While the influence of Don Carson extends across many areas, I am especially grateful for his example and encouragement on the topics of the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament and biblical theology. I met and got to know Don at Tyndale House in Cambridge as a young doctoral student at the university in the late 1980s. I am not alone in owing him a debt of gratitude for his support. Don was the editor of three major projects involving numerous scholars, to which I contributed: the ground-breaking NSBT and Pillar commentary series and the Commentary on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. I also had the privilege of co-editing with Don (and two others) the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology.Indeed, Don has played a major role in the flourishing of both disciplines in biblical scholarship in the last forty years.

My Paul and the Law: Keeping the Commandments of God tackled the thorny and sometimes controversial question of Paul’s relationship to the Law of Moses.1Three theological positions have a strong interest in Paul’s view of the law. Each tends to focus on an emphasis in Paul’s letters that is clearly present but plays down other aspects of the subject. Broadly speaking, Lutheranism holds that Paul believed that Christ abolished the law and that the Law is the counterpoint to the gospel. The primary role of the Law is to lead us to despair of any hope of obedience leading to God’s acceptance and to drive us to seek God’s mercy in Christ. For the most part the Law is not seen as playing a big role in the Christian life (although Luther himself made effective use of the law in his catechisms). Second, the Reformed view agrees that salvation is by grace and not by obeying the law, but once saved we are under the moral law and must obey it in order to please God. Third, the so-called New Perspective on Paul, which is really a new perspective on Paul in relation to Judaism, thinks that the problem of the Law for Paul is not that salvation is by grace and not by works, but that Paul’s opposition to the law was simply that it was used by Jews to exclude Gentiles from the people of God; Jewish ethnocentrism is the reason Paul opposed the Law. There is something to learn from each of these perspectives. In my view, the challenge is holding onto their valid insights in a manner that does justice to the full range of evidence and, with important qualifications, does not deny the validity of other perspectives.

How Christians are meant to read the Law of Moses is something of a puzzle. The apostle Paul addresses this question, but his letters present both negative critique and positive approval of the Law. Paul describes the Law as “holy, just and good” (Rom 7:12), a very positive gift of God (9:4), and quotes it when regulating the conduct of believers in Christ (e.g., Deut 25:4 in 1 Cor 9:9). On the other hand, he speaks of the Law as an enslaving power, increasing trespass, and used by sin to bring about death (Gal 4:1–10; Rom 5:20; 7:5).

Discussing Paul and the Law is a bit like being watched while you carve a chicken:2 it’s fairly easy to start well, but you quickly have to make some tricky decisions (about which everyone has an opinion), and it’s very easy to end up in a sticky mess with lots of bits left over that no one knows what to do with. Studies of Paul and the law distinguish themselves by whether they face these unmistakable tensions in his letters and how they explain them. The best biblical theology not only has texts to explain its position but also does not have texts that it needs to explain away rather than embrace and incorporate.

1. A Hermeneutical Solution

In Paul and the Law I argue that Paul’s letters are marked by negative and positive statements about the Law, the question to ask is not “which bits” of the Law is he referring to in each case, but the hermeneutical question of “in what sense” or “as what” are we to read the Law? Asking in which capacity or with what force the Law meets the Christian resolves the tension between the negative and positive material. Christians, according to Paul, do not read the Law of Moses as “Law-covenant,” since we are “not under the Law” (Rom 6:14; Gal 5:18). Instead, we read the Law “as prophecy” of the gospel and “as wisdom” for Christian living.3

That we are not to read the Law as a binding legal code is implied in that, unlike Jews in Romans 2, Paul never says that believers in Christ do the Law (v. 25), observe the righteous requirements of the Law (v. 26), transgress the Law (vv. 23, 25 and 27), and possess the (Law as a) written code (v. 27). Instead, Paul insists, Christians fulfil the Law (e.g., Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:13).4

Reading the Law as prophecy is signaled in Romans 3:21, where Paul asserts that the disclosure of the righteousness of God in the gospel is attested by “the Law and the prophets;” Romans 16:25–26, where Paul notes the role of “the prophetic writings” in “declaring the gospel beforehand;” and Galatians 3:8, where we are told that the gospel was “announced beforehand to Abraham.” D. A. Carson wrote that Paul does not uphold the Law for Christians “as lex, as ongoing legal demand,” but rather its continuity is sustained in that it points to and anticipates the “new ‘righteousness from God’ that has come in Christ Jesus.”5

