Question 197

By: Robert Serreyn

Question? What do you think of Billy Graham?

Answer:

In the words of Joe Friday on both the Radio and Tv shows called Dragnet would say “Just the Facts Ma’am”.

Here is Just the Facts…

Billy Graham born November 7 1918, is KNOWN as “AMERICA’s GREATEST EVANGELIST.

He rose to celebrity status in 1949. In 1947 he began what was called the Billy Graham Crusades, which ended with his retirement in 2005. in which his son Franklin Graham has taken the helm of the ministry.

During those years 1947 – 2005 he held LARGE indoor and outdoor rallies(crusades) for the explicit purpose he claimed was to preach the gospel and to reach the lost for Christ.

He also hosted a POPULAR radio show TITLED “Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954.

Billy Graham as far as I am Concern has DONE MORE HARM to the cause of Christ then good.

Billy Graham has COMPROMISED the Gospel, and Doctrine in order to become “America’s Greatest Evangelist”.

ALL one has to do to find out WHAT I SAY to be true is do a research on the internet on Billy Graham and ANY HONEST researcher WILL FIND this out. I will let the following evidence listed below speak for its.

https://youtu.be/skc34vECPrc

The False Teachings of Billy Graham:

In the following video, on May 31, 1997, on the Hour of Power television program titled “Say ‘Yes’ To Possibility Thinking,” program #1426, Robert Schuller interviewed Billy Graham. What Mr. Graham said in the video is alarming.

“I think everybody that that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And that’s what God is doing today. He’s calling people for ‘eh, out of the the world for his name whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world uh they are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus but uh they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light that they have. And I think that they are saved and they are going to be with us in heaven”.

Q? Is Mr. Graham saying that people can be saved without believing on Jesus, and How does someone love Christ if he is not conscious of it?

A: That idea cannot be found in scripture. In fact, it contradicts scripture.

Billy Graham’s Unbiblical Views Concerning Hell

In the July-August, 1984, issue of “Decision,” pp. 1-2, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association presented a sermon by the noted evangelist entitled, “There Is A Real Hell.” The printed sermon both deletes and denies the Biblical truth concerning the doctrine of hell.

According to Dr. Graham, there are at least “three kinds of hell.” Hell in the heart, hell in society, and a future hell. The bulk of Dr. Graham’s sermon centers around the sinfulness of human nature and the wickedness of secular society which he claims are the first two types of hell. While the Scriptures portray the reality of both the sinfulness of human nature and the wickedness of secular society, the Word of God never states or implies that these constitute the place called “hell”.

Dr. Graham’s total content regarding a future hell is contained in the brief statement “third, there is hell in the future, and it goes on and one…” The noted preacher then pursues to pose the heretical possibility which he states he has positively considered (and obviously desires his millions of readers to likewise consider and potentially accept!) that he has “often wondered if hell is a terrible burning within our heart for God, to fellowship with God, a fire that we can never quench.”

The Bible nowhere presents hell under the description Dr. Graham gives. Nowhere does the Word of God indicate that the rebellious, depraved, defiant, sinful heart of men who have rejected Christ in this life will drastically change to suddenly long for fellowship with God in eternity. Wicked hearts that crave sensual perverted gratification in this earthly life will continue to desire that sensual gratification in eternity, without a moment’s satisfaction or pleasure.

If hell in the future can be redefined as an insatiable appetite for God, then the sinful state of human nature and the wicked actions of society which Dr. Graham claims are present hell can also be redefined as “longing for God,” which is utterly ridiculous.

Similar to the cults of our generation, Dr. Graham has employed terminology concerning hell that is familiar to the Scriptures, but he utilizes a different dictionary. In redefining this vital Bible doctrine, Billy Graham has declare his allegiance with the blasphemous apostasy of our day. SOURCE: F.B.F. News Bulletin

Billy Graham’s Unbiblical Attitude Toward Sodomy

Billy Graham is reported as saying in December 1994 on the Larry King television show in the U.S.A., that sodomites are born sodomites, since, as he put it, it is in their genes (Calvary Contender, vol. XII, No. 3). Such a statement is heretical and must prove comforting and encouraging to the evil cause of the sodomites.

Sodomites have long claimed that they were born deviants and that therefore their sodomy may be traced back to God. It is a slanderous and wicked indictment of God. It not only makes God the author of their sin, it makes Him hypocritical and unjust for punishing sodomy, the best example of which is seen in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 13:13, 18:20-21; 19:24-25; 2nd Peter 2:6-8; Jude 7.

