged; as of the husband to the wife, the wife to the husband; parents to their children, children to their parents; masters to their servants, servants to their masters; one brother, friend, and neighbour, to another. Moreover, pecuniary debts may be here intended, such as are come into by borrowing, buying, commerce, and contracts; which though they cannot be avoided in carrying on worldly business, yet men ought to make conscience of paying them as soon as they are able: many an honest man may be in debt, and by one providence or another be disabled from payment, which is a grief of mind to him; but for men industriously to run into debt, and take no care to pay, but live upon the property and substance of others, is scandalous to them as men, and greatly unbecoming professors of religion, and brings great reproach upon the Gospel of Christ. But to love one another . This is the only debt never to be wholly discharged; for though it should be always paying, yet ought always to be looked upon as owing. Saints ought to love one another as such; to this they are obliged by the new commandment of Christ, by the love of God, and Christ unto them, by the relations they stand in to one another, as the children of God, brethren, and members of the same body; and which is necessary to keep them and the churches of Christ together, it being the bond of perfectness by which they are knit to one another; and for their comfort and honour, as well as to show the truth and reality of their profession. This debt should be always paying; saints should be continually serving one another in love, praying for each other, bearing one another's burdens, forbearing each other, and doing all good offices in things temporal and spiritual that lie in their power, and yet always owing; the obligation to it always remains. Christ's commandment is a new one, always new, and will never be antiquated; his and his Father's love always continue, and the relations believers stand in to each other are ever the same; and therefore love will be always paying, and always owing in heaven to all eternity. But what the apostle seems chiefly to respect, is love to one another as men, love to one another, to the neighbour, as the following verses show. Love is a debt we owe to every man, as a man, being all made of one blood, and in the image of God; so that not only such as are of the same family, live in the same neighbourhood, and belong to the same nation, but even all the individuals of mankind, yea, our very enemies are to share in our love; and as we have an opportunity and ability, are to show it by doing them good. For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law ; that is, not who loves some one particular person, but every other person besides himself, even his neighbour, in the largest sense of the word, including all mankind, and that as himself; such an one has fulfilled the law, the law of the decalogue; that part of it particularly which relates to the neighbour; the second table of the law, as the next verse shows: though since there is no true love of our neighbour without the love of God, nor no true love of God without the love of our neighbour; and since these two involve each other, and include the whole law, it may be understood of fulfilling every part of it, that is, of doing it; for fulfilling the law means doing it, or acting according to it; and so far as a man loves, so far he fulfils, that is, does it: but this is not, nor can it be done perfectly, which is evident, partly from the impotency of man, who is weak and without strength, yea, dead in sin, and unable to do any thing of himself; and partly from the extensiveness of the law, which reaches to the thoughts and desires of the heart, as well as to words and actions; as also from the imperfection of love, for neither love to God, nor love to one another, either as men or Christians, is perfect; and consequently the fulfilling of the law by it is not perfect: hence this passage yields nothing in favour of the doctrine of justification by works; since the best works are imperfect, even those that spring from love, for love itself is imperfect; and are not done as they are, in a man's own strength, and without the Spirit and grace of God. Christ only has fulfilled the law perfectly, both as to parts and degrees; and to him only should we look for a justifying righteousness.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 8-10 - Christians must avoid useless expense, and be careful not to contrac any debts they have not the power to discharge. They are also to stan aloof from all venturesome speculations and rash engagements, an whatever may expose them to the danger of not rendering to all their due. Do not keep in any one's debt. Give every one his own. Do no spend that on yourselves, which you owe to others. But many who ar very sensible of the trouble, think little of the sin, of being in debt. Love to others includes all the duties of the second table. The last five of the ten commandments are all summed up in this royal law Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; with the same sincerity tha thou lovest thyself, though not in the same measure and degree. He tha loves his neighbour as himself, will desire the welfare of his neighbour. On this is built that golden rule, of doing as we would be done by. Love is a living, active principle of obedience to the whol law. Let us not only avoid injuries to the persons, connexions property, and characters of men; but do no kind or degree of evil to any man, and study to be useful in every station of life.
Greek Textus Receptus
μηδενι 3367 A-DSM μηδεν 3367 A-ASN οφειλετε 3784 5720 V-PAM-2P ει 1487 COND μη 3361 PRT-N το 3588 T-ASN αγαπαν 25 5721 V-PAN αλληλους 240 C-APM ο 3588 T-NSM γαρ 1063 CONJ αγαπων 25 5723 V-PAP-NSM τον 3588 T-ASM ετερον 2087 A-ASM νομον 3551 N-ASM πεπληρωκεν 4137 5758 V-RAI-3S
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. Another (ton eteron). Lit., the other, or the different one, the word emphasizing more strongly the distinction between the two parties. Rev., his neighbor.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
13:8 {Save to love one another} (ei me to allelous agapain). "Except the loving one another." this articular infinitive is in the accusative case the object of opheilete and partitive apposition with meden (nothing). this debt can never be paid off, but we should keep the interest paid up. {His neighbor} (ton heteron). "The other man,"the second man."Just as in the relations of man and God pistis has been substituted for nomos, so between man and man agape takes the place of definite legal relations" (Sanday and Headlam). See #Mt 22:37-40 for the words of Jesus on this subject. Love is the only solution of our social relations and national problems.
