Choosing Grace
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Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Introduction.
Introduction.
When you were saved, you didn’t choose Grace. Grace chose you.
He chose you out of a barroom, or out of a church pew, or off the street, but he chose you.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
The children of Israel are God’s chosen people, He is not their chosen God. Every other people have a God of their choice, but not Israel.
About 3 months after they left Egypt, after coming through the red sea and the bitter waters, they finally come to Sinai.
In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
This seems like a great time, but when God speaks to them directly they are so afraid they cry out. They are never happy with how he’s leading them.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
Bro. Branham says that in the 19th chapter they actually chose law instead of grace.
The greatest mistake that Israel ever made, was in Exodus the 19th chapter, when grace had already provided a saviour, it had already provided a deliverer, it had already provided an atonement, a shed blood, and Israel said, “Don’t let God speak, let Moses speak.”
They wanted a law, or commandments, or something that they could do themselves. You see the nature of man? Trying to find something to do, himself, towards, merit salvation. 54-0814 - The Unconditional Covenant That God Made With The People
The law was given to Israel because they required it. Exodus 19 was the greatest mistake that Israel ever made. After grace had provided a Lamb, provided a Saviour, and they said, “Give us something to do.” 56-0930A - Hear Ye Him
And listen Christians: There’s where you’ll make your fatal mistake. There’s where Israel made her fatal mistake. When she asked for a law to serve God by. 60-1125 - Conference
They actually chose judgment over mercy by choosing the law over grace.
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
“Judgment!” Whew! They had marched out there and God had given them grace to travel by, but they had demanded a law.
God wanted them to be interdenomination; they wanted to make a denomination out of it, something they could argue about, instead of just following God and living under His jurisdiction, under His power.
Grace had provided a prophet, grace had provided an atonement (a lamb), grace had provided all these things, and yet they wanted judgment. They wanted something they could do.
God said, “Assemble them together, I’ll let them know what it is. I’ll show them what it is.” Read! Listen! And the voice of the trumpet got louder and louder until it shook the earth. You see what judgment is. I don’t want that. Give me mercy! 61-0108 - Revelation, Chapter Four #3
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.
Moses comes back down with the Ten Commandments.
The most fatal mistake that Israel ever made was Exodus 19. After grace had provided them all these things and had given the revival, they still required a law.
Though they could have schools, theological trained ministers, and well, just be like the rest of the people- something that they could fuss about, something they could separate one another, break up a fellowship or brotherhood.
“We believe this,” and “We believe that.” If they’d just let it go on the way God had it going, it would have been all right.
But we always try to put our ideas in it; that when we inject our ideas, when we inject our theology into God’s Spirit, it takes God’s Spirit away. That’s the way it was in that day. They were on the road, but they wanted something they could do themselves.
Through their fussing, and through their carrying on, they found out then that they drove the Spirit of God away from them. It was a great mistake. 61-0129 - Turning Northward
(Dove takes its flight)
They wanted to have something that they could do themselves, some Sabbath days they could keep, or some ordinances they could do, or something another that was brought in to them that they could do themselves.
And if you can do one thing to save yourself, then there’s not one speck of it grace. Law is what you do in regards to the grace that God has showed you by saving you.
As I’ve often said, I don’t run around with other women because I’m afraid my wife will divorce me. I don’t run around with other women ’cause I love my wife. That’s it.
I don’t believe that you should run around. But a law isn’t what keeps it, my marriage vow; it’s my love. And it’s reason I love God. Not because I’m afraid He’d send me to hell; I don’t believe He’d do that.
But because I love Him so much I don’t want to do it. There’s nothing in me to make me do it. I love Him too much; I wouldn’t hurt Him for nothing. Certainly, I love Him.
And when men and women get to a place: “Well, I really ought to stay at home and see this good play tonight and…But I’ll tell you; they’ll think I’m backslid if I don’t go on down to church.”
And you set there and sleep anyhow. You might as well stayed home and looked at something you’d enjoy more. But when your joy becomes the Lord, and the Lord is your joy, you can’t stay away from church, then you’re getting somewhere.
