By William Oldham

“Thus saith the Lord, ‘Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk therein.’” Jeremiah 6:16

At this time of year, my daily Bible reading takes me through the book of Deuteronomy. I have read this book many times over the years. The word “Deuteronomy” literally means “second law” or “repeated law”.

And that’s exactly what the book is: Moses repeats the Law to them as he recounts how God tested them in the wilderness.

He reminds them of their sin and disobedience, their grumbling and complaining, and their unbelief in setting up the golden calf, while travelin’ to the Promised Land. He also points out the Lord’s faithfulness and goodness to them: in protection, in provision, and in discipline, chastisement, and judgment.

Whenever I think of Deuteronomy, I think of the Law of Moses: the conditional law that God laid down to Israel: simply put, if they obeyed God’s laws they would be blessed, and if they disobeyed God’s laws they would be cursed. To me, that was the main theme of this book. But this time my reading has been different; I have seen something else that shines out like a bright light.

I still see the Lord giving the conditional Law of blessing and cursing; and I still see Israel’s repeated failures and the Lord’s continuing faithfulness. But I see something else, something beautiful about our God in the Old Testament. God set up His covenant Law over Israel, not as God Almighty ruling over a nation, but as a Father, in love, instructing His children as to how they are to behave in His house.

The context of Deuteronomy, if you will, is found right here:

“The Lord did not set His love on you or choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 7:7-8

And so, as you read through the book, you see that it all has to do with a Father’s concern for the best interests of His children. He gives Himself to them as their Protector. They need fear no nation on earth harming them; God Almighty surrounds them, no one can touch them. Consider for a moment how free you would feel, if that were the case in the country you live in. As you go about your daily life, you know no evil can touch you.

Then, the Lord gives Himself to them as their provider: they shall not lack or want anything. Consider the land He is giving them:

“…The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything…” 8:7-9

And if that’s not enough, here’s more:

“You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. The Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known…” 7:14-15

Given His love, protection and provision, how free would you feel in such a beautiful and bountiful land?

Question: Understanding this blessed freedom of life under the watchful eye of your Maker and Father, how burdensome does the Law now appear?

And now we come to the child of God under grace. The blessings the Lord promised to Israel there were conditional and temporary. But the same God, the same Lord has given Himself to us in a much greater way. He has given Himself to us through His only begotten Son. The Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t just watch over us; He abides in us through His Holy Spirit.

Jesus has washed all our sins away with His precious blood; by His resurrection, He has given us eternal life; God has rescued us from the domain of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.

We have been delivered from the pathway to destruction, and placed on God’s freeway to a home of everlasting love, peace and joy.

A final thought: the children of Israel had a glorious free way to travel on, had they only trusted and obey God.

The Christian has a glorious free way to travel on if they will only trust and obey God.

Admittedly, the free way has many difficulties and dangers. But Jesus has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, so with that, we may travel the free way, rejoicing all the way to the Promised Land.

“…What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?” Deuteronomy 4:7 Only in the will of God are we truly free.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one come to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6

Brother Bill

<bboldham@sbcglobal.net>

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world…For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” Hebrews 1:1-2 / 2:1-2

Jesus Christ has left us heaven’s final word; in 2000 years God hasn’t added or taken away from it. Man has added to, deleted from and twisted God’s word, but God’s word is settled in heaven forever, and we have His final word in the Bible. Christ’s final word is divided into three parts: authorization, invitation and expectation.

The church of God has been authorized to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Certainly, Jesus has called evangelists, preachers and teachers to go and spread the gospel; they are under direct orders to faithfully preach the good news. But the factory worker, the office worker, the teacher, the housewife—we have all been authorized and empowered to tell others the good news from heaven: God’s final word: Jesus Saves!

Heaven’s final word is not a message of condemnation, nor is it a threat of hellfire and damnation. It is an invitation to Come. Come to the cross of Jesus Christ. It is there only that the sinner will see the awfulness of his sins; it is there he will see the judgment his sins deserve; it is there he will see his lost estate and destruction.

