Precepts Principles Patterns Promises

Studying Scriptural Patterns

Precepts, Principles, Patterns and Promises

Pastor Marvin Barham, D. Min

As we study Scripture, we look for four particular things: Precepts, Principles, Patterns and Promises. The reason we study the Scripture is to be disciples. When Jesus said to them, “Follow Me”, He did not mean to just come hang out. It was a reference to the process of Talmidim תלמידם (Rabbinical Discipleship). Yeshua meant “walk the way I walk (halak הָלַךְ; one’s lifestyle; way of living), live the way I live, think the way I think, choose the way I choose.”

Precepts are the rules, the code, the regulations, the dos and don’ts. It is how to live this way not that way. The Law of God was instruction for life. Throughout the Tanakh תָּנָ״ךְ‎ we see the pattern where God said, “If you do this, then I will do that. But if you do this, that will happen.”

So often, we think living for God is all about a bunch of rules because we do not understand the intent of God nor the Law of God. Why do I place rules on my children? Rules such as to not play in the interstate or drink peroxide? God said, “Children honor your father and mother that you might live” (Exodus 20:12). Because behind the precept is a principle of life preservation. Obedience to the precept may just save their life. This principle speaks of the person who gave the precept and those who understand and follow it. It speaks to the value of their lives and the love of he who gave the precept. As well, half obedience could be costly. It is like the guard rails on the highway curve high atop a mountain side. They are there to keep you from driving off the cliff. Don’t despise them.

The principles are the motives and intents behind the precepts that reveal the character and nature of the precept giver in relationship to those to whom the precepts are given.

The Law of God was not given to constrain but to preserve life and true liberty therein. I stop at stop signs, not just because I do not want a fine but because it saves lives to obey the traffic laws. Also, I value the life of others. I understand that because of the traffic laws and obedience to them, we are able to move about freely and safely and exercise our liberties. Thus, the traffic laws may be administered by men but my liberty comes from God.

When you transgress the Law of God, the wages of sin are death. An electrical outlet will bless you in many ways unless you transgress it by sticking a fork in it. You can blame the electric company all day long. But you are the transgressor. You can get offended at the outlet and the house and move out. But it was you who transgressed the law.

We live in a time when we want our rights and benefits but with no responsibility or accountability in a society of lawlessness. At the same time, boundaries void of relational connection, or precepts void of understanding the principles in right relationship, lead to despise. Simply said, rules without relationship breed rebellion.

We fail to understand God’s rules and struggle with reconciling God’s goodness with His justice because we fail to seek true relationship with Him. Thus, we do not comprehend why God says to not have sex outside of marriage. Because we do not understand that within the confines of covenant marriage, as He designed it, there is not only safety (physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually) but also the ability to enjoy the full blessing of communion. You cannot be outside the design of God and expect the blessing of God. Anything outside of God’s design is dysfunctional. Why would you want to continue to live in dysfunction when God has offered you so much more? Cancer is a cell that is functioning outside of its design. Anything that functions outside of God’s design of that which is lifegiving instead brings death.

Therefore, as we study Scripture, we look for these precepts and principles. We also look for these and other patterns. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Thus, there is a pattern to who God is, what He does, how He thinks and so on. God changes not. These precepts, principles and patterns reveal to use the character, nature, intent and expectations of God. And in these we discover His promises.

If the precepts and principles reveal to use the kavanah כַּוָּנָה (motives, intents, and desires) of the person, then we can discover the promises of God’s love, goodness, mercies, kindness, His chesed חֶסֶד.

You cannot know the promises of God until you first get to know the person of God. You cannot know the person of God until you understand the principles of God. You cannot understand the principles of God until you begin to apply the precepts of God to every area of your life.

Two common misconceptions most people have of Christ. Christ came to help me live my life better. To make me happy while I live my life. Christ did not come to help me live more religious or feel holy about myself. Christ did not come and die a horrible death and shed His blood only to ease my conscience before God, so I do not feel guilty about continuing to live willfully in sin. Christ did not come to just help you live better for God. Nor did Christ come to help you live better for you. Christ did not come, live, die, and rise from the grave so you can drive a nicer car or have a bigger home. The truth is that Christ came to live through you to God. He came to show you how to lay down your life and take up His. He came to show you how to die to you and let Him live through you. As the Apostle Paul states, “It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives within me” (Galatians 2:20). Therefore, you must surrender all to Christ and the power of the Hoy Spirit.

