Benefits of the Son of God
no. 25
The Church Choosing Law
for Grace
Rev. Brian Kocourek
22) In Continuing with our study of the Twenty fourth benefit of God to us concerning His Son we will look again
today at the Law, but this time we want to take many, many scriptures, and show
that the Law has no life, and is only a school master showing us our sinful
nature,
Galatians 3: 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Not5ice then that law can
never justify you, it can only show you where you have been wrong. And that is
like the legalist who can look all day long and find fault in a person, but
they themselves can never show you the way out of your sin, because they themselves
can not find the way out for their own selves, yet they hope to find fault in
others so that they might justify themselves in that they aren’t quite as bad
as everyone else.
That is the same way with
those who would gloat over the fact that there are very few who really believe
the Word. How in the love of Jesus Christ who died and was miserably tortured
for your sins and mine could anyone who understands just what Jesus did for you
ever want to gloat at the ill fortune of those who do not know the saving Grace
of Jesus Christ. I can’t even conceive such thoughts in my mind, and neither
can I gain much happiness thinking there are people out there that need this
Great Revelation of Jesus Christ and how could I be happy knowing they don’t
have it.
Only Through Faith (which
is Revelation) do we have access to God into a new and living way. Therefore this
morning we shall again examine the
promise that Christ has removed us from under the Law and has made it possible for us to Live in Him.
This week we will focus our thoughts on the church and
its condition in this hour, because I am afraid that there are many churches,
in fact most Pentecost churches today and every other denomination has rejected
Grace in favor of the Law. The very fact that the word denominate shows they
have come to a determined value, and have placed a period after what they
believe shows they have turned down grace, in favor of that value or law which
they have come to realize is a reflection of the values of those churches. Even
within the Message today many of the churches, not all, but many, who claim to
follow this end-time Message of Grace have actually turned down this Grace that
was brought to us by God Himself in a Shout (which is a Message) when He
Appeared to us in this last hour.
Now, brother Branham preached a Sermon called “The Church Choosing Law for Grace”, and in it
he said some startling things that we should take note of.
Church choosing law for grace
61-0316 P:30 See, but we have to have
something to do into it ourself. We want to be like the Methodists, like
the Presbyterian, the Baptist, the Catholic. We have to make an organization.
We have... That's the same thing Martin Luther failed on. Not Martin Luther, he
didn't start it. John Wesley didn't start it. It was the groups after them started it. That's right. They didn't start it. No, sir, they kept it
clean. But when they left, then the
next round of them begin to organize.
And that's just the same way it was back in the beginning. First
group realized it was God and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and they stayed
with it. But the second group come on,
"Well, we got to do this, we got to separate ourself from them, they
seemingly haven't got the faith, and we've got it. And we'll make our group
over here, and pull away." And then that made some leader go over
here, and pull away this one, and this one pulling away over here, over here
and see, just exactly the same thing
And I see this
same pattern has followed this message until you can’t even get invited to
another man’s pulpit in this country unless you are in their little circle. I
receive invitations from all over the world, and if I could take them all I
could be on the road overseas for six months straight next year holding
ministers meetings, for one week at a time, and still not be able to come back
in between meetings for six months. But to think that you could hold such
meetings in this country it would take a real humbling down for the ministers
for that to happen. James 2: 9 But if ye have
respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as
transgressors.
Thus one evidence that the church has
turned down Grace is that they have become respecters of persons. Oh, “if
you don’t follow brother so and so, we do not want you”. Oh, “if
you do not say it just exactly like so and so says it, then we will have
nothi9ng to do with you.” Respecters of persons and that is
transgression of the law, and that makes you a legalist. One who has turned
down Grace for Law.
Notice brother
Branham said that first generation wanted what was right but after that the next
generation come along and through fear of loosing what they had been given by
Grace, they began to create ways to hold onto what they had, and in doing so
they began to separate themselves from others who did not seemingly have the
same amount of faith as they thought they had. Those are not my words, but the
Words of God’s Vindicated prophet. And we can see the fulfillment right before
our very eyes.
