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E News

This Week's 66/40 Radio Broadcast

Articles and Commentary

• Hate Crimes, Discrimination, and Ex-Gays -
• Predestination vs. Free Will -
• One Step Forward, A Long Road Ahead -

Important News Headlines

Memory Verse of the Week

Philippians 3:1- 3:21 Two Kinds of Righteousness Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  Matthew 5:48.  A chain is ineffective if one link breaks. One sin shatters any claim to the righteousness of God's standard. Human righteousness - at its best - is still inadequate to qualify for the destiny God has in mind for us.

CD Rom Commentary Price R 149.00

The Sovereignty of Man by Chuck Missler Predestination or Free Will? Calvinism or Arminianism? Can you lose your salvation? From the beginning of time, thinkers have puzzled over the paradox of fate vs. free will. In theological terms, this leads to the struggle between Calvinism and Arminianism. As we explore this paradox we find that examining the fruit of each position reveals that the River of Life seems to flow between these two extremes, and that again, truth involves a careful balance. Beyond the mysteries associated with the "sovereignty of God" - and the libraries are full of studies on that subject - there emerges what is, to many of us, an even more troubling mystery: The Sovereignty of Man! CD Rom Price R 99.00

HATE CRIMES, DISCRIMINATION, AND EX-GAYS -

Senator Edward Kennedy has proposed adding hate crimes legislation to the defense spending bill, according to WorldNetDaily. The proposal is clearly manipulative, since President Bush wants to pass defense appropriations, but has threatened to veto a hate-crimes bill that would make sexual orientation a federally protected category.

In general, hate crimes legislation is bad law, simply because it requires law enforcement officials to read minds. Law enforcement should punish people for the crime committed, not for the real or perceived "hate" behind the crime. (Violent crimes, after all, are rarely committed out of love for the victim.) Whether a man is beaten and robbed because he is white, or black, or Jewish, or Christian, or gay, or wears glasses, or wears Adidas instead of Nikes, he is still the victim of a crime. There are already laws against violent crimes. Those should be enforced. But our thoughts - whether righteous or evil - remain free.

Ex-Gay Discrimination:

There is another aspect to the issue of discrimination, however;  ex-gays.  In order to gain acceptance, homosexual activists have worked hard to train Americans to believe that same-sex attraction is inbred and genetic. After all, many homosexuals have struggled against their same-sex attractions without success. It is easy for many with homosexual desires to believe they were simply "born that way."

Nothing could harm that argument more than people who claim to have once been homosexual and now are not. For those who want to be straight, ex-gays and ex-lesbians offer hope. To militant homosexual activists, however, there is no greater threat than men and women who offer evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.

Despite the homosexual activists' cries for diversity, there seems to be little tolerance for ex-gays. In 2002, Regina Griggs wrote in the Harvard Crimson:

She gives the examples of Larry Houston, David Ott, Tim Wilkins, and Richard Cohen - all ex-gay men who have faced discrimination (even to being fired or charged with a hate crime) for insisting that homosexual attraction can be overcome.

While we do not hear much about them in the popular press, there are crowds of freed ex-gays. Some have become completely heterosexual, and some are still in progress (just like we all are).

Unfortunately, many gay people who would love to change don't believe it is possible. They believe that they are stuck with their same-sex attraction and are told by pro-gay friends to just accept themselves as they are. They don't know they can go to God for help because they believe that God hates them and that Christians hate them.

The best thing the Church can do for people with same-sex attractions is to give them the true, pure, constant love of Jesus Christ. According to one ex-gay man, the thing that helps him most in his daily walk toward healing is true love and encouragement from Christians.  Love is what many people with same-sex attractions really want, and only the faithful love and power of God can truly satisfy that human longing.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  - Romans 5:8

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PREDESTINATION VS. FREE WILL

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever..." - Deuteronomy 29:29

From the beginning of time, thinkers have puzzled over the paradox of fate vs. free will, or predestination vs. free choice. In theological terms, this leads to the struggle between Calvinism and Arminianism. As we explore this paradox, we find that examining the fruit of each position reveals that the River of Life seems to flow between these two extremes, and that once again, truth involves a careful balance.

At the heart of the controversies between Calvinism and Arminianism is the emphasis on the sovereignty of God by the Calvinists and on the sovereignty (free will) of man - or human responsibility - by the Arminians. Calvinism emphasizes that God is in total control of everything and that nothing can happen that He does not plan and direct, including man’s salvation. Arminianism teaches that man has free will and that God will never interrupt or take that free will away, and that God has obligated Himself to respect the free moral agency and capacity of free choice with which He created us.

Both doctrinal positions are reasonable and both have extensive Scriptures to back them up. Both are, in our opinion, both partially right and partially overextended. As Philip Schaff has put it, "Calvinism emphasized divine sovereignty and free grace; Arminianism emphasized human responsibility. The one restricts the saving grace to the elect; the other extends it to all men on the condition of faith. Both are right in what they assert; both are wrong in what they deny. If one important truth is pressed to the exclusion of another truth of equal importance, it becomes an error, and loses its hold upon the conscience. The Bible gives us a theology which is more human than Calvinism and more divine that Arminianism, and more Christian than either of them."

Certainly, the Bible does teach that God is sovereign, and that believers are predestined and elected by God to spend eternity with Him. Nowhere, however, does the Bible ever associate election with damnation. Conversely, the Scriptures teach that God elects for salvation, but that unbelievers are in hell by their own choice. Every passage of the Bible that deals with election deals with it in the context of salvation, not damnation. No one is elect for hell. The only support for such a view is human logic, not Biblical revelation (which John Calvin did teach).

