Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ³  “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.”  Luke 12:1-3.  (Emphasis added.)

“Hypocrisy” is defined as “a feigning (pretending) to be what one is not or to believe what one does not” to give “an appearance of virtue or religion”.  Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.  (Parenthetical synonym is Bill’s).

“Leaven” is defined by Scripture.  “Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  Matthew 16:12

Thus, putting it together, the lesson for us today is to beware of teachings which the teacher really does not believe but which that teacher teaches to give an appearance of virtue or religion.

When we think about it, all or most of us have heard someone say something that we perceive that they really don’t believe but that they feel they have to say it in order to give an appearance of virtue or religion. 

When we compare the conclusion, climax, or summary of a sermon with minor points made through the sermon, we may be able to detect an inconsistency.  It seems as if the preacher or teacher is teaching that minor point to defend himself “as orthodox” in case he is later challenged.

The comfort of this Scripture is that they are not going to get away with the deception.  “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”  Luke 12:2.

These teachers think that they are more clever and more deceptive than they really are.  “But they will not make further progress;  for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.”  2 Timothy 3:9.

The whole Chapter of 2 Timothy 3 provides a fitting summary and conclusion to warn us and to protect us and to equip us and to comfort us.  We are reminded of the importance of Scripture to help us detect such hypocrites and to give us “the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” and to equip us “for every good work”.     

^“1  But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

 ²  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

 ³  unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

 ⁴  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

 ⁵  holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;  Avoid such men as these.

 ⁶  For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

 ⁷  always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 ⁸  Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

 ⁹  But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.

 ¹⁰  Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

 ¹¹  persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra;  what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

 ¹²  Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

 ¹³  But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

 ¹⁴  You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

 ¹⁵  and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

 ¹⁶  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

 ¹⁷  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:1-17 (the whole chapter).

 ⁴⁶  But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well!  For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”  Luke 11:45-46. 

Jesus said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  For My yoke is easy, and My load is light”. Matthew 11:28-29.

What is a yoke?  According to Oxford American Dictionary, published in 1980 by Oxford University Press, a yoke is a “wooden crosspiece”.  It is a foundation for pulling or work.

After reading this definition of yoke, I thought of the cross.  The cross is a wooden crosspiece that was fastened to Christ as a foundation for His work of carrying away our sins.  The yoke that Christ endured was the cross, but the yoke that Christ give us is His Spirit.

The lawyers lay legal burdens upon legal burdens upon the people, weighing men down with burdens hard to bear, while they themselves were not even willing to touch the burdens with one of their fingers.

In sharp contrast, Christ tied up the heavy loads of the law and laid them on His own shoulders and gave us His Spirit as a yoke: “in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”.  Romans 8:4.

Isaiah 58:6:
“Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?”

 ³⁹  But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter;  but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.

 ⁴⁰  “You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

 ⁴¹  “But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.”  Luke 11:37-41.  Emphasis added.

The Pharisees were primarily concerned with appearances (the outside), and so are many of us today.  We think we can hide the wickedness inside us if we just look good on the outside.  But, Jesus was very direct about the inside condition of the Pharisees:  “you are full of robbery and wickedness”. 

Jesus commands us to focus on the inside of us and do good (charity), and He will take care of the cleaning of us, inside and outside.  

God made the inside of us.  God made the outside of us.  God can and does clean the inside of us.  God can and does clean the outside of us.

I quoted Ephesians 5:1-17 last week.  Part of the reason why I quoted this Scripture was to remind me of what was included in verse 4:  “and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”  I had felt immediately guilty after something that I had said, and I wanted to remind myself of these words.  In a sense, I felt dirty on the outside, and I wanted to make sure that I did not talk like that again.  

The Scripture for today came to me as a cleansing and refreshing shower.   “You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  God can and does clean the inside of us.  God can and does clean the outside of us.  Hallelujah!  Praise God!!!

Christ gave Himself to us, His bride, His church:  “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”  Ephesians 5:26

P.S.  Before I forget, this morning, I came across Isaiah 45:11 which I had not remembered and about which I want to write this Postscript:  “Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:  “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.”  Isaiah 45:11.  We need to talk more and write more about God’s grace to us, His sons.

