Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 20:9-27.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+20&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“9 ‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death;  he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.

10 ‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  11 If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness;  both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.  12 If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death;  they have committed incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.  13 If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act;  they shall surely be put to death.  Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.  …

22 ‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out.  23 Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.  24 Hence I have said to you, “You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.”  I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.  25 You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean;  and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean.  26 Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy;  and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.  …”  Leviticus Chapter 20:  Verses 9-13 and 22-26.

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I quote verses 9-13 to give a sample of the statutes and ordinances in today’s Scripture.  When we read verses 9 and 10, we think generally of the Ten Commandments and specifically about:  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”  Exodus 20:5. and “You shall not commit adultery.”  Exodus 20:14.  When we read verses 11 to 13, we think more generally about morality.

Some may say to us:  “Those statutes and ordinances are just your statutes and ordinances!”  And, we can even agree that they may not be their customs.  But, we do note that the LORD states:  “Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.”  Verse 23.

Thus, the theme of today’s devotion is that we are a separate people.  “… I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.”  Verse 24.  “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy;  and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.”  Verse 26.

We should take delight in this fact that God has set us apart to be His people.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  1 Peter 2:9-10.

“… He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”  Ephesians 1:4-6.

“1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.”  Psalm Chapter 100.

Today’s Scripture comes from Leviticus 20:1-8.

“1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel:

‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.  3 I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name.  4 If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

6 ‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.  7 You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.  8 You shall keep My statutes and practice them;  I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”  Leviticus 20:1-8.

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It is hard to believe that anyone would give a child as a sacrifice to be killed for Molech.

It is hard to believe that after the LORD God had done so many miracles for the sons of Israel and had so faithfully shown His presence and His faithful guidance, protection, and blessing of them that they would act as harlots and chase after such false gods of their imagination and such mediums and spiritists.  But, as we read through the Old Testament, we see this pathetic pattern repeatedly.

“Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there.  I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.  And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.  Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.  Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 3:6-10.

“Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation, warns us to not lightly dismiss this Scripture as something that only foolish Israel would do.  “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. ”  Ephesians 2:3.  “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.”  Ephesians 2:1-2.

But, there is hope!

“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 2:4-9.

Today’s Scripture concludes with the short sweet summary:  “I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 19:19-36.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying.  27 You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.  28 You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves:  I am the Lord.  …

31 ‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists;  do not seek them out to be defiled by them.  I am the Lord your God.

32 ‘You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God;  I am the Lord.

33 ‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.  34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;  I am the Lord your God.

35 ‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity.  36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin;  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt.  37 You shall thus observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them;  I am the Lord.’”  Leviticus Chapter 19:  Verses 26-28 and 31-36.

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I quote verses 26 and 31, because we are tempted by books, television, and the movies “to play around” with divination, soothsaying, mediums, and spiritists.  We may think that all we need to do is avoid the bad witches and wizards and side with the good witches and wizards.  But, today’s Scripture commands us to not turn our attention to them at all.

I quote verse 28, because we are tempted by professional athletes and famous actors to get tattoos.  Today’s Scripture commands us to not make any tattoo marks on ourselves.

Regarding both commands, God again reminds us:  ” I am the Lord your God.”  We belong to the LORD, and we should be devoted to Him alone.  “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2.  “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price:  therefore glorify God in your body.”  1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Regarding verse 32, I hate to think of myself as the aged, but I guess compared to some, I am.  Yesterday, I was at the gym struggling to see the numbers on the padlock to open my locker.  A young black man noticed and said respectfully:  “May I help you?”  At first, my pride kicked in, and I wanted to say:  “No thank you.”  But, for some reason, I thought I should allow him to help me.  After he opened my padlock, it gave me the chance to look him in the eye and say:  “Thank you.  That was kind of you.”  It gave me the chance to allow him to “honor the aged” and to wish a blessing on him.

I love Florida.  We have to be welcoming and kind to strangers.  For one reason, tourists pay our taxes.  But, more compelling, almost all of us are strangers in Florida in the sense that most of us were not born or raised here.  Verses 33 and 34 reminds us to do no wrong to strangers, but rather to love them as ourselves.

Verses 35 to 37 remind us to be just.  “… I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:24.  Let us particularly be just in our business dealings.

