Romans 19

The Real Believer

Brian Kocourek

 

This morning I would like to continue our study of the Book of Romans and we’ll pick up at Chapter 2 and paragraph 12 and read through the end of the chapter.  But Before we do, I want you to notice that Paul is addressing the Romans here who are Gentiles, and yet he is using the Jew as an example for this illustration. And I also want you to keep in mind, that there were 3 Exoduses, and in each one,  God came down in the Form of the Pillar of Fire to deliver the people. To call them out from where they were at and to bring them into a land of promise. Now it just happens that in the first Exodus we find God using Moses as His spokesman to gather together the Israelites in Goshen. God gathering, and God delivering, but He used a man to perform through. Then at the 2nd Exodus, we find God coming back down in the form of the Pillar of Fire and doing the same thing to the Church. He came down to deliver the people and to gather them togather to bring them forward into the promise of God. Now, if we are to be reading these verses of scripture as though they pertain to us in this hour, then we must know what the situation was back in Alpha in order to know  what is to happen in the Omega ministry of Jesus Christ.   Therefore when we read the Scripture from Romans  this morning, I want you to be thinking what Paul was addressing to the Romans and why. Because then you can apply it to today to get a better picture of the condition of the church in this hour.

 

Now, remember, to the Jew the Word of God was the Law. And that is precisely the way he looked at God’s Word. As Law. He was legalistic but very much so a man who looked at the Word of God from a standpoint of being very legalistic about his believing and fulfilling the Law while in his flesh. Therefore we can see that to do so you would have to look at the Law as a sort of absolute. The highest of the high. By becoming obedient to the Law you are displaying at least outwardly that you belive it.  so we are not talking about unbelievers here, but believers. These were a very sincere people who believed that they must show some sort of an outward display in order to be seen as ones who believe.  Therefore, what we see here is a kind of analogy to what we see among us in this Message today. The very same attitude that we saw among those who left Goshen and those who left Judaiam to follow Paul as He followed the pillar of fire. And so today, we find the same attitudes among those who would follow Brother Branham as He follows the Pillar of Fire. Now with this back ground, lets read what Paul has to say here as though it was written for our admonition. Now for the purpose of this reading I would like to change the word Law to Message, and Jew to believer in the Message.

 

[ROMANS 2:12]  For as many as have sinned without Message shall also perish without Message: and as many as have sinned in the Message shall be judged by the Message;  13 (For not the hearers of the Message [are] just before God, but the doers of the Message shall be justified.  14 For when the unbelievers, which have not the Message, do by nature the things contained in the Message, these, having not the Message, are a tradition unto themselves:  15 Which shew the work of the Message written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and [their] thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)  16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.  17 ¶ Behold, thou art called a believer in the Message, and restest in the Message, and makest thy boast of God,  18 And knowest [his] will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the Message;  19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,  20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the Message.  21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?  22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery Spiritually? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23 Thou that makest thy boast of the Message, through breaking the Message dishonourest thou God?  24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the unbelievers through you, as it is written.  25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the Message: but if thou be a breaker of the Message, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.  26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the Message, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?  27  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the Message, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the Message?  28 For he is not a Believer in the Message, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:  29  But he [is] a Believer in the Message, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.    

 

Now, let’s begin this morning to examine these wonderful words of Paul in the light of this End-time Message, seeing that nothing can come to life outside the revealed Word.

 

Let’s go back to verse 25 and look for a moment at this important principle that Paul si speaking to us. He says, if thou be a breaker of the Message, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.  And then I would like to ad to this the thoughts he spoke in verse 29, he [is] a Believer in the Message, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.

 

Now, notice here that paul is teaching us a principle here that what you count for righteousness actually becomes unrighteousness. What you count for a circumcision actually becomes uncricumcision. What you count on for bringing you peace with God is what brings enmity between you and God, if you do not receive the Message from your heart. Paul warns us here that a Believer is not one who outwardly seems to have all their hairs in the right place but it is one whose heart is in the right place. Then what we are looking at here is an admonishion to look inward for this Message to bring forth a change inwardly, and not just on our outward appearance.

