Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

We tend to read this Scripture reluctantly as if we have to swallow our medicine.  We resist forgiving others.  We may look for a loophole:  “I am at the stage of rebuking.” or “He has not repented sincerely enough.”  We are also content with staying with our one-sided conclusion of the circumstances by which we can justify our attitudes and actions.

My mother died in 1996, and my father died in 2006.  They were divorced while I was in college.  As an only child, it was a little difficult for me to see both my Dad and my Mom thereafter.  Naturally, at almost every meeting, each defended own position and pulled for my support. 

I loved both of them, but I still was content with staying with my one-sided conclusion of the circumstances by which I justified my attitudes and actions.  Last night, I had a dream which revealed an improper attitude to my Dad.  This morning, I also remembered an improper attitude to my Mom.  

In my dream, my Dad was near death, suffering from severe Alzheimer’s.  However, he still was willing to come to my elementary school to see some school program.  He was struggling to act normal enough to endure through the program.  But, he embarrassed me, and I sat a short distance away. 

This morning, I remembered how I could not understand why my Mom would not exercise and lose more weight.  She was not fat, just overweight, but I was too critical in any event.

I tended to think that my Dad and my Mom should act just like I do.  I knew such a small fraction of the difficulties that both faced, but I was more concerned about how their behavior affected me.  For these attitudes and actions, and for many other improper attitudes and actions, I repent and need forgiveness.

I still remember accepting an invitation from a very shy and plain girl in middle school to go to an event with her.  I later told her without any good reason that I would not go with her.  That memory still haunts me from time to time, and each time that I think of it, I repent.

My attitudes and actions seemed so justified at the time.  But, they were not right.

By no means do I want to infer that these were my biggest sins.  But, they do come to my mind now, and they do illustrate how we can be deceived by our own one-sided conclusion of the circumstances.

Each meeting with each person is important.  Not only are our actions alone important, our attitudes are also important.  We need more forgiveness than what we think.

Remember the story of the king who forgave much and the slave who did not forgive. 

^“21  Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

 ²²  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

 ²³  “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

 ²⁴  “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.

 ²⁵  “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.

 ²⁶  “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’

 ²⁷  “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

 ²⁸  “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;  and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’

 ²⁹  “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’

 ³⁰  “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.

 ³¹  “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.

 ³²  “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

 ³³  ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’

 ³⁴  “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.

 ³⁵  “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”  Matthew 18:21-35.

Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Are we a stumbling block causing others to fall down?  Or, are we a stepping stone causing others to step up?

What grace is there for us today to be that stepping stone?

Let us consider the story of a man “… called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement)”.  Acts 4:36. 

^“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.  The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.  Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;  for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.  And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.”  Acts 11:21-24. 

Do you witness grace and rejoice and encourage others?  Or, are you more eager to talk about the absence of grace and mourn and discourage others?

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.”  Romans 15:4-7. 

So, what may happen if we do not encourage others as we should?  The following Hebrews 3:13-19 shows a stumbling block of such lack of encouragement which is that others may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

“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.  For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said,
    “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
     DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.”

For who provoked Him when they had heard?  Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?  And with whom was He angry for forty years?  Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”  Hebrews 3:13-19.

“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11

 ¹⁸  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

 ¹⁹  Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:  immorality, impurity, sensuality,

 ²⁰  idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,

 ²¹  envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 ²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

 ²³  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 ²⁴  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 ²⁵  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”  Galatians 5:16-25.  (Emphasis added.)

2 Corinthians 3:18
“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.”  (Emphasis added.)

 ¹⁶  “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John;  since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

 ¹⁷  “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”  Luke 16:14-17.

We may too use the Law to try to justify ourselves.  We may try to justify ourselves by using the Law as a measure stick to compare ourselves to someone else.  I am six inches more righteous than him!  We also may try to justify ourselves by using the Law as a measure stick to compare where we are now compared to where we were before.  I am now three inches more righteous than I was before!  By either method, we may try to use the Law to prove our own self-righteousness to justify ourselves.

We also may try to improperly use grace to try to force ourselves in the kingdom of heaven.  We may think and even teach that God loves everyone and Christ died for everyone.  All that I need to do to be saved is exercise my own free-will on my own terms and force my way into the kingdom of heaven. 

But, either way, the Law stands as a guard.  “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”   

The Law stands as a guard against those who seek to justify themselves.  Yes, they may be better than someone else.  Yes, they may be better than they were.  But, the Law will still not allow them to justify themselves.  “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;  because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight;  for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”  Romans 3:19-20.   

