Questions & Answers
Questions 104 (COD Page 500)
You said that a person could live so close to God that he could not sin while here on this earth. Then explain First John 1:8 to 10.
140 Let’s see First John 1:8 to 10. If I had a little more time to look these... I had it, but I just didn’t take it, friends. I-I was trying to-to get out... Well, I’ll find John after a while. It’ll-it’ll be on the other side of Hebrews, of course. All right. First John 1:8 to 10-First John 1:8 to 10.
If we say... we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive... our sins, and... cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and the word is not in us.
141 Well now, wait my dear brother. Just turn right over to the 3rd chapter here and the 9th verse. You’re right on the same page in my Bible. Eighth verse to begin with:
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For the purpose the Son of God was made manifest, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (Just what I been talking about, see, Godpredestinating, knowing you.)
Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he’s-he’s-because he is borned of God.
142 That’s just what the Word says. Now, if you’ll watch here.
If we say... we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and the word is not in us.
Now, some people say, “Well now, here is just a good little girl or good little boy. They never sinned to begin with.” You’re borned in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies. When you’re born in this world, you are a liar, you’re a thief, you’re everything there is, just all the sin, not a thief, ’cause you haven’t stole. But you’re-but you’re having... You’re not a liar, because you’ve not lied. But that spirit is in you when you are borned, because you are of the world. That’s the reason that you can’t have reformation, to reform; you’ve got to die and be born. And you cannot have birth without crucifixion. You can’t have resurrection; you must be crucified to the things of the world in order to be resurrected in Christ.
143 If you’re going to depend upon your-your intellectual’s conceptions and so forth, you’ll never be borned of the Spirit of God. You’ve got to forget, like Paul did, all that he ever knowed, and know nothing among you except Christ Jesus, and borned anew, afresh. Oh, if... Here... If I could get it to you. See? It’s a birth that makes a new genera-... a new creation. The very Greek word here, as I was looking it up in the Greek lexicon the other day, the word birth means “creation.” When it says, “You are a-new creatures in Christ Jesus,” there’s a word there, creature is the word creation. You are a new creation, not in the world, but in Christ Jesus. You’ve been anew.
144 Now, you was in the world and said, oh, you know, the fancy things, the fine clothes or some pretty something. And, “Bah!” Religion is on the side. See? “Oh, I go to church, sure. I don’t want to go to hell, but you know... ” And a pretty brown eyes to the girl, or the little wavy hair for the boy, or he’s a very, you know, a something another, just something to attract attention, or lustful, or drinking, or something or other there. That’s the world; you’re-you’re in the world. And the Bible said, “If you love the world and the things of the world, the love of God is not even in you.” So in order to get that out of you, you have to die, have to die, be crucified, and buried, and resurrected a new creation in Christ Jesus.
145 Now, before you’ve receive the Holy Ghost, you are believing unto Eternal Life. But you do not have Eternal Life until you receive the Holy Ghost, ’cause It is Eternal Life. The Holy Ghost is God; It’s God’s Life in you. Then you’ve got Eternal Life. Do you understand that now? See? Look! See? You are believing unto.
146 Wait, here’s a good thing. You women excuse me for this if it sounds too flat (see?)... make a point. A mother: there’s life, but still, that baby isn’t born. But if you treat that baby right and follow the rules of nature, that baby will be borned normal. But if you don’t apply everything to the rules of nature, you let a hard bruise, or a hit, or-or something take place, it-it-it’s going to ruin it (see?); it will kill the baby before it’s borned.
147 Well, that’s what’s the matter. The bruises comes from Satan. Satan takes the poison darts of hell and try to bruise the Church that’s in travail with a baby. And before it’s ever borned, they kill it. But if you just take the Bible and nurture it in the-give it baby food, the mother taking vitamins... Well, this is the best Vitamin I know of, spiritual Vitamin. See? It builds you up.
148 Now, the church ought to be taking spiritual Vitamins; and the Vitamins is right here, a whole Book full of them. And you must be taking spiritual Vitamins, learning, and that brings forth the baby to a birth. See what I mean?
149 Now, the little fellow, when he-he-he’s got life-he-he’s got life, ’cause the little cells are moving and kicking after about three months and-or four. And then, he’s kicking and moving but he isn’t borned yet. But as soon as he is brought into the world, the doctor, mother, or someone, holds him up and [Brother Branham claps his hands together-Ed.] gives him a little spanking. “Whaah!” There he goes (see?), and then he starts breathing. And just as soon as he breathes the breath of life, then he becomes a living soul.
