How Many People Does God Want to Save?
OPPOSING THE ERROR OF PREDESTINATION
ALSO:
SUPPRESSING
PRESBYTERIANS /
ACLU VS. TEN
COMMANDMENTS
It is well-known to historians that Augustine
(354-430) invented the theory of predestination because he could not
sexually control himself. He became a Catholic monk and, later, bishop of
Hippo in North Africa. The church eventually "sainted" him because he
wrote in his book The City of God, that the papacy was the center
of the church and "there was no salvation outside of the church."
John Calvin (1509-1564), of Geneva, was the
leading Protestant advocate of predestination.
According to this horrible teaching, God intentionally
saves only a few and throws everyone else in eternal hellfire after they
die. They never had a chance to be saved. Salvation is not determined by
man’s decisions and actions, but by God’s arbitrary preselection. Only a
few that God "predestines" can be saved.
How can anyone believing such blasphemy love their
Redeemer, and why should they live moral lives, thinking they are
predestined to be saved?
Large numbers of Christians today accept this hateful
doctrine, which actually teaches that God has an arbitrary, mean, vicious
character. Here are several Bible verses which clearly disprove this
error:
"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be
testified in due time."—1 Timothy 2:3-6.
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world."—Titus 2:11-12.
"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make
your calling and election sure."—2 Peter 1:10.
"Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?
saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and
live?"—Ezekiel 18:23.
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."—John
3:14-17.
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some
men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance."—2 Peter 3:9.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets,
and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered
thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and
ye would not!"—Luke 13:34.
"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world."—John 1:9.
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved
us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."—1 John
4:9-10.
"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up
for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"—Romans
8:32.
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that
which was lost."—Luke 19:10.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent
the Son to be the Saviour of the world."—1 John 4:14.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My
word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."—John
5:24.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved."—Acts 16:31.
"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white
raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life."—Revelation
3:5.
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say,
Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely."—Revelation 22:17.
In mid-October, an important gathering of Presbyterians
met in Camp Allen, Texas. The objective of leadership was to silence those
pastors and lower-level church leaders who still believe in the Bible.
Because our own denomination is gradually moving in a
similar direction, there are lessons here for us.
At this Diocese of Texas clergy conference, deep
tensions occurred between those who want to remain with Biblical morals,
standards, and beliefs, and the "progressives" who want to modernize the
church.
Texas Bishop Don Wimberly presided over the meetings
and fully supported liberal positions. The entire gathering was obviously
convened to bring the conservatives into line. Liberal positions were
maintained from the rostrum; and private meetings were held with pastors
who expressed any concern to stand on Scriptural principles. Intimidation
and threats were used to win their submission.
The cause of the problem was the fact that the
ordination, several months ago, of Gene Robinson as Presbyterian bishop of
New Hampshire has split the Presbyterian denomination down the middle,
throughout the world field. As you may know, a number of years earlier
while still a Presbyterian pastor, Robinson publicly divorced his wife, so
he could have sex with a man who has lived with him ever since. Declaring
that what he is doing is Biblical and fully accepted by God, Robinson does
not attempt to hide this shameful conduct. This has aroused the worldwide
church.
Wimberly, head of the Presbyterian churches in Texas,
is determined to silence all conservative opposition in his
territory—either threaten pastors into obedient silence or fire them.
Wimberly is trying to accomplish this without arousing local church
members into bolting from the denomination and leaving it. It is their
donations which pay all the bills; and they must be placated during the
process of gradually moving them into an abandonment of Biblical
standards.
Without identifying themselves, several of the
ministers have expressed their concerns to the media. Their comments
reveal what happened at that gathering:
"The clergy conference was a disaster. This diocese is
being ruined. Clergy had to sit through two sessions of an hour each,
listening to Dr. L. Michael White, who is chair of the department of
religion at the University of Texas and a Presbyterian Church consultant.
We were told we must ‘embrace culture’; for, if we don’t, we turn our
backs on Christ. There was no talk about salvation; everything was about
relationships.
"White said St. Paul was not a Christian and did not
consider himself one. He was just in charge of a Jewish sect which spent
his time arguing with Peter, who was in charge of another Jewish sect.
"He said Paul did not write the Pastoral Epistles, but
they were written a hundred years later to disprove New Testament
Christianity.
"White, who only quoted revisionist authors, never the
Bible, said that those who hold to a fundamental understanding of the
Bible are modern-day heretics.
"When asked why he invited White to speak, Wimberly
said it was to get the pastors to think about other options and to stretch
their minds."
Each priest was given a new revised clergy manual with
changed guidelines and church policies. He was also given a second new
manual; this one was all about how the pastors should permit loose sexual
conduct in the church. More than once a diocese official would say, "The
lawyers have told us that we have to do this."
One pastor commented: "If we refuse to sign and fax
back the new changes, I expect we’ll be kicked out."
The most depressing aspect of the conference was that
nearly all the conservative pastors were silent. "They look defeated,
especially the clergy of small congregations."
"Repeatedly, Wimberly said, ‘We must face reality. This
is the way it is now.’ "
Wimberly said the next clergy meeting, scheduled for
February in Houston, will be for those clergy who voted no to Gene
Robinson’s consecration as bishop. They will either come into line with
Wimberly or be pushed out.