The concept of total depravity is consistent with Scripture, but the doctrine of limited atonement, that Jesus did not die for the sins of the whole world, is clearly contrary to Biblical teaching. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus died for everyone’s sins and that everyone is able to be saved if they will repent and turn to Christ. Limited atonement is a non-Biblical doctrine.

Election and predestination are Biblical doctrines. God knows everything and therefore He cannot be surprised by anything. He is beyond the constraints of mass, acceleration and gravity, therefore He is outside time. He knows, and has known from “eternity past,” who will exercise their free will to accept Him and who will reject Him. The former are “the elect” and the latter are the “non-elect.” Everyone who is not saved will have only himself to blame: God will not send anyone to hell, but many people will choose to go there by exercising their free will to reject Christ.

On the other hand, no one who is saved will be able to take any of the credit. Our salvation is entirely God’s work, and is based completely on the finished work of the Cross. We were dead in trespasses and sins, destined for hell, when God in His grace drew us to Himself, convinced us of our sin and our need for a Savior, and gave us the authority to call Jesus Lord. Is this grace, this wooing, this courtship, irresistible? No, we have free will and we can (and do) resist, even to the damnation of our souls, but God does everything short of making us automata (preprogrammed puppets) to draw us into His forever family.

For a more detailed discussion on this topic, listen to our briefing titled The Sovereignty of Man (see special offer above).

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ONE STEP FORWARD, A LONG ROAD AHEAD -

Under an agreement reached in February, North Korea agreed to shut down and seal its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon and invite IAEA inspectors back into the country. In exchange, North Korea would be given 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. The deadline was scheduled for April 14, however the deadline blew past amidst a heated dispute over North Korea's frozen bank accounts. Finally, on Monday the US State Department announced that North Korea has shut down one of the five facilities.

According to news reports the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that North Korea shut down the 5-megawatt reactor at the Yongbyon complex. Under the agreement, North Korea has also promised to shut down a spent fuel reprocessing facility, a 50-megawatt reactor under construction, and a fuel fabrication plant in Yongbyon, as well as a 200-megawatt reactor under construction in Taechon.

Although this latest development is good news, US government officials expressed cautious optimism. US diplomats won't be able to rest easy until all of North Korea's nuclear facilities are not only shut down, but dismantled. Experts suspect that North Korea currently possesses between six and eight nuclear weapons. However a report by the Institute for Science and International Security claims that North Korea has enough radioactive material to build as many as 13 bombs.

The standoff with North Korea began in October of 2002 when the communist regime announced its plans to build nuclear weapons. North Korea subsequently withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Four years later, in October of 2006, North Korea shocked the world when it conducted its first-ever test of a nuclear warhead. It had long been suspected that North Korea possessed such weapons; however the test laid to rest any lingering doubts about North Korea's nuclear capabilities.

The US has long hoped that pressure from the international community would motivate North Korea to continue with six-party talks and eventually abandon its nuclear program. For the past five years the six nations have tried to reach an agreement, without much success. North Korea's eccentric dictator, Kim Jong-Il, has a history of unpredictable behavior and has proven to be a fickle negotiating partner. Further complicating matters is the fact that the six parties involved in the peace negotiations have such divergent interests. The US and Japan, concerned about security, have taken a hard-line approach. Meanwhile, South Korea wants to avoid war and has increased aid to the North while Russia and China - afraid of sparking a refugee crisis - have been hesitant to back harsh sanctions.

Jesus warned us that as we approach the end times there would be "wars and rumors of wars..." and that "nation would rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom..." This knowledge, that we are in living in the last days, should give you a renewed sense of urgency and determination in pursuing God’s plan for both your life and mine. It is a plan in which we are called to be ambassadors for Christ bringing the light of life and hope into a world full of darkness, death, and decay.

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Russia Pulls Out of Armed Forces Treaty - July 17, 2007
NATO said on Monday it was very concerned at Russia's decision to suspend participation in a landmark treaty limiting armed forces in post-Cold War Europe amid growing tension over a US missile shield. Reuters

Homicide Bomber Kills 12 in Pakistan - July 17, 2007
A homicide bomber blew himself up in the Pakistani capital Tuesday as hundreds gathered for a rally featuring the country's suspended chief justice, police said. At least 12 people were killed in the explosion, one of at least two deadly attacks in the volatile country. FOX News

Warriors May Have Occupied Dead Sea Scrolls Site - July 17, 2007
Fierce warriors once occupied the famous complex where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written, new research suggests. The Qumran gained legendary status in the archaeological world when a shepherd boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in nearby caves in 1947. FOX News

Sudan Resumes Bombing in Darfur - July 17, 2007
Sudan's government has resumed bombing in the country's troubled western region of Darfur. Some 200,000 people have died in Darfur in the past four years, while 2 million have fled their homes. BBC

Al-Qaeda Stepping up US Efforts - July 17, 2007
Al-Qaeda is intensifying its efforts to put operatives into the US and the nation is at a heightened risk of attack, a US intelligence report says. BBC

Peres Sworn in As President of Israel - July 17, 2007
Shimon Peres took office as Israel's ninth president Sunday, pledging to devote his seven-year term in the ceremonial post to his lifelong dream of Middle East peace. Peres inherits an office tarnished by a sex scandal that forced his predecessor to resign. As foreign minister, Peres played a key role in the first Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, earning him the Nobel prize in 1994. Guardian

We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 3:25 KJV

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32