Billy Graham’s Love Affair with the Popes

1963: On several occasions, Upon the death of Pope John XXIII, Graham said from Bonn, Germany, “I admired Pope John tremendously … I felt he brought a new era to the world. It is my hope that the Cardinals elect a new Pope who will follow the same line as John. It would be a great tragedy if they chose a man who reacted against John” (2/2/63 Michigan City News-Dispatch; 6/8/63 Chicago Tribune).

1966: Graham said, “I find myself closer to Catholics than the radical Protestants. I think the Roman Catholic Church today is going through a second Reformation” (Philadelphia Evening Bulletin 24 may, 1966. See graduation photo from Catholic College)

1967: Graham on his graduation speech from Catholic Abbey he stated: “Finally, the way of salvation has not changed. I know how the ending of the book will be. The Gospel that built this school Catholic] and the Gospel that brings me here tonight is still the way to salvation” (“Belmont Abbey Confers Honorary Degree,” Paul Smith, Gazette staff reporter, The Gastonia Gazette, Gastonia, North Carolina, Nov. 22, 1967).

1968: At a meeting in San Antonio, Texas, 1968, Graham said that the Roman Church had given “tremendous cooperation” in areas where he had held crusades. He added, “A great part of our support today comes from Catholics. We never hold a crusade without priests and nuns being much in evidence in the audience.”

1972: Graham received the Catholic International Franciscan Award for “his contribution to true ecumenism” and “his sincere and authentic ecumenism” (4/22/72 Minneapolis Star). In acknowledging the award, Graham said, “While I am not worthy to touch the shoe laces of St. Francis, yet this same Christ that called Francis in the 13th century also called me to be one of his servants in the 20th century” (2/86 The Gospel Standard).

Billy Graham received the Catholic International Franciscan Award in Minneapolis, given by the Franciscan Friars for “his contribution to true ecumenism” and his “sincere and authentic evangelism” (Minneapolis Star).

1973: Graham recommended Roman Catholic literature in the ecumenical Key ’73 meetings held across North America; he especially recommended a biography of the Pope John XXIII containing hundreds of pages of devotion to Mary and the Saints, worship of the host (wafer) at the Mass, and his [the Pope’s] trust in the sacraments as the means of salvation. Graham advertised this book as “a classic in devotion” (2/86 The Gospel Standard; Key ’73: Congregational Resource Book).

1979: “The visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States is an event of great significance not only for Roman Catholics, but for all Americans as well as the world. In the short time he has been the Pope, John Paul II has become the moral leader of the world. My prayers and the prayers of countless other Protestants will be with him as he makes his journey” (Billy Graham, 9/27/79 Religious New Service dispatch; quoted in New Neutralism II, p. 40).

1979: Billy Graham appeared on the Phil Donahue show on 10/11/79, and in discussing Pope John Paul II’s visit to the U.S.A., said: “I think the American people are looking for a leader, a moral and spiritual leader that believes something. And the Pope does. … Thank God, I’ve got somebody to quote now with some real authority.”

1979: “The visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States is an event of great significance not only for Roman Catholics, but for all Americans-as well as the world … In the short time he has been the Pope, John Paul II has become the moral leader of the world. My prayers and the prayers of countless other Protestants will be with him as he makes his journey (9/27/79 Religious New Service dispatch; quoted in New Neutralism II, p. 40).

1979: “No other man in the world today could attract as much attention on moral and spiritual subjects as John Paul. He is articulating what Catholic and Protestant churches have traditionally held, the moral values from the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. The country is responding in a magnificent way. It shows there’s a great spiritual hunger. The Pope has reached millions of Protestants. The organized ecumenical movement seems to be on the back burner and ecumenicity is now taking place where Roman Catholics and Protestants share beliefs in matters like the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection of Christ” (Billy Graham, Time, October 15, 1979).