150 And that’s what sometimes... You’re ready to receive the Holy Ghost? You’re in travail; you’re wanting to be delivered. How many in here is in that shape right now, wanting the baptism of the Holy Ghost, really want to know what it is, want to get-get into it? Who wants the baptism of the Holy Ghost? Raise up your hands. See? You’re in travail, you’re wanting-you’re wanting to be delivered. What you need is a little Gospel spank, a little something that’s [Brother Branham claps his hands together-Ed.], and you scream out, “Glory!” And when it happens... I know you think I’m crazy, but we-we have the mind of Christ which is craziness to the world anyhow. Something screams in, then that Spirit surges you. Then It just keeps coming.
151 Like I said to a person, it’s like an old stopped up pipe. And you run a little wire through it, and you get ahold of this wire, “Zig, zig, zig.” And there’s a great flow of water trying to get through it. “Zig, zig,” you can’t get it, but you know there’s something up there. You can feel it; it’s up on that end. Then after while give her a great big pull, and [Brother Branham imitates the sound of rushing water-Ed.] goes the water through the pipe. That’s the way it is. Then the water just keeps on coming. That’s the way the Holy Spirit is. Sin stopped up the pipes. You-you set back and say, “I’m timid. You know, I just couldn’t say that. I’m afraid the people think I was a holy-roller.” See? That’s...
152 Now, when you feel that little tugging of the Spirit... You want It more than life-you want more than your own life. It means more to you: “I got to have It or die.” The first thing you know you get ahold of something. You say, “That’s it, Lord.” You pull the cork out. Whew! Here she comes! Gone! Oh, my! Free! Ooh! My, I don’t care if the President Eisenhower was setting here. I’d say, “Glory to God, His Blood will save you.”
153 Peter and them was back in behind there at Pentecost hiding, saying, “Look out the door real easy, see if any of them Jews out there are coming.”
“No. I don’t see a one of them.”
“All right, be real still, fellows, I tell you, if they ever come up here, they’ll pull us out. That’s just all there is to it. Stay close.”
154 They was all setting there, and all of a sudden there come a sound from the Heaven like a rushing mighty wind. It begin to fill all the house where they were setting. Something begin to take place. Out of that building they went; throwed open the doors, down the steps they went into there staggering like a bunch of drunk men under the impact of the Spirit, just a screaming and a carrying on.
155 They said, “These men are drunk. Listen at them. Look at that coward looking out the door, the one that denied Jesus down yonder at the crucifixion. Said, ‘I didn’t even know Him.’ A little woman said, ‘Well your speech betrays you. You’re one of them.’” Said, “He cursed, said, ‘I don’t know Him.’”
156 But when that cork was pulled out, when the Spirit begin to flow through, he said, “You men of Judea, you that dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known unto you and hearken to me. (Amen!) I’m boss. Let this be known unto you; these are not drunk. (Taking up for his church.) These are not drunk as you suppose, seeing it is the third hour of the day, but this is that which is spoken of by the prophet Joel: ‘It will come to pass in the last days, saith God, I’ll pour out My Spirit upon all flesh... ’” Um-m-m, what a difference! Whew! My, I know you might think this is a terrible thing, but I-I-I must let you see what’s Truth. Stay with It.
157 Now, certainly, you have Eternal Life.
158 Now, to explain this. This, say... “If we say we have sinned not (‘All have sinned and come short of the glory of God’) we make God a liar.” He said you had sinned. If you say you haven’t sinned...
159 “I-I was born in the Baptist church, Methodist church, Pentecostal church, Presbyterian church; I was born... ” That don’t make a bit of difference, you got to be born out of it again. That’s right. If we say we’ve sinned not, you make Him a liar. And the Word, which is the Truth... How many knows the Word’s the Truth? “In the beginning was the Word... and the Word was made flesh, and Word... ” “Sanctify them, Father, through the Truth. Thy Word is the Truth.” And He was the Word. See? “And the Word, or Christ, is not in you.” He was the Word. How many of you know that? See? All right.
160 We’ll read it like this then: “If you say you have sinned not, you make Him a liar, and Christ is not in us.” See, see? Now, that, see, when you say that you’ve sinned... that you haven’t sinned, you’re wrong. You’ve got to be born again.
