Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 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.

 ⁷  and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

 ⁸  “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”  Luke 11:5-8. 

Persistence is powerful and pays off.  It is the one word theme of this Scripture.

There was no other virtue displayed.  One could even argue that the person who possessed persistence was not prepared, maybe even negligent, in not having food on hand for such need.  But, he was persistent and got as much as he needed.

This is not a unique message.  We see the teaching of persistence repeated through Scripture persistently.  

In Luke 18:1-7, we read the parable of the widow who persistently asked the unrighteous judge for legal protection from her opponent.  The teaching’s conclusion is:  “now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?” 

Whether we are doing good or just enduring, we should not lose heart, but rather we should be persistent.

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”  Galatians 6:9

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Hebrews 12:3

In conclusion, we know that we should be persistent.  How do we get such persistence?  Do we just try harder?  Do we just keep going longer?  Is it just a matter of will-power?

The persistence that we want is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  It is called faithfulness.  See Galatians 5:22-23.

We pray for the Holy Spirit and for the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  And in tomorrow’s text, we read:  “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 11:13.

The first prayer request, and maybe the most important prayer request, is that God’s name be hallowed. 

The first commandment is similar:  “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  Exodus 20:3.

We are also reminded of Proverbs 9:10 :
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Everywhere in the Bible, we are taught the holiness of God, There are 583 verses with the word “holy” in it – Click here: BibleGateway.com – Keyword Search: holy

One of the books that cemented my understanding and appreciation for Reformed Doctrine a/k/a Calvinism was The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul – Click here: Amazon.com: The Holiness of God (9780842339650): R. C. Sproul: Books

 ⁴⁰  But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?  Then tell her to help me.”

 ⁴¹  But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;

 ⁴²  but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:38-42.

Martha could not understand why Mary was not also working on all the preparations.  Notice that Martha did not even wait for Jesus’ answer to her question:  “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?”.  She immediately followed with her demand as if there was no other reasonable answer.  “Then tell her to help me.” 

Jesus told Martha, and tells us today, “only one thing is necessary”.  In John 6:27, Jesus tells us:  “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

^“Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.  “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”  John 6:32-33. 

Moses represents the Law.  Martha was demanding that Jesus hold the Law over Mary’s head to make Mary do the works of the Law.  But, Jesus did not hold the Law over Mary’s head to make Mary help Martha. 

Even as “good”, “holy”, and “righteous” is the Law (Romans 7:12), it does not result in life for us.  Rather, unless we are released from the Law and made to die to it, the Law results in our death.

Even as “good”, “holy”, and “righteous”, it was for Mary to help Martha with the preparations and serving, it would not help Mary.  Martha thought there was no other answer other than her demand:  “”Then tell her to help me.”      

The problem is the sin within us.  “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind;  for apart from the Law sin is dead.  I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;  and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;  for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”  Romans 7:8-12.

The solution is:  “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”  Romans 7:4.

Mary chose the good part, Christ and His Words which is life, and it was not taken from her.  We too are called to “not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life”.

 ²⁷  And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND;  AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

 ²⁸  And He said to him, “You have answered correctly;  DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

 ²⁹  But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

… 

 ³⁶  “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 

 ³⁷  And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Who is my neighbor?

The Good Samaritan did not make advanced plans to show mercy to the man beaten and left half dead.  But, when the Good Samaritan saw him, he felt compassion on him and went to lengths to help him, showing mercy to him.

We do know that this beaten man was “going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers” (verse 30), but we don’t know anything else:  whether this man was a good man or a bad man, an old man or a young man, a rich man or a poor man etc.  Maybe, we can guess that he was a good man, old man, and poor man, because of what happened to him, but those are only speculations that work against the message of this story.

The message of this story is that we should show mercy toward those who cross our path whether they be good or bad, old or young, rich or poor.  We should show mercy toward whoever crosses our path and needs our help.

How do we show this mercy?

I think that it is significant that the priest and Levite were part of this story.  As we know, they passed by the man beaten and left half dead.  They represent the Law.  They knew the Law and the requirements of the Law.  They knew that they had a duty to help this man.  But, they did not do so.

In comparison, the Good Samaritan knew little or nothing about the Law.  It was not the Law that motivated him to help the man beaten and left half dead.  Rather, it was the compassion within the Good Samaritan that motivated the Good Samaritan to help the man beaten and left half dead. 

How do we get this compassion?

We need Jesus Christ in our hearts.  We need the Holy Spirit within us.  We need to walk by the Spirit.  We trust the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of love, kindness, and goodness within us, that will constitute such compassion necessary to show such mercy.  See Galatians Chapter 5.

 ²³  Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see,

 ²⁴  for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”  Luke 10:21-24.

Predestination may be offensive to man, but it is well-pleasing in God’s sight.  Man may want his own future to be in his own hands, but God ordains whom He will save. 

Man may think that He knows God the Father, without knowing God the Son who is Jesus Christ, and man may believe such “faith” is sufficient.  Man may think his general prayers to God, without reference to Jesus Christ, will be acceptable to God, but our “spiritual sacrifices (are) acceptable to God (only) through Jesus Christ“.  1 Peter 2:5.  (Parenthetical additions are added by Bill.) 

Blessed are the eyes which see the things of salvation, not as the way that we would want them, but as the way God ordained.  These things of salvation are summarized in the Five Points of Calvinism known by the acronym “TULIP” which consist of “Total Depravity”, “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement”, “Irresistible Grace”, and “Perseverance of the Saints a/k/a Preservation of the Saints”.  Here is a link which provides some of the many Scriptures upon which TULIP is based, and which also explains why it is so important to have such true doctrine – Click here: Reformed Doctrine – Bill Hornbeck .