Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Jesus said in John 4:23:  “”But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” 

We should know that answer by now.  But sadly, how often are we like the Galatians who pursued righteousness as if it could be obtained by what we do, by acting rightly, by perfecting ourselves!  Galatians 3:3-6 chides us and reminds us:  “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain?  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

In other words, righteousness is a gift, not a human achievement.  ‘For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”  Romans 5:17. 

If there was anyone who could have achieved such righteousness if it was based on human achievement, it was Paul.  Yet, he writes:  “… as to the righteousness which is in the Law, (I was) found blameless.  But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,”  Philippians 2:6-9.   

THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE is mentioned next.  This piece of armor is a little more difficult to understand.  John Gill writes in his commentary:  “but the word (Greek word for preparation) etoimasia signifies a “base,” or foundation; and so it is used by the Septuagint interpreters on Zechariah 5:11; and here it designs a firm and solid knowledge of the Gospel, as it publishes peace by Jesus Christ, which yields a sure foundation for the Christian soldier to set his foot upon …”.  Calvin in his commentary on this piece of armor writes:  “A rough road and many other obstacles retard our progress, and we are discouraged by the smallest annoyance.”  In summary, putting the two thoughts together, we need the good shoes of the Gospel of Peace as our base or foundation, because every step that we take in this Christian life has both dangerous rocks that could cause us to fall and numerous pebbles that could irritate us. 

THE SHIELD OF FAITH is mentioned next.  Calvin in his commentary states:  “And yet it is not without reason that the most necessary instruments of warfare — a sword and a shield — are compared to faith, and to the word of God.  In the spiritual combat, these two hold the highest rank.  By faith we repel all the attacks of the devil, and by the word of God the enemy himself is slain.  If the word of God shall have its efficacy upon us through faith, we shall be more than sufficiently armed both for opposing the enemy and for putting him to flight.  … 

Calvin continues:  “Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the darts. But quench appears not to be the proper word.  Why did he not use, instead of it, ward off or shake off, or some such word?  Quench is far more expressive; for it is adapted to the epithet applied to darts.  The darts of Satan are not only sharp and penetrating, but — what makes them more destructive — they are fiery.  Faith will be found capable, not only of blunting their edge, but of quenching their heat.  “This,” says John, “is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4.)”

THE HELMET OF SALVATION is mentioned next.  The importance of the helmet can be seen from football to bike-riding.  We may get cut or bruised in the body, but protecting the head is most important for survival.  Thus, the most important piece of armor is the helmet.  Which doctrine provides the best helmet, so to speak?  Does Arminianism provide a better helmet of salvation, in which salvation is dependent on the “free will of man”?  Or, does Calvinism provide a better helmet of salvation, in which salvation is dependent on the sovereignty of God including unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints (better described as preservation of the saints)?     

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT is mentioned next.  The Sword of the Spirit is defined herein as The Word of God, so we do not need to search elsewhere for a better definition or description. 

So, how do we “take” “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”?  We listen to preaching in our worship services.  We read the Bible in our daily private devotions. 

Preaching is “the chief means of grace”.  Here is a link to an article “The Reformation – A Return to the Primacy of Preaching” by Rev. Charles Terpstra that expands this thought – Click here: The Reformation: A Return to the Primacy of Preaching

Regarding the importance of our daily private devotions, Psalm 1:2-3 tells us:  ” But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”