161 Now, we’ll turn over here at this other verse. “He... Whosoever is borned of God does not commit sin, does not commit sin, for... ”
162 Now what is sin? Who said that, somebody? Unbelief. That’s what the Bible said. There’s only one sin, and that’s unbelief. That’s right. “He that believeth not is condemned already.” See? So we, one real sin.
163 Now, if you say, “Well now, wait a minute. I believe that they might have got the Holy Ghost like that in them days, but I don’t believe it’s so.”
164 “But, brother, the Bible said, ‘The promise is to you and your children.’”
“I know, but... ” You’re sinning. You’re sinning right there. You’re disbelieving what God said.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
165 “Well, nah, we’re taught that... ” I don’t care what you’re taught. The Bible said-He said, “Let every man’s word be a lie and Mine true.” All right.
You say, “Well, He-principally He’s the same, but I don’t... You mean He’s the same?”
“Yeah, in the Church doing the same things He did when
He was here.”
166 “Oh, I can’t believe that.” You’re sinning. You’re sinning. And he that’s borned of God, of the Holy Ghost, don’t say those things. And if he says he’s got the Holy Ghost and says those things, that’s the evidence he hasn’t got It. I don’t care what he done. If he don’t believe in Divine healing, don’t believe in the Power of the resurrection, don’t believe in the Holy Ghost being poured out upon us just exactly like It did to in the first age, just the same God yesterday, today, and forever, the same things the apostles done happening right now, speaking in tongues, and rejoicing, and all these other things; if they don’t believe that, he’s not borned of God. For whosoever is borned of God does not commit those kind of things. That’s how to tell whether they are borned of God.
167 If you walk up to a fellow and say, “Dr. Ph. So-and-so-and-so, Reverend Dr. So-and-so (which is fine, wish I had it, the degrees), but is it so that Divine healing should be carried on in the church just like the apostles did?” “Oh no, no!” He’s sinning. He’s an unbeliever. That’s right.
168 You say, “Do you believe we receive the Holy Ghost like they did here? I was reading over here in the Bible at Acts 2 where It said they were... and poured out the Holy Ghost, and they staggered like they were drunk, and they went out there and talked in the languages of these people, and things like that; acted like people that’s drunk, and the church thought they were drunk. When we receive the Holy Ghost today in the Baptist church, our Baptist, our Methodist, our Presbyterian, whatever it might be, don’t-I don’t see us doing that.”
“Well, I tell you, child, that was just for them twelve.”
He’s sinning. He is not borned of the Spirit of God, because the Bible said, “He that is borned of the Spirit of God does not disbelieve. He’s a believer, and he cannot... ” Why? Why?
Oh, here it is. The Dove is in him, leading him. For the Spirit of God is in him, and he cannot deny It; he cannot. If it’s the Spirit of God, God won’t deny His Own Word. If I deny my own word, then I become a liar. And if-and if you say you got the Spirit of God and deny the Word of God, it’s either God a liar or you’re a liar, one or the other. And the Bible said, “Let every man’s word be a lie and Mine be the Truth.” And a man that’s borned of the Spirit of God cannot disagree with God’s Word; he’s got to say It’s right. He cannot do nothing else.
Whew! This is-this is the Truth.
169 Listen, let me read this again.
Whosoever is borned of God does not commit sin; for the seed...
170 What is the seed of God? The promise Abraham had, the seed, to the seed. What is the seed now? Christ. Is Christ the Seed of God? Whose Seed is He if He isn’t? All right, all right.
He’s the Seed of God.
171 The Seed of God remaineth in him. The Holy Ghost comes to abide, not from meeting to meeting, but for eternal. Now, if you want to put down your Scripture for this, Ephesians 4:30: “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed until the day of your redemption.” The Seed of God remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he’s borned of God. He can’t disbelieve God’s Word.
172 Now, when you see a man disagreeing with God’s Word and saying, “Oh, that was for another age,” when the promise is to whosoever will let him come, just remember, he is a unbeliever and he’s not of God.
We’d better stop here, hadn’t we? What time is it? Oh, my! I got-I-I just-I don’t want to get back here Sunday. Let me get these just real, real, real fast. Can I? It’s just so good. Don’t you think it’s good? Oh, the Word of God. All right.
Brother Branham, what must a person do... Let me hold that for the last, get this here.