<TITLE>08. Par 25-27</TITLE>L-25 Now, God called him by election. Now, brethren, my precious darling brethren, if I happen to get out of order in the Scriptural doctrine, will you just forgive me for it and knowed it's my ignorance? Will you do it...?... And my theological brethren out there, if you feel I--my doctrine is wrong, will you just forget it? See, just...
Now, many you people are writing me letters and saying, "Brother Branham, should we do this or do that?"
I always say, "Ask your pastor." See? Because I'll do anything I can answer you on the great fundamental evangelical doctrines of the Bible. But when it comes to about: "Should we do this and do that." I always refer to your pastor, because we might... Each man, there isn't two here, but what would disagree with one another on little technical things, whether we should comb our hair on the right side or the left. And mine, I have no trouble with that. So--so... But you know what I mean. We--we have those things, so I always just say that every congregation, "Ask your pastor those things." If he has led you far enough to be saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, can't you trust him the rest of the way through? If God honored him for that...
But on bringing this timely thought to the people this afternoon, I'm going to have to use just a little bit of doctrine, that might be said, or something like that, but if you don't think it's right, just lay it aside and go on. If the pastor teaches anything a little different, forget what I said about it. See? Because I'm trying to come to a point. I hope that's all right. I hope that's made clear.

L-26 But, you see, Abraham not being nothing himself, he was--he was called by election. Then if Abraham was called by election then his seed after him has to be called by election. That's right.
Jesus said, "No man can come to Me except My Father draws him first. And all that the Father hath given Me, will come to Me." That's the reason you just preach the Gospel in its plainness, yet the elected sheep of God would hear that, and catch it right quick, and they'll believe that the baptism of the Holy Ghost where others will walk away and make fun of it, because they were elected to hear it. That's all, see?
So you see now, why that the Church itself is an elected pre-elected by God. Now, let me take the Word out of I Thessalonians the--the 1st chapter there were it said, "Predestinated." Now that's not a good word to use before people, because predestinated is a... It would be better if we used it like this: that it was by foreknowledge, God by His foreknowledge could predestinate to His own glory. See?

L-27 He--He didn't say, "Now, I'm going to choose you. And I'm going to send you to hell. And I'm going to choose you, and send you to hell." That wasn't God's idea. He wanted all of us to come to heaven. But being God, He foreknew who would come, and who would not come. Now, that clears up Romans 4--Romans 9, and--and 8 and 9 there were He said that the election God might stand sure, that before either boy was born (talking of Esau and Jacob), God said, "I love Jacob and hate Esau." See? His foreknowledge let Him know that their--that Esau was nothing but just a--a little shyster anyhow. And Jacob had recompense to that birthright. So see, His foreknowledge lets Him know. If He didn't know the end from the beginning, then He wasn't God. See? And the Bible said that we, the Church...


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