I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)
This is one of the famous I AM statements by Jesus. Here they all are.
Continue reading “Jesus is the door: what do these famous testimonies reveal about their understanding of Christ?”By Elizabeth Prata
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)
This is one of the famous I AM statements by Jesus. Here they all are. Continue reading “Jesus is the door: Comparing famous testimonies & what they reveal about their understanding of Christ”
By Elizabeth Prata*
What will heaven be like? It is a marvelous question those of us who long for our heavenly home ask often. On the one hand, the glimpses given to us in scripture are wonderful and awe-inspiring. On the other hand, those glimpses make us long to be there even more!
There are some things the Bible is silent on however, regarding our future in eternity. We know heaven will be a place where we will be active, and working for Jesus. We don’t know exactly what we will do. “Rule and reign”, worship Jesus, of course, and it won’t be boring. But as to exactly what we will do in the eternal state, the Bible is silent.
We do know that our citizenship is in heaven, our new name is in heaven, our brethren are in heaven, our reward is in heaven, our life is in heaven, our hope is in heaven- Jesus is in heaven!
Continue reading “Golfing in heaven?”I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)
This is one of the famous I AM statements by Jesus. Here they all are.
1. And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
2. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
3. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
4. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
5. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25).
6. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
7. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1).
Any study on these statements would be rich and edifying. However let’s just look at the door. The door is narrow. There is only one door. It is an exclusive door. No other door will allow entry to heaven. If anyone tries to come another way, he is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)
Jesus leads his Jews out of the fold into salvation. He has another fold (John 10:16) where He leads His Gentiles out into salvation and green pastures. No one can go to green pastures another way except through Jesus. His way is exclusive because He is the ONLY way. His way requires repentance, a realization of our utter inability to perform any act He would consider righteous and a realization of His total ability to crush us like a bug if He so desired- and that would be just. We understand His holiness but also His mercy in saving us. One would think that a conversion testimony would include acknowledgement of at least some of those positional truths.
Here are a few conversion testimonies I found online. Compare them. And in the back of your mind, keep thinking about the Door. At the bottom I’ll have the moral of the story.
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Conversion story #1
At the end of the sermon, the preacher had “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothing to do but look and live!” I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said—I did not take much notice of it—I was so possessed with that one thought . . . . I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, “Look!” what a charming word it seemed to me. Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away.
There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, “Trust Christ, and you shall be saved.” … I listened to the Word of God and that precious text led me to the cross of Christ. I can testify that the joy of that day was utterly indescribable. I thought I could have sprung from the seat in which I sat, and have called out with the wildest of those Methodist brethren . . . “I am forgiven! I am forgiven! A monument of grace! A sinner saved by blood!” My spirit saw its chains broken to pieces, I felt that I was an emancipated soul, an heir of heaven, a forgiven one, accepted in Jesus Christ, plucked out of the miry clay and out of the horrible pit, with my feet set upon a rock and my goings established … Simply by looking to Jesus I had been delivered from despair…
That young man certainly was aware of his position in Christ prior to salvation. He had been in despair, he heard the Gospel and he was saved by blood.The young man was Charles Spurgeon. His subsequent life certainly reflects the foundational understanding he had of the Gospel.
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Conversion story #2
“I didn’t have a fireworks moment for my salvation, I had a falling in love with Jesus in Sunday school when I was a very young child.” But she did have an altar call moment. In high school, she had planned to become a lawyer, but one summer while leading a group of sixth-grade girls at camp, she received what she considers a call from God. “I had no words, nothing but a sense,” she says. “God took a very troubled young woman and made sure that she understood.” She walked down the aisle of her church, committing herself to ministry.”
So she had a mystical sense to walk down an aisle and commit to the idol of ministry. Not the standard Gospel call of realizing our depravity in brokenness and turning to a resurrected, blood shedding Jesus as the exclusive hope for reconciliation with God… The woman is Beth Moore. Her subsequent life certainly reflects the lack of understanding she should have had of her position in Christ both before and after salvation.
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Conversion story #3
in 1914 at the encouragement of their minister the young man was now beginning to take a hard look at the reality of his spiritual condition. “For many years I thought I was a Christian when in fact I was not. It was only later that I came to see that I had never been a Christian and became one.” As he struggled with his salvation a grace truth came into focus. He said he had not really heard sound preaching of the gospel in his early life. “What I needed was preaching that would convict me of sin and … bring me to repentance and tell me something about regeneration. But I never heard that. The preaching we had was always based on the assumption that we were all Christians …” As the young man read for himself he slowly but surely saw the logic and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like the waves of the incoming tide, the reality of God’s grace swept over his heart until trusting Christ was all he could do. As surely as that reality overwhelmed him personally it overwhelmed him professionally.
The young man was Martyn Lloyd Jones, (source) a preacher called “logic on fire” and certainly his long and fruitful life subsequent to his conversion testifies to the grace of Christ in bringing him to regeneration from brokenness in sin.
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Conversion story #4
A certain young man began attending a tent revival.
