Billy Graham

[JerryNumbers]

Only if he is preaching the truth about Christ and His complete atonement for our dons - which he cuts cornerson in order to yoke up with Catholics and modernists. What that passage is saying is that God is glorified when the truth is preached, regardless of a person's motives. Get some of his old Decision magazines and look in vain for the Gospel in there - you'd be surprised! You might find an issue dealing with Christ's death, but not how Jesus paid the complete penalty for our sins and our works are not part of our salvation. Or perhaps an article about the resurrection, but not teaching three literal days and nights in the tomb or the necessity of believing in that fundamental of the faith in order to be saved.

Sad, many love to have their ears tickled by men such as Billy Graham & others like him. Perhaps they have not eyes to see God's truths.

[PreacherBen]

I'm in agreement with many of the charges leveled against him so far on this thread, but I guess my conclusion on the matter would be this: God can hit a lick, even with a crooked stick! I have a dear friend who pastors a IFB church in San Antonio, TX, who was saved on a Sunday morning watching, grab your chairs, brethren, Jimmy Swaggert! He happened to give a simple gospel on the broadcast, and my friend bowed his head and heart and asked Jesus to save his soul.

What can you say. I hate liberalism, contemporaryism, compromise, worldliness, and ecumenicalism. I hate Franklin Grahams, "Festivals," and their rock and rap concerts. I hate association with Roman Catholicism.

But! God still will take the most unlikely of characters and win a few.

I shrug my shoulders and check my footing, (lest I slip and let you brethren down,) and walk on.

Ben

[Jerry]

Just because God overruled the stumbling footsteps of a carnal or compromising person because someone else was searching for the truth and God revealed Himself to that person - does not mean that He puts His stamp of approval on that person/ministry nor that we should hedge our bets when exposing them. God may use a Stephen King novel to get someone's attention by causing something in it that relates to that person's life impact him at that point - but it doesn't make that book or author any less evil - God just overrode it for good in the life of that person that He was bringing to Himself.

[JerryNumbers]

I'm in agreement with many of the charges leveled against him so far on this thread, but I guess my conclusion on the matter would be this: God can hit a lick, even with a crooked stick! I have a dear friend who pastors a IFB church in San Antonio, TX, who was saved on a Sunday morning watching, grab your chairs, brethren, Jimmy Swaggert! He happened to give a simple gospel on the broadcast, and my friend bowed his head and heart and asked Jesus to save his soul.

What can you say. I hate liberalism, contemporaryism, compromise, worldliness, and ecumenicalism. I hate Franklin Grahams, "Festivals," and their rock and rap concerts. I hate association with Roman Catholicism.

But! God still will take the most unlikely of characters and win a few.

I shrug my shoulders and check my footing, (lest I slip and let you brethren down,) and walk on.

Ben

Seems He saw the true Light and wanted to follow the true Light, thankfully he did, but this does not put a feather in Jimmy Swaggert hat, God gives all increases, whether someone is save under a false teacher or one who teaches truths.

That said, how many listened to Jimmy Swaggert and go through the rest of their life with a false home and in that day the Judge will say to them, "I never knew you."

You know, its harder to win a person to Christ who has a false hope than one who has not hope.

So your statement is not really a compliment to Jimmy Swaggert, but to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit where all increases come from.

[FeatherDuster]

Billy Graham used to live up the road from my parents. They actually ate dinner with him many times. They said he is a great man. I think so. Wish he didn't have Johnny Cash in his crusade becuase Johnny Cash's music is boring.

[Jerry]

So he is good because you met him and like him? What about his teachings and associations - what does God think about him based on what God has said in his Word?

[JerryNumbers]

Just shows he is truly a great man according to worldly standards of which most people use to measure the character of people.

Plus more than likely Billy Graham is a wonderful neighbor, I feel sure the Pharisee of Luke 18:10 would have been a wonderful neighbor too.

