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This is a multi-part series interacting with Mark J. Farnham’s new book, Every Believer Confident: Apologetics for the Ordinary Christian. Farnham is the founder and director of Apologetics for the Church and professor of apologetics at Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary. He states, “The purpose of this book is to help you to know, appreciate, firmly grasp, proclaim, and defend the Christian faith. My ultimate goal is to strengthen your faith, so you can confidently and effectively persuade unbelievers to believe in Jesus Christ” (p. 16). Let’s dig into the book together and see how our faith might be strengthened. Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:15 that Christians should “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” The word “defense” is the Greek word apologia. Of course, this is where the concept of apologetics has grown from. Christians are commanded to be ready to give an apology, a defense, for the hope we have in Christ. Mark Farnham writes his book on apologetics for ordinary Christians. He says, “The average church member feels ill-equipped to know what to say when confronted with any of the myriad attacks on the faith” (p. 16). His aim is to help us who feel ill-equipped to become “skilled and effective evangelists without becoming students of philosophy” (p. 13). The philosophical nature apologetics usually espouses may be a hindrance. Farnham wants to help in this area. ... Keep Reading

According to Westminster Confession of Faith XXI.5, “Solemn fastings are a part of the ordinary religious worship of God… which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.” I think it is pretty safe to say that for many of us, if not most of us, fasting is not an ordinary part of our worship of God. Why is this? It could be the lack of understanding of the importance or value of fasting. It could be the challenge of fasting. It could be the lack of attention fasting gets in our circles. We may perceive Jesus’ teaching on fasting as, “keep it secret,” so we don’t talk about it. And what is kept in secret can easily be left unobserved. Let’s consider what we can learn about fasting from Scripture; perhaps the encouragement of Scripture will spur us on to make fasting an ordinary part of our religious worship of God. ... Keep Reading

In this short series of articles, I am reflecting on Jesus’ command in Luke 8:18, “Take care then how you hear.” This is his application exhortation following the parable of the sower. As Jesus explains the parable, he quotes from Isaiah’s call in Isaiah 6:9-10. The people are dull of heart and cannot receive the truth of the parable (or Isaiah’s preaching) because they have “forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel” (Is. 1:4). Our ability to hear the word of God in a fruitful manner is directly linked with our heart’s attitude towards God. So, let’s take care then how we hear. Pride, according to church tradition, is one of the seven deadly sins. C.S. Lewis contended in Mere Christianity that pride is the greatest sin, for every other sin springs from pride. It should come as no surprise, then, that pride is one of the hinderances to hearing God’s word. In Isaiah’s day, some 700 years before Jesus, pride was one of the main roadblocks so that the people did not understand, nor did they perceive (Is. 6:9). ... Keep Reading

Last week we looked at the Parable of the Sower and considered some lessons on how we can “take care” how we listen to God’s word. We need to 1. Be watchful in prayer for Satan’s attacks; 2. Hunger for deeper roots in the truth of God’s word; 3. Acknowledge the temptations of the world, which distract from the word; and 4. Hold fast to the word with a good word. The bottom line is that we need to be proactive in our hearing of God’s word, whether it is while we are reading our Bibles alone or listening to the preaching of God’s word. Passive listening leaves us vulnerable. When Jesus tells the parable of the sower, he quotes from Isaiah 6 to explain the significance of the parables. We read in Matthew 13:13-15, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, ‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’” ... Keep Reading

The gospels record Jesus giving the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). Jesus describes the truth of the parable as the “secrets of the kingdom” (Lk. 8:10). The seed of the Word of God is sown into hearers, who are described as different types of soil. The “secret” of the kingdom is that the way one hears and receives the Word of God directly impacts one’s fruitfulness in the kingdom. Jesus then gives the practical application in Luke 8:18, “Take care then how you hear.” What can we glean from the parable to help us “take care”? Be watchful in prayer for Satan’s attacks. Jesus says, “[The seed that falls] along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Lk. 8:12). For believers, Satan cannot ultimately steal the word from our hearts so that we would not be saved. And yet, Satan is our adversary, prowling like a roaring lion, “seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). If Satan cannot snatch us from the hand of God, he will still try to snatch away our fruitfulness. Satan will always be active, therefore, we must be active in prayer, resisting him in the strength of the Lord. ... Keep Reading

