Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Hebrews 13: 9 states: “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, …”  Reformed doctrine has stayed much the same since 1600 (about the time when most of the Reformed confessions and catechisms were finished) to today. Reformed doctrine was the sole doctrine, or at least the predominant doctrine, of the Reformation and our Protestant faith until about 1800 at which time Arminianism started to increase in popularity.  So, Reformed doctrine is neither varied nor strange.  Reformed doctrine does emphasize grace, including “salvation by grace alone”.  Reformed doctrine is also known as “The Doctrines of Grace”.

Are teachings more true, because they are varied?
Are teachings more true, because they are not so easily labeled?
Are teachings more true, because it may be easier to believe in man’s work (“What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”) than God’s grace (“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” ?  See John 6:28-29.

Are teachings more true, because it may seem more just for everyone to have an equal opportunity for salvation and that we can control salvation by our choice by free will (works), rather than to believe that salvation is controlled by God’s election (grace)?

The doctrine of our forefathers of the faith in the Reformation and the Protestant faith is not varied nor strange.  Reformed doctrine stays the same and is not ashamed to be labeled Reformed doctrine.  The Belgic Confession, The Canons of Dordt, The Heidelberg Catechism, and The Westminister Confession of Faith remain the Reformed doctrinal standards.  Although they were written about 400 years ago, they remain the rock-solid truth and yet are filled with God’s grace.

It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace.

If we approach the Doctrines of Grace (a/k/a  Reformed doctrine) primarily just to make us appreciate our salvation more, then we will tend to tolerate Arminianism as just a stepping stone to Calvinism.  Then, we will tend to view Arminianism as just a lesser appreciation of our salvation.  Then, we will tend to view Arminianism, to use a material example, like salt rather than like leaven.  With salt, we are only concerned if we add too much, and even then, there is no real damage.  We can just brush it off.  Is Arminianism like salt where there is no real harm if we add to it surrounding “good” teaching?  NO!  Can we just brush off Arminianism?  NO!   Or, is Arminianism like leaven that can corrupt the whole? YES!   Arminianism is like leaven that can corrupt the whole.                                             

We are called to “purity in doctrine”.  Titus 2: 7.   Scripture warns us against tolerating even a little false teaching.  Such false teaching can corrupt the whole surrounding “good” teaching.

Lord’s Day 1

“Q & A 1

Q. What is your only comfort
   in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.”

Notice the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism as shown by The Heidelberg Catechism which teaches Calvinism (a/k/a Reformed doctrine):

1.  Calvinism speaks of belonging to Christ;  Arminianism speaks of free will and freedom to chose or reject Christ including freedom even to later change your mind.

2.  Calvinism speaks of Christ blood as shed only for the Elect, by itself effective to redeem and make full payment for all of the Elect’s sins;  Arminianism speaks of Christ’s blood as shed for everyone, by itself ineffective to redeem and save anyone, unless man exercises his free will to chose and believe in Christ, but many if not most (for whom Christ died) go to hell, according to Arminians.  

3.  Calvinism recognizes the tyranny of the devil;  Arminianism claims man is free.

4.  Calvinism trusts God’s preservation of the saint;  Arminianism teaches that man can fall from grace and lose his salvation if he does not keep his faith till death.

5.  Calvinism focuses on God and comforts and assures the believer of salvation;  Arminianism focuses on man and causes the believer to be insecure and to focus on his own faith and his own works till death. 

6.  Calvinism makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him (irresistable grace);  Arminianism pleads with me to try harder to live for Him (obstructable grace).

7.  Calvinism teaches that all things must work together for my salvation;  Arminianism teaches that I must work all things for my salvation.   

Reformed doctrine not only gladly sings:  “There is Power in the Blood!” 

Reformed doctrine teaches it. 

Canons of Dordt

The Second Head of Doctrine: Christ’s Death and Human Redemption Through It

TOTAL DEPRAVITY-

“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’  “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’  “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’

IRRESISTABLE GRACE-

 “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’  “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’  “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.

‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.'”  (Emphasis added.).

The Arminian thinks all we need to do to bring people into the kingdom of God is invite them.  Surely, they think, they are wise and good enough to accept an invitation to something as good as a heavenly feast.

The Calvinist recognizes the Total Depravity of man as described in Scripture.  The Calvinist recognizes the need for God to exercise His sovereign power of Irresistible Grace to bring people to Christ and to the heavenly feast. 

See my web site www.reformeddoctrine.org for a much fuller explanation of Total Depravity, Irresistible Grace, and the other Five Points of Calvinism known as TULIP. 

God delights in our prayers.

Proverbs 15:8
“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.”

Christ delights in His bride, the Church.

Song of Solomon 7:6
“How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your charms!”

 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

“In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 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 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.”

Amen. 

Limited Atonement is the “L” in TULIP, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed doctrine of salvation.  This is the “deal breaker” for many Arminians who may be sympathetic to the other points of Calvinism, but they strongly and emotionally reject this Calvinist point of Limited Atonement.  Rather than hide or minimize the importance of this point, let us take on this point in the beginning of this new blog.

For the Calvinist, Christ’s atonement is limited in the sense that Christ’s atonement applies to only a limited number of people which are “the Elect”.  In other words, Christ only died for the Elect.  However, Christ’s death, which we can also describe as “His blood”, completely purchased, redeemed, and saved every one of His people, the Elect, providing all the benefits necessary for salvation including the gift of faith.  “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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.  …”  Ephesians 1:3-8  (Emphasis added.)  For the Calvinist, there is truly Almighty Power in this Blood!  For an expanded description of Limited Atonement, you can go to my web site www.reformeddoctrine.org to the TULIP link.

In contrast, the Arminian believes in “Universal Atonement” which maintains that Christ died for everyone.  At first glance, that may seem fairer, more “democratic”.  Everybody has a chance to be saved.  But, the Arminian will be the first to admit that Christ’s blood, which they believe was shed for everyone, did not purchase or save everyone, because many, indeed most, will go to hell.  The Arminian believes that the difference and determining factor between those who go to hell and those who go to heaven is not the blood, because everyone gets the blood.  The Arminian believes that the difference and determining factor between those who go to hell and those who go to heaven is man’s free will act of faith.  For the Arminian, there is not much power in the blood;  the power is in man’s free will act of faith. 

What does Scripture state about the importance of how we view Christ’s blood?   

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:26-31.

I think this Scripture applies to Arminians who steadfastly continue to hang on to Arminianism despite receiving knowledge of the truth of Calvinism. They hang on to the false doctrine that Jesus died for everyone (“Universal Atonement” – The Third Point of Arminianism) and they love to speak about the power in Christ’s blood. But, Arminians realize that their doctrine forces them to conclude that Christ’s blood (as they claim, shed for everyone) by itself did not save, “purchase”, nor “redeem” anyone, because they admit that most people are not saved. Arminians claim that it is up to man to generate his own faith through his own free will in order to make Christ’s blood effective to save. They claim that the only difference between the saved and the unsaved is not Christ’s blood, because everyone gets the blood, but rather the only difference is whether or not a certain individual will generate his own faith through his own free will to make the blood effective. According to this logic of these Arminians, man’s free will act of faith, not Christ’s blood, is the determining factor as to whether or not one will be saved.