Paul's summary of the law climaxes in one commandment, which is ____.

• A. Thou shalt keep all the commandments
• B. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
• C. Thou shalt not steal
• D. Honor thy father and mother

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is that love is the driving force behind how the law is lived out. Paul argues that when you love your neighbor as yourself, you naturally honor and uphold the whole law. Love protects the well-being of others, avoids harming them, and guides right conduct, so the many specific commandments are fulfilled by this single principle. That’s why the one command to love your neighbor as yourself is considered the culminating summary of the law.

Other options point to individual duties the law enjoins. Keeping all the commandments is about general obedience, not the unifying motive; not stealing and honoring parents are specific prohibitions or duties. They describe parts of the law, but they don’t capture the unifying, motivational principle that makes all the commandments converge in love.