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Love means acceptance (unconditional in this case), not legal obedience. If you love someone you are not legally bound to that person, but spiritually. That law established obedience to God, not love for God. We are not saved because we obey but be cause we believe. That is the fundamental difference.

Okay, let me try this one more time. I'll use Paul's example:

Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Okay, Paul starts off by telling us that love fulfills God's law. But how?

Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Ah...these commandments are summed up in the phrase "love thy neighbor as yourself".

But HOW?

Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law.

Ah ha! If you love your neighbor as yourself your thoughts and attitudes ARE going to conform to this. You don't have to try to conform to the written law. YOU will do it as easily as breathing.

It's not "legalism" when your love is so great that it causes you to live a righteous life. It's obedience to the law of love. It's letting the love of Christ live in and through you.

If you don't love your fellow man then your thoughts and attitudes are NOT going to conform to the written law.

The ten commandments ARE the written definition of love.

Understand where I'm coming from?

Douglas, the Jews do not consider the commandemtns to be the law. The commandments came from God, the law from Moses.

"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law" (Joshua 22:5)

The Gentiles are under God's commandments but not under the law of Moses. A Jew can be "righteous" even if (s)he does not believe. It's all works [of the law]. If you drive 55 in a 55, you are being "righteous" as far as the state is concerned, but you do not merit reward for observing the law. Also, you do not drive 55 in a 55 because you love the law, but because you obey it (out of fear).

You quote from the NT, of course, because it was Christ jesus who redefined the whole concept of righteousness. Saving a life on a Sabbath is the right thing to do, even if it breaks the law. Obey the love, not the law.

Judaism does not teach that man is in need of salvation. It proposes that if you live a decent life you will make yourself acceptable to God. It's all about the law. It assumes that if you obey the law, you will obey the commandments, but it doesn't care why.

You quotes are appropriate -- for Christian mindset. We are in agreement on that. My disagreement with you is over the OT.