Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ⁸  for the words which You gave Me I have given to them;  and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

 ⁹  “I ask on their behalf;  I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me;  for they are Yours;

 ¹⁰  and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine;  and I have been glorified in them.

 ¹¹  “I am no longer in the world;  and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.

 ¹²  “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me;  and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”  John 17:6-12. 

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In today’s Scripture, we read about election.  “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world;  they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”  John 17:6.  “I ask on their behalf;  I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me;  for they are Yours;”  John 17:9.

In today’s Scripture, we also read about unification.  Jesus prays:  “… keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.”  John 17:11.

As Reformed believers, we may have a tendency to dwell just on election and neglect unification.  We may have a tendency to be smug and withdraw.  

Instead of being like salt and light penetrating the world, we may withdraw to our salt piles. 

Instead of loving others, we may be too eager to defend our actions as separating ourselves when the world when in fact we are both separating ourselves from other believers and from those unbelievers whom we should minister.

But, there is hope!

Just as God is the One Who elects, God is the One Who unifies.  “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold;  I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice;  and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”  John 10:16.  We also will read more about this unity soon, within this same chapter of John 17.

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

 ⁴  “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

 ⁵  “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”  John 17:1-5. 

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“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;  and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”  John 10:27-28.

Our comfort is not that we will do sufficient works nor that we will generate or maintain enough faith nor even that we will timely join and faithfully stay at the right church.  Our comfort is that we have God the Father Who elected us and God the Son (Jesus Christ) Who accomplished all the work necessary to secure and preserve our salvation.

Our comfort is not that we belong to the right church, the right denomination, or that we even call ourselves Christians.  Our comfort is that we belong to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

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.  The Heidelberg Catechism.

 ³¹  Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

 ³²  “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone;  and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

 ³³  “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage;  I have overcome the world.”  John 16:29-33.

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We tend to focus on the tribulations.  Although we read that Christ has overcome the world, we tend to view that statement as just an example that we should follow such that we should go back and focus on the tribulations with a stronger sense of duty that we should overcome too.

Generally, we can receive Scriptures just as lessons to be learned with a focus on ourselves and problems that we need to overcome.  Or, we can receive Scriptures with faith with a focus on God and His victorious accomplishments.

We can focus on our alleged “free will”.  Or, we can focus on God’s will.

We can focus on our works.  Or, we can focus on God’s works.

We may lament that we don’t even have faith and try somehow to generate or bolster our own faith.  Or, we can trust God to even provide all the faith that we should have. 

In summary, like the Jews in Jesus’ day, we tend to ask:  “… What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”  John 6:28.  But, “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”  John 6:29.  (Emphasis added.)

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So now, as you read the following three Scriptures, ask yourself:  “Who did the work resulting in victory?”        

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  

Just as it is written,
         “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
         WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:35-39. 

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“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”  2 Corinthians 2:14.

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“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;  we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;  perplexed, but not despairing;  persecuted, but not forsaken;  struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So death works in us, but life in you.

But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE,” we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.

For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.  

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen;  for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  2 Corinthians 4:7-18.

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In conclusion, through the grace and work of God, focus on Christ who said:  “I have overcome the world.”,  knowing that God’s love will never leave you, knowing that God will always lead you in triumph in Christ, and knowing that we do suffer these tribulations not to show our own wisdom, our own will-power, and our own strength in overcoming them, but rather that we suffer these tribulations so that it will be shown to others that “the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves“.

 ²⁷  for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.

 ²⁸  “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world;  I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”  John 16:25-28.

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We may tend to think that God the Father is the strict and judgmental One and that Jesus, the Son of God, is the loving and merciful One.  But, we are reminded in today’s Scripture that God the Father Himself loves us and from His own desire gladly provides for us.

Here is what The Heidelberg Catechism instructs us about our loving and faithful Father (with emphasis added in bold italic font).

Question 26.  What believest thou when thou sayest, “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth”?

Answer.  That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father;  on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body:  and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn out to my advantage; for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father.

Question 27.  What dost thou mean by the providence of God?

Answer.  The almighty and everywhere present power of God;  whereby, as it were by his hand, he upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.

Question 28.  What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by his providence doth still uphold all things? 

Answer.  That we may be patient in adversity; thankful in prosperity;  and that in all things, which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father, that nothing shall separate us from his love;  since all creatures are so in his hand, that without his will they cannot so much as move.

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“Ask, and it will be given to you;  seek, and you will find;  knock, and it will be opened to you.  “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:7-11. 

Luke 12:32
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”

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This promise starts with “Truly, truly”.  We better pay attention and believe.

This promise is repeated in the very following verse.  We better pay attention and believe.  

This promise was also repeated twice in the prior chapter (John 15:7 and John 15:16).  We better pay attention and believe. 

This promise was also twice repeated in John Chapter 14 (John 14:13 and John 14:14).  We better pay attention and believe.   

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:32.

Psalm 84:11
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield;  The LORD gives grace and glory;  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

We tend to think that we must earn it to get it.  We tend to think that we must be good enough to get it.  We tend to think that we must be pious enough or pray hard enough to get it. 

