Category: Bill Oldham

New Teaching from William Oldham

On By Brother BillIn Bill Oldham, Uncategorized1 Comment

Finding Common Ground

           Finding common ground doesn’t mean giving up your views on issues, it simply means you and those with opposing views find things you can agree on.  I hear this phrase quite often these days, both in politics and religion.  It sounds like a good way for folks with differing views to settle important matters, and live in harmony with one another. But is it?

          The government of our country was set up so as to be run by representation of the people. Congress was to be made up of duly elected folks from every state in the union. They were to work together for the people they represented, but more,  for the well-being of the United States as a whole. Ideally, that’s the way it was supposed to work; and practically, they had to find common ground, in order to do it.

          A real kingdom doesn’t work that way. A true kingdom is run by the king alone. He may be a very good king who rules his people well, or he could be a very evil king, who rules his people with an iron fist, but common ground never enters the picture: a real king rules his kingdom according to the dictates of his own heart.

          The church of God is neither a republic nor a democracy; it is a kingdom ruled by a King—the Lord Jesus Christ! He has never relinquished His rule to another; He has never appointed a man to rule over His church; He is not building His church according to the whims and fancies of a majority of men; Christ is the Head of His church, and He alone is building it according to the dictates of His heart, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the will of the Father.

          The false shepherds of the present day nominal church are actively pursuing bringing people of all faiths onto common ground; they claim this honors God by bringing all men into a global, human fraternity. They say that no one need lay aside their religious convictions, but find common ground and make it the main thing. Well, from man’s point of view, that sounds wonderful, but from God’s view, just how wonderful is it? Does the Lord God even address this?

          Let’s consider  the term, “All faiths”; that expression is used much these days. It implies that all religions are equal and share some common ground, and they do. Christianity is not a religion, and the one thing all the religions of the world share in common is, they reject Jesus Christ who is the Founder and Head of Christianity.

          Now, some religions may declare that they don’t reject Jesus. As a matter of fact, they may say, we believe in Jesus: we believe He was a prophet, a great teacher who taught good morals, or He was a good man, or an angel, or a created being. But the word of God clearly rejects such thinking as the spirit of antichrist. Jesus Christ was God in a flesh and blood body; He was the second person of God, born of a virgin, the Son of God. Rejection of that is the spirit of antichrist.

          Jesus forbids His church from looking for common ground with those who reject Him.     

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what does righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and the devil? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, come out from among them and be separate…”

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net

The Time is Here

On By Brother BillIn Bill Oldham1 Comment

By William Oldham

“…A time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

          The Scriptures offend unbelievers because they are in rebellion against God and they don’t want to hear the truth concerning God’s condemnation of their lifestyles. I am reminded of a story in the Scriptures. It was a time when the king of Judah and the people were practicing idolatry and living very immoral lives; with their mouths, they worshipped Him, but their hearts were completely turned away from Him.

God sent a letter to the officials and the king, warning them of His impending judgment, which was going to be devastating; their rebellious ways were going to destroy them. But God loved His people, He wanted to them to turn from their wicked ways and return to Him. Rebellion against God brings destruction and death; obeying Him brings protection and provision—Always: God changes not!

          The king’s response to God’s heartfelt warning was total contempt. It was winter and the king was sitting by a fireplace. As an official would read three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the letter and threw it into the fire. He did that until the whole letter was cut up and burned up in the fire. Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. Jeremiah 36:22-25

          Pagans who act in such a manner is understandable; but this king was one of God’s chosen people and was supposed to be the shepherd of God’s people. He was called to lead them in the truth of their God, Jehovah. But his contempt towards God’s word openly demonstrated the wickedness of his heart. His identity was manifest: he was a false shepherd.

          Today, the church of God has many preachers, pastors and teachers who claim to be “shepherds” of Jesus’ flock; but in truth, are they? We have been warned by Jesus Himself that false shepherds would come. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15

          The apostle Peter warned the church: “…There will be false teachers among you, who will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 2:1-2

          How can you know for sure that the preacher or teacher you listen to and follow is a true or false teacher? The answer is crystal clear.

          A true teacher will always teach from the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament; from them they will teach and preach Christ—ALWAYS! From the Scriptures, they will teach faith, hope and love; they will teach obedience to Jesus Christ’s commandments. They will teach of judgment to come, of Heaven for the saved and Hell for the wicked. 

          A true teacher will proclaim that Jesus died to save sinners and in order to be saved you must be born again; that no man can come to the Father except through Christ for He is the way, the truth and the life. They will lead you to the narrow path that leads to everlasting life.

          A false teacher will look very attractive, charming, and will speak smooth words, all to draw you away from the Scriptures, thus drawing you away from Christ. They will deceitfully lead you into a lifestyle that conforms to this world, and lead you down the broad way that leads to destruction.

