Trinity Fellowship

After His arrest, Christ is getting pulled into a fake night-time show trial. The pattern follows redemptive history. Israel was created in the darkness of the first Passover, and on this night, the whole process is being reversed. Israel is undoing herself on this night, in a great anti-Passover. The religious leaders are turning Passover inside-out: in the first Passover/Exodus event, the mornin...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

In the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, it appears as though evil is having its way. yet through the lies, deception, mockery, and ill-intentions we can see that Jesus was never overpowered, but willingly submitted Himself to the authorities in accordance with the Scriptures. He was betrayed by a close friend, treated as a vile criminal, falsely accused, and abandoned. Despite the devil's greatest at...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Christ suffered under the wrath of both God and man, was raised upon a cross, and died a sinners death though he was pure and innocent. His death is truly the only sacrifice that is acceptable to the God who either calls us justified or condemned. in light of this truth we must never run to any other than the one who has bled for us and died for us, his sacrifice must be our only hope.

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

In taking a crown of thorns, by following Jonah into the heart of the earth for three days and three nights, by having His heel bruised as He crushes the head of the serpent, Christ is finalizing the war his grandfather David started. In experiencing the trauma of having body and soul torn apart, Jesus assumes every covenant curse that God ever threatened against His people. Because his payment wa...

The religious leaders tried to pin Christ as a political threat, but instead of defending himself, in order that He may lay His life down for us, He went willingly. Christ suffering under Pontius Pilate was no accident of history; the plan of redemption has Christ coming at the appointed time, to fulfill all that the prophets had spoken. Don't think too little of the price that has been paid for o...

Christ continues to advance redemptive history as He transforms the Passover meal into the Lord's Supper, a sacrament which continues to connect His people to both the past and the future. Christ feeds His people to prepare them for the night of testing, that they may prevail not because of their ability but because of His provision. In the story God tells, the way to life is through death. The wa...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

In the Passover meal, we see the building anticipation, the layering, and the rhyming of redemptive history. Passover reminded the people of God that they must be covered in the blood of the Lamb if they are to escape judgment, and that the old leaven must be purged so a fresh start can be made. Getting Israel out of Egypt proved to be much faster than getting Egypt out of Israel and so often this...

Like us, no one in today's passage is exempt from having an evaluation of the worth of Christ. The Jewish leaders not only saw him as unworthy of their respect but worthy to be crucified. Judas tried to put a dollar amount on his worth. The disciples, while meaning well, still hadn't truly caught on to His worthiness as the one to usher in the new covenant. It is only the woman who saw him worthy...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

The highly charged controversy between Christ and the religious leaders on Tuesday of Holy Week is coming to a close at the end of Matthew 25. Jesus has used symbols, parables, and prophecy to outline the condemnation of the city for rejecting the Messiah, and now He is projecting His righteous judgment out to the end of history. Destruction still falls on those who reject the Saviour. The terms o...

The parable of the talents reminds us of the importance of hard work and fruitfulness while we wait for the return of Christ. God placed man in the garden as His viceregent to utilize, steward, and expand the elements of creation. He has likewise placed us in His kingdom for the same work, and it is fitting with His purposes that He would allocate His gifts according to how they are being managed...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

The parable of the Ten Virgins reminds us that things are not always what they seem at the beginning. Testing and time have a way of revealing the substance of a person. Those who make no preparation to meet God and those who think that they can push it off for a later day are like the foolish virgins who wake up to find that it is too late. The door of God's mercy will be closed before they expec...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

God's creation is both physical and spiritual; He is concerned about caring for both. The church as well has both physical and spiritual needs, and as the life of the church increases, it becomes necessary to appoint men to make sure that people are not falling through the cracks, and that needs are met. Because it is both a joy and a solemn duty to minister to God's people this way, Scripture giv...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

Brothers and sisters, there is only one Gospel for the whole world, which bears the same fruit, and provides the same certain hope for all who have faith in Christ. This is a sweet and wonderful gospel which cannot be changed, and has no need to be improved upon. It is how you ought to evaluate your own pastor's faithfulness, and to evaluate the state of your own soul. Do not be dismayed when peop...

Study in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith

The kingdom of God has an "already" and a "not yet fully" component to it. Already it has broken into this age with the coming of Christ, and yet we wait for its full expression at His Second Coming. That is to say, His kingdom is inaugurated but not yet consummated. While we labour in this age, we are to live ready for the age to come. We do this by working consistently with the trajectory that C...