The Law also stands as a guard against those who try to improperly use grace to try to force themselves in the kingdom of heaven.  Guests must wear the perfect wedding clothes of the perfect righteousness of Christ.  The Law will not allow wedding-crashers.  “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’  And the man was speechless.  “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness;  in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:11-14.

 ¹³  “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth.”  Luke 16:11-13.  (Emphasis added.)

This devotion will focus on “the true riches”, but it seems appropriate to first at least briefly consider being “faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth”.  I will cover it by being more general:  “whatever you do“.  Emphasis is frequently added in these Scriptures by bold and italic font and by underline. 

Although “true riches” cannot be captured by just a review of the keyword “riches”, we can learn a lot about true riches by reviewing these verses.  There are a lot of riches, so there are a lot of verses. 

 ²⁷  “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’

 ²⁸  “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.

 ²⁹  “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look!  For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours;  and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

 ³⁰  but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

 ³¹  “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.

 ³²  ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'”  Luke 15:25-32.

It is interesting to compare these three parables:  The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Son.  We see an increasing value to the lost object from 1 out of 100 sheep to 1 out of 10 silver coins to 1 out of 2 sons.  We also see a change of focus from the persistent “finder” of the Shepherd and the Woman in the first two parables to the lost brother who “came to his senses” and returned on his own in the last parable.

Accordingly, although there are so many lessons that can be learned from this parable, I want to focus on the compassion that we should have as mature Christians, even Reformed Christians, for our lost brothers.  As Reformed Christians, we tend to be like the older son.  We are faithful.  We don’t stray from home.  We do our duty. 

We may also be like the “frozen chosen”.  We may not deserve credit for the returning of the lost brother. 

But, the least we can do is “celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”

¹⁰  “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Luke 15:8-10.

Today’s parable of the Lost Coin is very similar to yesterday’s parable of the Lost Sheep.  We see two statements substantially repeated:  “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!” and “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Such repetition along with the emphasis “I tell you” warrants our deepest attention. 

Today, we will focus on the statements “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!” 

Although there are many things that man loses and never finds, God always finds what He “lost”, so to speak.  We can say that God truly never lost it.

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.  “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.  “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”  John 6:37-40.  (Emphasis added.)

“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 17:12.  (Emphasis added.)

“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.  “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.  “I and the Father are one.”  John 10:27-30. 

This is “Perseverance of the Saints” also known as “Preservation of the Saints”, the “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism also known as Reformed Doctrine.  “Rejoice with me”!

 ³  So He told them this parable, saying,

 ⁴  “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

 ⁵  “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

 ⁶  “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

 ⁷  “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”  Luke 15:1-7. 

Wow!  “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”  

This verse can help us better understand so many other verses. 

Although we tend to think of repentance in terms of just sorrow and tears, we now better understand through today’s Scripture that the result of repentance is joy.  In one of the most memorable chapters of the Bible on repentance, Psalm 32, copied below, the conclusion of repentance is joy (see verse 11), and even the beginning of repentance is the blessing of forgiveness. 

“¹How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
         Whose sin is covered!
    ²  How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
         And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
    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. Selah.
    ⁶  Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;
         Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
    ⁷  You are my hiding place;  You preserve me from trouble;
         You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
    ⁸  I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
         I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
    ⁹  Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
         Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
         Otherwise they will not come near to you.
    ¹⁰  Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
         But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.
    ¹¹  Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones;
         And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”  Psalm Chapter 32. 

We can now also better understand that the purpose of the Law was not to deliver righteousness and life.  Applying today’s Scripture, so to speak, the purpose of the Law was not to deliver “ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance”.  Rather, the purpose of the Law was to “shut up everyone under sin”, to temporarily keep us “in custody”, and to be “our tutor to lead us to Christ”.  Again, applying today’s Scripture, so to speak, the purpose of the Law was to corral the Lost Sheep until they could be picked up by the Good Shepherd. 

“²¹  Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God?  May it never be!  For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.

 ²²  But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

 ²³  But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.

 ²⁴  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

 ²⁵  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

 ²⁶  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:21-26. 

Finally, through today’s Scripture, we can now better understand Ephesians 1:2-12 which contains one of the most sweeping views of eternity and the will of God and the administration of all things in Scripture.  Our precious Shepherd does everything for us lost sheep from the beginning of eternity to the end of eternity with the overall purpose to bring us within His fold, and He pegs His glory and joy to it. 

^“2  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 ³  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

 ⁴  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love

 ⁵  He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

 ⁶  to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

 ⁷  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

 ⁸  which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight

 ⁹  He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him

 ¹⁰  with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him

 ¹¹  also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,

 ¹²  to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.”