Brother Branham
said from his sermon, Deceived church by the world
59-0628M P:50 But as Israel was bound by their kings, that they could not follow
the real King, and the real King, when He came, they didn't recognize Him, so
is it today, O Lord, the King of glory
has appeared in the form of the Holy Ghost, and, Lord, they don't know it. They
don't recognize it. They're so organized so tight, that they do not understand
it, because it's not in their organization. Lord, this is a work of the Devil that's done this to the people. May
the Samson of God, may the true in heart, those who are longing and crying, and
pleading and holding on, may they stay with it, Lord, until this new crop grows out, until there comes forth again a joy
in Zion, and there comes forth a group
that can recognize and understand, that can see the Messiah and the hidden
power that's hid from the world, that they will not understand now. Grant,
Lord, that they'll see this. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
What it is, is
that the first groups that come out see the Living God in a Living Word, and
they received that living Word and became alive by it and to it, but those that
came behind them do not see the living God in their midst. They have a message
that’s only a history. It was not a personal thing for them, but something that
someone else had witnessed, so it does not have the same pull nor the same life
pulse to it. Therefore it has become only a creed, a theology, an intellectual
conception, and dogma. A Word without Life in it. There is no presence of God
anointing that Word to them. It is just a study of Sermons comparing one sermon
with another, and they die right there.
In an Audio letter to Lee Vayle 64-0500 P:2 Brother
Branham said, “Would it be,
you think, advisable in here, to say that God then, in order to proclaim this,
has to send a prophet in order to inject this, make this real again, show the people the hour we're living in? Because if they only see it in the hour
past, then there's no hope for the church. The church must see it in the present tense. So God sends His
prophet to manifest, present tense of it. You see? And then, after it's over,
then history is.”
And from the
sermon, Anointed ones at end time 65-0725M P:168 "For it is
impossible for those which were once enlightened and didn't move on with the
Word as it come to pass..." They're dead, gone. "
And from the
sermon World again falling apart 63-1127 P:49 But the church sets spiritually dead, gone, the
hour's passed them. They're in a
slump and hardly know what to do, one running this way and one that way.
And here every promise that God made in
the Bible, every one of them is laying there just as good as they ever was.
It's the hour. What makes the church like this? We're in the age of the
You see people
do not have faith. The Bible has warned us that there would be a Falling away from
The Faith.
1 Timothy 4: 1 Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from The Faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; And what are those deceiving spirits and
doctrines of devils? Those doctrines that take them away from The Faith which
is The revelation, and turn them to law.
2 Thessalonians 2: 3 Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Now, he is
called that man of sin, so what is sin? 1
Corinthians
So he will come
with another Gospel, one that preaches law for Grace.
Luke 8: 13 They on the rock
are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while
believe, and in time of temptation fall away. You see, in
order to fall away you have to have been there at some point. This is not
speaking of the Catholics or Methodists or any other denomination. It is speaking
of those that have been once for all enlightened.
Hebrews 6:5-6 for it is impossible for those that have been once and for all enlightened
and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made companions of the Holy
Ghost Himself, If they shall fall away, it is impossible for them to renew themselves
again unto a change of the mind; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of
God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
And remember, without Faith it is
impossible to please God. Because Faith
is the evidence of something you cannot see with your eyes. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.
Paul tells us that Faith is the substance
of things hoped for. That means it is something that we earnestly expect. Yet
once it can be seen, we no longer earnestly expect it, because it is. Romans
Rather, what the real reason behind the people choosing law for grace is
that the law is something that you can do yourself. It is something that can be
seen, so it is not something that is hoped for, because it is seen. And since it is not Faith it therefore is of
no substance either, for Faith is the substance…And what it boils down to is
that people place more trust in themselves and their own ability to do and in
God’s ability to honor His Own Word. Therefore, they in essence are calling God
a liar and don’t even know that is what they are doing.
Church choosing law for grace
61-0316 P:27 Now, we notice after all the blessings had come to
Martin Luther said in his Preface to Romans Martin Luther said, Faith is a
living, unshakeable confidence in God's grace; it is so certain, that someone would die a
thousand times for it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of God's grace makes
a person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures.