Here’s the truth: Whoever believes in Jesus is saved; whoever doesn’t believe in the name of Jesus is condemned. They are condemned because they refuse to come to Christ; they are in the darkness of sin and love it because their deeds are evil. They hate the light of Scripture because it exposes their wicked ways. John 3:16-21

Now is the time to come to Jesus Christ!

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbdglobal.net

FROM DEATH TO LIFE

On By Brother BillIn Bill Oldham3 Comments

By William Oldham

“…As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:14-15

The story of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness is a lesson for all to see and learn from. We find Jesus referring to it because it clearly depicts God’s grace in rescuing condemned sinners from death to life. In only a few verses in Numbers 21, we find great sinning against holy God; we see judgment and death falling on the sinners; we see a man approved of God interceding for them, and God answering his prayer and making a way for them to live. 

The children of Israel were on their way to the Promised Land, led by Moses. Along the way they became discouraged and began to grumble and complain about how hard the journey was. Then, they developed a hatred for the very bread from heaven that God was providing. Grumbling and complaining starts in the heart and quickly spews from the mouth; it’s a sin God hates and only leads to greater sin.

Their grumbling and complaining, their hatred for God’s manna from heaven was an affront to His goodness and provision for them. The Lord was leading them to a land flowing with milk and honey; He was going to settle them in the most beautiful place on earth. There, He would watch over them, bless them with an abundance of provision and His divine protection. All He asked was for them to trust Him as they travelled through the wilderness, but they didn’t and wouldn’t—they griped and complained!

As a result, “…The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” Numbers 21:6 That brought the people to Moses, acknowledging their sin; they said, “…We have spoken against the Lord and you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses did and the Lord answered his prayer.

The Lord instructed Moses to make a brass serpent and set it on a pole; “…And it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” Numbers 21:8 Moses made it, set it up, and everyone who was bitten and looked at it lived.

Did the brass serpent have the power to give life to anyone? Could a person who was bitten NOT look and live? How easy and simple it was to live after being bitten: just go and look!

Every person that has ever lived, or ever will live has been bitten by the old serpent, the Devil. That bite is the bite of sin and sin brings judgment and death. But God, in great mercy, has come to the rescue of sinners on their way to death and Hell. How easy and simple it is for a sinner to pass from death to life.

The love of God towards sinners cannot be measured. Before we cried out for help from the judgment of death, God came to the rescue. In response to the bite of the serpent, God raised up a life-giving Savior. The Savior was His only begotten Son; and Jesus was lifted up on a tree for all to see. And on that tree, the lord laid on His Son the sin of the world, and then, taking our place, Jesus took on Himself God’s judgment against sin and sinners.

To this very moment, you are reading this column, looking unto Jesus Christ, lifted up and crucified remains the only way for you to go from death into life.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in Him Who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net

Through It All

On By Brother BillIn Bill Oldham1 Comment

By William Oldham

“…This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone…” 2 Samuel 7:8-9 The Lord spoke these words to David after he became king over Israel. 

          I want to focus on those nine words the Lord spoke concerning David’s life up to that point: “…I have been with you wherever you have gone.” David was thirty years old when these words were spoken. These words take us back to when David was a boy taking care of his father’s sheep. What we know of those days concerns how bravely David protected his father’s sheep; listen to David’s own testimony when he was speaking to King Saul:

“I kept my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.” 1 Samuel 17:34-35

          We know the rest of the story. David spoke these words as the giant Goliath was speaking fear into the hearts of the Israeli army. David would later go out to confront Goliath, armed only with a slingshot and five smooth stones; and with one stone, guided by the Lord, it became a missile that brought the Giant down and killed him. The young shepherd boy had bravely gone out and confronted the giant with these words:

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” 1 Samuel 17:45

          David was an immediate hero to Israel and became a mighty warrior in the army, drawing much praise from the people. This aroused jealousy in the king which turned into hatred. Out of that hatred came the desire to kill David, and until he died, Saul, with his army, chased David throughout the land, seeking to kill him. But the king never succeeded in his evil plan because the Lord was David’s Shepherd, wherever he went. In the end, the Lord made David the shepherd of Israel.

          The Lord has made Jesus Christ our Shepherd. Believers in Him are called sheep and He is called the Shepherd. Listen to Jesus’ words:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep…My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” John 10:11, 27-29

          Jesus indeed laid down His life on the cross for sinners so that they might live forever. The Devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking to devour the Lord’s sheep. 1 Peter 5:8 

Christians encounter that roaring lion all through their life. That lion has many faces, but most often, looks like a giant. He appears in times of broken and troubled relationships, hardships relating to having a job, health issues that bring fear of imminent death, social issues, financial issues, and then the sorrow and heartbreak of the loss of loved ones.

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all…the angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34

The Devil is always tempting and trying God’s saints sorely, but thank God, in Jesus Christ, we have the victory, we shall overcome! Through it all, we shall at last stand on Mount Zion, ruling and reigning with King Jesus, for, through it all, He is with us, wherever we go!

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net