“And then it happened, sometime around my sixteenth birthday. On that night, [the preacher] finished preaching and gave the Invitation to accept Christ… On the last verse of that second song, I responded. I walked down to the platform, feeling as if I had lead weights attached to my feet, and stood in the space before the platform… My heart sank when I looked over at the lady standing next to me with tears running down her cheeks. I was not crying. I did not feel any special emotion of any kind just then. Maybe, I thought, I was not supposed to be there. Maybe my good intentions to be a real Christian wouldn’t last. Wondering if I was just making a fool of myself, I almost turned around and went back to my seat…” As [the young man] stood at the platform, a friend of the family’s, testified to the young man and guided him to pray.
“He prayed for me and guided me to pray. I had heard the message, and I had felt the inner compulsion to go forward. Now came the moment to commit myself to Christ… I checked ‘Recommitment’ on the card I filled out. No bells went off inside me. No signs flashed across the tabernacle ceiling. No physical palpitations made me tremble. I wondered again if I was a hypocrite, not to be weeping or something. I simply felt at peace.”
The young man was Billy Graham, attending Mordecai Ham’s tent revival. The subsequent life of Graham testifies to his lack of a foundational understanding. Especially when in his mature decades, Graham said things like a person could go to heaven without ever hearing the gospel, knowing Jesus Christ, or having lived a sincere life just knowing he needed something. “They’re going to come another way” Graham said. No. They’re not.
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You see the weakness of Moore’s and Graham’s theology in describing their conversion. Their descriptions posted were not immediately after conversion, either, they were statements made decades later when one presumes some sanctified maturity has set in.
You see the strength of Spurgeon’s and Jones’ conversion stories. They talk of sin, grace, redemption, resurrection, regeneration.
Jesus is the Door. It is a narrow door. It is the only door. It isn’t easy to become a Christian. It involves a deep, soulful agony. Here’s Don Green on how to recognize true repentance,
Look at verse 4, where Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” This word for mourning describes deep, inner agony…agony. Jesus is describing a spiritual mourning here, not an earthly mourning. It’s easy enough to see that. There are a lot of people that suffer earthly loss and mourn that, that don’t receive comfort from Christ. Unbelievers who are mourning their losses don’t receive comfort from Christ. What Jesus is talking about here is spiritual mourning over sin. He had just talked about poverty of spirit. It’s in the context of repentance.
…the tax collector in Luke 18, verse 13…Luke 18, verse 13, you don’t need to turn there. The tax collector standing some distance away was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breasts saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” He was beating his breast, his agony, his mourning over sin was so great that he had to release it physically. This was no superficial response. This was no quick nod of the head to the question, “Do you think you’re a sinner?” And then move on to whatever the next topic of discussion was. No, the kind of mourning, the kind of sorrow that repentance expresses is a sorrow that stops you in your tracks, a sorrow that you can’t get over.
Salvation is no easy-breezy nod to the Holy I AM whilst wiping one’s feet on the doormat saying, “Gee, thanks for the ministry.” It isn’t ambling down an aisle, and checking off a ‘recommitment’ box after a quick prayer. Salvation is agony and going through the door means you leave all else behind, enter alone, and worship. Jesus isn’t relieved you have recommitted. He isn’t wringing His hands in hopes that you will fall in love with Him. He doesn’t have an ‘easy button’ you push. He has a narrow way of entry with strict requirements. Jesus is THE DOOR. He is not a doorMAT.
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Further Reading
The Bible records many truly devastating promises from the Lord Jesus Christ, Messiah, Creator, Judge. There are two which are particularly weighty on my heart. One is from Revelation 14:16,
So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Are there any four words anywhere more devastating? “…the earth was reaped.” All wicked flesh crushed under the weight of the holy gavel.
The other terrible promise is this:
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)
Billy Graham is just such a one as these. He is at grave risk for standing before the Lord he claimed to serve, only to learn that despite his longevity, despite his seemingly ‘mighty works’, the Lord never knew him. All the crusades, all the fist pounding podiums, all the books written- it was all a sham, all for nothing, all as filthy rags.
And then there is Graham’s preaching what he says and what he does not say. Graham is famous for exhorting people to “commit to Christ,” but precious little is said regarding “repentance” over sin. It is a much easier gospel than what Jesus preached. And there is precious little said of atonement through the blood of Christ. Perhaps this helps explain: in a letter dated Feb. 29, 1968, Rev. W. H. Martindale, Spiritual Counselor of Graham’s home office, wrote: “Mr. Graham believes that we are saved through the blood of Christ; however, this aspect of Christian doctrine he does not emphasize in his messages. This is the duty and prerogative of pastors.” If Graham does not emphasize “salvation through the blood of Christ,” then we can only ask which Jesus he is preaching. It plainly is not the Jesus of the gospel. (source)
In a January, 1978, interview with McCalls Graham said, “I used to play God, but I can’t do that any more. I used to believe that pagans in far-off countries were lost were going to hell if they did not have the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them. I no longer believe that. I believe that there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God through nature, for instance and plenty of other opportunities, therefore, of saying “yes” to God.” (source)
Billy Graham was interviewed on television by Robert Schuller, a noted infidel widely recognized for his alteration of historic Christian doctrine. Part 1 was an approximately 7-minute-long broadcast in Southern California on Saturday, May 31, 1997. The following is an exact transcript of an excerpt close to the end of this broadcast.