This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through faith, a person will do
good to everyone without coercion, willingly and happily; he will serve
everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him
such grace. It is as impossible to separate works from faith as burning and
shining from fire. Therefore be on guard against your own false ideas and
against the chatterers who think they are clever enough to make judgments about
faith and good works but who are in reality the biggest fools. Ask God to work
faith in you; otherwise you will remain eternally without faith, no matter what
you try to do or fabricate.
But to
fulfill the law means to do its work eagerly, lovingly and freely, without the
constraint of the law; it means to live well and in a manner pleasing to God,
as though there were no law or punishment. It is the Holy Spirit, however, who
puts such eagerness of unconstrained love into the heart. So, too, faith comes
only through the word of God, the Gospel, that preaches Christ..
In fact the
evidence that you are walking by faith is that you can love the unlovable. You
can reach out to the lost and dying soul who has no hope but the hope that you have
given them.
Galatians 5: 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in
this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Romans 13: 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law. 9 For this, Thou
shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other
commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the
law.
Galatians 6: 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the
law of Christ. And brother Branham told us that Eternal
Life is living for others.
In Galatians Chapter 5: 22
Paul said, But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
You see if you are living in the Love of God you are above the
Law, for the law was not made for the righteous, but for the unrighteous to
show them their unrighteousness.
1 Timothy 1: 9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a
righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for
sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of
mothers, for manslayers,
And from his
sermon Church choosing law for grace 61-0316 P:35 Brother
Branham said, Now, we come out and look, and look around, and
see: eleven day's journey from theology
to total unbelief, from the days they got the law until they finally went into
total unbelief.
And that is
about what the people have done today. And again he said …
Church choosing law for grace
61-0316 P:14 Now, that's a solemn thing; we should think on it for a little
while. Little did they believe that there was the waters of Marah laid before
them, or the wilderness of Sin, or the
You know that is the thing about the
legalist, he is always so sure that he is the one that is right and everyone
else is wrong. And how is it that they always seem to think they are in the
will of God? Because they say, “we got the real word for our day. We’re in
the same camp as brother so and so, so we got it and everyone else doesn’t have
it..”
And yet they were in the same camp as
Moses but they didn’t have it. As brother Vayle has told me on more than one
occasion, “we have people right here that have it but don’t have it.” and
the same thing we see in the days of Moses. They had the Pillar of fire in the
camp, and they had Moses in the camp, and they had the promise of God before
them and God’s Very presence leading them, and yet two million of them perished
in the wilderness. Yeah they had it alright but they missed it by a million
miles. And why did they miss it? Because
they turned down the promise God gave to Abraham in favor of law. They turned
down what God was doing in favor of something they could do.
Church choosing law for grace
61-0316 P:14 Just as our fathers was a few years ago. And they were, but there's where they made their great fatal mistake.
The greatest mistake that
And I am afraid that is where the church
is today. God Himself has come down in this hour in the same way that He did
back in Moses day, and He gave us a Message of Grace, and He gave us a Pillar
of Fire to lead us, and a Prophet to teach us, and He Revealed Himself in the
Shout, and He Manifested His Presence with us in the form of the Pillar of
Fire, and He gave us a way out of here
and promised us a change of the mind and a change of the body, and yet they
turned all that down for something to do themselves. All that did not satisfy
the people, they wanted organization like other groups have and they wanted a
clergy and hierarchy like other churches have, and so God has left them to
wander and die in the wilderness of sin just as they did back in Moses day.
But God has
come to remove the law and to give us His own mind, yet people do not want the
mind of God, for they will not let their own thinking. Paul
tells us in Hebrews
8: 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord; I will
put my laws into their mind, and
write them in their hearts: and I
will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Now,
why anyone would not just believe what God
promises I do not understand. But Israel turned down the promise and so
God has given this promise to the Gentiles as we read in Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, saith the Lord, I will
put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
And in Galatians
Then why would anyone want the law. Why would
anyone in their right mind want their own actions and the things they do and
say to be the factor by which they are judged and justified.
Hebrews 7: 11 If therefore
perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, what further need was there that
another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called
after the order of Aaron? You know Paul lays out a
very good question here. Hebrews 7: 12 For the priesthood
being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
In other words, under the levitical
priesthood there were levital laws to follow, but if the priesthood is changed
then the law must also change it. And so we see That Jesus came not after the
law of the levitical order, but the Priest Hood of Melchisedec, which was the
priesthood that gave the unconditional covenant of Grace to Abraham. Hebrews 7: 16 Who is made, not
after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. Hebrews 7: 19 For the law made
nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw
nigh unto God. And so we see that This Melchisedec priesthood is one
of Grace, Grace, Grace unto it, giving us a better hope.
