Author: Reformed Baptista

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 65

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Day 65

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 6.

” … and kept by his power through faith unto salvation;…”

Scripture Lookup

1 Peter 1:5.

Reflection

The elect are kept by His power.

Killing sin is a constant battle. So many times I struggle with impatience, annoyance, selfishness, arrogance. Strolling along throughout the day, everything going fine and then -BAM!- a stumbling block presents itself and I crash and fall. Keeping myself from tripping is tiring. During that fatigue, still smarting from sin, a thought appears: “Why not just give up?”

Or a whirlwind of circumstances occur that knock the breath out of me: a dwindling paycheck. Friendships that drift away. Sickness, injury, death. Again, when I am pausing to gasp for air, thoughts arise: “Is this really what God has planned? Is God really in charge? Is God really…even there?”

But the elect are kept by His power, through faith. When doubt creeps in like a settling fog over the sea, faith looks to the Light of the world. Your faith may be a frayed thread, but if you are elect, it will not break. You will reach the the shore of glory, because God Himself will bring you there.

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

If you are tempted to walk away, if you are tired of struggling, if the world around you is screaming and the only solution for peace appears to be to deny Christ, know this: if you are His, you will be kept by His power through faith unto salvation. Do not run from what you know to be true. Instead, crawl to Christ, beg His intercession, and remember what a gracious and powerful God He is. Take courage. You are in Christ. You will persevere.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.  -Jude 1:23,24.

Questions to Consider

  • Are you trying to stay in Christ on your own strength, or are you resting in God?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 64

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Day 64

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 6.

” … are effectually called unto faith in Christ, by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified,…”

Scripture Lookup

Romans 8:30.

2 Thessalonians 2:13.

Reflection

When God calls you, you answer.

At a time appointed by God, the Holy Spirit works in His elect, calling them to faith in Christ. This call works. It is effectual. No one walks away unchanged from the Holy Spirit working in them. The elect will respond by believing in Christ. This is assumed in Romans 8 –  those who love God are those who are called. No one loves God who has not been called, and vice versa.

Those who are called are also justified. This means that the Christian is declared righteous due to Christ’s work on our behalf. We are forgiven for our sins because Christ has paid the penalty for them, and we are now viewed and accepted as righteous by God.

Those who are called are also adopted. We are considered to be of the household of God, and join with the elect as brothers and sisters in Christ. This vast family of believers are joint heirs to glory.

Those who are called are also sanctified. We are set apart and a process of transformation occurs, where we become more and more like Christ. The sin in our lives is put to death more and more, and our lives increasingly exhibit holiness.

All the elect share these traits. We can speak into each other’s lives to encourage and rebuke no matter how different our circumstances are, because as Christians we have these things in common. And we have God to thank for it! He is the One who works all these things in us, and we know nothing can keep Him from accomplishing His task.

Questions to Consider

  • What comfort does effectual calling give you?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 63

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Day 63

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 6.

” …wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ,…”

Scripture Lookup

1 Thessalonians 5:9, 10.

Reflection

“In Adam’s fall we sinned all.” -New England Primer

Christ came to redeem His elect. Why did they need redeeming? Because of sin. Not only do we sin on a regular basis, we are guilty because of the corruption of our nature. That corruption we inherited from Adam.

“God made man upright, but he has sought out many schemes.” -Ecclesiastes 7:29

Adam and Eve were the first people created, and they were good. They had communion with God and lived in a state of happiness. Work was pleasurable. Love was abundant. Shame was non-existent.

That all changed. The serpent questioned God’s command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and deceived Eve. She saw that the fruit was desirable, and took it and ate. She gave the fruit to her husband, Adam, who also ate. In so doing, they lost the holiness they enjoyed, and plunged into a state of sin and misery. This condition did not affect only them, but the rest of mankind. For Adam, being the first man, represented the whole human race. When he fell into sin, the whole human race therefore fell with him.

The elect, however, have a redeemer. He was promised there in Genesis 3, while Adam and Eve were reeling from the consequences of their actions. As God said to the serpent, “He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” This is Christ, who suffered and died for His people. Those who are in Christ no longer have Adam as their representative head, but Christ Himself.

I will sing of my Redeemer
And his wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross he suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood he purchased me;
On the cross he sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In his boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory he giveth
Over sin and death and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer
And his heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life has brought me,
Son of God, with him to be.

-Philip Bliss

Questions to Consider

  • How does Christ being the redeemer of the elect affect your life?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 62

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Day 62

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 6.

“ As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so He hath, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto…”

Scripture Lookup

1 Peter 1:2.

2 Thessalonians 2:13.

Reflection

The economy of God is amazing!