Reading the Law as wisdom is supported by 1 Corinthians 10:11, where Paul describes the Law as “instruction,” νουθεσία, and in Romans 15:4, where he says that the Law is a source of moral “teaching,” διδασκαλία. Both νουθεσία and διδασκαλία are terms that have clear wisdom associations. Paul uses the cognate verbs, νουθετέω and διδάσκω, in contexts that indicate that the functions of instructing/admonishing and teaching are undertaken in conjunction with wisdom: “We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ” (Col 1:28); “teach and admonishone another in all wisdom” (Col 3:16). Further, in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, where the practical usefulness of Scripture, including the Law, is explained is particularly enlightening: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16–17, NRSV). Three of the four terms in these verses that explicate the usefulness of Scripture, namely, “reproof” (ἐλεγμός), “correction” (ἐπανόρθωσις), and “training” (παιδεία) are wisdom terms.

2. Reception of the Hermeneutical Solution

Most reviews of Paul and the Law have been quite positive, and a few major scholars have indicated agreement with my position. For example, in his Pauline theology Douglas J. Moo writes: “Brian Rosner has highlighted the many ways in which Paul assumes the teaching of the law in his own teaching and comes to a conclusion that I find quite compelling. While not imposing the law as an authoritative norm, Paul reappropriates the law as ‘wisdom,’ integrating its essential core into his own teaching.”6And Thomas R. Schreiner describes my book as “a helpful study on Paul’s understanding of the Law,” concurring that “describing Paul’s view of the law solely in terms of abolition is unsatisfying, however, since we also find the motif of fulfillment in his writings.”7

Some pushbacks have arisen in Reformed circles, fearing that reading the Law as wisdom rather than as legal requirement diminishes its moral authority and usefulness. In the rest of this article, I seek to clarify what I mean by reading the Law as wisdom and show that it can be illustrated not only in Paul’s letters but also in the teaching of Jesus and in Lutheran and Reformed catechisms, taking the laws against stealing and murder as examples. As we will see, reading the Law as wisdom is in fact a higher moral bar than reading it as a legal code to be obeyed and not transgressed.

3. The Law as Wisdom

The seed of the notion of the Law as wisdom is planted in Moses’s description of the purpose of the Law in Deuteronomy 4:6: “You must observe them [the laws] diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’” Psalms and Proverbs contain texts that similarly take the Law to be a font of wisdom: “The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple” (Ps 19:7); “Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me” (119:98); “Those who keep the Law are wise children” (Prov 28:7a).

The morality of the Mosaic laws is based on the creation’s moral order, the same basis of wisdom taught elsewhere in the Old Testament. As Christopher Wright puts it, in the Law of Moses obedience is not only to the God of covenant purpose and redemptive action but also to the God of created order.8 Genesis 1 presents creation as a place of order, system, and structure, “which provides an objective basis for the exercise of moral freedom and sets limits to moral relativism … . There is a basic shape to the world which we did not invent, and therefore a corresponding shape to the moral response required of us … . Morality, in biblical terms, is preconditioned by the given shape of creation.”9 According to Oliver O’Donovan, the Law is a wise articulation of the created order.10

Paul reads the Law as wisdom for living, in the sense that he internalizes the Law, makes reflective and expansive applications, and takes careful notice of its basis in the order of creation and the character of God. Taking two examples, this can be seen in the way in which Paul makes use of the laws against stealing and murder.

4. The Commandment against Stealing

Paul mentions the subject of stealing three times in his letters. In Romans 2:17–24 he alludes to the Decalogue commandment not to steal and uses the language of legal obligation. Significantly, the context is his challenge to his Jewish opponents as to whether they transgress the commandments. According to Paul, for Jews the Law remains a legal code that must be obeyed and not transgressed.

