Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 4:12-13.

 

“¹² For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”  Hebrews 4:12-13.

 

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God is “able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Verse 12.  Nothing is “hidden from His sight”.  Verse 13. 

 

God certainly knows each sin, no matter if we think it is hidden like a thought or intention.  Therefore, we should confess our sins and seek forgiveness. 

 

“³ When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  Selah.
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin.”  Psalm 32:3-5. 

 

We should also know that God also knows each good deed and each good thought.  His favor is on those is “on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness”.  Psalm 33:18-19.    

 

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. ….”  2 Chronicles 16:9.

 

“¹³ The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men;
¹⁴ From His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵ He who fashions the hearts of them all,
He who understands all their works.
¹⁶ The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 4:1-11.

 

“¹ 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.  ² 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.  ³ For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.  ⁴ For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day:  “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;  ⁵ and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.”  ⁶ 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,

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.  ⁹ So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  ¹⁰ For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.  ¹¹ 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.

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Notice how proud so many are when they say:  “I am so busy!”  They may think they are making progress in their lives.  They may be in fact be busy.  They may be working hard.  They may even be zealous about their work.  But, all they are doing is like Israel wandering through the desert.

Martha was busy, even serving others.  Martha’s sister Mary was “seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word”.  Martha complained:  “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?  Then tell her to help me.”  But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;  but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  See Luke 10:38-42.

Jesus said:  “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”  Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”  John 6:27-29.

Some may protest:  “But, we are busy serving the Lord!”  Paul recognized this about his Jewish kinsman:  “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.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”  Romans 10:2-4.  And, this zealous, busy, hard-working pursuit of self-righteousness is common among those who claim to be Christians as well. 

And others may strive for self-improvement.  But, Paul admonishes them as well:  “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?”  Galatians 3:3-5.

“⁵ Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶ “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:5-8.

“Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.  ⁵ But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

Today’s devotion come from Hebrews 3:12-19.

 

“¹² Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  ¹³ But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,  ¹⁵ while it is said,

¹⁶ For who provoked Him when they had heard?  Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?  ¹⁷ And with whom was He angry for forty years?  Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  ¹⁹ So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”  Hebrews 3:12-19. 

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The sons of Israel were on the threshhold of entering the Promised Land.  God had proven Himself faithful without exception in delivering them from Egypt and caring for them with mighty miracles. 

Their spies also confirmed all the unbelievably good things about the land.  “When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh;  and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.  Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.”  Numbers 13:25-27. 

But, the sons of Israel shrunk back into unbelief as they heard these words of the spies.  “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large;  and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.”  Numbers 13:28.

Caleb tried to rebuild their faith.  “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”  Numbers 13:30.   

“But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”  So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.”  Numbers 13:31-32. 

“Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.  All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron;  and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!  Or would that we had died in this wilderness!  Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword?  Our wives and our little ones will become plunder;  would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”  So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

“Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.  Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;  and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.  If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey.  Only do not rebel against the Lord;  and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey.  Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us;  do not fear them.”  Numbers 14:1-9. 

“But all the congregation said to stone them with stones.”  Numbers 14:10. 

And, we know the rest of the story.  God punished the sons of Israel by forcing them to wander in the desert for 40 years, and none of that generation entered the Promised Land except Caleb and Joshua.  “So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”  Hebrews 3:19.

We too are on the threshhold of entering our rest.  Are we going to fully trust the work of Christ, or are we partially going to trust our own works? 

There is a real “tug of war” struggle in all of us, particularly mature Christians.  We are continually tempted to partially rely on our own self-righteousness and our own ability to know and obey the Law. 

Like the sons of Israel, we receive promises of God.  Are we going to trust God?  We know the “justification by faith alone in Christ alone” promise of God.  But, we also see these giants in the land, and we want to trust what we can see and depend on our own self-righteousness and our own ability to know and obey the Law. 

Paul also struggled with this “tug of war” struggle.  

There is the pull to rely on depend on our self-righteousness and our own ability to know and obey the Law (“the flesh”):  “although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:  circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews;  as to the Law, a Pharisee;  as to zeal, a persecutor of the church;  as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”  Philippians 3:4-6.  “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;”  Galatians 2:15.

There is the pull to trust the “justification by faith in Christ alone” promise of God:  “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”  Galatians 2:16.

Then, there is the pull back:  “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin?  May it never be!”  Galatians 2:17.  We can almost hear Paul think:  “I should trust the Law and what I have been taught my whole life!”

But, Paul looks to Christ again and his faith stiffens:  “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.  For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”  Galatians 2:18-21.

We are on the threshhold of the Promised Land.  Are we going to trust the promises of God and enter the Promised Land despite the giants we see in the land, or are we going to shrink back?  Are we going to rest on the work of Christ alone?  Or, are we going to try to supply in addition our own works of self-righteousness just to be safe?  

“Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”  Hebrews 4:11.  

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 3:7-11.

 

“⁷ Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 3:1-6.

 

“Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;  He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.  For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.  For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.  Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;  but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”  Hebrews 3:1-6.

 

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“For the Law was given through Moses;  grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”  John 1:17.

 

“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”  Galatians 3:24-27.

 

“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.  …  Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;  but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.  For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”  Hebrews 10:1 and 11-14. 

 

“Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit;  for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

 

But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?  For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.  For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.  For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

 

Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.  But their minds were hardened;  for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.  But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;  but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:4-18.

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 2:9-18.

 

“⁹ But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.¹⁰ For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.  ¹¹ For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father;  for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹² saying,

¹³ And again,

And again,

¹⁴ Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.  ¹⁶ For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.  ¹⁷ Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  ¹⁸ For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”  Hebrews 2:9-18.

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Today’s Scripture teaches us that in order for Jesus to be our Savior, He had to become man.  As the Heidelberg Catechism states:  “the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned, should likewise make satisfaction for sin;  and one, who is himself a sinner, cannot satisfy for others”.  (See Question and Answer 16 below.).  “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”  Verse 17.

Here is what the Belgic Confession states in part about the need for our Savior to be man:

Article 18:  Of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We confess, therefore, that God did fulfill the promise, which he made to the fathers, by the mouth of his holy prophets, when he sent into the world, at the time appointed by him, his own, only-begotten and eternal Son, who took upon him the form of a servant, and became like unto man, really assuming the true human nature, with all its infirmities, sin excepted, being conceived in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Ghost, without the means of man, and did not only assume human nature as to the body, but also a true human soul, that he might be a real man.  For since the soul was lost as well as the body, it was necessary that he should take both upon him, to save both.  Therefore we confess (in opposition to the heresy of the Anabaptists, who deny that Christ assumed human flesh of his mother) that Christ is become a partaker of the flesh and blood of the children;  that he is a fruit of the loins of David after the flesh;  made of the seed of David according to the flesh;  a fruit of the womb of the Virgin Mary, made of a woman, a branch of David;  a shoot of the root of Jesse;  sprung from the tribe of Judah;  descended from the Jews according to the flesh;  of the seed of Abraham, since he took on him the seed of Abraham, and became like unto his brethren in all things, sin excepted, so that in truth he is our Immanuel, that is to say, God with us.

Here is what the Westminister Larger Catechism states in part about the need for our Savior to be man:

Question 38:  Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God, and the power of death;  give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession;  and to satisfy God’s justice, procure his favor, purchase a peculiar people, give his Spirit to them, conquer all their enemies, and bring them to everlasting salvation.

Question 39:  Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be man?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator should be man, that he might advance our nature, perform obedience to the law, suffer and make intercession for us in our nature, have a fellow feeling of our infirmities;  that we might receive the adoption of sons, and have comfort and access with boldness unto the throne of grace.

Question 40:  Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God and man in one person ?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator, who was to reconcile God and man, should himself be both God and man, and this in one person, that the proper works of each nature might be accepted of God for us, and relied on by us, as the works of the whole person.

Here is what the Heidelberg Catechism states in part about the need for our Savior to be man:

V. LORD’S DAY.

Question 12.  Since then, by the righteous judgment of God, we deserved temporal and eternal punishment, is there no way by which we may escape that punishment, and be again received into favor?

Answer.  God will have his justice satisfied; and therefore we must make this full satisfaction, either by ourselves, or by another.

Question 13.  Can we ourselves then make this satisfaction?

Answer.  By no means;  but on the contrary we daily increase our debt.

Question 14.  Can there be found anywhere, one, who is a mere creature, able to satisfy for us?

Answer.  None;  for, first, God will not punish any other creature for the sin which man hath committed;  and further, no mere creature can sustain the burden of God’s eternal wrath against sin, so as to deliver others from it.

Question 15.  What sort of a mediator and deliverer then must we seek for?

Answer.  For one who is very man, and perfectly righteous; and yet more powerful than all creatures;  that is, one who is also very God.

VI. LORD’S DAY.

Question 16.  Why must he be very man, and also perfectly righteous?

Answer.  Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned, should  likewise make satisfaction for sin;  and one, who is himself a sinner, cannot satisfy for others.

Question 17.  Why must he in one person be also very God?

Answer.  That he might, by the power of his Godhead sustain in his human nature, the burden of God’s wrath;  and might obtain for, and restore to us, righteousness and life.

Question 18.  Who then is that Mediator, who is in one person both very God, and a real righteous man?

Answer.  Our Lord Jesus Christ:  “who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”

Question 19. Whence knowest thou this?

Answer.  From the holy gospel, which God himself first revealed in Paradise;  and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets, and represented by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law;  and lastly, has fulfilled it by his only begotten Son.

