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President Trump says the House should release Epstein files · The Daily Article

• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Good day, and welcome to the Monday, November the 17th, 2025 edition of Denison Forums, Daily Article Podcast.
• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Chris Elfkins, narrating today's Daily article, authored by our co-founder, Dr. Jim Denison.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Late last night, President Trump wrote on social media that House Republicans should vote to release all the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
• 0:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: His statement came ahead of an expected House vote this week.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: After the House oversight committee released more than 20,000 pages of documents related to Epstein last week.
• 0:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: They include communications between the convicted sex offender and numerous high-profile people in politics, media, Hollywood, and foreign affairs.
• 0:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: The issue has come to nominate headlines and popular culture in recent days.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Saturday Night Live, for example, made numerous jokes about it too vulgar for me to repeat or reference.
• 0:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: My purpose today is not to sort through the entire story, but to speak to an issue it illustrates that directly affects you and me every day.
• 1:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: As is largely a two-party political system.
• 1:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Since the creation of the modern-day Republican and Democratic parties in the 19th century, no third party candidate has been elected to the presidency.
• 1:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: As a result, voters are typically obligated to choose the candidate they believe will best lead the country, whether they have significant issues with the candidate's personal character or not.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: In this scenario, some choose not to vote, or they vote for a third party candidate or right in candidate.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Others respond that this approach renders the person's vote null, and takes a vote from the major party candidate they would have otherwise supported, essentially helping elect the other candidates.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: This debate is for another time.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Here's my point.
• 1:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever our partisan political views, we must not divorce character from leadership.
• 1:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Some believe that so long as a person does the job they're elected to do, their personal character issues are less relevant.
• 1:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: Many will therefore view whatever comes of the Epstein files through the same partisan lens they view all other news.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: I recognize that we elect a president, governor, mayor, and so on, not a pastor or Sunday school teacher.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: We don't typically care much about the personal morality of a CEO who's companies products we buy.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we should, and we should not view elected leaders merely as corporate CEOs and ourselves as consumers of their quote-unquote products.
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me explain why.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: One, personal character matters to the person.
• 2:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to Heraclitis, a man's character is his fate.
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is more true than the ancient philosopher new.
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Bible states in Hebrews 9 verse 27,
• 2:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: And from 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10, this is true for believers as well.
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: We must all appear before the judgment set of Christ so that each one may receive what is due from what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: It is therefore vital that we pray for the spiritual health of our leaders for their sake, according to 1 Timothy 2 verses 1 and 2.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: 2.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Personal character matters to the public.
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: King Manessa did what was evil in the side of the Lord and led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a stray to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel found in 2 Chronicles 33 verses 2 and 9.
• 3:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: As a result from verse 11, we know that God judged the nation and it fell into captivity.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: It is often said that we get the government we deserve, but we need leaders who appeal to the better angels of our nature and inspire us to the consensual morality upon which our democracy depends.
• 3:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: So personal character matters to the person, to the public, and three personal character matters to God.
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Personal sin keeps Christians from experiencing the abundant life of Christ.
• 4:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: We manifest the horrific works of the flesh, rather than the life-giving fruit of the Spirit, as stated in Galatians 5 verses 19 through 23.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: And our so-called private sin keeps the Holy Spirit from using us fully.
• 4:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: As Oswald Chambers noted in today's reading of Myatmos for his highest, quote, God's revelation of himself to me is determined by my character, not by God's character, in quote.
• 4:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: We can confess our sins and be forgiven as promised in first John 1 9, but their consequences persist.
• 4:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: We remain spiritually stunted and miss the joy of the Lord that is our strength found in Nehemiah 8 verse 10, and our most compelling witness to a joyless world.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'll close today with a word to those of us who are privileged to be in spiritual leadership.
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Satan wants us to believe, though we should never put this into words, that because of our calling, we are above the normal temptations of life.
• 5:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Of course.
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is tragically untrue as the ongoing clergy abuse scandal show.
• 5:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: The devil also wants us to think that we are somehow less susceptible to his whiles than others, hoping to draw us into conversation over an issue that soon turns into temptation and then into sin referencing Genesis 3 verses 1 through 7 and James 1 verses 14 and 15.
• 5:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our enemy does this because he knows that character failures by Christian leaders are especially devastating to the cause of Christ.
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our sins can cause greater harm to more people and our secularized culture will quickly seize on our faults as proof that our message is irrelevant or even dangerous and that joining the Christian movement is dangerous as well.
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, Christians urgently need to reject the bifurcation of character and leadership so prevalent today.
• 5:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: To this end, if you're a Christian leader, let me urge you to take a moment for a spiritual inventory.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ask the Spirit to identify.
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: any area of your life that displeases God and then confess all that comes to your thoughts.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Do this regularly, make it your ambition to honor your Lord in spirit and soul and body today as taught in First Lessonians 5 verse 23.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you're not in Christian leadership,
• 6:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me urge you to pray daily for those who are.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Intercede for your pastor, Bible teacher, and other leaders by name, ask God to protect them from the enemy and empower their faithfulness to His glory.
• 6:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: And whatever you're role in the body of Christ.
• 6:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: I invite you to submit to the Spirit right now as taught in Ephesians 5 verse 18, asking him to empower you against temptation and produces holiness in your heart.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: You and I cannot sanctify ourselves, but the Spirit of Jesus will make anyone more like our Lord if only we're willing.
• 6:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Andrew Murray assured us, quote, God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.
• 7:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Are you holy yielded to him today?