And then if
this Priesthood which Jesus has come froth to do, and we have been called tot
his priesthood as Kings and Priests, we must come in a certain manner or way,
or order. And that is the order of Melchisedec. Then we find that this order
will also give us a right mind. For Jesus in expressing Himself as a son, said,
I can of mine own self do nothing, speak nothing, teach nothing, for I have not
come to do mine own will but the will of the Father which sent me.
And we know
that The Father was Melchisedec. That is what Brother Branham taught us. He
said Jesus was the prince of Peace but Melchisedec was the king of Peace, and
the prince is the son of the King, therefore, Jesus was not Melchisedec, but
Melchisedec was the Father of the Son. And so we as Jesus receive a right mind
by receiving the mind of their Father.
And that is
what Paul teaches us in Philippians 3: 9 And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, (notice, not having mine own
right-wise-ness)
which is of the law, but that which is through the Faith (which is
the Revelation)
of Christ, the righteousness (right-wise-ness )which is of
(out from) God by Faith, (which is by Revelation):
And Paul tells us in Galatians 2: 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Now, notice what Paul teaches us in the
Book of Galatians concerning the law. Galatians 3: 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the
law, or by the hearing of faith? Now, that is a very good
question to ask. Does the works of the law produce in you the Holy Spirit?
You’ve got to be crazy if you think so.
Galatians 3: 5 He therefore
that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it
by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Is
it your actions that produces the Life breathing presence of God in
Manifestation? If you think so, you would have to be insane. So then why would
you think your own actions will produce something as spiritual as salvation?
Galatians 3: 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under
the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all
things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Now, if the law has a curse to all those who do not
do the law, then why would anyone hold to it, rather than to the freedom in the
Spirit which comes by Revelation. I am sorry to say, but what aggravates me
more than anything is a people who think they got it all and everyone else is
excluded but them. And so they become cultish in their own mind, and cling to
only those of a like-mindedness and thus
place a basket over what little light that they have been given. This is a very
near sightedness that these kind of people have and it is full of pride and arrogant
behaviour.
Galatians 3: 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight
of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Now,
we have already shown that the only way to fulfill the law is not by any act of
the flesh, but simply by Faith which is revelation. And thus there remaineth Faith, Hope and Love
these three, and the greatest of these is Love. Faith is a revelation, and hope
is an earnest expectation that is set in motion by the revelation. And what it
produces is love which is an outward expression of you revelation given energy
by the hope that lays within you.
Paul further tells us in Galatians
Galatians 3: 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more
of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Notice then that the law does not speak of Sonship
and therefore has nothing to do with inheritance which is by promise. Therefore
what good is the law to you?
Galatians 3: 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law,
shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. But
once it did come we were set free from the law.
How? By the
revelation of Jesus Christ.
Again in Galatians 4: 5 Paul
speaks to us of being bought from the law in order to receive Sonship. To redeem them
that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And furthermore
Paul tells us in Galatians 5: 4 Christ is become
of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen
from grace. And why is that? Because the law could
never justify you. Justification means you never did it, yet he law can only
point the finger that you did do it, but can not cleanse you from the guilt of
the doing. Galatians 2: 16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in
Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the
works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Now that ought
to settle it forever. You can not in any way, shape or form be justified by the
law, so quit the legalism, Quit the finger pointing. Quit the back biting, and
all those things that legalists do, and learn about the grace of Jesus Christ
that sets you free from all that. When
Jesus was speaking to Peter and said, Peter do you love me, Peter answered and
said, yes, Lord you know I love you, and Jesus said Feed my sheep. He didn’t
say get them jobs. He didn’t say build them houses. He didn’t say run their
houses for them. He said feed my sheep the Word.
And Jesus asked
this to Peter three times, but Peter’s mind was on John who was following close
behind them, and when peter asked Jesus what about Him, Jesus said to him, “what is that to thee, follow thou me.”