In Romans 7:13-23, the Apostle Paul says, that his flesh wants to do the opposite of what he knows he should. This is the definition of hypocrisy or sin. Remember that the soul and spirit are eternal but the flesh is not and therefore having no regard for obedience. It seeks only to please self and the appetites and desires of self. And according to James, desire gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings death.

It has been said that the Christian life is not hard, but impossible. Because only through the strength and Spirit of the Christ can it be lived out. Present day Christianity either religious performance or self-centered practice. For the early church it was a moment-to-moment experience. It was a complete invasion of their entire existence.

Paul said, “I do not understand.” He was not ignorant. He was a very well-educated man and versed in the Laws of God. Paul was speaking about the battle between the flesh and the spirit to embrace the patterned living of righteousness through Christ. Paul is speaking of a Kingdom principle. You will never understand the wisdom of God through the reasoning of your flesh.

The wisdom of God is only gained through the understanding of God’s ways. Scripture states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10). How do I learn to fear the Lord? I gain understanding. I have a healthy fear of things like guns, motorcycles, allegators and rattlesnakes. Why? Because I understand they can kill me if I am stupid and transgress certain precepts involving them.

If I am standing on the ledge of a ten-story building. I might be confident in my balance and overcome my fear of heights. But let me be anchored to nothing and a strong wind begins to blow. A man in his right mind might have a healthy fear come over him because he has a basic understanding of the law of gravity.

Understanding in obedience to God’s instruction brings wisdom. If you do not obey God’s law you cannot say you understand it. It is like the Biblical definition of “faith”. Faith has two key elements, belief and obedience. Do not tell me you believe something if you do not live it. Hebrews 11 reveals to us a pattern and principle. It reveals to us that by faith (belief and obedience) Abraham laid Isaac on the altar, Christians faced lions, and many other examples. Abraham fully believed God therefore He fully obeyed God.

Often, people want the benefit of wisdom without being willing to pay the price for understanding. Some people say, “I don’t understand why God is not doing what I want.” I am sorry. God does not do what you want. He is not a genie in a lamp that you rub your Bible, of which you do not read, and poof you get your every wish at your command.

Some people say, “I do not understand why negative things keep happening to me and I am so unhappy. I threw God a bone and He never gave me a steak.” We say, “God, I went to church, said a prayer and threw five dollars in the offering. I even did some good deeds. I am a good person overall. I do not understand why you have not made me rich yet.”

First, Christ did not come to make you good. He came to make you holy (kodesh קֹדֶשׁ ; purified and consecrated; belonging to Him alone in covenant relationship).

The Scriptures tell us that the Word of God holds all things together. If your life is in chaos, it is probably because it is not patterned after the Word of God. It is probably because there are areas of your life that are not covered by the precepts of God. It is probably because you lack the understand of the principles of God. It is probably because you have a self-serving and superficial relationship with God instead of a surrendered, sacrificial, sincere and intimate relationship with the Father.

Isaiah 28:9-10 states, ““To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

Everything in the Kingdom of God operates precept upon precept and principle upon principle. Everything in the Kingdom of God is propositional. It is dependent upon you making the choice to live God’s will, not your own. So many people think they could be free from bondages of the flesh if only they had enough self-will power. But the self-will of man has been the problem since the Garden of Eden in Genesis.

The Scripture here, is talking about maturing and growing in understanding like a child grows from living only on milk but grows to desire meat that brings strength. Milk is what God and others do for you. Meat is when you begin to understand and apply the Word to do what God would have you do for Him and others.

The word for “knowledge” is de’ah דֵּעָה. This speaks of the knowledge of God. It is for the disciple to know God’s opinion and surrender to His good judgement.

The Hebrew word for “precept” is sav צַו meaning command or ordinance. The Hebrew word for “line” is qav קָו meaning a measure, plumbline or standard.

God never lowers His standards to meet yours. God will meet you where you are in life, but you must show up to the meeting. Like Moses, often you get the experience then the explanation (Prophet Kevin Leal). But he does not lower His ethical or righteous standards. Instead, He brings you up to His by His lovingkindness. He teaches you how to live His way not yours. But you cannot live both.

Adam willfully and blatantly rebelled against God, knowing full well that God was present. I have learned that when grown people know right from wrong and choose to do wrong anyway, there is nothing I can do about it. If they have no fear of God what more can I do to convince them differently?