[Wilchbla]

I've always heard different groups say both good and bad about Billy Graham. What I have noticed here on OB is that many are very quick to either uphold him entirely or throw him quickly to the chopping block. So.......I'm am curious who will share appropriately and tastefully their personal thoughts and beliefs about Billy Graham and be willing to share both the things they like and dislike about him. I hope to bring up several different people in threads to come, but will start with him.

Sometimes they play Graham's old b/w revivals on TV when the man preached with conviction. Great stuff. Somewhere along the line BG made too many compromises that got him in to deep with apostate groups. He also got caught up in the neo-evangelical stuff of Harold Ockenga. But at the end of the day "to his own master he standeth or falleth". Some of the brethern have said some really harsh things about Graham that I sure wouldn't want to explain to Christ at the judgement seat.

[Just_A_Thought]

I've always heard different groups say both good and bad about Billy Graham. What I have noticed here on OB is that many are very quick to either uphold him entirely or throw him quickly to the chopping block. So.......I'm am curious who will share appropriately and tastefully their personal thoughts and beliefs about Billy Graham and be willing to share both the things they like and dislike about him. I hope to bring up several different people in threads to come, but will start with him.

I am not sure which way the conversation is going here but I wanted to throw out my opinion. Billy Graham is a good/bad guy. No one is perfect! He has his ups and his downs. His up is that he does get out the plan of salvation effectively. The down side is that he will also send people to their religious denomination (even Catholics) to have them tell people how to get to Heaven even if he knows they are wrong. I think those that attack him are making a mistake but I also would not align myself with him either. I would preach with him but not promote him is what I am trying to say.

[Jerry]

How does Graham "preach the Gospel effectively"? He yokes up with modernists and Catholics and waters down his preaching to such an extent that the Catholic church has no prOBlems working with Graham and sending their members there. If he truly preached the Gospel - no Works, but Faith Only in the Finished Work of Christ - the RC church would reject him, as that would be a different gospel than they are preaching. But the sad thing is, Graham stated as far back as the sixties that he preached the same gospel as a Jesuit University (Notre Dame).

[trc123]

Lu

[Jerry]

Is he for Christ? Just because he calls himself a Christian and is ecumenical (2/3of the world calls themselves Christians) doesn't mean he is for Christ and faithfully preaching the Word of God.

Mormons call themselves Christians now - but we won't accept their teachings because they don't line up with the Word of God. True Bible-believing Christians won't accept Catholics (who hold to Catholicism) as Christians, nor their teachings as according to the Word of God - why would we accept a compromiser and someone that waters down the Word of God as being "for Christ"?

Jesus is referring to those who preach and teach His Word as it is, but perhaps may be in a different group (an application today would be someone from a different denomination or circle) - not to those who distort it.

[trc123]

Jesus is referring to those who preach and teach His Word as it is, but perhaps may be in a different group (an application today would be someone from a different denomination or circle) - not to those who distort it.

Jerry, you are so wrong, but will not see. Why can't you just accept the plain teaching of the scriptures here? "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."

[JerryNumbers]

Is he for Christ? Just because he calls himself a Christian and is ecumenical (2/3of the world calls themselves Christians) doesn't mean he is for Christ and faithfully preaching the Word of God.

Mormons call themselves Christians now - but we won't accept their teachings because they don't line up with the Word of God. True Bible-believing Christians won't accept Catholics (who hold to Catholicism) as Christians, nor their teachings as according to the Word of God - why would we accept a compromiser and someone that waters down the Word of God as being "for Christ"?

Jesus is referring to those who preach and teach His Word as it is, but perhaps may be in a different group (an application today would be someone from a different denomination or circle) - not to those who distort it.

Watch out for those who say that we are chop-blocking. What they want to do is tear us apart, and spread the Word as Billy Graham spreads it.

[Jerry]

Trc, I believe that passage - however I do not believe that a man who is leading the religious world into the arms of Rome is "for Christ."