SCHULLER: Tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity?
GRAHAM: Well, Christianity and being a true believer you know, I think there’s the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the Body of Christ. And I don’t think that we’re going to see a great sweeping revival, that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time. I think James answered that, the Apostle James in the first council in Jerusalem when he said that God’s purpose for this age is to call out a people for His name. And that’s what God is doing today, He’s calling people out of 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, 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 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 that they’re going to be with us in heaven.
Then he went on to say, “I’ve met people in travel situations that have never seen a Bible, heard about a Bible, never heard of Jesus, but they believed in their hearts that there is a God and they’ve tried to live a life that is apart from the community in which they live.” Is that enough? You might not be surprised to hear the Pope say that. But you might be surprised to hear Billy Graham say that.
Evangelicals who succumb to the myth of influence do so in part because of their own flawed theology. They have developed theologies which depart from the rich biblical theologies of the Reformation.
Some evangelicals have embraced the myth of influence out of an Arminian view of salvation. Since salvation ultimately depends on the consent of the free will, many theological compromises are justified in order to gain a hearing and move the unbeliever. Other evangelicals are motivated by a defective doctrine of the church. They see the church, not as an essential institution in God’s economy founded on and regulated by his Word, but as a helpful support group for the individual Christian in his walk of faith.
Both of these theological weaknesses surface in Billy Graham. His Arminianism is clear. (7) His weak doctrine of the church is seen in his sending inquirers back to false churches
Islam is misunderstood, too, because Muhummad had a great respect for Jesus, and he called Jesus the world’s greatest prophet except himself, and therefore I think we are closer to Islam than really we think we are. (David Frost, On May 30, 1997)
It sounds like Billy Graham is a real Christian, and it’s also why I believe he’s one of the most deceptive men of our day. Due to quotations like this, I have had many objections to my statements about Billy Graham and his teaching of false gospel; so many I found it necessary to write a full-length article about him. Billy Graham may SAY these things on stage, but he doesn’t truly believe them.
Because people tend to take extremes and take my words out of context, I want to make it clear that I am NOT saying people have not been truly born-again saved at a Billy Graham event. I am NOT saying all people who work in the Billy Graham organization are apostates. I am NOT saying Billy Graham has never preached a good sermon. However, what I AM saying is that we have VERY little evidence of Billy Graham’s faith in the Jesus Christ of the Bible, and a LARGE amount of evidence that he believes in a false, new-age idol he calls “Jesus Christ.”
Gallup: Billy Graham Among 10 Most Admired Men in World–for 58th Time
Ninety-six-year-old pastor Billy Graham, arguably the most influential Christian preacher of the last 60 years, was ranked No. 4 in Gallup’s Most Admired Man List for 2014, the survey group reported, adding that Billy Graham has been in its top ten list 58 times between 1946 and 2014, the most appearances of any man in the world since Gallup started the survey.
What comes to mind when I read this are several things.
1. He is not a Christian, that’s why the world loves him. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own;but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
2. The mark of popularity is a curse and a warning. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26)
“Woe unto you; that is, it would be a bad sign that you were not faithful to your trust, and to the souls of men, if you preached so as that nobody would be disgusted; for your business is to tell people of their faults, and, if you do that as you ought, you will get that ill will which never speaks well.
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume
3. Lauding a man as Christian who denies the exclusivity of Christ as sole entry to heaven, exalts Mary beyond her place, partners with Catholics, sends seekers to counselors of false religions, fails to preach the whole counsel of God, and gives credence to evolution, brings to mind Hosea 4:6, “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.“
Though this isn’t in the bible, I thought of the old saying from poet Thomas Gray: “all that glitters is not gold”.
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Further Reading
Exposing the False Teachers: Galatians 5 exegesis & commentary
In his exposure of these false teachers, Paul gives us six identifying marks that can guide us to discern the presence of “wolves in sheep’s clothing” in our midst today
.
On the occasion of Billy Graham’s 96th birthday on November 7, Orthodox bishop Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of the Russian Orthodox church was ushered in to Billy Graham’s living room at his home in North Carolina in order to offer the elder man well-wishes.