Did God turn and look the other way and just give Adam a pass on his willful disobedience? God did not lower His standard so that Adam could stay in the garden. We do the same thing in the Church. We want everyone, including God, to just overlook our willfully living in sin. Adam could have repented. But instead, he hid, and blame shifted. And Eve did the same.

God never lowered His standard every time Israel committed idolatry. God never told Israel that He had come to accept that they just could not help but commit idolatry therefore, it was now acceptable.

Even when you are offended, you might think you are in the right. Truth is, God is always right, and you are always wrong when you are in contradiction to His righteousness.

A precept is a law, a code, a regulation, or command. It is the “what” that establishes the boundaries and expectations.

Behind every precept is a principle. A principle is fundamental truth foundational to one’s believe that produces a behavior from a way of thinking. Principles are the “why” that is directing the precept and revealing something about the promise and the person.

When the thinking aligns with God’s and the life is lived in accordance with His ways, promises are activated. A promise is a declaration or assurance of something yet to come. The promises of God are the fruit in your life of living the pattern of Jesus Christ in obedience to the ways of the Lord. God’s promises are His faithfulness and chesed or lovingkindness.

A pattern is a form or model proposed for imitation. Scripture says that “Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). That is a pattern. Jesus is our pattern. As we study Scripture, the precepts, principles and promises paint a pattern that reveals something about the person “who” gave them. They reveal to us God’s character, nature, intent, and expectations.

The promises of God come through obedience to His precepts and the understanding of His principles because He is a good Father. When people ask, “If God is good then why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?” The problem is not that God is not good. The issue is that you have a problem with God’s goodness. The problem is that you have made assumptions about His goodness and yours. You are assuming you are good. And compared with your goodness, God is not.

If someone murdered one of your loved ones, you would expect a judge to be a good judge by ruling justly. But if this individual stood in court and convinced the judge that this was a one-time act of violence and that overall, they were good, would you be okay if the judge let them go free with no accountability? Of course, you wouldn't. You would say that he was a horrible judge.

God is good and He is a good God and He is also a just God. He is not about fairness. He is about being just. In our illustration, a good judge might say, “I pray you are remorseful. You can be forgiven by the Creator. You might even be forgiven by the family. But you still must reap the consequences under the law. Now the judge may even show mercy in his sentencing. But a good judge would still be just.

God never releases His promises void of His precepts and principles. So, anytime you come to some Biblical interpretation or doctrinal conclusion, if it in any way contradicts the precepts, principles and patterns of God, then something is wrong in your interpretation or conclusion. If there is a contradiction between your interpretation or conclusions and the character, nature, and integrity of God’s righteousness, then the problem is not with the Scripture, the problem is with your interpretation.

In Romans 8:7-9, we find two types of people. Those in the flesh and those who are in the Spirit of the Lord “if” in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. So often, we want the favor and blessings of the Spirit of God but apart from the Law of God. The Spirit of God does not separate itself from the Law of God.

Yeshua never separated the Spirit from the Law but instead revealed it. He said Himself, “I did not come to do away with the Law of God but to set it right” (Matthew 5:17). This was a Rabbinical idiom meaning to correctly interpret and restore the intent of the Law through the Spirit of God.

The fleshly person is considered the Carnal Christian. This in and of itself is a contradiction because a true follower of Christ does not live carnally. The Carnal Christian does not live with the mind of the Christ. Instead, they live unchanged in their thinking. They refuse to employ the precepts and principle of God in their life, but they want the promises without having any sincere relationship with the person of God. These individuals live the Christian life when convenient or beneficial, but they still think and reason like the world. They do not understand the principles, ignore the precepts but expect the promises.

Then there are those who have had a true conversion in Christ Jesus. Unfortunately, the Body of Christ is filled with Christians who have never been converted. Just because they call themselves Christians does not mean they are Followers of the Christ. The true converted Christ followers live with strong convictions of the Hoy Spirit with a desire to please the Father. They diligently and consistently seek to understand the principles of God. They love and honor His precepts and will love and serve the Lord regardless of any benefit of the promises being released or not.

The true Christian loves the Father regardless of if He blesses them or not. He is God and they are not. They love God for who He is not for what He does. They honor and love Him for what He has already done and that is enough.

God has not called us to be carnal, cultural, compromising Christians. He has called us to be Christ-like. This is the person of the pattern and the promise.