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 2:5-8.

 

“⁵ For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.  ⁶ But one has testified somewhere, saying,

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”  Hebrews 2:5-8.

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“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;  and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him;  male and female He created them.  God blessed them;  and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;  and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”;  and it was so.  God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”  Genesis 1:26-31.

Reformed Doctrine teaches “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.  Yet, Reformed Doctrine makes it abundantly clear that man was not created with that condition of “Total Depravity”;  but rather God created man in the image of God, and God crowned man with glory and honor as today’s Scripture teaches.  But, man forfeited these excellent gifts from the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden (Paradise) when they revolted against God.

Here is what the Canons of Dordt states in part about the creation of man in the section titled:  “THIRD AND FOURTH HEADS OF DOCTRINE Of the Corruption of Man, His Conversion to God, and the Manner Thereof”:

Article 1.  Man was originally formed after the image of God.  His understanding was adorned with a true and saving knowledge of his Creator, and of spiritual things;  his heart and will were upright; all his affections pure;  and the whole man was holy;  but revolting from God by the instigation of the devil, and abusing the freedom of his own will, he forfeited these excellent gifts; and on the contrary entailed on himself blindness of mind, horrible darkness, vanity and perverseness of judgment, became wicked, rebellious, and obdurate in heart and will, and impure in his affections.

Here is what the Heidelberg Catechism states in part about the creation of man:

Question 6.  Did God then create man so wicked and perverse?

Answer.  By no means;  but God created man good, and after his own image, in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love him and live with him in eternal happiness to glorify and praise him. 

Question 7.  Whence then proceeds this depravity of human nature?

Answer.  From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise; hence our nature is become so corrupt, that we are all conceived and born in sin. 

Question 8.  Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness?

Answer.  Indeed we are;  except that we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. 

Here is what the Westminister Larger Catechism states about the creation of man:

Question 17:  How did God create man?

Answer:  After God had made all other creatures, he created man male and female;  formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls;  made them after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness;  having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfil it, and dominion over the creatures;  yet subject to fall.

Here is what the Belgic Confession states in part about the creation of man:

Article 14:  Of the Creation and Fall of man, and his Incapacity to perform what is truly good.

We believe that God created man out of the dust of the earth, and made and formed him after his own image and likeness, good, righteous, and holy, capable in all things to will, agreeably to the will of God.  But being in honor, he understood it not, neither knew his excellency, but willfully subjected himself to sin, and consequently to death, and the curse, giving ear to the words of the devil.  For the commandment of life, which he had received, he transgressed; and by sin separated himself from God, who was his true life, having corrupted his whole nature; whereby he made himself liable to corporal and spiritual death.  And being thus become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways, he hath lost all his excellent gifts, which he had received from God, and only retained a few remains thereof, which, however, are sufficient to leave man without excuse;  for all the light which is in us is changed into darkness, as the Scriptures teach us, saying:  The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not:  where St. John calleth men darkness.  Therefore we reject all that is taught repugnant to this, concerning the free will of man, since man is but a slave to sin; and has nothing of himself, unless it is given from heaven.  …”

But, God did not leave man in that misery.  Stay tuned for the rest of the chapter:  Hebrews Chapter 2.

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 2:1-4.

 

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?  After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”  Hebrews 2:1-4.

 

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Through Scripture as summarized by Reformed Doctrine, we have heard about “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.  Rather than cling to these doctrines of grace, there are those who want to go back to the Law and depend on themselves to contribute works or even as little as the will to be saved.  But, Scripture is clear and totally eliminates man’s pride that he can contribute anything toward his salvation. 

 

“For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.”  So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”  Romans 9:15-18.

 

God unconditionally elects those that He desires to save.  Man cannot provide the condition of works or the will which motivates God to save him.  This is “Unconditional Election”, the “U” of “TULIP”, and “Unconditional Election” is also consistent with “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP” which teaches that man is dead in sin, hostile to God, and enslaved to Satan.  There is no hope for us but “Unconditional Election”.  

 

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  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 1:26-31. 

 

But, there are some who do drift away.  They rely on their own reasoning rather than on God’s Word and think:  “Man can’t be that bad.  God must love all men.  Christ must have died for all men.  It is only just that the difference between those who are saved and those who are not saved is that those who are saved are wise enough to choose Christ.”  They may claim and sing:  “There is power in the blood of Christ.”, but they really believe that the blood of Christ is just common to everyone and that the blood of Christ needs something provided by man to be effective to save.

 

There are very stern warnings in Scripture!!!

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD.  For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.  Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.’ ” Jeremiah 17:5-7.

