Trinity Fellowship

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

We are urged to press forward to the goal of blissful rest and unbroken fellowship with the Lord. The final perfect rest has already been accomplished by our older brother Jesus as He paved the way for us. We continue to toil as we follow after Him, happily anticipating our final rest at the glorious consummation of all things. For now, we continue to toil through tears, through sin, and through opposition. But if we persevere with eyes uplifted to heaven, trusting in our Older Brother to lead us to the Father, asking Him to find pleasure in our meager efforts, then we can already enjoy a taste of the eternal rest as we labour and press ahead.

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

The gospel is not a message we need to hear only once, at the beginning of the Christian life. The gospel of the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord not only makes us into Christians, but it keeps us persevering in the faith. In Christ, our failures are hidden in His victory; our faithlessness is covered by His faithfulness. His power is made available to us through the Holy Spirit. With Paul, we can declare that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20). As long as it is called "today", let us be diligent in exhorting and proclaiming the gospel to one another, that none of us may be hardened by sin's deceit but rather hold our confidence firm to the end that we may indeed enter His rest.

In Psalm 22, we see the life of King David enlarged and applied to Jesus Christ. What begins in humiliation ends in exaltation. Christ suffers and is brought low on behalf of His brothers. He feels the pain of dereliction, of abandonment by the Father as He bears the putrid sin of His people. Yet even in this, He is able to see that the Father is still His Father. Christ exits the tomb vindicated and approved by the Father. He has successfully completed His mission. He has atoned for His brothers and sisters, He has satisfied the wrath of God, He has defeated the sting of death, and He has been vindicated in new resurrection life. As we follow Christ in death and resurrection, may we see what David saw. The goal of this new life is to get it out and to make it contagious. The gospel of Christ is for rich and for poor. It is for Jew and for Gentile. It is for ancient saints and for those who have not yet been born. At Easter and at all times, may we be so closely bound to Christ that we remember not just that we have been saved, but also why we have been saved.

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Let Jesus Christ go before you in battle; the source of your confidence. Fix your thoughts on Him. Look closely at the perfection and sufficiency of His work on your behalf and remember that because of Him even death has lost its power. When the enemy levels his accusations against you that you are a great sinner, you can remind him that Christ died for sinners. Everything in today's passage should cause us to look to Christ. He is the great apostle sent to bring salvation. He is the great high priest who makes atonement before God. He is the builder and lord over God's house. The house He builds cannot be conquered. Draw your confidence, your strength, and your courage from Him.

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

The God-Man has become like us in every way. He shares the same flesh and blood as we do, and yet remains truly God. Only God Himself can satisfy His righteous requirements. Only a Man can serve as a representative for men. In Christ Jesus, man is represented and God is satisfied. In Christ Jesus, we have an older brother who entered the ruined wilderness left by our first parents. He was able to blaze a trail through the thorns and thistles, pass through the flaming swords of the cherubim, conquer the last realm of death in which Satan could operate, and then stand victorious in the throne room of His Father. In Christ, death is destroyed. In Christ, we are delivered safely to the Father. In Christ, we have an answer to temptation. In Christ we have an older brother who has made a way back to the garden paradise; to man dwelling once again with his God. All those who are joined by faith to Jesus Christ receive this inheritance.