Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ⁴²  Many believed in Him there.”  John 10:40-42. 

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Earlier in this chapter, we read about certain Jews who, despite seeing Jesus’ miracles and despite hearing Jesus’ preaching and despite all their religious education and participation, did not believe Jesus, but instead accused Jesus of blaspheming and tried to seize and stone Him.

On the other hand, today, we read about this Scripture about the “many” who heard John’s preaching, and despite the fact that “John performed no sign”, believed in Jesus.

Likewise, today, there are those who, despite attending church many times and hearing good preaching and despite reading much Scripture, do not believe.    

Likewise, today, there are those who, despite not attending church as much nor hearing as good preaching nor reading as much Scripture, do believe.

The lesson here is NOT that good preaching and good Scripture reading do not matter.  We should take advantage of these means of grace.

But, through this Scripture and comparison, we can better understand that faith is a gift of God.  “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 2:8-9. 

Here is part of what The Canons of Dordt state about faith. 

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.

 ³²  Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father;  for which of them are you stoning Me?”

 ³³  The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy;  and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

 ³⁴  Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I SAID, YOU ARE GODS’?

 ³⁵  “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),

 ³⁶  do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

 ³⁷  “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

 ³⁸  but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

 ³⁹  Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.”  John 10:30-39.

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We are reminded of the following Scripture which clearly state that one of the purposes of the miracles and other works of Jesus was that these miracles and other works testified or witnessed or provided evidence of Jesus’ divine nature:  “so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”  

 ²⁴  The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

 ²⁵  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe;  the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.

 ²⁶  “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

 ²⁷  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

 ²⁸  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;  and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

 ²⁹  “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all;  and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

 ³⁰  “I and the Father are one.”  John 10:22-30. 

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“Perseverance of the Saints a/k/a Preservation of the Saints” is the “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed doctrine of salvation. We see this point in verses 27 through 29 of today’s Scripture.

We see “Perseverance of the Saints” in Jesus statement:  “they follow Me”.  We see “Preservation of the Saints in Jesus statement:  “no one will snatch them out of My hand.  “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all;  and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Here is part of what the Reformed creed The Canons of Dordt states about it, followed by a link to the whole section (which contains this part) titled:  “FIFTH HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Perseverance of the Saints”:

 ²¹  Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed.  A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”  John 10:19-21.

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 ¹³  “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

 ¹⁴  “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,

 ¹⁵  even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father;  and I lay down My life for the sheep.

 ¹⁶  “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.

 ¹⁷  “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.

 ¹⁸  “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.  I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.  This commandment I received from My Father.”  John 10:11-18.

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This is the central message of this text.  “I lay down My life for the sheep.”

So, what does Jesus state about this central message?

First, Jesus states:  “I am the good shepherd;  the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”  Jesus defines a good shepherd as One who lays down His life for the sheep.  In other words, the most important thing that Jesus does for us is not guide us nor provide for us nor even protect us.  The most important thing that Jesus does for us is lay down His life for us, that is, atone for our sins by His perfect sacrifice performed by His shedding of His blood and death on the cross.

Second, Jesus informs us that this is a limited or particular atonement by His words:  “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.”  These are Jesus’ sheep.  Jesus laid down his life for His sheep, not all the sheep.

Third, Jesus reveals that He voluntarily lays down His life for the sheep on His own initiative.  “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.  He also states:  “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”  Matthew 26:53.  This statement assures us of Jesus’ love for us, His sheep.  Jesus did not lay down His life for us only out of a sense of compulsion or obligation or duty.

In conclusion, these three points combine to reveal the depth of Jesus’ love for us.  Jesus does what is most important for us.  Jesus loves us with a special and particular love like the love a husband has for His wife.  Jesus, Himself, loves us;  He voluntarily laid down His life for us on His own initiative.  

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;  and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”  Ephesians 3:14-19.

 ⁸  “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

 ⁹  “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

 ¹⁰  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;  I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  John 10:6-10.

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What is this abundant life?

This abundant life is revealing;  it is life that reveals God to us so that we may know and understand Him. 

This abundant life is continuing;  it is eternal. 

John 4:14
“but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

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We have seen the importance of fearing God’s Voice.  We have seen the importance of listening and obeying the right voice.  We may try (and should try) out of our own alleged “free-will”, wisdom, sense of duty, and even gratitude, to fear God’s voice, listen and obey God’s voice, but we will still not be able to follow Him without the irresistible grace of God’s voice toward His sheep, the elect.

Here is part of what Scriptures (with added emphasis) state about this irresistible grace which causes us to follow.

^“1  The LORD is my shepherd,
         I shall not want.
    ²  He makes me lie down in green pastures;
         He leads me beside quiet waters.
    ³  He restores my soul;
         He guides me in the paths of righteousness
         For His name’s sake.”  Psalm 23:1-3.

Ezekiel 36:27
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;  and I will raise him up on the last day.  “It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’  Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.”  John 6:44-45.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10. 