The Press Republican stated of the photo-op,
“The photo-op on Nov. 7 was symbolic and, for many, historic. The elder statesman was the Rev. Billy Graham, and rather than an evangelical superstar, the man who met with him at his North Carolina mountain home was Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev. This visit was linked to a Hilarion address to a Charlotte gathering of Protestant and Orthodox leaders, organized by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. (BGEA)
The Russian Orthodox Church is not a true church because it adheres to orthodoxy that is false. They were a schism church formed after splitting from Roman Catholicism. The Orthodox group of churches (Greek, Russian, etc.) do not believe in justification by faith. They believe in part:
Therefore it is unfortunate to read that the BGEA organized a conference this month and invited a mix of men who preach a different Gospel with Protestant leaders, for what has darkness to do with light, For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)
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| From Twitter. Met. Hilarion Alfeyev visiting Billy Graham on his 96th birthday. |
Though Billy Graham has for decades made public statements confirming his place in the pantheon of destructive wolves, there are many today who still don’t believe that such a man could be a false Christian. To that end, here are some quotes from Billy Graham, from newspaper media, books, and transcripts from interviews, which show clearly that such a man is not of the faith. Graham said these things throughout his life, not simply in his advanced years. Some claim he was ‘confused’, but no such claim can be made of a man who has made assertions contrary to the bible in each decade of his life. Some of these things he said as far back as 1948, at the beginning of his television crusade career.
On Evolution:
Graham: I personally believe that it’s just as easy to believe that God took some dust and blew on it and out came a man as it is to accept the fact that God breathed on a man and he became a living soul and it started with some protoplasm and went right up through the evolutionary process. Either way is by faith, and whichever way God did it makes no difference as to what man is and man’s relationship to God. (Billy Graham: Candid Conversations with a Public Man By David Frost)
Here we begin with a basic tenet: Hath God said? The original question in the Garden to Eve which she answered incorrectly and led to the Fall of man, is here again posed to Mr Graham. Hath God said he formed man from the dust of the ground? (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:7). Or not? Indeed, God hath said how He made man and it is only a man without the Spirit in Him who finds it easy to dismiss the plain words of God and accept “arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God,” (2 Corinthians 10:5). “Either way” that man appeared on the earth, as Graham believes, is NOT by faith. One is by faith and the other is by satan.
Are you in favor of the ordination of women?
Graham: It would be according to the circle I was in, because I feel I belong to all the churches. I am equally at home in an Anglican church or a Baptist church or a Brethren Assembly or a Roman Catholic church and I would have to say that I would identify with the customs and the culture and the theology of that particular church.
But do you welcome that development? (ordination of women]
Yes. … from my study of the scriptures there were many women preachers in the bible. Candid Conversations with a Public Man, David Frost
Once a man accepts man-made opinions and not God’s word, all else falls from there. Here we see Mr Graham accepting culture and bowing to tradition, the way reeds are swayed by the wind. (Matthew 11:7, Jude 1:12). Whatever the people around him believe, Graham believes. That is what he is saying here. The bible says pastoring is for men only. Finally, Christians belong to Jesus, not “all the churches.” A man who “feels” he belongs to all the churches, including RCC, is not a man who has the Spirit in him.
On salvation
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Graham: I used to think that pagans in far-off countries were lost–were going to hell–if they did not have the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them. I no longer believe that. … I believe there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God–through nature, for instance–and plenty of other opportunities, therefore, of saying yes to God. (James Michael Beam, article “I Can’t Play God Anymore,” McCall’s Magazine, 1978)
Only a man without the Spirit could deny that Jesus is the only way, and to say that other opportunities exist for men to say yes to God. Additionally, many say yes to God but deny the Son. Mr Graham did not speak of Jesus as the exclusive way to Christ, but spoke only of a nebulous allusion to nature.
In fact, the method of recognizing God through nature which Mr Graham is alluding is a verse about the wrath of God upon those who plainly see the existence of God in nature but suppress this truth in their unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18-20).
It could not be clearer: a man who disbelieves that those in countries who do not hear the word are not going to hell is not in the Spirit. This means that Mr Graham disbelieves the first and last condition of man: sinner born from the womb and being condemned already. (John 3:18)
On follow up after the Crusades
Graham: Anyone who makes a decision at our meetings is seen later and referred to a local clergyman, Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish. -Billy Graham, San Francisco News interview on Sept 21, 1957.
Many of the people who reach a decision for Christ at our meetings have joined the Catholic Church and we have received commendations from Catholic publications for the revived interest in their Church following our campaigns. This happened both in Boston and Washington. After all, one of our prime purposes is to help the churches in a community. If after we move on, the local (sic) churches do not feel the efforts of these meetings in increased membership and attendance, then our crusade would have to be considered a failure. (Billy Graham, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, 1952)
No man in the Spirit would celebrate the consignment of a seeking soul to the church of the spirit of antichrist! The Roman Catholic Church is not a local church but a synagogue of satan. No one who seeks Jesus will find him in a Jewish synagogue either. If Mr Graham’s “prime purpose” as he states, is to add souls to the number of those who are bound for hell, then Graham is of hell and making sons of hell twice as bad he is. (Matthew 23:15).