Luke 12:32
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.’

We are assured by these verses and other verses of God’s love and abundant and lavish provisions for us, His elect.  “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name;  ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”   

These abundant and lavish provisions don’t tell us how good we are.  They tell us how good God is.

 ¹⁸  So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’?  We do not know what He is talking about.”

 ¹⁹  Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’?

 ²⁰  “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice;  you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.

 ²¹  “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come;  but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.

 ²²  “Therefore you too have grief now;  but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”  John 16:16-22.

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Jesus did not spell out here all the events that would take place and the time frames.  Jesus did not spell out exactly how much time would elapse between the point of time of this conversation with His disciples and His death, nor did Jesus remind His disciples here how much time would elapse between His death and His resurrection.

As one example, the disciples could have remembered that Jesus previously taught them that it would be only three days between His death and His resurrection, but they appeared to not consider it at the time of this conversation.  John 2:19-22 states:  “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this;  and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.”  John 2:20-22.

Rather than remind His disciples or spell out everything, Jesus simply stated:  “Therefore you too have grief now;  but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”  John 16:22. 

Even after Jesus ascended and parted from His disciples, His disciples had great joy.  “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God.”  Luke 24:50-53. 

Like the disciples, we may wonder and have questions.  We can and should diligently study Scriptures about the last days (eschatology).   But, like the disciples, we still may not be able to understand all the time frames or exactly what will happen.  However, whatever we learn, we need to trust God about certain basic promises of God.  We have and will have grief here on earth, but we will see our God with great joy which will not be extinguished nor even diminished.

To repeat, we can and should diligently study Scriptures about the last days (eschatology).  We may read the Book of Revelation,which focuses almost entirely on the last days (eschatology) and teaches us more about this subject than any other Book of the Bible.  But, we may find that the Book of Revelation is difficult to understand.  Yet, we should not give up.  Revelation 1:3 states:  “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it;  for the time is near.” 

The Book of Revelation closes with these simple comforting words.  “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”  Revelation 22:20-21.

There are also good commentaries on the Book of Revelation.  One of my favorite is More Than Conquerors:  An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation by William Hendriksen – Click here: Amazon.com: More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (9780801057922): William Hendriksen:

But, whatever we learn from the Book of Revelation and other Scripture, even with the help of commentaries, we need to trust God about certain basic promises of God.  We have and will have grief here on earth, but we will see our God with great joy which will not be extinguished nor even diminished.

I love to tell the story about my youngest son Josh when I dropped him off at daycare.  Despite knowing that he would experience many “bumps and bruises and insults” that would occur during the day, Josh always cheerfully said to me as I dropped him off:  “Daddy, are you going to pick me up at the end of the day?”.  Josh knew the answer, but I loved to say:  “Yes Josh, I will pick you up at the end of the day.”  And, he would cheerfully jump out of the car and run to his play area.  

In conclusion, whatever events occur and whatever grief that we experience, we know at least three things.  First, God will give us all the grace that we need to deal with those events and with the grief.  Second, Jesus will come again quickly, and we will see Him (“again a little while, and you will see Me”).  Third, our hearts will rejoice, and no one will take our joy away from us.

Dear Family and Friends:

Today’s devotion comes from John 16:12-15.

“12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

 13 “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.

 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine;  therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:12-15.

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Scripture keeps coming back to the importance of truth. In today’s Scripture, we read: “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; …” John 16:13.

Jesus stated in John 4:23-24:  “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ‘God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ ”

On the other hand, there are those who “did not receive the love of truth so as to be saved”. 2 Thessalonians 2: 10-13.  Jesus stated both in Matthew 15:9 and Mark 7:7:   ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”

Truth is supremely important; failing to believe the truth can be evidence that one is not saved (“worshiping God in vain”). Truth is revealed by Scripture, not by our feelings as to what is just and true.

Scripture reveals the truth that salvation is a work of God alone, by grace alone, and that God handles all the points of salvation from unconditional election through limited atonement through irresistible grace through preservation of the saints. “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30.

But, there are those who believe that salvation is dependent on man.  They believe man must contrubute works, or at least man must contribute faith or the will to be saved.  They believe that salvation is conditional, dependent on whether man supplies the condition of works or faith.  If this belief  is true, man deserves partial credit for his contribution to salvation.

But, what does Scripture state?  “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.”  Romans 9:15-16.

The true doctrine of salvation is summarized by “TULIP“, which is the Five Points of Calvinism and which is Reformed Doctrine and more fully taught in the Reformed Confession called The Canons of Dordt.  In the right column under “Links”, there is a link to The Canons of Dordt.

And, this doctrine glorifies God the most, because it gives the most credit (namely, all the credit) for our salvation to 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 1:30-31.

So, when we read that the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ, these are not independent statements. Rather, truth glorifies Christ.

 ⁷  “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away;  for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you;  but if I go, I will send Him to you.

 ⁸  “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

 ⁹  concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

 ¹⁰  and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

 ¹¹  and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”  John 16:5-11. 

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Verses 8 through 11 are particularly puzzling.  Calvin helps us understand them in His Commentary.  There are three steps.  Following my brief description of these three steps, I quote part of what Calvin states about each step.