 

In fact this is what our change outwardly is all dependent upon, an inward chnage to bring forth an outward one. [Romans 12: 1-2] tells us that the inner man must be renewed first before our outer man can receive it’s change. 1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

 

We find then the process of our change in [1 John 3: 1-3]. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

 

Here we see that as we truly begin to see the Appearing of the Lord, or shall we say the mighty God unveiled before us, we then begin to take on the same image and Glory. Now, remember, God is Spirit and no man hath seen the Father at any time, but the Son hath declared Him. Then the only way we could actually see God in this hour is to see Him through a declaration which is a Message. So then if we truly see and understand and perceive what this Message of God really is, then we begin to shed ourselves of our own thinking and our own ways and we begin to think like he thinks and our ways become His ways. 

 

[Isa 55:6-12] 6  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  8 For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9  For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands.

 

Here then we see that since our thoughts are not his thoughts, we must then change our thoughts to his thoughts if we are to be like Him. But how is this possible for mere mortal man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, and who can know his ways.  And if in our hearts we are to receive a change, how do we know our own hearts that we might allow them to be changed?

 

[Jer 17:9 -10] 9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?  10  I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of his doings.

[1 Cor 2:9-16] 9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  10  But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. 15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.  16   For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

 

That is why Jesus can say what He did in [Luke 10:22] All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and [he] to whom the Son will reveal [him]. That is why we needed so much this great revelation. You can’t get it on your own.

 

[2 Cor 3: 15-18]:15But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.  16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.  17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. 18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.

 

Now, remember, when we read from Jer 17 we saw that the heart is most deceiptful, because it said, who can know it. But what we can know is what God said, and if we are true inour own heart, then we will take whatever God says, and lay aside everything else. Not, “God said it, I believe it and that settles it,” But “God said it and that settles it.” It doesn’t matter whether I believe it or not. If God said it, then that’s it. It is a done deal. Now, in 2 Cor we read that the heart must turn back to God in order for this chnage to take place in us as Believers. But is this something that we can of our own self do? And the answer is absolutely, NOT! When has man ever been able of himself to do anything. But God who promised this to happen has come Himself to ensure that it does hapen. And that is what we see in Malachi chapter 4. The Spirit of elijah must come and reflect itself through a man in order to bring forth a Message that will turn the Hearts of the children back to the hearts of the Fathers. The Omega turned back to the Alpha. There you have it.

 

When the heart turns to the Lord, and how is that possible? Because the Lord Himself came down in the Spirit of Elijah and declared Himself to be among us vindicating His Own presence among us to ensure that our hearts will be turned.  And once our hearts have been turned back to Him, we then can receive the change in the inner man, from image to image and from glory to glody, which is from doxa to doxa, from opinion to opinion, from assessment to assessment, from judgment to judgment. And notice the chnage is from our own assessment to His assessment, from our opinion to His opinion, and from our own judgment to His judgment.

 

So what we are looking at here this morning is that a Believer, a true believer in this Message will not be so concerned with their appearance outwardly as they are with their appearance inwardly.

 

[Psalm 139:23-24,  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:  And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

Psalm 26] 2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. 3 For thy lovingkindness [is] before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. 4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. 6  I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD: 7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. 8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. 9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: 10 In whose hands [is] mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. 11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. 12  My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

Now, we are looking at the effects that the change of our heart has upon us. as we have seen, already in our examination, that you don’t really see with your eyes, you see with your heart. And unless your heart has been regenerated by the power of God, you will never see the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

[JOHN 3:3] Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 

43  YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN 61-1231M  And, remember, the first thing, until you're borned again you'll never understand. Twice He spoke it. "Except a man be born again he cannot enter the Kingdom. Except a man be born again he cannot even see the Kingdom." Now, that's punctuated too. The word, in the making all those words, they tell me that they had to write it out, they, and when they say, "Verily, verily," that's a punctuation, like a capital. "Verily, verily, I say unto you." And the word in one place, or many places, it's translated "absolutely": "Absolutely, absolutely, I say unto you." Who said that, did a cardinal, priest, pastor, evangelist, pope? God Himself. Now, there's no excuses. He will in nowise, nowise at all, cannot in any other way, no matter how great he is, what his name is, how big he is, or how popular he is, he cannot even understand the Kingdom of God until he's born again. It's a great subject. "Verily, verily, I say unto you." Watch. Go get the Greek translation; you'll find: not see with your eyes, you see with your heart. See, you can't see the Kingdom of God with your eyes, because it's a spiritual Kingdom. See? In other words, "You'll never be able to understand the Kingdom of God until you are borned again." It's all an unraveled mystery. And when you're borned again, the plans of the Kingdom, the Kingdom itself becomes real to you.