The elect come from all walks of life, in all periods of time. Different cultures, different family lives, different tastes. Such differences seem to indicate that how they obtain salvation would vary greatly as well, yes? Yet that is not so! While the circumstances may differ, the elect all share the same process of obtaining salvation. There will be differences in your life story compared to mine, but as Christians there are common themes that we share. We are:

  • called
  • justified
  • adopted
  • sanctified
  • saved

These means were also foreordained. God is so reliable that not only does He determine to save a people, He determines beforehand how He will do it. No haphazard, hasty, random reaction is made to get the elect to glory. The plans are decreed, the method established, the execution flawless. God’s order of salvation for His people is firmly established, and does not deviate.

So while my environment may look worlds different than a 17th-century peasant, as Christians we both tread the same path. This is true for believers of all times as well as all places. What an encouragement to know that the elect in Zambia, Brazil, or the United States all share in the same redemption! You are not the only one to travel this journey, Christian! Praise God for His wisdom in that!

Questions to Consider

  • Do you ever consider yourself to be alone or unique in your Christian journey? Why or why not?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 61

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Day 61

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 5.

“...without any other thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving him thereunto.“

Scripture Lookup

Romans 9:13, 16.

Ephesians 2:5, 12.

Reflection

Us humans think we’re something special, don’t we? Just look at our advertising:

“Because you’re worth it.”

“You deserve a break today.”

Even some churches cater to this desire for affirmation:

“If you were the only person on earth, God would still die for you.”

Those who insist that man is free to choose to accept or reject God cling to this self-importance. Yes, it is self-importance, no matter how much they might deny it, because if the decision rests with you, then you are the tie-breaker. “I have decided to follow Jesus.” It reminds me of a song from the television show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood:

You’ve got to do it, every little bit. You’ve got to do it, do it, do it, do it and when you’re through, you will know who did it ’cause you did it, you did it, you did it.

Now the doctrine of election is introduced to us, and we initially balk at it, because we still view things through our self-centered lens. Election reminds us of some sort of middle school clique, where only the cool kids are chosen. “Why would God choose some people to be saved?” we wonder. “What’s so special about them?”

But if you are elect, it’s not you that’s special. It’s Him.

There never was, nor will there ever be anything in you that made God choose you. It wasn’t your looks, your wealth, your nationality. It wasn’t how you treated others, it wasn’t how much you wanted to be a Christian, it wasn’t how much you worked. Analysts could try to find a common factor among the elect, and all they would find in common is sin. Sinners from every tribe, tongue and nation, oppressor and oppressed, wealthy and starving, young, old, male, female, chosen by the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will.

So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. -Romans 9:16

Where then is boasting?  It is excluded. (Romans 3:27) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

God gets all the glory, and rightly so. He is the only one that truly deserves it.

Questions to Consider

  • Is it a relief or a disappointment to know that nothing in you made God choose you?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 60

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Day 60

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 5.

“Those of mankind that are predestinated to life, God before the foundation of the world was laid, according to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret Counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love;...”

Scripture Lookup

Ephesians 1:4, 9, 11.

Romans 8:30.

2 Timothy 1:9.

1 Thessalonians 5:9.

Reflection

He has always known.

If you are in Christ, He has known you were His since before the first second ticked in creation.

He chose you, and that choice has been, and continues to be, steadfast.

When you gasped your first breath, you were His. As you grew and explored and changed, His decree did not.  When you pursued self, dazzled by the trinkets of the world, blind and ignorant of Him, you were still marked to be His.

With His free grace – free! unlike so much offered in this world! – He transformed your blackened, sickened heart to a fresh, living, beating one. With His love He opened your eyes to see Him, the most perfect Being, and called you out, away from sin to everlasting glory. With horror you realized how ugly and deformed by sin you were. Your new heart shuddered at your sight and cried out for deliverance.

If you are in Christ, He has delivered you. And He has purposed to deliver you from eternity past.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love…” (Jeremiah 31:3)

You are His.

Questions to Consider

  • How does God’s choosing His elect bring you comfort?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 59

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Day 59

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 4.

“These angels and men thus predestinated, and fore-ordained, are particularly, and unchangeably designed; and their number so certain, and definite, that it cannot be either increased, or diminished.“

Scripture Lookup

2 Timothy 2:19.

John 13:18.

Reflection

God does not change.

We constantly need reminding of this. So, once again,

GOD DOES NOT CHANGE!

This applies to God’s decree as well. God has “freely and unchangeably” decreed “all things whatsoever comes to pass”. And God has decreed who will inherit eternal life through Jesus Christ. That number is fixed. We do not know the magnitude of that number, but the Lord definitely does.

This takes the pressure off of us when we evangelize. We do not need to notch our belt every time someone is converted through our efforts. Evangelism is not some multi-level marketing scheme, where the more converts we get somehow boost us closer to heaven! Rather, we proclaim the Gospel freely, knowing that those God has chosen are out there, and we can trust that He will not lose any.