1980: “Since his election, Pope John Paul II has emerged as the greatest religious leader of the modern world, and one of the greatest moral and spiritual leaders of this century … The Pope came [to America] as a statesman and a pastor, but I believe he also sees himself coming as an evangelist. … The Pope sought to speak to the spiritual hunger of our age in the same way Christians throughout the centuries have spoken to the spiritual yearnings of every age-by pointing people to Christ” (Saturday Evening Post, Jan.-Feb. 1980). [In this same article Graham was quoted as saying, “Recently I learned the word ‘Pontiff’ comes from the Latin words which originally meant ‘bridge builder.’ … Pope John Paul II [is] indeed a bridge builder, and that is something our divided world desperately needs.” Historically, “pontiff” does not mean bridge- builder, but refers to the papal title of Pontifex Maximus, which was handed down to the early popes from the high priests of ancient heathen religion in the Roman Empire; “Pontiff” in Italian and Latin means “bridge,” and clearly points to the Pope’s blasphemous claim that he himself is that bridge between man and God.] (Billy Graham, The Saturday Evening Post, Jan.-Feb. 1980).

1981: Graham met Pope John Paul II on 1/13 and was reported in the Religious News Service as saying that the intense conversations lasting about two hours were “very private, intimate conversation. He [the Pope] was extremely warm and interested in our work” (7/17/81 Christianity Today).

1984: On coming to Vancouver less than a month after the Pope had been there, Graham commented on the Pope’s message: “I’ll tell you, that was just about as straight an evangelical address as I’ve ever heard. It was tremendous. Of course, I’m a great admirer of his. He gives moral guidance in a world that seems to have lost its way” (Foundation, Vol. V, Iss. 5, 1984).

1986: In acknowledging the award, Graham said, “While I am not worthy to touch the shoe laces of St. Francis, yet this same Christ that called Francis in the 13th century also called me to be one of his servants in the 20th century” (2/86 The Gospel Standard).

1989: Graham spoke about a meeting with Pope John Paul II-“There was a pause in the conversation; suddenly the Pope’s arm shot out and he grabbed the lapels of my coat, he pulled me forward within inches of his own face. He fixed his eyes on me and said, ‘Listen Graham, we are brothers'” (6/8/89 Today). Graham said that that was a great happening in his life.

1990: After meeting with the Pope, Graham said that it is particularly evident in the Pope’s speeches that his attitudes and decisions “are based on his great personal spiritual life. … he bases his work and messages and vision on biblical principles” (Ewin, The Assimilation of Evangelist Billy Graham Into the Roman Catholic Church, 1992, p. N).

1992: In , Graham stated that he “expects to spend eternity with God, the great, and the good – including Elvis Presley.” (4/16/92 issue of USA Today)
1993: At a 7/12 interview by Joan Lunden on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America,” Graham said: “I’m delighted the Pope is coming [to Denver] … I admire the Pope even though I don’t agree with him on everything …” [The Pope in talks this year insists that he is the infallible “Vicar of Christ.” How can anyone who proclaims the one and only true Gospel ever be “delighted” that a counterfeit Christ would come with a false gospel to beguile thousands of youth?]

1993: “This past week I preached in the great Catholic Cathedral a funeral sermon for a close friend of mine who was a Catholic, and they had several Bishops and Archbishops to participate. And as I sat there going through the funeral Mass, that was a very beautiful thing, and certainly straight and clear in the gospel. There was a wonderful little priest that would tell me when to stand and when to kneel and what to do” (O Timothy, Vol. 10, Issue 9, 1993, pp. 16-17). There you have it. Billy Graham kneeling and worshiping the Mass wafer

I MUST wonder how anybody can support this man or think that he is a great man of God except through ignorance or willful refusal of the facts.

The Bible states in:

(1 John 4:1)  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

(Romans 16:17)  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Men who WARNED Billy Graham:

Consider some of the men who personally pleaded with Graham to turn from his unscriptural path:

JAMES BENNET was a prominent New York attorney and Bible teacher who knew Graham from the time he graduated from Wheaton. He encouraged Graham during the early years of his ministry, but when Graham began openly yoking together with Modernists and Catholics, Bennet attempted to turn him from this error. He met with Graham in New York City before the 1954 crusade and pleaded with him not to proceed with his ecumenical plans. When Graham refused to obey the Word of God, Bennet resigned from the campaign invitation committee and wrote a public warning about the direction Graham was pursuing (James E. Bennet, The Billy Graham New York Crusade: Why I Cannot Support It, A Ministry of Disobedience, Collingswood, NJ: Christian Beacon Press, May-September 1957).

Thus James Bennet lovingly warned Billy Graham.

DR. JOHN R. RICE, editor of the influential Sword of the Lord weekly Fundamental Baptist paper, also supported Graham during his early years. In fact, Graham was on the Cooperating Board of the Sword. Dr. Rice was a very loving and gracious Christian gentleman, and he pleaded with the young Billy Graham to turn from his ecumenical adventures. In her biography of John Rice, Viola Walden, who was Rice’s faithful secretary for 46 years, testified that Dr. Rice greatly loved Graham and repeatedly tried to reason with him (Walden, John R. Rice, pp. 164-167). Graham and Rice met in Scotland in 1955, and Graham assured the elder evangelist:

“I have promised God I will never have on my committee working in an active way in any of my campaigns men who do not believe in the virgin birth of Christ, who do not believe in the blood atonement of Jesus Christ, who do not believe in the verbal inspiration of the Bible–these men will never be on my committee. I have promised God” (Graham, cited by Pastor Roland Rasmussen, Reasons Why I Cannot Support Billy Graham, chapel message delivered at Bob Jones University, Feb. 15, 1966).

As it became obvious that Graham was not following his own counsel but was pursuing the ecumenical course, Rice met with him again and urged him to obey the Bible: “I visited Dr. Graham in his own home in Montreat, North Carolina, by his invitation, and we talked earnestly on such matters” (John Rice, Sword of the Lord, June 20, 1958).

Graham, of course, did not listen, and John Rice publicly disassociated himself and the Sword from the young evangelist in 1957. Viola Walden notes that far from having a mean attitude toward Graham, Dr. Rice “prayed regularly [for Graham] even long after denouncing his compromise” and “rejoiced over the many saved in Dr. Graham’s crusades” (pp. 166,167).

Thus Dr. John Rice lovingly warned Billy Graham.

DR. BOB JONES, SR., first met Billy Graham when the elder evangelist came to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a gospel meeting during Graham’s senior year in high school. Billy’s father, Frank, was impressed with Jones and wanted his son to attend Bob Jones College in Tennessee. (The school moved to Greensville, South Carolina, in 1946, and the name was changed to Bob Jones University). Billy did attend Bob Jones the fall after he graduated from high school (1936), but he did not fit in well with the strict atmosphere of discipline and he soon moved on to the Florida Bible Institute and then to Wheaton in 1940 (from whence he graduated–with a degree in anthropology!). Dr. Bob Jones supported Graham during his early years, and Graham even wrote to Jones to say that he got his evangelistic burden at Bob Jones College and he wanted to be called one of Dr. Jones’s “preacher boys” (Bob Jones, Sr., letter to a supporter, March 6, 1957). As Graham began to launch out on his career of yoking together with false teachers, Dr. Jones corresponded with him and reproved him for his compromise. At first, Graham claimed that he had no intention of working with Modernists or Catholics. On June 3, 1952, Graham told Jones, “The modernists do not support us anywhere.” It was not long, though, before Graham openly practiced what he privately denied. His 1957 New York Crusade included 120 Modernists on the committee.

Thus Dr. Bob Jones lovingly warned Billy Graham.

DR. CHARLES WOODBRIDGE was another prominent Christian leader who attempted to correct Billy Graham. Woodbridge had been a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and a member of the National Association of Evangelicals, before he rejected the New Evangelicalism that was taking over in that day and separated himself from this false philosophy. Woodbridge was a highly educated Presbyterian, with an MA from Princeton, a Ph.D. from Duke, and further studies at Berlin and Marburg Universities in Germany and the Sorbonne in Paris. In his classic book The New Evangelicalism, Woodbridge relates a visit that Graham made to his home in 1958:

“Dr. Graham came to my home in Altadena, California, in 1958 to chat with me about these things. We talked for two hours. I pointed out to him Romans 16:17. I did my best to persuade him to come out from among unbelievers, so far as the conduct of his campaigns was concerned. But to no avail” (Woodbridge, The New Evangelicalism, 1970, p. 44).

Thus Dr. Woodbridge lovingly warned Billy Graham.