In other word,
the grace of God in your life ought to keep you so focused on Him that you have
no thoughts about what others might or might not be thinking, doing, or saying.
It should not matter to you. And Gal
Now, let’s
quickly review Romans to see what Paul tells us about the law.
Romans 7: 5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins,
which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Romans 7: 6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being
dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not
in the oldness of the letter. So you see
here one evidence that a person is living under the law and is a legalist is
that they are living to the letter of the law and not by the newness of the
spirit. You can tell when you come into a church that is under legalism. It’s
like a bunch of cookie cutters Christians in there. Everyone dresses the same,
and acts the same, and even uses the same words in greetings to one another.
Why? Because they are afraid to be themselves. They are afraid to be what God
made them to be. They are like Pavlov’s dogs, trained to drool when the right stimulus
hits them. And so they all have the same reaction to whatever is said or done.
They are afraid to discuss the word freely. Oh, they might discuss the word out
of legalism to a creed that says they must talk the word. And so talk they do,
but not freely, and not openly lest someone might find them saying something
different, and then wham, they are labeled as unbelievers.
Romans 7: 7 What shall we
say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law:
for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Romans 7: 8 But sin, taking
occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For
without the law sin was dead. Romans 7: 9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the
commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
And so the law can only point out the
letter and the letter killeth so the law in effect brings death, but Christ
alone maketh alive by the revelation of Himself. For I am crucified in Christ, nevertheless I live, but it is
no longer me that is living, but Christ is living in me, and the Life I now
Live I live by the Faith of the Son of God, His Faith, you see?
Romans 7: 14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under
sin. Martin Luther said, And so what does that mean? If the law were physical, then it could be
satisfied by works, but since it is spiritual, no one can satisfy it unless
everything he does springs from the
depths of the heart. But no one can give such a heart except the Spirit of
God, who makes the person be like the law, so that he actually conceives a
heartfelt longing for the law and henceforward does everything, not through fear or coercion, but from a
free heart.( Just like William Branham said, I am free to do whatsoever I
want to do. The main thing is that all I want to do is to please the Lord.) Such a law is spiritual since it can only
be loved and fulfilled by such a heart and such a spirit. If the Spirit
(Gods own Spirit) is not in the heart, then there remain sin, aversion and
enmity against the law, which in itself is good, just and holy. This we find in
1 Corinthians chapter 2, that tells us no man can understand the things of God
except the Spirit of God be in him.
Romans
Romans 8: 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Martin Luther also said concerning this. Therefore you must not understand the word law
here in human fashion, is a regulation about what sort of works must be done or
must not be done. That's the way it is with human laws: you satisfy the demands
of the law with works, whether your heart is in it or not. God judges what is in the depths of the heart. Therefore his law also
makes demands on the depths of the heart and doesn't let the heart rest content
in works; rather it punishes as hypocrisy and lies all works done apart from
the depths of the heart. All human beings are called liars (Psalm 116), since none of them keeps or can keep God's
law from the depths of the heart. Everyone finds inside himself an aversion
to good and a craving for evil. Where there is no free desire for good, there
the heart has not set itself on God's law. There also sin is surely to be found
and the deserved wrath of God, whether a lot of good works and an honorable
life appear outwardly or not.
Romans
So you see, that although the Law may be
able to point out to you what is right and what is wrong, it can not do the
performing of it. And
so Luther said,
Outwardly
you keep the law with works out of fear
of punishment or love of gain.
Likewise you do everything without free desire and love of the law; you act out of aversion and force.
You'd rather act otherwise if the law didn't exist. It follows, then, that you,
in the depths of your heart, are an enemy of the law. What do you mean,
therefore, by teaching another not to steal, when you, in the depths of your
heart, are a thief and would be one outwardly too, if you dared. (Of course,
outward work doesn't last long with such hypocrites.) So then, you teach others
but not yourself; you don't even know what you are teaching. You've never
understood the law rightly. Furthermore, the law increases sin. That is because
a person becomes more and more an enemy of the law the more it demands of him
what he can't possibly do.
Only Revelation can make alive, and not
the law. So then the law represents death, and Faith which is revelation Life.
Romans 10: 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believeth.