“The Lord knows who are His.” What a comfort for the Christian! God is intimately acquainted with His people. Even when we wrestle with assurance, when doubt and despair threaten to doom us, we can know that He knows us and will not turn away any who come to Him. If we are elect, we are His; we cannot lose our salvation. Trust in the infinite wisdom of His decree, and live accordingly.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38,39

Questions to Consider

  • How does knowing the number of elect is fixed affect your attitude towards evangelism?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 58

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Day 58

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 3.

“…others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of His glorious justice.”

Scripture Lookup

Romans 9:22,23.

Jude 4.

Reflection

Predestination. The word goes against all our notions of fairness and equality. The playing field should be level, right?

We look at the fact that some are predestined for eternal life, and we rightfully praise God for his grace. But if some are predestined to eternal life, then the opposite is true: there are those who are not, and they will be condemned. Immediately we have a knee-jerk reaction that this seems unfair. But is this reaction a right one?

To view predestination as unfair is to view life from our perspective, rather than what God reveals to us. First, we forget what we know about God. He is just. He is holy. He has all goodness in Himself. Nothing He does is unjust, because it goes against who He is!

We also do not realize the extent of sin. The unbeliever who, by our standards is the most wonderful, kind, and loving person we know, is still condemned as he has broken God’s law. God cannot be in the presence of sin.

Our reaction is also ultimately selfish. Our cry of unfairness seems to only apply to those we like. Notice that some angels are predestined to eternal life, and some who are condemned. Yet we do not react with a cry of “Unfair!” when hearing about fallen angels. So when we look at predestination, our ultimate source needs to be the Scriptures. They are clear: God has decreed that some will be left in their sin and condemned justly.

This realization that predestination is a true doctrine is tested when our beliefs are lived out. To embrace the doctrine of predestination, I had to admit that loved ones who died without claiming Christ did not posses eternal life, and that God had decreed it. It was crushing. I had to decide if I would accept what the Bible says, or what my heart wanted to believe. This must happen with every truth we learn in the Scripture. Do we trust that God’s Word is true?

What will you believe?

Questions to Consider

  • Does the fact that some are left in their sin offend you, or humble you ?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 57

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Day 57

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 3.

“By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or fore-ordained to Eternal Life through Jesus Christ to the praise of his glorious grace;...”

Scripture Lookup

1 Timothy 5:21.

Matthew 25:34.

Ephesians 1:5,6.

Reflection

There is nothing you can do to earn eternal life.

This goes against every notion our society has for succeeding. In Western culture, we are told that in order to get something, all we have to do is work hard. When we finally achieve “it” (whatever it is), it is because we deserve it. The more cynical believe that everyone has a price. Find the right dollar amount and you can obtain what you want.

But God can’t be bought. It’s not who your parents are, it’s not what you have, it’s not how hard you work that determines whether or not you have eternal life. It is only through God’s decree that anyone receives eternal life through Jesus. He decreed who would be His in eternity past, not on a whim, not based on a choice someone made today, not on any action made by an individual. Salvation is all of God.

By salvation being all of God, He gets all the glory. There is no boasting in ourselves; there is only praise for God. He has chosen a people and called them out to be His. Since we know that His decrees are sure, and that He does not change, we know that His people will be His. We can rest confidently that His people will have eternal life. Praise His glorious grace!

Questions to Consider

  • How does knowing that God has predestined some to have eternal life affect your evangelism?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 56

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Day 56

Of God’s Decree

Chapter 3, Paragraph 2.

“Although God knoweth whatsoever may, or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions; yet hath he not decreed anything, because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.“

Scripture Lookup.

Acts 15:18.

Romans 9:11, 13, 16, 18.

Reflection

Which came first, the decree or the foreknowledge?

We understand that God knows all things. Not only does He know every thing that will occur in this universe, He knows all the possible outcomes of every variation of event if He decreed something differently. Science fiction aficionados will recognize this as the idea of “parallel universes”. Just because God knows these outcomes, though, does not mean that they are reality. God has decreed all that will come to pass, and it is accomplished. There is no deviation. (Sorry, Star Trek and Doctor Who fans!)

Some try to say that while God has decreed all that will come to pass, it is only because He foresaw what will happen. By saying this, they attempt to keep man’s will autonomous, especially in regard to choosing salvation. But is this accurate? In other words, is it Biblical? Looking at Romans 9:16, we read that “it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” God’s decree is not based on His knowledge of the future – that would imply that He is dependent upon that knowledge, and God is independent of everything and anything. Rather, God knows the future because He has decreed it.

Our God is proactive. Thank Him for it!

Questions to Consider

  • Have you ever wrestled with the idea that God decrees all things?