<TITLE>07. Par 293-300</TITLE>L-293 Could you imagine God running His office so loosely, as to say, "Well, maybe somebody will think real sad about Me, maybe they'll come and get saved"? God don't have to beg you to do nothing. Any begging, you need to do the begging, not God.

L-294   And then, Christ died to save those who God, by foreknowledge, elected to meet Him yonder without spot or wrinkle. Before the foundation of the world, He seen you in Glory. That's what the Bible said, Ephesians, the 1st chapter. 5th chapter, the 1st verse. God predestinated by foreknowledge.

L-295 Now, if God did that, predestinated us before the foundation of the world; and knew every one of us by name, before the foundation of the world; and He Elected us to Eternal Life; and sent Jesus Christ to redeem us; that, six thousand years ago, He saw us, that we might appear to His praises in Glory! How can you ever be lost?

L-296   Now, if you're saved, you're saved. If God saves you tonight, knowing He's going to lose you ten years from today, He is defeating His Own purpose; the infinite, Almighty, Eternal, everlasting wisdom, God, doesn't know enough then to know whether you will hold out or whether you won't. Then, when He saves you, you say, "Well, I'll give Him a try. I'll see what He do," then He does not know the end from the beginning. God knows what He's doing, don't you never worry about that. It's you and I stumbling along. God knows what He's doing. And He knew we... whether we'd hold out, or what we would do.

L-297 Now, the Bible said that, Esau and Jacob, before either child was born, God said, "I love one, and hate the other one," before they even breathed their first breath, that His election might stand true.

L-298   Who was Abraham? We'll get to him in a few minutes, down here. Who was he, that God should call? Save him without anything. God makes a covenant with man; man breaks his covenant. But God made this Covenant with Himself, and swore to it, to Himself. Man has nothing to do with it. It's God's own foreknowledge. He done it, anyhow.

L-299 Now, you say, "Well, Brother Branham, then if I become a Christian, I can just do anything I want to?" Absolutely. If you're a Christian, do anything you want to. And I'll guarantee, you won't have any desire to do wrong. You do anything. I've always did just what I wanted to. And if I serve the Lord 'cause I'm afraid I'm going to hell, I'm not serving Him right. If I live true to my wife because I'm afraid she'll divorce me, I'm not a very good husband. But I wouldn't hurt her for nothing, for I love her.

L-300   That's how it is with Christ, when a man is born of the Spirit of God. Not because he shouted, spoke in tongues, or some emotion; but in his heart, love come in and taken the place of the world. I tell you, he loves Him. He walks by Him, every day. You don't have to tell him, "It's wrong to do this, or that, or the other." He knows it's wrong. And, he walks, he's an ordained product of God's sovereign grace. Exactly.
For it is impossible for those which were once enlightened,... made partakers of the... heavenly calling...
Now, we've sometimes believed that that was a man who once was enlightened and fell away again, but the Bible doesn't read it that way. "It's absolutely impossible for a man," he says here, "that has received the Holy Spirit, to ever fall away." Now read it and find out if that isn't right. Watch here, take the text, the whole text, and the contents, context, rather.


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