Today’s Scripture comes from Leviticus 19:5-25.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.  10 Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard;  you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger.  I am the Lord your God.  …

13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.  The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.  …

15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment;  you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.  …

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself;  I am the Lord.”   Leviticus Chapter 19:  Verses 9-10 and 13 and 15 and 18.

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We will focus on the four various commands that I quoted above.  The first thing that we should note is the repeated emphasis by God:  “I am the Lord your God.”  When we read it, we should not only think that God has the sovereign right to make commands, we should remember the preceding Scripture:  “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” in Leviticus 19:2.  In other words, God does not just arbitrarily make commands because He is God and can do so, God makes commands, because He is holy and leads us into holiness by His commands.

You may be like me.  I don’t like it when I buy something from the grocery store and the cost of the purchase is a few cents more than the nearest dollar such as “$9.03” and I don’t have change.  I know that the cashier will swallow up ten dollars instead of just nine dollars and will give me back a pocket full of change.

But, my wife likes it, because I put the change in my drawer, and she can get my change anytime she wants it.  (As a side note, I am not so bad that she only gets the change, we have joint accounts, but you get the point.)

In a sense, when I put my change in the drawer for her, it is my way of obeying the command in verses 9 and 10:  “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard;  you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger.  I am the Lord your God.”  There are other ways that we can leave gleanings for others, but this is one way to illustrate this command.

There was a realtor in Treasure Island, Florida who always paid me right on the spot when I delivered the product of my legal services to him.  I loved it and thought so highly of him.  He could have told me that he would mail a check to me, but instead, he always handed me a check on the spot when I delivered the product of my legal services to him.

In a sense, when he paid me right on the spot, it was his way of obeying the command in verse 13:  “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.”  I was an independent contractor who did not need to be paid on the spot, but I still loved it.  How much more important is it to pay the wages of a hired man on the spot who may not be able to eat or pay a utility bill until he receives the wages!

Robin Hood, who stole from the rich to give to the poor, is not our role model.  Society seems to love and honor the Robin Hoods, but we should not do likewise.  “You shall do no injustice in judgment;  you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.”  Verse 15.  We should be like the lady of justice who is blindfolded so that she will not see and be tempted to favor either the rich or the poor whom is closest to her.  We should be not even partial to the poor;  we should be impartial in our judgments.

These commands and so many others can be summarized by the summary command in verse 18:  “you shall love your neighbor as yourself;  I am the Lord.”

So, let us delight in God’s commands and obeying them, for:

“… He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.”  Psalm 23:3.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 19:1-4.

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.  Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths;  I am the Lord your God.  Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods;  I am the Lord your God.”  Leviticus 19:1-4.

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Today’s Scripture reminds us three times in only four short verses:  “I am the LORD your God.”

You would think that we would be more careful learning about the attributes of the LORD our God revealed in Scripture.  But, we desire more to build an idol of god of our fantasy within our mind.

So, who is the LORD?

Is He a god of our desires and fantasy that loves everyone but bows down to alleged human free-will and waits with arms folded to see if someone will accept him or not?

Or, is the God, the God revealed in Scriptures, a sovereign and victorious God Who hates and punishes the wicked but Who loves His elect and does everything to save them such that not one of His elect perishes?

Simply, is the LORD a reactor or an initiator?

Is the LORD more concerned about His holiness and our holiness or is the LORD more concerned about what we want?

Jeremiah 9:23-24 drives home this point that our single focus should be to learn about Who is this LORD of Scriptures.

“Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

Calling yourself a Christian is not enough.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;  depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”  Matthew 7:21-23.

Even zeal is not enough.

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.  For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.  For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”  Romans 10:1-3.

We may have a mind that loves to pursue idols, the god of our fantasy.  We may be lost.  We may be dead in sin.

But, there is hope!

We have a Savior and Good Shepherd Who makes alive those dead in sin, Who seeks out the lost and saves, and Who guides His sheep into all truth.

“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.”  Ephesians 2:1-7.

Jesus said:  “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”  John 10:14-15.

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;  for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak;  and He will disclose to you what is to come.”  John 16:13.

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  John 17:3.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus Chapter 18.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+18&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God.  3 You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you;  you shall not walk in their statutes.  4 You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. 5 So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.

6 ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord.  …

24 ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things;  for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. 25 For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.  26 But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you 27 (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled);  28 so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you.  29 For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people.  30 Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them;  I am the Lord your God.’”  Leviticus Chapter 18:  Verses 1-6 and 24-30.

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We live in a day and age in which diversity is promoted more than the Divine.  We are pressured into the mantra that because some people do some things, we need to accommodate those things into our society and even into our own beliefs and into our own actions.  There is no longer right or wrong in this day and age.  Truth is relative, not absolute.  In this day and age, we act as if there is no God and no punishment.

“Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”  2 Peter 3:3-4.

But, there is the Divine.  Truth is absolute.  God is sovereign and reigns.  Nothing escapes God’s attention and reach.  The wicked will be punished.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;  for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  Galatians 6:7-6.

“4 The Lord is in His holy temple;  the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.”  Psalm 11:4-7.

“But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”   2 Peter 3:7.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived;  neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”  1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

But, less we become proud and exclaim:  “I am not one of those!”, this Scripture continues with both accountability and hope:  “Such were some of you;  but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”  1 Corinthians 6:11.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus Chapter 17.  Here is a link to this chapter – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+17&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying, 3 “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, 4 and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man.  He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people.  5 The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the Lord, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord.  6 The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord . 7 They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot.  This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”’  …

“10 ‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.  11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls;  for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’”  Leviticus Chapter 17:  Verses 1-7 and 10-11.

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Today’s Scripture teaches that the blood is reserved for sacrifice to the LORD, and there is power in the blood.

Unlike some who teach that Christ shed blood for all, but it is up to man’s alleged free-will to make that blood effective to save, Reformed Doctrine teaches that Christ shed His blood only for the elect, but for all those elect whom Christ shed His blood, they all were effectively redeemed and completely saved, not one is lost.

Although some may love to sing:  “There is Power in the Blood!”, their doctrine contradicts their song.  But, those who teach Reformed Doctrine can truly sing:  “There is Power in the Blood!”

Article 8.   For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.”  SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE  Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby.  Canons of Dordt. 

How we consider the blood is extremely important!

“How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.”  And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  Hebrews 10:29-31.

Arminians (and many others who do not necessarily label themselves as such) hang on to the false doctrine that Jesus died for everyone (“Universal Atonement” – The Third Point of Arminianism) and they love to speak about the power in Christ’s blood.  But, Arminians realize that their doctrine forces them to conclude that Christ’s blood (as they claim, shed for everyone) by itself did not save, “purchase”, or “redeem” anyone, because they admit that most people are not saved.  Arminians claim that it is up to man to generate his own faith through his own free will in order to make Christ’s blood effective to save.  They claim that the only difference between the saved and the unsaved is not Christ’s blood, because everyone gets the blood, but rather the only difference is whether or not a certain individual will exercise his own free will to make the blood effective.  According to this logic of these Arminians, man’s free-will exercise of faith, not Christ’s blood, is the determining factor as to whether or not one will be saved.

Because Arminians talk about the blood all the time, it is true that in a sense they are trampling it, not in the sense of being hateful to it but in the sense of treating it as ineffective by itself, like the description in Matthew 5: 13: “…if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?  It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

This Hebrews 10:26-31 Scripture does not apply to the person who steadfastly rejects Christ.  That person did not receive the knowledge of truth as stated in Hebrews 10:26.  That person is not sanctified, so to speak, as is stated in Hebrews 10:29.  That person does not talk about the blood of Christ.  Rather, this Hebrews 10:26-31 Scripture speaks about those received or were exposed to knowledge of the truth and were sanctified so to speak but nevertheless denied the power of the blood and insulted the Spirit of grace.  Rather, this Scripture applies to Arminians who love to talk about Christ’s blood all the time, but who really treat Christ’s blood as ineffective by itself , that it does not actually “save”, “purchase”, nor “redeem” anyone, because they teach that most people are not saved and that it is up to man to generate his own faith through his own free will in order to make Christ’s blood effective to save.

Likewise, the Arminian can be compared to the one who insults the Spirit of Grace as is mentioned above in Hebrews 10:29.  Think of a situation in which your father took you out to a very expensive dinner and even left the tip in addition.  However, you did not think that the tip was sufficient so you add your $5 to the tip.  Wouldn’t your father be insulted that you thought that what he did was not enough? Likewise, Arminians insult God by their doctrine that believes that the blood of Christ is not enough, they feel that they must add their own tip of faith.  The Calvinist thinks of faith as a gift of God;  the Arminian thinks that faith is their own gift to God which is necessary to secure salvation.