Hebrews 8:10
“FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:  I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS.  AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”

Here is part of what The Canons of Dordt state about this irresistible grace which cause us to follow.

Article 10.  But that others who are called by the gospel, obey the call, and are converted, is not to be ascribed to the proper exercise of free will, whereby one distinguishes himself above others, equally furnished with grace sufficient for faith and conversions, as the proud heresy of Pelagius maintains;  but it must be wholly ascribed to God, who as he has chosen his own from eternity in Christ, so he confers upon them faith and repentance, rescues them from the power of darkness, and translates them into the kingdom of his own Son, that they may show forth the praises of him, who hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light;  and may glory not in themselves, but in the Lord according to the testimony of the apostles in various places.

Article 11.  But when God accomplishes his good pleasure in the elect, or works in them true conversion, he not only causes the gospel to be externally preached to them, and powerfully illumines their minds by his Holy Spirit, that they may rightly understand and discern the things of the Spirit of God;  but by the efficacy of the same regenerating Spirit, pervades the inmost recesses of the man; he opens the closed, and softens the hardened heart, and circumcises that which was uncircumcised, infuses new qualities into the will, which though heretofore dead, he quickens;  from being evil, disobedient and refractory, he renders it good, obedient, and pliable; actuates and strengthens it, that like a good tree, it may bring forth the fruits of good actions.

Article 12.  And this is the regeneration so highly celebrated in Scripture, and denominated a new creation:  a resurrection from the dead, a making alive, which God works in us without our aid.  But this is in no wise effected merely by the external preaching of the gospel, by moral suasion, or such a mode of operation, that after God has performed his part, it still remains in the power of man to be regenerated or not, to be converted, or to continue unconverted;  but it is evidently a supernatural work, most powerful, and at the same time most delightful, astonishing, mysterious, and ineffable; not inferior in efficacy to creation, or the resurrection from the dead, as the Scripture inspired by the author of this work declares;  so that all in whose heart God works in this marvelous manner, are certainly, infallibly, and effectually regenerated, and do actually believe.  – Whereupon the will thus renewed, is not only actuated and influenced by God, but in consequence of this influence, becomes itself active.  Wherefore also, man is himself rightly said to believe and repent, by virtue of that grace received.

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There are 382 verses with the word “voice” in it.  Click here: BibleGateway.com – Keyword Search: voice    As I started with Genesis 3:17, I quickly began to understand the importance of listening to the right voice.  Some say:  Just listen!  But, Scripture, quickly and from the very beginning, contrasts the dangers and curses of listening and following the wrong voice compared to the blessings of listening and obeying the right voice.  Here are just a few examples from the first two books of the Bible. 

See what happens when one listens and follows the wrong voice.  

Genesis 3:17
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;  Cursed is the ground because of you;  In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.

Genesis 16:2
So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children.  Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.”  And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

But, see what happens when one listens and obeys the right voice.

Genesis 22:18
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

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There are 382 verses with the word “voice” in it.  Click here: BibleGateway.com – Keyword Search: voice    As I began to read these verses, I quickly began to understand that there were a number of very important messages that should be treated separately.

For the message today, I thought we should start with Deuteronomy 4:31-40, because, first of all, it fills us with the fear of hearing His voice, because we know:  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  Proverbs 9:10

So, first, here is the fear of hearing God’s voice.  As stated in verse 33, “Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived?”  Deuteronomy 4:33.

After Moses spoke the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel, Moses reminded the people of Israel of their own words about the fear of hearing God’s voice:  “You said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire;  we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives.  ‘Now then why should we die?  For this great fire will consume us;  if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, then we will die.  ‘For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?”  Deuteronomy 5:24-26.   

But, there is hope!  This Deuteronomy 4:31-40 Scripture also teaches us the compassion of God and the overall importance of listening to the voice of the LORD.

“For the LORD your God is a compassionate God;  He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.  “Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other.  Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it?  

“Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived?  “Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?  

“To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God;  there is no other besides Him.  “Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.  

“Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them.  And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today.  

“Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.  “So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”  Deuteronomy 4:31-40.

 ²  “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

 ³  “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”  John 10:1-3.

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What is the door?

When I did a keyword search of the word “door”, I found an amazing number of verses (217) which had the word “door” in it.  Click here: BibleGateway.com – Keyword Search: door  I gained insight from some of the verses of the importance of “door” in Scripture, particularly in the Old Testament, and why the word “door” was used in the Scripture for today.

Here are verses in the Old Testament which speak about the importance of “door”.

Exodus 12:23
[A Memorial of Redemption ]  “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.”

Exodus 21:6
“then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.”

Exodus 26:36
“You shall make a screen for the doorway of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver.”

Exodus 29:11
“You shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting.”

Exodus 29:42
“It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.”

Exodus 40:6
“You shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.”

Exodus 40:12
“Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.”