Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

If there are a top two things that should concern us the most, it would not be money for retirement or other financial concerns.  It would not be our health.  It would not be what job that we had to support our livelihood or our performance on that job.    It would not be our weight or physical appearance.  It would not generally be ourselves or the rest of our family. 

Yes, these things do concern us, but if we could name the top two things that should concern us the most, it would be that God’s name be hallowed and that God’s kingdom would come and His will be done.

Here is our Lord’s Prayer starts – “… Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”  Matthew 6:9-10. 

Here is what The Heidelberg Catechism states about these first two petitions –

Question 122.  Which is the first petition?

Answer.  “Hallowed be thy name”;  that is, grant us, first, rightly to know thee, and to sanctify, glorify and praise thee, in all thy works, in which thy power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth, are clearly displayed;  and further also, that we may so order and direct our whole lives, our thoughts, words and actions, that thy name may never be blasphemed, but rather honored and praised on our account.

Question 123.  Which is the second petition?

Answer.  “Thy kingdom come”;  that is, rule us so by thy word and Spirit, that we may submit ourselves more and more to thee;  preserve and increase thy church;  destroy the works of the devil, and all violence which would exalt itself against thee;  and also, all wicked counsels devised against thy holy word;  till the full perfection of thy kingdom take place, wherein thou shalt be all in all.

And so, thanks to God, here comes the triumph!  God “always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”  Praise God! 

^“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13. 

For Arminians who believe in man’s free will, and how it is solely up to them to peddle and hawk God’s word to evangelize and to also otherwise prevent those whom God desires to save from going to hell, how they wring their hands throughout their lives in worry and fear that they are not doing enough and not doing it well enough! 

But, for Calvinists a/k/a the Reformed who believe in “Irresistible Grace” and “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U” and “P” of “TULIP”, the Reformed doctrine of salvation, how they live their lives in triumph trusting God to work in them to manifest through them the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place and to irresistably draw to salvation and preserve the elect which are those “being saved”!  Verses 14 and 15.

The Arminians wring their hands throughout their lives in worry and fear that they will not speak enough or speak convincingly, and so they frantically peddle (corrupt – King James Version) the word of God.  But, the Calvinists “speak in Christ”.  Verse 17.  Through Christ, and in Christ, the Calvinists a/k/a Reformed believers sincerely speak the truth.

In conclusion, for these two most important things (God’s name be hallowed and that God’s kingdom would come and His will be done), let us exalt God, praise God, and thank God that He “always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place”.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.  ⁶ But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;  ⁷ and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”  2 Corinthians 1:1-7.

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Comfort is the theme of today’s Scripture.  Comfort is mentioned 10 times.  In summary, “our comfort is abundant through Christ.”  Verse 5.

Even though we do experience afflictions a/k/a sufferings, God comforts us in “all” our afflictions a/k/a sufferings.  Verse 4.  And, God causes our afflictions to be for the comfort and salvation of others.  Verse 5.  Through God’s grace, we can patiently endure the sufferings.  Verse 6.

Comfort a/k/a consolation is also a theme of our Reformed Confessions.

Here is an example from The Heidelberg Catechism –

Question 1.  What is thy only comfort in life and death?

Answer.  That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ;  who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil;  and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;  yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

Question 2.  How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?

Answer.  Three;  the first, how great my sins and miseries are;  the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries;  the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance. 

Here is an example from The Canons of Dordt –

Article 6.  That some receive the gift of faith from God, and others do not receive it proceeds from God’s eternal decree, “For known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world,” Acts 15:18.  “Who worketh all things after the counsel of his will,” Ephesians 1:11.  According to which decree, he graciously softens the hearts of the elect, however obstinate, and inclines them to believe, while he leaves the non-elect in his just judgment to their own wickedness and obduracy.  And herein is especially displayed the profound, and merciful, and at the same time the righteous discrimination between men, equally involved in ruin;  or that decree of election and reprobation, revealed in the Word of God, which though men of perverse, impure and unstable minds wrest to their own destruction, yet to holy and pious souls affords unspeakable consolation.   

Article 14.  As the doctrine of divine election by the most wise counsel of God, was declared by the prophets, by Christ himself, and by the apostles, and is clearly revealed in the Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, so it is still to be published in due time and place in the Church of God, for which it was peculiarly designed, provided it be done with reverence, in the spirit of discretion and piety, for the glory of God’s most holy name, and for enlivening and comforting his people, without vainly attempting to investigate the secret ways of the Most High.  Acts 20:27;  Romans 11:33,34; 12:3;  Hebrews 6:17,18.

Here is an example from The Belgic Confession –

Article 13:  Of Divine Providence.

We believe that the same God, after he had created all things, did not forsake them, or give them up to fortune or chance, but that he rules and governs them according to his holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without his appointment:  nevertheless, God neither is the author of, nor can be charged with, the sins which are committed.  For his power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible, that he orders and executes his work in the most excellent and just manner, even then, when devils and wicked men act unjustly.  And, as to what he doth surpassing human understanding, we will not curiously inquire into, farther than our capacity will admit of;  but with the greatest humility and reverence adore the righteous judgments of God, which are hid from us, contenting ourselves that we are disciples of Christ, to learn only those things which he has revealed to us in his Word, without transgressing these limits.  This doctrine affords us unspeakable consolation, since we are taught thereby that nothing can befall us by chance, but by the direction of our most gracious and heavenly Father;  who watches over us with a paternal care, keeping all creatures so under his power, that not a hair of our head (for they are all numbered), nor a sparrow, can fall to the ground, without the will of our Father, in whom we do entirely trust;  being persuaded, that he so restrains the devil and all our enemies, that without his will and permission, they cannot hurt us.  And therefore we reject that damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God regards nothing, but leaves all things to chance.