In conclusion, your hope is not based on your feeble, fleeting, and futile free-will.  Your hope is based on the precious and powerful blood of Christ:  “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”  1 Peter 1:18-19.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:29-34.

“29 “This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you;  30 for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you;  you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls;  it is a permanent statute.  32 So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement:  he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar.  He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.”  And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.”  Leviticus 16:29-34.

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“atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you;  you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord.”  Verse 30.

“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.  For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.  For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

“As I swore in My wrath,
They shall not enter My rest,”

although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.  For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;  and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.”  Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.  So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.  Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”  Hebrews 4:1-11.

In today’s Scripture, we notice the importance of humbling our souls and resting.  We don’t depend on ourselves to save ourselves.  We don’t just try harder.  Instead, we trust a faithful God.  We rest.

Reformed Doctrine helps us humble our souls by “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Reformed Doctrine helps us trust a faithful God and rest by “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement”, “Irresistible Grace”, and “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:20-28.

“20 “When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat.  21 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins;  and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.  22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land;  and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there.  24 He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.  25 Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar.  26 The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water;  then afterward he shall come into the camp.  27 But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire.  28 Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp.”  Leviticus 16:20-28.

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Shouldn’t it be enough that these provided such careful religious services and participated in making atonement?  Why did they need to afterward bathe in water?

I think this requirement was made to drive home three points.  First, we need cleansing from our sins.  Second, we need God to wash away our sins.  Third, this requirement leads us to baptism, a sign and sacrament to remind us of our need for cleansing and that ours sins are washed away by God.

“… Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;  but that she would be holy and blameless.”  Ephesians 5:25-27.

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”  John 15:3.

Question 73.  Why then doth the Holy Ghost call baptism “the washing of regeneration,” and “the washing away of sins”? 

Answer.  God speaks thus not without great cause, to-wit, not only thereby to teach us, that as the filth of the body is purged away by water, so our sins are removed by the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ;  but especially that by this divine pledge and sign he may assure us, that we are spiritually cleansed from our sins as really, as we are externally washed with water.  Heidelberg Catechism.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:11-19.

“11 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.  12 He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil.  13 He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die.  14 Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side;  also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.  16 He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins;  and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.  17 When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.  18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.  19 With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it.”  Leviticus 16:11-19.

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Today’s Scripture led the sons of Israel and even us today to consider the scope of atonement.  We see in today’s Scripture that atonement was specifically made for Aaron and his household and later specifically made for the holy place and later again specifically made for Aaron and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel and later specifically made for the altar.

The issue is whether atonement was made by Christ generally for everyone or specifically just for God’s elect.  In other words, did Christ die for everyone or for just for the elect? 

Reformed Doctrine teaches “Limited Atonement”, the “L” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.  That is, the atonement was limited (or specifically applied) for just the elect but completely effective to cover all that the elect need for salvation from beginning to end, from giving them the gift of justifying faith to faithfully preserving them to the end for complete salvation.

Here is what the Canons of Dordt states in part:

Article 8.   For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever. SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE  Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby.  Canons of Dordt.

Here is what the Westminister Larger Catechism states in part:

Question 59:  Who are made partakers of redemption through Christ?

Answer:  Redemption is certainly applied, and effectually communicated, to all those for whom Christ has purchased it; who are in time by the Holy Ghost enabled to believe in Christ according to the gospel.

Question 67:  What is effectual calling?

Answer:  Effectual calling is the work of God’s almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto) he does, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his Word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein.

What is the importance of whether the atonement was specifically made just for the elect or for generally everyone? 

If atonement was made for everyone, then it was ineffective, because not everyone is saved.  The only variable that would determine whether someone is saved (because everyone equally gets  atonement) would be something provided by man.  Salvation is then dependent on man and man’s free will.  Under such false belief, Christians would live in continual fear that they will fall from grace if they do not do what is required to first get faith and then forever maintain their faith (or works) through death.

However, if atonement was made for just the elect but completely effective to bring the elect to salvation, then salvation is dependent only on God and “grace alone” (one of the Five Solas of the Reformation) and Christians can take great comfort in the amazing depth of God’s special love for them (like a husband only has for his wife) and that God will do everything for them that is necessary for their salvation.  This is consistent with Scripture such as the following Scriptures.

“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 2:4-8.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. …”  Ephesians 1:3-8.

“but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.  But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:27-31.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”  Ephesians 5:25-27.