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On infant baptism
I do believe that something happens at the baptism of an infant, particularly if the parents are Christians and teach their children Christian truths from childhood. We cannot fully understand the mysteries of God. But I believe that a miracle can happen in these children so that they are regenerated, that is, made Christians through infant baptism. If you want to call that baptismal regeneration, that’s all right with me. (Wilfred Bockelman, “A Lutheran Looks at Billy Graham,” Lutheran Standard, 10 October 1961)
No person is made a Christian by having water sprinkled on their infant body. We are made Christians by the way God said we become Christians:
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:2 )
Can an infant believe what he has heard?
Graham on hell being metaphorical and not real
The good folks at Answers in Genesis are right: once you chip away at the word in the first few chapters of the bible, all other doctrines crumble.
Graham: I think that hell essentially is separation from God forever. And that is the worst hell that I can think of. But I think people have a hard time believing God is going to allow people to burn in literal fire forever. I think the fire that is mentioned in the Bible is a burning thirst for God that can never be quenched. (Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, April 10, 1983)
You see the connection here: Graham says that “people have a hard time believing” about hell being eternal punishment. Rather than Mr Graham teach it clearly and scripturally, he bows to the wind of doctrine like a broken reed: therefore he says, “I think”. Notice he does not use scripture to support his view. It’s always, ‘I think’, or ‘I feel’… However the bible is very clear on the fate of the unbeliever.
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
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magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)
Hell IS separation from God forever, though not separation from His wrath. However, the unbeliever was already separated from God before he went to hell. The fiery lake of burning sulfur is very specific about the hell the unbeliever will endure. Hell is not only separation from Jesus, but it is fire, sulfur, and physical torment (Luke 16:24; Jude 1:12-13, Revelation 14:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:9)
These are just a few, certainly not all, of the shockingly aberrant doctrines Graham has held during his life and has espoused publicly. We must not fail to mention the doctrines he does NOT preach about, either. When a person looks at the life of a man like Billy Graham, 60 years of seemingly tireless promotion of Jesus to the masses, they cannot believe that such a man would not be saved. They won’t believe he is a wolf, one of the pack that was prophesied to come in after Paul left the earth. (Acts 20:29)
Yet Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)
In sheep’s clothing means that the exterior will be molded to look like a believer, but inwardly they are not. It takes time, prayer, maturity and skill given by the Spirit to detect the wolves. And yet, is it really so hard after all? A man who denies basic doctrines, diverts seekers from Christ, and partners with all religions as equal is not so hard to see is a wolf. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary says,
Beware—But beware of false prophets—that is, of teachers coming as authorized expounders of the mind of God and guides to heaven. (See Ac 20:29, 30; 2Pe 2:1, 2) which come to you in sheep’s clothing—with a bland, gentle, plausible exterior; persuading you that the gate is not strait nor the way narrow, and that to teach so is illiberal and bigoted—precisely what the old prophets did (Eze 13:1-10, 22) but inwardly they are ravening wolves—bent on devouring the flock for their own ends (2Co 11:2, 3, 13-15).
Gilbert Tennent (February 5, 1703 – July 23, 1764) was a religious leader, born in County Armagh, Ireland. Gilbert was one of the leaders of the Great Awakening of religious feeling in Colonial America, along with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. His most famous sermon, “On the Danger of an Unconverted Ministry” compared anti-revivalistic ministers to the Pharisees described in the gospels. (Wikipedia)
Gilbert Tennent, On the Danger of an Unconverted Ministry
I may add that sad experience verifies what has been now observed concerning the unprofitableness of the ministry of unconverted men. Look into the congregations of unconverted ministers, and see what a sad security reigns there; not a soul convinced that can be heard of for many years together, and yet the ministers are easy, for they say they do their duty! Aye, a small matter will satisfy us in the lack of that which we have no great desire after, but when persons have their eyes opened and their hearts set upon the work of God, they are not so soon satisfied with their doings, and with lack of success for a time. O! They mourn with Micah that they are as those that gather the summer-fruits, as the grape-gleaning of the vintage. Mr. (Richard) Baxter justly observes that those who speak about their doings in the aforesaid manner are likely to do little good to the Church of God. But many Ministers (as Mr. Bracel observes) think the gospel flourishes among them when the people are in peace, and many come to hear the Word and to the Sacrament. If, with the other, they get the salaries well-paid, then it is fine times indeed in their opinion! O sad! And they are full of hopes that they do good, though th ey know nothing about it. But what comfort can a conscientious man, who travails in birth that Christ may be formed in His hearer’s hearts, take from what he knows not? Will a hungry stomach be satisfied with dreams about meat? I believe not, though, I confess, a full one may.
That is what Mr Graham offers: dreams of meat, while they spiritually starve. Tennant again:
And more especially, my brethren, we should pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth faithful laborers into His harvest, seeing that the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. And, O sirs, how humble, believing, and importunate should we be in this petition! O! Let u s follow the Lord day and night with cries, tears, pleadings, and groanings upon this account! For God knows there is great necessity of it. O! Thou Fountain of mercy and Father of pity, pour forth upon Thy poor children a Spirit of prayer for the obtaining of this important mercy! Help, help, O Eternal God and Father, for Christ’s sake!