With two exceptions, not one pastor in the diocese
dared speak openly against the apostasy, lest they lose their jobs. One
exception was a pastor who openly opposed Bishop Wimberly and then left
the conference early. He plans, if necessary, to take his congregation out
of the Presbyterian Church.
He said, "Because I stood up to the bishop at council
and took my delegation with me when I left early, the bishop sent me a
mean letter and I had a few ‘office’ discussions about my churchmanship,
loyalty and ability. I expect this diocese to be totally liberal within
one to two years, except for pockets of ‘truth’ here and there. I will
have to leave, because I’m tired of being beat up by the church I serve."
Following the Diocesan Council, a second congregation
of 200 worshipers left the Episcopal Church entirely.
"It used to be that the Diocese of Texas was a safe and
relatively conservative diocese; now it is not. It has become liberal and
no longer a safe place for orthodox followers of Jesus Christ."
Developments in the Presbyterian Church mirror liberal trends within
our own. —vf
The ACLU (which was the active agent in the 1925
Evolution Trial) hates God and Christians, and does all it can to destroy
every vestige of Christianity from American life. But there is also
another reason why, in recent years, it is trying to destroy the Ten
Commandments:
"Pots of Gold Behind Crosses and Ten Commandments. June
23, 2004, by Phyllis Schlafly.
"The supervisors of the great Los Angeles County
decided to turn tail and run rather than fight a lawsuit threatened by the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Why such weak-kneed response?
Lawyers for the county ominously warned that the county might lose the
case and have to pay the ACLU’s attorney’s fees.
"The ACLU is demanding that the county remove a tiny
cross from its seal, one of nearly a dozen symbols it portrays. One need
only look at the seal to see how ridiculous is the ACLU’s demand.
"A third of the seal and the centerpiece is the Greek
goddess Pomona standing on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. The ACLU
doesn’t object to her; portrayals of pagan goddesses are okay.
"Six side sections of the seal depict historical
motifs: the Spanish galleon San Salvador, a tuna fish, a cow, the
Hollywood Bowl, two stars representing the movie and television
industries, oil derricks, and a couple of engineering instruments that
signify Los Angeles’ industrial construction and space exploration. The
cross is so tiny that it doesn’t even have its own section and consumes
maybe two percent of the seal’s space.
"Removing the cross is a blatant attempt to erase
history, to drop it down the Memory Hole as George Orwell would say. It is
just as reasonable to recognize the historical fact that California was
settled by Christians who built missions all over the state as it is to
honor the Spanish ship, the San Salvador, which sailed into San Pedro
(named after St. Peter) Harbor on October 8, 1542.
"The reason the Los Angeles County seal is such a big
deal is not because it is a violation of the First Amendment. It is
because a pot of gold hiding under it is attracting the ACLU like honey
attracts flies.
"A little known 1976 federal law, called the Civil
Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act, enables the ACLU to collect
attorney’s fees for its suits against crosses, the Pledge of Allegiance,
and the Ten Commandments. This law was designed to help plaintiffs in
civil rights cases, but the ACLU is using it for First Amendment cases,
that is, asserting a civil right NOT to see a cross or the Ten
Commandments!
"The financial lure created by this law is the engine
that is driving dozens of similar cases all over the country. Every state,
county, city, public park or school that has a cross, a Ten Commandments
plaque or monument, or recites the Pledge of Allegiance, has become a
target for ACLU fundraising.
"There are thousands of Ten Commandments plaques or
monuments all over the country, and lawsuits to remove them have popped up
in more than a dozen states. In Utah the ACLU even announced a scavenger
hunt with a prize for anyone who could find another Ten Commandments
monument that the ACLU could persuade an activist judge to remove.
"The most famous Ten Commandments case is one in the
State Judicial Building in Montgomery, Alabama, installed by Chief Justice
Roy Moore and ordered removed by a Carter-appointed federal judge. As
their reward for winning its removal, the ACLU, Americans United for
Separation of Church and State, and the Southern Poverty Law Center
collected $540,000 in attorney’s fees and expenses from the Alabama
taxpayers.
"Kentucky taxpayers have handed over $121,500 to pay
the ACLU for its action against the Ten Commandments display outside its
state capitol. Taxpayers in one Tennessee county had to pay the ACLU
$50,000 for the same ‘offense.’
"The ACLU profited enormously, collecting $790,000 in
legal fees plus $160,000 in court costs, as a result of its suit to deny
the Boy Scouts of America the use of San Diego’s Balboa Park for a Summer
camp, a city facility the Scouts had used since 1915. The ACLU argued that
the Boy Scouts must be designated a ‘religious organization’ because it
refuses to accept homosexual scoutmasters and because the Scouts use an
oath ‘to do my duty to God and my country.’
"In northern Minnesota, the Duluth city council voted 5
to 4 to acquiesce in the ACLU’s demand to remove a Ten Commandments
monument from public property because the city couldn’t afford to pay the
legal costs of defending the monument, plus the ACLU’s legal fees.
Redlands, California, likewise backed down after the ACLU threatened a
lawsuit to force removal of a cross from part of a city logo.
"Similar lawsuits could challenge ‘under God’ in the
Pledge of Allegiance, since the U.S. Supreme Court ducked deciding the
issue this week in the Michael Newdow case. There are 16,000 public school
districts that could become targets of lawsuits to ban the Pledge.
"Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN) has introduced H.R. 3609 to end this
racket by amending the federal law that makes it possible. Most lawsuits
do not award attorney’s fees to the winner." —vf
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