Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 Today’s devotion was Matthew 5:1-12.  

“¹  When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

 2  He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

 3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 4  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

 5  “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

 6  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

 7  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

 8  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 9  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10  “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11  “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

12  “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Matthew 5:1-12.

The temptation is to read these Beatitudes as we would read the Ten Commandments.  But, how can we ignore the blessings?

Notice that Jesus did not teach in this way:  “THOU SHALT BE HUMBLE.  THOU SHALT BE GENTLE.  THOU SHALT BE MERCIFUL.  and so on,”  Rather, Jesus taught:  “Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Blessed are the gentle.  Blessed are the merciful.  and so on.”  (Emphasis added.)

You can call it “leading with a carrot rather than a stick”.  But, there is more to it than just holding forth the promise of blessings if we act in a certain way.

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 the sins of the world.  The yoke that Christ endured was the cross, but the yoke that Christ give us is His Spirit.

The Pharisees lay law upon law on the people: “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.” Matthew 23:4.

In 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.

As we know, “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23.  Doesn’t this fruit of the Spirit sound a lot like those blessed behaviors and actions?! 

Psalm 23:3 summarizes it:  “He restores my soul;  He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.” 

In conclusion, do not read the Beatitudes as the Ten Commandments and depend on your own resolve and will-power to act accordingly.  Rather, read the Beatitudes as they were written and with the provisions given to you:  the blessings, the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and the overall promise that God will lead and guide you in these paths of righteousness.  Thank you.

 ²⁰  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

 ²¹  Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

 ²²  Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”  Matthew 4:18-22.

Was Jesus’ words “Follow Me” an irresistible command or a resistable invitation? 

Let us examine this Scripture.  First, we note the absence of the word “If” in front of “Follow Me” and the absence of “then” in front of “I will make you fishers of men”.  Second, we also note the effect of Jesus’ words.  They immediately followed Him.  Third, we note the comparison between what Peter and Andrew left versus what James and John left.  We note that Peter and Andrew only left their nets.  Whereas, James and John left much more valuable “items” that would be harder to leave:  the boat and their father. 

Let us examine other Scripture.  ^“Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”  Romans 9:21.  A Potter does not invite his clay to choose whether or not it will comply.  The clay becomes whatever the Potter makes it.  “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.  Likewise, we perform whatever works God created us and prepared us to do.

As Reformed believers, we believe in the doctrine of salvation summarized by the acronym “TULIP” including “I” of “Irresistible Grace”.  Is it any more difficult to believe that God can and does irresistably command and cause us to follow Him and do whatever works that He causes us to do than it is to believe that He irresistably saves us?  

In conclusion, this should give us great comfort and assurance that “… He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”  Philippians 1:6.

 ¹⁴  This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
      ¹⁵  “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI,
         BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE ^[b]GENTILES–
      ¹⁶  “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT,
         AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH,
         UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”

 ¹⁷  From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Matthew 4:12-17.

There have been times when we too were sitting in darkness.  Although there are all kinds of examples, I think most readily of sitting in darkness watching television.  Although I am not making a blanket condemnation of television, some of us may think of times when our view of life was so warped by television that such a description is appropriate.  Whatever “sitting in darkness” may mean to us, Paul includes all of us and pinpoints the true gloom and doom of our condition when he states:  ^“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”  Ephesians 2:1-3.

But then, upon us, a light dawned.  Maybe, someone opened the curtains, and the light rushed in and we looked outside and saw a beautiful day.  We turned off the television.  We stood up.  We walked outside.  We played outside in the light with much joy.  We then wondered why we were ever so foolish to waste so much time inside sitting in darkness.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:4-7. 

Isaiah 60:1-2 provides the fitting conclusion.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
         And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 
     “For behold, darkness will cover the earth
         And deep darkness the peoples;
         But the LORD will rise upon you
         And His glory will appear upon you.”  Isaiah 60:1-2.

And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.”  Revelation 22:1-5.  (Emphasis added).

In regards to “a river of the water of life, clear as crystal“, Rev. Herman Hoeksema in his book Behold he Cometh!  An Exposition of the Book of Revelation at page 710 on his commentary of Revelation 22:1-5 states:  “The river of the water of life, therefore, is symbolic of a constant flow of life, of the continuous operation of the life-giving Spirit of God in Christ which the glorified saints constantly and by a constant act on their part receive and appropriate.  …  Or, if you will, the reference is to that stream of the blessings of grace, – the blessings of knowledge of God, righteousness, and holiness, of the favor of God, and of all that is implied in life in the true sense of the word, – a constant stream of blessings which flow to the saints through the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In regards to “the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit“, Rev. Herman Hoeksema in his book Behold he Cometh!  An Exposition of the Book of Revelation starting at page 711 on his commentary of Revelation 22:1-5 compares this heavenly tree of life with the tree of life in the Garden of Eden and states about this heavenly tree of life:   “In the first place, it symbolizes the perfected life of heavenly fellowship with God, which means that the saints constantly taste God’s covenant friendship.  … And, in the second place, the tree of life represents the perpetuation of the glorious life in the resurrection body.  …   There is never any want of fruit, and therefore never any want of life and immortality, for the church.  …”.

In regards to “and they will reign forever and ever“, Rev. Herman Hoeksema in his book Behold he Cometh!  An Exposition of the Book of Revelation at page 714 on his commentary of Revelation 22:1-5 states:  “With and in Christ the saints shall participate in the reign over all creatures in the new creation.  …  All things shall serve them, that they may serve their God in Christ.  Forever they shall reign!  …  There will be no possibility of an end, no possibility of a fall any more.  …”

^“3   O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me;
         Let them bring me to Your holy hill
         And to Your dwelling places. 
  ⁴   Then I will go to the altar of God,
         To God my exceeding joy;
         And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God. 
  ⁵   Why are you in despair, O my soul?
         And why are you disturbed within me?
         Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him,
         The help of my countenance and my God.”  Psalm 43:3-5.