In Romans 13:8–10 Paul cites the commandment not to steal in a discussion for Christians of how love fulfills the Law. In this passage, it is not that Christians must “keep” the laws listed. Rather, Paul makes the point that not being under the Law does not lead to license; the obligation to love brings the Law to completion. Paul’s point is that loving your neighbor is the goal of keeping the Law. But keeping the laws (even those of the Decalogue, such as Laws against adultery, murder, stealing, and coveting) does not mean that you will love your neighbor. But if you love your neighbor, you will do more than just keep the Law, fulfilling what Paul takes to be their real intent.

The third text is Ephesians 4:28, where Paul addresses Christians and instructs them not to steal: “Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy” (NRSV). Paul reflects on the responsibility to work, established in Genesis 2:15, in order to be able to share with the needy. His reflective application of the law against stealing in Ephesians 4:28 is instruction for living that exemplifies the re-appropriation of the Law as wisdom.

The Heidelberg Catechism makes similar moves in reading the commandment not to steal in Questions 111 and 112. Not content to read the Law as only forbidding “outright theft and robbery,” the catechism explains that “in God’s sight theft also includes all evil tricks and schemes to get our neighbor’s goods for ourselves … such as inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume; fraudulent merchandising; counterfeit money; [and] excessive interest. … God forbids all greed.” Further, the catechism teaches that the commandment not to steal, echoing Ephesians 4:28, obliges me to “work faithfully so that I may help the needy in their hardship.”11

Similarly, Luther’s Small Catechism makes an expansive application of the commandment not to steal: “What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.”12

5. The Commandment against Murder

How does Paul read the commandment against murder (Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17)? The influence of the murder commandment in Romans offers another example of how Paul reads the Law as wisdom.

Romans refers to the commandment not to murder on two occasions, employing the lexeme φόν- “murder,” which is used in the LXX murder commandment. The first is in Romans 1 in a vice list (1:29–31), which includes links to the Decalogue commandments against covetousness and rebellion against parents. The passage demonstrates that Paul continues to use the Law as the means of condemning the conduct of those outside of Christ.

A full appreciation of the influence of the murder commandment in Paul’s moral teaching requires some attention to contemporary Jewish use of the commandment, along with the use of the commandment in the OT.13 In brief, murder was widely regarded as the quintessential anti-social sin, the opposite of love. Other laws overlapped with murder, and the notion of murder was exploited in its capacity as a metaphor for social injustice, including anger and malicious speech.

With this in mind, Paul’s extensive use of other expressions for murder-related activity in Romans is significant. In Romans 3:13–15 he quotes Scripture on murderous speech (“the venom of vipers is under their lips”) and murderous deeds (“feet swift to shed blood”). In Romans 7:11 Paul personifies sin and depicts it as a killer in his discussion of sin and the Law. Romans 8:35–36 refers to being killed and persecuted for God’s sake. In Romans 11:3 Elijah is quoted as pleading to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets … and are seeking my life.” In Romans 12:14, 17–21 Paul refers to those who persecute God’s people. And in Romans 14:13, 15, 20, 21Paul warns the strong about destroying those who are weak in faith. The influence of the murder commandment is profound, in spite of Paul nowhere saying or implying that believers are under the Law.

Jesus’s exposition of the commandment not to murder in Matthew 5 is noteworthy for its internalized application. He judges hatred to be tantamount to murder, a surface expression of something deeper: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (5:21–22a). And he warns that God does not accept the worship of those who are angry: “if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift” (5:23–24).

The Heidelberg Catechism similarly undertakes expansive applications of the murder commandment, focusing on the heart motivations: “I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor—not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds.” It teaches that “by forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vengefulness. In God’s sight all such are disguised forms of murder.” For the catechism, not to murder is the opposite of love: “By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.”14

Similarly, Luther’s Small Catechism expands the application of the murder commandment beyond the taking of a life: “You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.”15

6. Written for Our Instruction

Believers in Christ are not under the Law as a legal code. But the Law of Moses is still valid as God’s inspired Word. Reading it makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and equips us for every good work (2 Tim 3:15–16). The Law trains us for righteous living when we read the Law as wisdom. Such a reading strategy is exemplified by Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul and reflected in Lutheran and Reformed catechisms. We do well to read the Law as wisdom for our own moral correction and formation. To quote Paul, the Law of Moses was written “for us” (1 Cor 9:10) and “for our [moral] instruction [διδασκαλία]” (Rom 15:4; cf. 1 Cor 10:11).