But coming to the cross, he sees Jesus Christ crucified. He beholds the love of God for sinners that placed His Son on the tree. He sees the love of Christ for sinners that passes all understanding. Coming to the cross, the sinner sees the precious blood that washes away all his sins; he sees Jesus taking his place in judgment.

The invitation to come extends to the empty tomb to see that Christ rose from the dead. Come and see that for forty days He showed Himself alive to His apostles and followers. Come to the mountain and see Jesus ascend into heaven where God made Him LORD over all in heaven and on earth. And most importantly, God’s final word: Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe in Him!

Heaven’s final word is one of expectation. Jesus’ death on the cross took away all our sin. Jesus being seated in heaven as LORD, fills us with His Holy Spirit, and gives us eternal life. But the final word from heaven for all who believe in Jesus is this: He is preparing a home for us, and He is coming to gather us to Himself, both those who are alive and those who have died. There is a new world coming, and we shall rule and reign with our Lord Jesus in it. Heaven’s final word.

Brother Bill Oldham

<bboldham@sbcglobal.net>

by William Oldham

“…Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:14

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He entered into a covenant with them through Moses; it was a conditional covenant of law: if they obeyed His laws, they would be blessed; if they broke His laws, they would be cursed—it was just that simple.

God knew they would sin, and so in His covenant with them, out of love for them, He made a way for them to be forgiven and avoid being cursed: the Lord established a system whereby their sins could be atoned for or covered, and they would be forgiven. Their sins would be covered and forgiven by a blood sacrifice.

The Lord established a priesthood. The Lord had an altar built ( It would have looked like a huge barbecue pit). If someone sinned and wanted to be forgiven, the Mosaic law prescribed what kind of animal they were to bring to the priest. They would, for instance, bring a bull to the priest.

They would put their hand on it, signifying their guilt and their desire to be forgiven, and it would be accepted by the priest. They would then kill the bull before the Lord. The priests would take the blood and sanctify everything with it, and burn the body. This was God’s way of dealing with His chosen people’s sin at that time; but it was temporary and only for the children of Israel. His perfect plan to deal with sin was coming.

God so loved the world, that He sent His Son into it, to take care of the sin and curse issue, once and for all. Jesus Christ taught, preached, cast out demons, and healed folks; but His mission was to settled the sin problem forever, and bring an everlasting salvation to sinners. And this Jesus did—0n the cross!

On the cross, Jesus became God’s bloody sacrifice for the remission of sin: God laid on His Son the sin of the world, and in His death, Jesus took away the sin of the world. Which then made possible, the greatest gift ever offered to sinners.

The message of the gospel is the free gift of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to a sinner. It’s a free gift, because it was bought and paid for at Calvary. When a sinner hears of Christ’s death burial and resurrection, that is the Holy Spirit leading a sinner to Jesus. There, the sinner is made to see his sinful condition and condemnation, and he calls upon the name of the Lord and is saved out of it. But there’s more!

When a sinner calls upon the name of the Lord, they are saved; but they are also born again: they are given a new heart, a new nature. Their sins are not just forgiven, they are removed forever. The saved sinner is given a clean slate: their sins are not covered—they’re gone. And the label, “sinner” is removed from them, and by faith, they are declared righteous before a holy God.

Being made righteous by the blood of Christ, they are brought into the family of God by adoption. They are given eternal life and the Holy Spirit. They may sin, but if they do, there’s no record of it made, because they are no longer under the law of sin and death but under grace. But, as God’s children, and partakers of His love, sin in a Christian’s life is much harder that it was under the Mosaic law.

Sin in a Christian’s life grieves the very heart of the Father, and His children know it; and that guilt is worse than the fear of death and Hell. We don’t want to offend our Father, but sometimes we do. God, in great mercy and grace has provided the way for His children to redeem themselves:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9