 

E-11  JEHOVAH JIREH  55-0817  Now, you do not see in Bible terms with your eyes. You see with your heart.   Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be borned again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." It doesn't mean "look at," it means "understand." See? And when we can understand, God's attitude towards us then God's compelled then, to give the blessings that He promised through His redemptive Name.

 

  182  ADOPTION OR PLACING  60-0522E  You know, and the Bible said you were blind and didn't know it. But here Paul said, "I'm going to pray that your eyes of understanding..." You understand with your heart. That's what he's talking about. You look with your eye, but you see with your heart. You know that. All right. "That the God of glory..." Let's see, the 18th vs.  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of the calling, and what the riches of... glory of his inheritance in the saints,

 

Now, in getting back to whqat Paul was telling us in the Book of Romans, He said, But he [is] a Believer in the Message, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.    

 

Oh, brothers and sisters, are you looking at this Word with the Eyes of your heart being enlightened. Has the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of Him enlightened the eyes of your understanding? Do you know who has come down. Remember, Jesus said, You can’t know the Son and neither can you know the Father unless it has been revealed to you.

 

And in [2 John 8-9] John said,:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.  9  Whosoever transgresseth, ( that means to go beyond the limits)  and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,(the true teaching of Christ)  hath not God. He that abideth (He that remains)  in the doctrine of Christ,(in the true teaching of Christ)  he hath both the Father and the Son.  (and both means there are two of them. One God who had a son). 10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, (this true teaching)  receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed:  11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. (what evil deeds? Not teaching the Godhead correctly).

 

The church Age Book  The New Testament does not reveal ANOTHER God, it is a further revelation of the ONE AND SAME GOD. Christ did not come down to make Himself known. He did not come to reveal the Son. He came to reveal and make known the Father. He never talked about two Gods; He talked about ONE God. And now in this last age, we have come back to the capstone revelation, the most important revelation of Godhead in the whole Bible, 

 

143  PALMERWORM LOCUST CATERPILLAR  59-0823  And you Oneness brethren, many of you get off the wrong track when you try to think that God is one like your finger is one. He can't be His Own Father. He can't be.  But He is God. God is Jehovah, the Spirit; Christ was the House that He dwelt in.

 

E-53  ABRAHAM RESTORED  61-0211  You got one side of the road over here saying, "God's one like your finger's one. He can't be His own Father." Got them over here saying, "He's three different Gods." Well, if He's three different Gods, then God the Holy Ghost, and God the Father is two different people, then the virgin was conceived by the Holy Ghost. Which one was His Father? Got one Father, the Holy Ghost and God is the same self Spirit.....He can't be His own Father; Jesus couldn't be the one Jesus, one God, all like that. He was created by God the Father. Right. And God the Father dwelt in Him,

 

 18-2  GODHEAD EXPLAINED   61-0425B   Now, and He said in St. John 14 to Thomas, "When you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. And why sayest thou, 'Show us the Father?'" The Bible said that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.   Now, God cannot be three people, three gods, neither can Jesus be His Own Father in one. See? So, you see, it makes both radically wrong.

 

487-3  {194}  QA ON THE SEALS   63-0324M   Before there was an atom, or electrons, or before there was even cosmic light, electrons, or anything, He was God. He's the Creator. And that's the only way you can be eternal, is to receive Eternal Life; that Greek word there, I think, is Zoe. Isn't that right? Zoe, Zoe. And then that Life God imparts to you, as the father, your father imparts his life to you through the--the marriage vow with mother--and he, by that, imparts the joy of imparting (Catch me?), of the imparting life for a son.  And that's the way God does: a joy in imparting His Life to a son. See? And then you become part of Him which is Zoe, God's Own Life. "I give unto them Eternal Life--raise them up at the last day." 

