Precepts

Isaiah 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

I have this photograph of a mountain in Glacier National Park that I use as wallpaper for my computer. It is a monument of time and how the elements expose its structure, layer upon layer, revealing how this great rock came into being.

There are some curious colors to certain layers. They are very pronounced, distinctive, and easy to remember. As we traveled around North America we would see this same layer of color within the exposed rocks of other mountain ranges. It was consistent to the extent that it was obvious that whatever happened to cause this layer was universal, that it happened everywhere you looked.

How curious it is to look at that mountain and seen layer upon lay which have only slight and insignificant variations which blended together so well that only a close examination could indicate the formation of one line upon another. There they were, layer upon layer of consistent, repetitive occurrences and then the sudden drastic color shift, a new and different deposit upon the history of time.

This mountain so accurately represents the Word of God in its formation and revelation of its creation.

Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

“Shall ye not know it?” That new thing, the variation, that deposit in history, is significant in that it was for all to see, everywhere.

Revelations 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Conditions

Psalm 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Then and only then can I teach. When is that? Consider that there are twelve verses prior to this one pleading with God to change us before we can effectively act. The issue here is about effectiveness not desire.

When I was first baptized I tried to witness to my brother. His response was less than gracious. He mocked me and did many things to prove that I was no better than he was. It was true. Being a babe in Christ does not give us the ability or the history to reflect change.

We can get very excited about our initial conversion and rightly so. That doesn’t mean we have the means to understand or teach the finer points of salvation. It takes time. Verse ten asks for God to create in us a clean heart. That takes time as Jeremiah warns us that the heart is deceitful and who can know it. Asking for change is only the beginning of change. It takes time for change to go into effect.

My brother could rightly call me a hypocrite when I was first baptized. Change had not been completed and my witness was weak. Discouragement set in because I didn’t have the maturity to understand the difference between imputed righteousness and imparted righteousness.

Imputed is declared, it is God view of His new creature. The world does not see as God sees. Those around me still see that sinner I was in that day.

Imparted is the outward expression of our change over time. All the promises of God are true but they do not all show up at the same time. Some of our salvation is instant, some of it is new every day and some of it awaits us.

Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a right and proper time for everything. Be patient.