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Further Reading
Life, ministry of Billy Graham chronicled in special release
Billy Graham: ‘His impact for good in the world is incalculable’
As many already know. Billy Graham is an ecumenical religionist who preaches an aberrant, unsaving doctrine. [Read also “When Did Graham’s Compromise Begin?]
The elder Graham has been a friend of Rome for a long time, partnering with Popes and priests in various ecumenical endeavors as if the Catholic religion was true.
Occasionally people have asked me if the son, Franklin Graham, believes the same about Rome. There is an oft-repeated quote from a newspaper article from 1999 which seemed to indicate the younger Graham does. Franklin Graham told the Indianapolis Star (6/3/99) that his father’s longstanding ecumenical alliance with the Catholic Church and all other denominations, “was one of the smartest things his father ever did.”
But was one quote enough? Not to me. I waited and watched to see what would come out later. Would the fruit be thorns, or grapes? It didn’t seem likely that Graham the Younger raised in such an environment as Graham the elder’s, would emerge with beliefs that were true, but in any case, I was in wait and see attitude.
Meanwhile, in 2011 I saw a very interesting article from Maryland. It’s obvious that Rome’s doctrines are not saving doctrines and that the Roman Catholic Church is false. Yet astoundingly,
“An Episcopal church has decided to convert, en masse, to Catholicism. The parishioners, along with the pastor, wants to be under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and its pope. Why? “[C]hurch members said, they were satisfying their longing for a clear religious authority by welcoming the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI. … they decided that the Reformation was a mistake. “It feels fantastic,” Delaney said. “It’s like correcting 500 years of history.””
I was flabbergasted that they would choose such obvious falsity. However, that little trickle was an example of what by now has become a broken dam. Falsity of all sorts of Catholic mischief has flooded into the faith. Lighthouse Trails has a good rundown of the examples of formerly evangelical leaders embracing various aspects of Catholic ritual. (Labyrinths, Contemplative Prayer, Lectio Divina, ecumenical partnerships, acceptance of Catholic dogma etc.) Just this month, I wrote about the infiltration of the Protestant use of Catholic prayer bead rosaries.
Since my first awakening notice of Catholic-Protestant unification in 2011, I’ve seen that Catholicism has become all the rage in Protestantism. The avalanche since 2011 in Catholicism entering Protestantism has been veritably sweeping away many individuals and whole churches. The acceptance of and promotion by top Protestant evangelical leaders is furthering this cause.
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| Jasmine Goldband Photography |
Case in point- Franklin Graham. In August at the Three Rivers Festival (Franklin refuses to call the gatherings “Crusades” like his father,) the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association hosted a Catholic Bishop on stage, partnered with the city’s Catholic church as part of the “evangelistic outreach.” Bishop David Zubik was the Catholic representative, and he was invited to give the opening prayer. Worse, seekers were encouraged to come to the Catholic church for counseling, since they were ‘right next door.’ Here are the Bishop’s words. This is from the August 10 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Bishop David Zubik said the festival dovetails with calls by recent popes to a ”new evangelization,“ bringing back cradle Catholics who drifted or became estranged from the faith.
“We felt as long as there was a Catholic component to this particular crusade, we wanted to be a part of it,“ Bishop Zubik said. Those who respond to Rev. Graham’s invitation to make a decision for Christ, and who identify as Catholic, will be given the opportunity to go to Epiphany Church — adjacent to the Consol Energy Center — for the sacrament of reconciliation, or confession. ”We’re right next door,“ Bishop Zubik said.
Franklin Graham and Billy Graham will have to answer to our Holy Savior for their part in decades of consigning babes to darkness. They are false apostles, workers of darkness making sons of hell twice as worse as they are (Matthew 23:15, Luke 13:27). Their end will be as they deserve.
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:15)
Did you know that Bob Jones Sr. called the elder Graham a “limb of satan”? We must call evil what it is. Denny Burk wrote a good essay the other day, “We must call evil, “evil.” He was referring to Islam, but I apply his concept here to Catholicism. Just because Islam is ferocious and obviously false doesn’t make it more evil than Catholicism, which sort of looks partly Christian and acts kind of nice. They’re both evil, because both religions and its adherents are doing evil against Jesus.
Bishop David Zubik said the [Franklin Graham Three Rivers] festival dovetails with calls by recent popes to a ”new evangelization,“ bringing back cradle Catholics who drifted or became estranged from the faith.
I’m very sad that I must call the younger Franklin a false teacher, a false worker, but the evidence is clear. It gives me no pleasure to say it nor to see it. I do grieve for the many people who come to his ‘festivals’ (of darkness) and are brought full circle back to their unsaved state. If anything comes from this essay let it be two concepts that stay with you:
1. We must see evil what it is; and after prayer and evidence, call it out (Jude 1:3,) and marking those who cause divisions (Romans 16:17)
2. We must be vigilant. These are dangerous times (2 Timothy 3:1).
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Further reading
Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Revival Headliner Franklin Graham has trail of support
Pittsburgh Catholic Newspaper: Catholics extend welcome to [Franklin Graham’s] Festival of Hope crowds
The End Time: “The dangers of the bible…AND…“
What will heaven be like? It is a marvelous question those of us who long for our heavenly home ask often. On the one hand, the glimpses given to us in scripture are wonderful and awe-inspiring. On the other hand, those glimpses make us long to be there even more!