 

 44  CALLING JESUS ON THE SCENE   63-0804E   There's God (See?), not three gods. Oh, how many of you trinitarian people got that mixed up. And how you Oneness people got it mixed up too of Him being one like your finger. Uh-huh. See? They're  both of them got it mixed up. See? That's right. He's the one God like your finger, and one, how could He be His Own Father? See? See, He can't be His Own Father. And if He had another Father outside of the Holy Spirit, and if God is a man, a person, then He is a... The Holy Spirit was His Father, and God's His Father (Matthew 1), so then He was a illegitimate Child. See? So you can't make it either way, you--it's both wrong.  He was God manifested in a flesh of His creative Son. See? Now, that's, God created the Son.

 

  94  ISRAEL IN EGYPT  53-0325   Now, here He comes, torn, riven, tore to pieces. His soul went to God. God blessed Him. And then His soul returned back in the form of the baptism of the Holy Ghost that comes into every believer, to sanctify, clean up the mind, clean up the heart, and leave a portion of the Holy Ghost in there, here and there. And when the Holy Ghost is given out, that same Holy Spirit that brought the Body of Jesus out of the grave, will rapture. And that covenant has to dovetail, as He tore there and gave the Body; went back to God, and the Spirit came back to the earth. Then your Spirit will have to be the same kind of Spirit, or it'll miss that place going together. Amen. Yes, sir. Not because you make yourself, but because Something, the love of God has swept into your soul and tore every earthly idol out. There it is.

 

 E-86  THY SEED SHALL POSSESS GATE  62-0121M   Why did David say, "I will not see My Holy--let My Holy One see corruption (My Holy One see corruption.), neither will I leave His soul in hell?" David said that. See, both soul, body, and spirit was created of God by Him. The woman was not a mother; it was a woman. I believe she was a good holy woman. Absolutely, she'd never been a incubator. God would've never chose no dirty incubator (Lord willing, I'm preaching on that tonight) but an old dirty incubator to bring His--to bring His Son to the earth in. He chose a virgin, knowing not a man, neither did she have any sperm discharge or anything else when the Holy Ghost overshadowed her, because God in His immaculate, infinite way created in her: soul, body, and Spirit of Jesus Christ. That's right. He was a virgin born Son of God.

 

 E-26  GO WAKE JESUS  63-1103   And the animal doesn't have a soul: the human does. And here was the King of souls, God, Himself, manifested in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. And when He died, the Spirit of God come back upon the believer. And then... a person that has the opportunity to receive this, and then call the working of that Spirit the devil, it's unpardonable. It can never be forgiven.

 49-1  FUTURE HOME 64-0802  Look, them hands designed this for His Beloved and--Bride: designed in tenderly love for His Bride. Remember that the Holy Ghost descended on Jesus, which Jesus was a part of the earth. Why? The germ of God, the Life of God was designed in the womb of a woman (That right?), which was the earth. All right. And then the Life of God came in, so He was the beginning of the creation of God. See? And then that Blood of God, that was there by that germ, when it was shed at Calvary, dropped back upon the earth. What for? To redeem the earth. Now, it's been justified; it's been sanctified, called and claimed; and now it's to receive its baptism of fire, and be cleansed for Jesus and His Bride. And you are these other parts that's drawed out of this earth--the earth. You are part of the earth, your body. Your soul is part of God, a attribute of God, displayed here on earth in a body. The body's to be redeemed. Now the soul's redeemed, because it was in sin. So God come down by process of justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost, and redeemed your soul. And you, being part of the earth, it's redeemed by it. You're in the process now, it's growing on.

 

 100  MODERN EVENTS MADE CLEAR BY PROPHECY 65-1206   Notice, we find today that people... There's many people just can't believe it, even Spirit-filled people. I'm going to give you one that'll choke you. The baptism of the Holy Ghost don't mean you're going in, not at all, not on that, don't have anything to do with your soul. That's the baptism. See? Here's the inside soul in here, that has to come from God. But then on the outside you have five senses, and five inlets to contact your earthly home. The inside, you have a spirit, and in there you have five outlets: your conscience, and love, and so forth, five outlets to that spirit. Remember, in that spirit you can be baptized with the genuine Spirit of God and still be lost. It's the soul that lives; that was ordained of God.