“… the church is full of people who emphasize either precept to the exclusion of principle or principle to the exclusion of precept. It makes the church a battleground…” A precept is a law. It states what we do or don’t do. For instance, a sign posted on a certain stretch of highway that says 35 mph warns us of a precept or law that limits the speed on that stretch of highway. The precept is valid whether the road is wet or dry, deserted or crowded. A principle has to do with the good-sense reason behind the precept or law. It focuses on why we do or don’t do something. Apparently there was some reason why that piece of road was posted with a 35-mph sign. The principle is the reason behind the sign. In this case the principle might be drive carefully for the safety of all those who drive or walk this stretch of highway.
Often it doesn’t take a lot of thought to honor a precept or law. In this case, just put the needle of your speedometer on 35-mph and cruise on through. You need not be concerned with the reason. That is the responsibility of the one who posted the sign. To honor a principle, on the other hand, takes some careful thought and consideration. In the case of the road we are using as an illustration, issues like rain, snow, dry pavement, condition of traffic, presence of pedestrians and other such things all are matters of concern.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just post the 35-mph sign and forget about thinking about the principle of careful driving and that would guarantee 100% safety on that road? Of course, you and I know that accidents happen in 35-mph zones as a result of careless driving, even when people obey the precept and don’t exceed the posted speed. There might even be some situations that would make the road unsafe at 35 mph (such as a troop of Girl Scouts walking along the edge of the road). Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just forget posting speed limit signs altogether and trust that everyone would make it their business to honor the principle of driving carefully, always knowing just the right speed to go under the present circumstances.
The truth is, we need both the sign and an understanding of the good sense behind the sign (the precept and the principle) to insure maximum safety on the highway. The sign (precept) helps in those times when good sense is absent for whatever reason. Understanding the principle, that is, the need to drive carefully helps in those times when driving the speed posted on the sign would be unsafe.
Now, “what does that have to do with a sermon about the life of David?” I am tying to illustrate the fact that we need both precepts and principles to insure maximum safety on the highway. And really, what I want you to realize is that we need both precepts and principles in the spiritual highway of life in order to be right with God.
As David successfully defeated Israel’s enemies and expanded her borders, prosperity and blessing flowed over the land. He wanted to show God his gratefulness by bringing the Ark of the Covenant, where God’s Presence resided, to Jerusalem. He wanted God to be at the center of the nation so all could worship and follow Him. That was a great, godly desire. He gathered 30,000 top men of Israel, who dropped what they were doing to join this praise processing (2 Samuel 6:1-5), but something totally unexpected and very shocking happened on the way. One of the oxen pulling the cart with the Ark stumbled and the cart shook, so Uzzah, a leading man with the privilege of walking alongside the ark, reached out to steady it (v. 6). Immediately he fell down dead (v. 7). All the singing and rejoicing immediately stop. Everyone was stunned. David got a bit angry at God for rejecting what he was trying to do (v. 8). He was too afraid of God to move the Ark any further so they left it in a nearby home (v. 9-10). David went home confused and uncertain.
After 3 months, though, reports of God’s blessing upon the home where the Ark is kept filter back to Jerusalem (v. 11), so David feels it is safe to bring the Ark the rest of the way to Jerusalem and the trip was successful (v. 12-15). The reason things went well this time and not the first is seen in verse 3 (“new cart”) and v. 13 (“carrying the ark”). You see, God had told them to carry the ark by hand (Exodus 25:12-15; Num. 4:5-6, 15). During the 3 months David had learned of his error, and blamed the Levites for not having alerted him the first trip (I Chron 15:11-15). There are some real lessons for us in this.
God cares about both the principles and precepts of His Word. The right principle in David’s heard didn’t mean he could ignore the clear precepts of God’s Word. When we focus on precepts we become legalistic and lack love and grace. We become like the religious rulers and use guilt and fear as motives. We stick to the speed limit no matter how unsafe the conditions might be. But when we focus just on principle everything becomes relative, subjective and with no absolutes. God is love so anything is OK if your heart is sincere. Forget holiness, forget the speed sign, just go by what ‘feels’ right. Freedom does not mean the absence of constraints or moral absolutes.
Consider, for example, the precept “do not neglect the assembling of yourselves together.” Gathering with other Christians is a MUST. But it doesn’t mention Sunday at 11 AM, does it? Worshipping God on the golf course breaks this precept, but saying there is never a legitimate reason to miss a Sunday morning service breaks the principle. We need both.
Good intentions are not sufficient to justify disregard for the areas where God has clearly spoken. We can’t disobey God even for a ‘good’ reason, no matter our sincere intent. Where God has spoken we MUST obey. Granted, there are some openings to interpretation of what He has said, but all the more reason to make sure we really understand exactly what He means. Where He hasn’t directly spoken we have guidelines to help us know His will: how will this affect our testimony to Christians or unbelievers? What is my motive? What would Jesus do? The fruit of the Spirit grows only in the garden of obedience. Obey God’s precepts. Also obey God’s principles (be a servant of all, do what you do motivated by love, etc.). Precepts and principles should never conflict!
One day a three-year-old was playing with her toys. Her mother, who was folding laundry across the room, noticed Beverly’s shirt was dirty and needed to be changed,” After calling two times with no response her mother gave her the full three-name call: “Beverly Elizabeth Provost, did you hear me?” Beverly-answered, “Yes, Mama. My ears did, but my legs didn’t.” Make sure you hear what God has to say, both His principles and His precepts. Make sure your legs hear as well as your ears!
John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
When do you find it hardest to obey God?
What can you learn from David about obedience?
When do you delay obedience instead of obeying immediately?
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
ChristianTrainingOnline.org
(India, Africa & Spanish Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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