(Bro. Branham always types this to Pentecost of 1906)
The church was in better shape forty years ago for the Coming of the Lord Jesus than it is tonight, way better. They were closer to God. They had more God among them; they had more Spirit among them than they got tonight.
What did it? Because we separated ourself, each little group to itself. Going out there and telling the other one, “Well that’s old buzzard roost over there; this is that there. They haven’t got it; we got it.”
And your little differences of doctrines and so forth, and God wouldn’t pay [Brother Branham snaps his fingers—Ed.] that much attention to it. If we haven’t got love, what good does it do anyhow? 61-0316 - The Church Choosing Law For Grace
The Church now is like Israel. The Church is like Israel when they come up out of Egypt. When Israel was down there in Egypt, God by His marvelous grace, without any organization or anything else, He called Israel to his health, He called them to their inheritance.
Grace furnished them a prophet, grace give them a Pillar of Fire, grace give them a lamb, sacrificial lamb, grace give them power, grace give them deliverance, grace give them victory, grace give them all these things, and they danced in the Spirit, and shouted, and praised God about it.
And little did they know when they were dancing on the banks of the Jordan there, or, the Dead Sea, that they were forty years away from the land; they was only about five days away,
but they made their rash mistake in Exodus the 19th chapter where they accepted law instead of grace, where they turned down God’s way to have a way for theirselves, “Give us something to do.” That’s been man’s idea all along. 62-1122 - Return And Jubilee
They had grace. They had a prophet. They had a sacrificial lamb. They had redemption. They had been brought through the Red Sea. They had been healed of their diseases.
They had had water from a smitten rock. They had manna out of heaven. Everything they had need of had been supplied, and still they wanted something else.
Now that’s a perfect type of our Ephesians today, exactly. We come out under Luther; we went through sanctification, under Methodist; and came into the restoration, under Pentecost. Exactly like it was, the wilderness journey.
And when God brought us out, we did very well. But what did we do? Wanted to be like the rest of them. Now we find out that grace is the only thing that takes us through, never law. 65-0117 - A Paradox
What a bad trade. A nation of people known for their ability as tradesmen made two of the worst trades of all time. Grace for Law, and Barabbas for Jesus.
For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
(For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
This is Grace. Choose Grace. Don’t go back to the yoke of bondage.
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Application.
We have been brought out of Egypt, the world. Given the Holy Ghost, placed in the church of the firstborn. Seated in Heavenly Places in Christ. We’ve had a prophet.
This is exactly where the Galatians were.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Paul continues on telling his story and how the church had agreed to not add the burdens of the law to gentile believers.
He goes on to reinforce the doctrine of the righteousness of faith, and identifies Sarah and Hagar as bondwoman and freewoman.
The seed cannot be heir with the shuck. The hawk can’t fly with the eagles.
It must have been difficult for Abraham to let Ishmael go, but he would have marred Isaac’s inheritance. There can be no alliance between the free and the bound. Let them go start their clicks and denominations, you stay with the Word.
Men had come in to the church in Galatia claiming to be Christians but adding requirements for salvation other than faith.
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
If you eat meat, you’re lost.
If you aren’t circumcised, you’re lost.
Now it’s:
If you don’t go to my church you’re lost.
If you don’t believe my doctrine, you’re lost.
If you have a christmas tree, you’re lost.
If you sing a certain type song in your church, you’re lost.
Nonsense.
If you love God, you’ll do the works of God, but you can’t be lost.
Abraham received the seal of circumcision as a sign of His faith.
And today, when we believe God with all of our heart and accept His Son, the Lord Jesus, and God recognizes that faith is true in Him, then He sends back down the Holy Spirit of promise and seals us until the day of our redemption.
My. That takes all the scare out of all of it. There’s no negative thoughts at all in Christianity. Everything is a past tense. It’s already finished. 56-1209E - Jehovah-Jireh
Conclusion.
Conclusion.
(Indian Story, No Spitting)