First, the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin.

“The import of these words is as if he had said, “When the Spirit is come, he will produce full conviction that, apart from me, sin reigns in the world;”  and, therefore, unbelief is here mentioned, because it separates us from Christ, in consequence of which nothing is left to us but sin.  In short, by these words he condemns the corruption and depravity of human nature, that we may not suppose that a single drop of integrity is in us without Christ.”

Second, the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning righteousness.

“By righteousness must here be understood that which is imparted to us through the grace of Christ.  Christ makes it to consist in his ascension to the Father, and not without good reason;  for, as Paul declares that he rose for our justification, (Romans 4:25) so he now sits at the right hand of the Father in such a manner as to exercise all the authority that has been given to him, and thus to fill all things,  (Ephesians 4:10.)  In short, from the heavenly glory he fills the world with the sweet savor of his righteousness.  Now the Spirit declares, by the Gospel, that this is the only way in which we are accounted righteous.  Next to the conviction of sin, this is the second step, that the Spirit should convince the world what true righteousness is, namely, that Christ, by his ascension to heaven, has established the kingdom of life, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, to confirm true righteousness.”

Third, the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment.

“The meaning therefore is, that Satan, so long as he retains the government, perplexes and disturbs all things, so that there is an unseemly and disgraceful confusion in the works of God;  but when he is stripped of his tyranny by Christ, then the world is restored, and good order is seen to reign.  Thus the Spirit convinces the world of judgment;  that is, having vanquished the prince of wickedness, Christ restores to order those things which formerly were torn and decayed.”

 ³  “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.

 ⁴  “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.  These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”  John 16:1-4.

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Here is what John Calvin in his Commentary states on this phrase:  “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue”:

“2.  They will drive you out of the synagogues.  This was no light offense to disturb their minds, that they were to be banished like wicked men from the assembly of the godly, or, at least, of those who boasted that they were the people of God, and gloried in the title of The Church;  for believers are subject not only to persecutions, but to ignominy and reproaches, as Paul tells us, (1 Corinthians 4:12, 18.)  But Christ bids them stand firm against this attack;  because, though they be banished from the synagogues, still they remain within the kingdom of God.  His statement amounts to this, that we ought not to be dismayed by the perverse judgments of men, but ought to endure boldly the reproach of the cross of Christ, satisfied with this single consideration, that our cause which men unjustly and wickedly condemn, is approved by God.

Hence too we infer, that the ministers of the Gospel not only are ill treated by the avowed enemies of the faith, but sometimes also endure the greatest reproaches from those who appear to belong to the Church, and who are even regarded as its pillars.  The scribes and priests, by whom the apostles were condemned, boasted that they were appointed by God to be judges of the Church; and, indeed, the ordinary government of the Church was in their hands, and the office of judging was from God, and not from men.  But by their tyranny, they had corrupted the whole of that order which God had appointed.  The consequence was, that the power which had been given to them for edification, was nothing else thorn a cruel oppression of the servants of God;  and excommunication, which ought to have been a medicine for purifying the Church, was turned to an opposite purpose, for driving away from it the fear of God.

Since the apostles knew this by experience, in their own age, we have no reason to be greatly alarmed at the Pope’s excommunications, with which he thunders against us on account of the testimony of the Gospel;  for we ought not to fear that they will do us any more injury than those ancient excommunications which were made against the apostles.  Nay more, nothing is more desirable than to be driven out of that assembly from which Christ is banished.  Yet let us observe that, though the abuse of excommunication was so gross, still it did not effect the destruction of that discipline which God had appointed in his Church from the beginning;  for, though Satan devotes his utmost efforts to corrupt all the ordinances of God, we must not yield to him, so as to take away, on account of corruptions, what God has appointed to be perpetual. Excommunication, therefore, not less than Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, must be brought back, by the correction of abuses, to its pure and lawful use.”  (Emphasis added.)

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Jesus referred to the immediately preceding Scripture (John 15:18-27) when he stated:  “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.”  In other words, Jesus taught His disciples and the rest of us that we should not be surprised not stumble when we are cast out of places of worship, because the world indeed hates us. 

Others may not be persecuted to the extent of the apostles, Luther, Calvin, and others, and they may feel very unworthy to place themselves in that group, but they may face difficulties in staying in their local church or finding a new church due to their own doctrine which drives them away from their current church and makes it difficult finding a new church.  We first think of Christians in other countries who suffer the most, but it is not limited to them. 

But, there is hope!   

Calvin stated above:  “But Christ bids them stand firm against this attack;  because, though they be banished from the synagogues, still they remain within the kingdom of God.”  

Calvin also stated above:  “… we ought not to fear that they will do us any more injury than those ancient excommunications which were made against the apostles …”.  Just as Calvin looked up to the apostles as an example to give him courage, we too can look up to Calvin and our other fathers in the faith who endured the persecution.  We can be encouraged that God helped them and will help us too.

A few verses later we also read:  “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 Scripture for today also gives the rest of the Body of Christ (the true Church) compassion for them and a desire to pray for them, send missionaries to them, and otherwise encourage and help them.