 ³⁴  “The eye is the lamp of your body;  when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

 ³⁵  “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.

 ³⁶  “If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”  Luke 11:33-36. 

Sin, such as haughty eyes and hypocrisy, makes our eyes unclear.

^“The LORD is my light and my salvation;
         Whom shall I fear?
         The LORD is the defense of my life;
         Whom shall I dread?”  Psalm 27:1.

 ³¹  “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

 ³²  “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”  Luke 11:29-32.  (Emphasis added.)

There are warnings for us today. 

We can be seduced by increasing attention and crowds to think more highly of ourselves and more highly of the results of our ministry than we should.  “… I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, …”  Romans 12:3
 

We can also be seduced by increasing attention and crowds to focus upon false teachers and false teachings which receive such acclaim.  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,”  2 Timothy 4:3

This Scripture reminds us to seek Jesus, Who is greater than  Solomon and Jonah, and His wisdom.  We can seek Jesus for a sign with the primary purpose of getting something from Jesus or having our senses titillated, which is wrong.  Or, we can seek Jesus and His wisdom with the primary purpose of seeking to learn what is good and right, to repent of what is bad, and to live righteously, which is right.  

“¹  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

 ²  and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

 ³  But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

 ⁴  and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

 ⁵  For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

 ⁶  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

 ⁷  Therefore do not be partakers with them;

 ⁸  for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord;  walk as children of Light

 ⁹  (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

 ¹⁰  trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

 ¹¹  Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

 ¹²  for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

 ¹³  But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

 ¹⁴  For this reason it says,
         “Awake, sleeper,
         And arise from the dead,
         And Christ will shine on you.”

 ¹⁵  Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

 ¹⁶  making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

 ¹⁷  So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  Ephesians 5:1-17.  (Emphasis added.)

I wonder why the word “observe” is here, rather than the words “obey” or “do”.  This devotion will “ponder” on that thought. 

While Scripture clearly and repeatedly teaches the blessings of obedience, we would not do justice to this verse if we are satisfied with receiving this verse as just another one of  those verses which teach the blessings of obedience.

Merriam-Webster “on-line” dictionary defines “observe” as – 

“transitive verb

1 : to conform one’s action or practice to (as a law, rite, or condition) : comply with
2 : to inspect or take note of as an augury, omen, or presage
3 : to celebrate or solemnize (as a ceremony or festival) in a customary or accepted way
4 a : to watch carefully especially with attention to details or behavior for the purpose of arriving at a judgment b : to make a scientific observation on or of
5 : to come to realize or know especially through consideration of noted facts
6 : to utter as a remark

intransitive verb

1 a : to take notice b : to make observations : watch
2 : remark, comment

¹¹  “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?

¹²  “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?

¹³  “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”  Luke 11:9-13.  (Emphasis added.)  

Notice the progression in the last three Scriptures.

First, Luke 11:1-4, which contains the Lord’s prayer, teaches us to pray.

Second, Luke 11:5-8 which contains the example of the need, teaches us to pray persistently.

Third, this Luke 11:9-13 Scripture for today, teaches us to pray persistently for the Holy Spirit.  

Receipt of the Holy Spirit is our goal.  Galatians 3:5 asks the question to point to the means of the receipt of that goal of the Holy Spirit.  “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?” 

“Taking it a step further”, our goal is to walk by the Spirit.  See Galatians Chapter 5 and Romans 7:1-14. 

When we walk by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit within us of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.  Galatians 5:22-23. 

When we “walk by the Spirit”, we “will not carry out the desire of the flesh”.  Galatians 5:16.   

When we walk by the Spirit, “the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”.  Romans 8:4. 

When we walk by the Spirit, “the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace”.  Romans 8:6.

When we walk by the Spirit, we gain “life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  Romans 8:11.

When we walk by the Spirit, we “are putting to death the deeds of the body”, and we live.  Romans 8:13.

When we walk by the Spirit, “all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”  Romans 8:14.