Arminians will deny being like this man who trusts in mankind, but the Arminian trusts in his “free will” to be the determining factor as to whether or not he will be saved.  He chooses Christ through his “free will”.  He keeps his faith through “his free will”.  He turns away from the LORD of Scripture who unconditionally elects and declares:  “That is not the God I serve!”

On the other hand, the Calvinist trusts in the LORD alone to handle all the points of salvation.  The Calvinist continually seeks the LORD and focuses on the LORD and His works.  Salvation is not a joint accomplishment between God and man to the Calvinist.  The Calvinist knows that if salvation was dependent even as little as 1% on himself, that he would not be saved.  He truly trusts in the LORD alone for his salvation and attributes his salvation to grace alone.

Scripture also sternly warns us:
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  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 10:26-31.

I think this Scripture applies to Arminians who steadfastly continue to hang on to Arminianism despite receiving knowledge of the truth of Calvinism.  They 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 generate his own faith through his own free will to make the blood effective.  According to this logic of these Arminians, man’s 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.

Conclusion

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?  …”  Verses 1-3.

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 1:3-14.  We covered verses 3 and 4 yesterday, but I include them again today, so we are reminded of the context of today’s Scripture, specifically that Jesus Christ became “much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they”, which the angels gladly admit and rejoice.  

 

“³ And He (Jesus Christ) is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

 

⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say,

                                

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?

“I will be a Father to Him
And He shall be a Son to Me”?

“And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

“Who makes His angels winds,
And His ministers a flame of fire.”

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
⁹ “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
¹¹ They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will become old like a garment,
¹² And like a mantle You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.”

“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies
A footstool for Your feet”?

Today’s devotion comes from Hebrews 1:1-4.

 

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.  When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”  Hebrews 1:1-4.

 

————————

 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said to His disciples:  “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also;  from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

 

Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”  Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father;  how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?  The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.   Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me;  otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”  John 14:7-11. 

 

 

                                 

                                  

 

 

 

 

Answer.  They do not;  for though they boast of him in words, yet in deeds they deny Jesus the only deliverer and Savior;  for one of these two things must be true, that either Jesus is not a complete Savior;  or that they, who by a true faith receive this Savior, must find all things in him necessary to their salvation.

Question 31.  Why is he called Christ, that is anointed?

Answer.  Because he is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Ghost, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption;  and to be our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of his body, has redeemed us, and makes continual intercession with the Father for us;  and also to be our eternal King, who governs us by his word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in (the enjoyment of) that salvation, he has purchased for us.

Question 33.  Why is Christ called the only begotten Son of God, since we are also the children of God?

Answer.  Because Christ alone is the eternal and natural Son of God;  but we are children adopted of God, by grace, for his sake.

Question 34.  Wherefore callest thou him our Lord?

Answer.  Because he hath redeemed us, both soul and body, from all our sins, not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood, and hath delivered us from all the power of the devil;  and thus hath made us his own property.

Here is what the Westminister Larger Confession states in part about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Question 36:  Who is the Mediator of the covenant of grace?

Answer:  The only Mediator of the covenant of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, of one substance and equal with the Father, in the fullness of time became man, and so was and continues to be God and man, in two entire distinct natures, and one person, forever.

Question 37:  How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

Answer:  Christ the Son of God became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance, and born of her, yet without sin.

Question 38:  Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God, and the power of death;  give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession;  and to satisfy God’s justice, procure his favor, purchase a peculiar people, give his Spirit to them, conquer all their enemies, and bring them to everlasting salvation.

Question 39:  Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be man?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator should be man, that he might advance our nature, perform obedience to the law, suffer and make intercession for us in our nature, have a fellow feeling of our infirmities;  that we might receive the adoption of sons, and have comfort and access with boldness unto the throne of grace.

Question 40:  Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God and man in one person?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator, who was to reconcile God and man, should himself be both God and man, and this in one person, that the proper works of each nature might be accepted of God for us, and relied on by us, as the works of the whole person.

Question 41:  Why was our Mediator called Jesus?

Answer:  Our Mediator was called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins.

Question 42:  Why was our Mediator called Christ?

Answer:  Our Mediator was called Christ, because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure;  and so set apart, and fully furnished with all authority and ability, to execute the offices of prophet, priest, and king of his church, in the estate both of his humiliation and exaltation.

Question 43:  How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?

Answer:  Christ executes the office of a prophet, in his revealing to the church, in all ages, by his Spirit and Word, in divers ways of administration, the whole will of God, in all things concerning their edification and salvation.

Question 44:  How does Christ execute the office of a priest?

Answer:  Christ executes the office of a priest, in his once offering himself a sacrifice without spot to God, to be a reconciliation for the sins of his people;  and in making continual intercession for them.

Question 45:  How does Christ execute the office of a king?

Answer:  Christ executes the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them;  in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory, and their good;  and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel.