Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Acts 16:16-18.

“It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.  Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”  She continued doing this for many days.  But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!”  And it came out at that very moment.”  Acts 16:16-18.

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The words of the slave-girl (“These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”) were followed by the power of God.  The spirit of divination in the girl was cast out of the girl by the power of God.

The way of salvation is the power of God.

Other doctrine believe and teach that the way of salvation is man’s work or at least man’s alleged free-will choice of Christ.

But, Reformed Doctrine believes and teaches that the way of salvation is the power of God doing all that is necessary for the salvation of man from beginning to end:  from the beginning of “Unconditional Election” through “Limited Atonement” through “Irresistible Grace” to the end of “Preservation of the Saints”, “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, more fully taught in the Canons of Dordt. 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation ….”  Romans 1:16.

“and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”  1 Corinthians 2:4-5.

If there is is any feeling of superiority in us, thinking that we are nothing like the slave-girl and that we only need a little help, let us consider the concluding Scripture which puts us in the same boat of “Total Depravity” as the slave-girl and which shows us that we need the power of God to be saved.  

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:1-9.