This last week, during one of my meetings, I had the wonderful opportunity to reflect on Psalm 103. As we were reflecting and meditating on Psalm 103, I was struck with a simple question that we all do well to ask ourselves, “What delights your heart today?” The reality is that we all live in light of what delights us. We can seek many places, things, and people to satisfy our desire to be delighted. Sadly, that search can leave us tired, weary, anxious, and flat out burnt out. Our hearts and lives were ultimately made to delight in God. Our hearts are prone to wander and to forget the God we profess to love and all His benefits. The Lord is faithful to use His word to draw our hearts back to Him and continuously reminds us that our hearts are most delighted and satisfied in Him. With that, I’d like to briefly draw us to at least 5 truths that David, the psalmist, directs for us to delight in and that we would forget not all His benefits. Delight 1: God’s Complete Forgiveness Delight in the wonderful truth of the complete forgiveness we have received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s forgiveness is not partial; it is complete and full. Through the cross of Christ, all our sins are forgiven. God forgives all our iniquities (3). Read that again. In and through Christ all of your iniquities are forgiven! He removes our transgressions from us as far as we could ever possibly imagine, as far as the east is from the west (12)! Delight 2: God’s Perfect Justice Delight in the wonderful truth of God’s perfect justice and righteousness (6). Everything that God does is right, good, and best. In other words, God can do no wrong and only does what is good. From our vantage point, it can often seem that this is not so, but this psalm reminds us that God has, and continues to, make His perfect ways known to His people and works all things for the good of His people (6-7). We see this most clearly as we behold Jesus. Jesus, the righteous One, took the penalty for our sin on the cross. He bore the punishment that we deserved, satisfying God’s justice in full. Though we may face injustice on this side of eternity and in this world, cling to hope knowing that God’s justice has been fully satisfied through Jesus, and He will one day make all things new into a day where there is no more pain, brokenness, sin, and death. ... Keep Reading

Early in his narrative we read that Abram “called upon the name of the Lord” (Gen. 12:8, 13:4). The repetition of this activity brings to mind Proverbs 18:10: The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. In a sense, Abram is an example of living according to this proverb. Let me draw out four details that will help you and me also live out this proverb. Faithfulness. What is the significance of the name of the Lord? The small caps indicates to us that a specific Hebrew word is used: Yahweh. This name is tied to God’s self-revelation to Moses in the burning bush. In Exodus 3:14 God declares that his name is “I am who I am.” The name “Yahweh” is a cognate of the verb “to be” used in Exodus. This unique name for God emphasizes his unchanging, unfailing nature. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When applied to his promises, the implication is that God will never forsake his promises, nor his people. God is faithful. When Abram calls upon the name of the Lord, he is appealing to God’s faithful character that is the bedrock foundation for his life. Abram, and his faith, is like shifting sand. ... Keep Reading

The promises made to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3 are foundational promises for the outworking of redemption. God promises to make Abram a great nation and give him the land of Canaan. These two promises establish Israel as God’s representative people during the Old Testament. God preserves this nation, even when the people rebel, as the channel through which the promised Messiah will come. The nation and land are not ultimate promises but serve the ultimate promise that comes in verse 3, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Paul quotes this promise in Galatians 3:8, asserting that its fulfilment is found in the gift of justification by faith made available to all people. The nation and land served as the conduit through which Jesus came to provide atonement for the sins of the world. Sandwiched between the promises of nation and land and the promise of blessing all the families of earth is the promise found in verse 2, “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Some commentators interpret this promise as the same one as the one at the end of verse 3: All the families of the earth will be blessed in Abram. But there is a distinction between the two promises. In verse 2, God says Abram will be a blessing. In verse 3, God says others will be blessed in Abram. Verse 2 says there is a direct link from Abram to the blessing. Verse 3 says Abram’s family line will produce the ultimate blessing for the world, fulfilled in Jesus. ... Keep Reading

I grew up going to church as a child. Much like Oak Hills, the children were dismissed in the middle of the service in order to attend children’s church. We sang songs, heard a Bible story, and did some sort of craft. I have fond memories of the time. But there was one song that confused me as a child, Father Abraham. Perhaps you recall the lyrics: Father Abraham had many sons, Many sons had Father Abraham. And I am one of them And so are you. So, let’s just praise the Lord! Right arm! (Left arm; Right foot; left foot…) I had so many questions as a child singing this song. Who was Abraham? How could I be his son (I knew who my dad was)? Why are the women and girls singing this; they cannot be sons? Why should we praise God for this news? And what are we doing with our arms and legs? ... Keep Reading

The last two weeks at Oak Hills we have heard about the multiplication and rebellion of the nations from Genesis 10 and 11. Genesis 10 is typically called the “Table of Nations” as it outlines 70 nations that descended from Noah and his sons after the flood and spread across the face of the earth. As the text repeatedly states, the people “spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations” (10:5). Genesis 11 tells the story of the Tower of Babel. This explains the dispersion of the nations that occurs in Genesis 10. The story also reveals what author Christopher Watkin calls the “Babel Instinct,” which he says is ever present among humanity. I want to draw out some practical implications from Genesis 10 and 11 that help us think about “the nations” in our world today. The Nations are Not Geo-Political Entities. There are 195 geo-political nations in the world today. When the Bible speaks about “nations,” however, it is not using 21st Century geo-political defined nations. In biblical terms, nations refer to people groups with distinct languages. Take Cameroon in West Africa as an example. Up until the 1800s there was no such thing as the nation Cameroon. In the region there were (still are) up to 250 distinct tribal/ethnic groups with their own languages or dialects. Through European colonization in the 1800s, the region came under the rule of Germany. After World War 1, the region was taken away from Germany and split between Britian and France. This created the division between the English-speaking states and the French-speaking states, which, by the way, still causes conflict today, even sparking a civil-war-like crisis in the last decade. The region gained independence in the 1960s and became known as the geo-political nation of Cameroon. All this goes to show that we should not impose 21st century geo-political ideas of nations on the Bible. ... Keep Reading