There are some things the bible is silent on however, regarding our future in eternity. We know heaven will be a place where we will be active, and working for Jesus. We don’t know exactly what we will do. “Rule and reign”, worship Jesus, of course, and it won’t be boring. But as to exactly what we will do in the eternal state, the bible is silent.
We do know that our citizenship is in heaven, our new name is in heaven, our brethren are in heaven, our reward is in heaven, our life is in heaven, our hope is in heaven- Jesus is in heaven!
But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:13)
As John MacArthur says in his essay What heaven Is–
Everything we love, everything we value, everything eternal is in heaven. Nevertheless the church in this century has tended to be self-indulgent, proof that many Christians have lost their heavenly perspective. Too many don’t want to go to heaven until they’ve enjoyed all that the world can deliver. Only when all earthly pursuits are exhausted, or when age and sickness hamper their enjoyment, are they ready for heaven…
It is so important to have a heavenly perspective. The bible mentions heaven 550 times! It is obviously important to God that we know about it, or He wouldn’t have mentioned it so much. One of the most wonderful things about heaven is that we will see God.
“We will see He who is…according to 1 Timothy 6:15…the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.” We will see Him then. Matthew 5:8 says, “They shall see God.” In that city we will be engulfed in His presence. We will be exposed to the full blaze of His eternal glory. Christ will be the radiant focal point of that manifestation. Christ will be the centerpiece, if there is such a thing, of that diamond blazing glory of God. (source)
We will be consumed with the glory of God!
And this then really is the joy of heaven. The hymn writer said, “The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom’s face. I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of grace.” In other words, the believer is going to follow the glory back to the face from which it radiates. (source)
It is equally important to also to have the right heavenly perspective.
To that end, I am reminded of something Billy Graham once said about heaven. In Ken Garfield’s biography, Billy Graham: A Life in Pictures, Graham is quoted,
“Somebody once asked me, ‘Will there be golf courses in heaven?’ I said, ‘If they’re necessary for our happiness, they’ll be there.’”
And that is precisely the wrong heavenly perspective.
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| Wiki CC, Herring Cove Golf Course, New Brunswick, Canada source |
Readers of this blog know that I’ve written about Mr Graham a few times in the past. Mr Graham unfortunately is a liberal ecumenical who has a worldly perspective and has preached inconceivable contradictions. For example, preaching the Gospel at his conventions yet also declaring Muslims are in the body of Christ even if they don’t know Jesus, or that Mormons are not a cult outside Christian orthodoxy or that the Pope is a fine Christian and a terrific evangelist.
Mr Graham is famous for his interview with Robert Schuller in 1997 whereupon Mr Graham said he believes people can attain heaven without knowing Christ. He said the same in an interview in McCall’s magazine in 1978 and again before that in his own Decisions Magazine in 1960. His apostasy can be traced far back, even to his youth, when Graham was rejected for membership in a youth group due to him being too worldly, and later when chafing under Bob Jones’ University biblical standards, he transferred to the less strict Florida Bible Institute. Here Mr Graham is quoted as saying,
“I used to play God, but I can’t do that anymore. I used to believe that pagans in far-of countries were lost – were going to hell – if they did not have the gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them. I no longer believe that. I believe that there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God – through nature, for instance – and plenty of other opportunities, therefore, of saying “yes” to God. (James Michael Beam, “I Can’t Play God Anymore,” McCall’s (January 1978)
Compared to the glories of heaven as described in scripture, and compared to those glories as summarized above, Mr Graham’s worldly perspective about golf needing to be in heaven for him to be happy is certainly disappointing.
The hope of heaven should fill us with a joy of anticipation that loosens us from this transitory world. It’s easy to become so attached to the world that we spend our energy consuming things that will perish rather than accumulating treasure in heaven (Source)
If, as Mr Graham said, whatever is necessary for our happiness will be in heaven, I ask, what if sex is necessary for our happiness? Will it be there?
The bible says no. (Matthew 22:30).
What if my happiness in heaven depends on my unsaved mother being there, will I then be unhappy? The bible says no. (Isaiah 65:17)
The perspective that whatever made us happy on this earth is what we “need” to make us happy in heaven gives short shrift to the incomparable riches of His grace, His holy habitation, and His personal presence. JESUS is what is necessary for our happiness in heaven, and we will have it. No earthly game, activity, or item we enjoyed on this earth will be missed.
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| Creative Commons, source |
And just kidding now, what if Basketball was necessary for my happiness, and bowing to my ‘needs’, our Exalted God created heaven around my need to throw a bouncy ball into a net? Won’t every shot be a basket? Won’t every golf swing result in a hole-in-one, every baseball swing a home run? Because everything in heaven is perfect. Does Mr Graham believe that he won’t make par in heaven? If so, then there will be disappointment, and heaven is not a disappointing place.