JACK WYRTZEN, founder of Word of Life, also warned Graham. The following testimony is from a pastor who witnessed one of the meetings in which Fundamentalist leaders tried to correct Billy Graham:

“In 1957, I sat in a meeting where Jack Wyrtzen and Dr. Woodbridge spoke face to face with Billy Graham about his compromise and the direction he was heading away from Fundamentalism. Billy Graham was at Word of Life Inn for two days of meetings near Schroon Lake, New York. That fall was the ‘great New York Crusade.’ It was following that meeting that both Dr. Woodbridge and Jack Wyrtzen stopped all support and fellowship with Billy Graham. Dr. Wyrtzen spoke to the staff of WOL regarding his reasons for pulling away from Graham. I was a young Christian at the time (saved at Word of Life on June 24, 1956, at 19 years of age.) It was the next year that Dr. Woodbridge broke fellowship with Dr. Graham for the same reasons” (E-mail dated Feb. 27, 1999, from Pastor Bob Welch, D.Min, Collegegate Baptist Church, Anchorage, Alaska).

Thus Jack Wyrtzen lovingly warned Billy Graham.

DR. ROBERT KETCHAM was the leader of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1950 when he saw some news clippings stating that Graham was working with Jews and Catholics in his meetings and was turning decision cards over to Catholic parishes. Ketcham wrote immediately to Graham and asked if the reports were true. The reply from Graham’s executive secretary, Jerry Bevan, included the following:

‘For example, you asked if Billy Graham had invited Roman Catholics and Jews to cooperate in the evangelistic meetings. SUCH A THOUGHT, EVEN IF THE REPORTER DID SUGGEST IT AS HAVING COME FROM MR. GRAHAM, SEEMS RIDICULOUS TO ME. SURELY YOU MUST KNOW THAT IT IS NOT TRUE. … FURTHER, THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE ANY CREDENCE TO THE IDEA THAT MR. GRAHAM WOULD EVER TURN OVER ANY DECISION CARDS TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SEEMS INCONCEIVABLE’ (John Ashbrook, New Neutralism II).

It was not long until Bevan’s reply was proven a deception. Graham was intent upon working with Modernistic and Catholic and Jewish leaders, and he was intending to turn decision cards over to the same. The point here, though, is that Dr. Ketcham approached Billy Graham directly about this matter.

WILSON EWIN, longtime missionary to Roman Catholic-dominated Quebec. Graham cannot say that Ewin did not understand Roman Catholicism or Catholic evangelism. Unlike Graham, who travels from place to place and preaches largely in formal, organized settings, then returns to the seclusion of his hotel suite, Ewin lived among Roman Catholics and worked with them as a pastor and evangelist day by day, month by month, decade after decade. He dedicated his book You Can Lead Roman Catholics to Christ to “the salvation of dear Roman Catholics whom I love and for whom our Saviour died and shed His Blood.”

“For twenty years, I have watched the crusades and ministry of Dr. Billy Graham. In fact, Ruth [Ewin’s wife] and I sang in the choir and were counselors in one of the Graham crusades. Many letters were written to Billy expressing grave concern about his illicit affair with the Roman Catholic system. I even visited his evangelistic headquarters in Minneapolis to alert the Graham Organization about its overt compromise with Roman Catholicism. Graham has indeed allowed the truth to fall into the street through his ecumenical ministry” (Wilson Ewin, prayer letter announcing his book The Assimilation of Evangelist Billy Graham into the Roman Catholic Church, January 1993).

Thus Wilson Ewin lovingly warned Billy Graham.

I THINK the ABOVE STATED and DOCUMENTED information should convince anyone THAT DESIRES to know THE TRUTH and not willingly be Ignorant of it.

In Conclusion:

Let me BE CLEAR, I am NOT SAYING that Billy Graham was not saved, for he surely could have been.

What I am saying is that Billy Graham DID GREAT HARM for the cause and to the body of Christ BY HIS COMPROMISES and his lack of “Standing on the Thus Saith The Lord”.

Billy Graham CHOSE THE POPULARITY of the world over the Obedience to the Word Of God.

As the Word Of God states…

Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know IS Jesus Christ as savior, just simply believe that Jesus Christ went to the cross and DIED and shed his blood, was BURIED and three days later RESURRECTED from the dead to pay for your sins.

-Christ DIED for you – Romans 5:8

-Christ PAID your sins in full – 2 Corinthians 5:21,1 Peter 2:24

-BELIEVE (Trust In Completely) in Christ ALONE as the complete payment of sin for salvation – John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8,9

“For the wages(payment) of sin is death (eternal torment in hell); but the GIFT(salvation) of God is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord”. Romans 6:23

IT IS THAT SIMPLE – THE GOSPEL TRUTH

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