It is lawful, but is it wise? Is God’s wisdom simply a form of law? What are the differences between law and wisdom in the Bible, and what is their relationship to each other?
These are some of the questions to ponder when reading Scripture. Consider, for example, Psalm 119:97-98, which identifies God’s law making the psalmist wiser than his enemies; or Psalm 111:10 (repeated in Proverbs 9:10) that teaches the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Besides the fact that wisdom and law are closely related to each other because God is their source, there are differences between them.
Wisdom sayings and admonitions are not law commands per se, although keeping God’s law is surely wise. Mostly, we prefer laws since they tell us what to do. Wisdom, on the other hand, takes more effort, so we tend to shy away from learning how the world works and the reasons, benefits, and purposes of living wisely. Read More»
Daniel Rowlands | “Wisdom Versus Law—What’s the Difference?” | October 14, 2022
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- Office Hours Season 6: To Know Wisdom
Free book: The Treasury of God’s Wisdom - A Little Wisdom Might Help Us Love Our Neighbor
- Law, Wisdom, And Charity: Life In A Twofold Kingdom
- What The Reformed Can Learn From A 1532 Synod: Christ Our Wisdom
- Facts, Evidence, Wisdom, And Gossip
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- Wisdom According to Paul (pt 1)
Fantastic summary of the issue. We run into this with students regularly at our Bible university who are hoping for a law when what the Bible offers is wisdom.
I should clarify that they may be looking for a law on a *topic* on which what the Bible offers is widsom.
Check out this series:
Office Hours: To Know Wisdom
I’m checking out the Office Hours series on wisdom (thanks for the tip!) but I can’t seem to figure out how to get/download The Treasury of Wisdom e-book https://www.wscal.edu/news-and-events/news/new-free-e-book-available-soon. The link is now about a course from Trueman (which also looks cool…). Do you have an actual hard-link to that book?
Hi Nicholas,
I’ve added the link to the post. Here it is.