Hinging our heavenly ‘happiness’ on the needs of our earthly desires is small minded. Expecting our God to create a place for us based on the activities we enjoyed while on the cursed earth, fails to keep in mind that what we do here is only a shadow of things to come. (Colossians 2:17).
Praise God that heaven is so stupendous, that He chose us for salvation, and that we will be with Him!!
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5)
The false notion that we all end up in heaven is an old one, but in these days, it is called Universal Reconciliation. Wikipedia explains it, “In Christianity, universal reconciliation [ ed note: universalism for short] is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ultimately be reconciled to God.“
[ Video: Christ the Only Way (RC Sproul) ]
We know that God is love and mercy, but we also know that He is Holy and Just. He will not allow unreconciled sinners into heaven. (John 14:6).
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| Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) Pollock, 1950, National Gallery of Art |
Universalism is actually a terrible blasphemy against the Spirit, the unforgivable sin. It is also a heinous reproach unto the incarnated Jesus, who died a horrible death to make a way for sinners to be reconciled.
Do universalists think it was all a big joke? That Jesus says, ‘oops, just kidding about that cross thing, come on in anyway!’ Do they believe entry into heaven is like a Jackson Pollock painting? Splats and drips winding up where they did due to gravity and haphazard placement? That once any sinner dies they slide down the white tunnel and plop into some part of heaven like a splatting tomato bouncing off a vegetable truck? “Come on in, whoever you are and wherever you came from.”
Do they not suppose that God is precise as He was in Genesis, creating the earth just so far from the sun and the moon just so far from the earth and each petal of each flower just so. He does not throw open the doors of heaven and say, “Aw , you’re all just so adorable, come on in!”
The transition from earth to heaven is extremely orderly. Once there, the proceedings are orderly too. Everything is moment upon moment, exact, and completed with a precision that astounds the mind. The scene from Daniel 7 is one such example about what happens in heaven is precise, including the people who are there.
A stream of fire issued
and came out from before him;
a thousand thousands served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
the court sat in judgment,
and the books were opened. (Daniel 7:10)
If you read the entire chapter, it’s not long, your mind will be blown. Daniel’s certainly was. (Daniel 7:15, 28).
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| Bible Study Outlines |
Please bring your attention to the phrase, “Books were opened.” It has an ominous sound. In heaven, they keep records. They write down names. They keep track. Revelation 20:12 repeats the phrase in a similar scene given to John. “Books were opened.”
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” (Revelation 20:12)
In this verse, we are given an additional detail, the things we do are in the books as well. The book of life is singular and the books in general is plural. It stands to reason that the book of life is singular because Jesus said few find the way. (Matthew 7:14). The book of life is the roll of the names of the saved. Heaven has a precision, and those who are elected to salvation are in the book. Actually, there are two sets of books, one is the book of life and the other is the book which the unsaved will be judged.
People hate it when I say that we will be judged.
People reject the notion of standards today. They reject the concept that some people are qualified for things and other people aren’t. For example, women are not qualified for ministry. Unrepentant, active homosexuals are not qualified for marriage. Unrepentant sinners are not qualified for heaven.
God has standards. He has expectations. No set of standards worth the paper they’re printed on is a standard which accepts all comers. There are learning standards. When a student achieves them, they graduate. If they don’t achieve them, they don’t graduate. There is a standard of care, “the degree of prudence and caution required of an individual who is under a duty of care.” There is a breed standard, in which in animal fancy and animal husbandry is a set of guidelines which is used to ensure that the animals produced by a breeder or breeding facility conform to the specifics of the breed.”
Does a person think that a farmer has a standard for breeding of cows, but our Holy God doesn’t have
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| Wikimedia commons free to use |
standards for entry into His kingdom? Foolish notion!
The standard for entry is a single item. Just one. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). That’s it. No works, no study, no tradition, no payment. Jesus did the work, He studied the Father’s will, and He paid the price. He did it for us. Believe on His gospel and you will be saved.
There are so-called Christians who believe that all people will go to heaven. They are Universalists. This violates not only the one standard that God set forth (Belief in Jesus’ atoning work on the cross for forgiveness of sins) but it violates logic. It belies the orderliness of the heavenly scenes we see in scripture. It makes God out to be a patsy and a liar.
Billy Graham is one who believes that all peoples, ‘if they lived a sincere life” will go to heaven. He has believed this since 1960. He said in part,
“They may not even know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light they have and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.“
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| Wikimedia Commons free to use |
There are essential doctrines that one must believe in order to be considered a Christian. The exclusiveness of the Gospel is one. If a person doesn’t believe the exclusivity of Christ as the sole entry to heaven, he cannot be considered a Christian.
Acts 4:12 says “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””
Now, Mr Graham is going to die soon. He has said so himself. His son has said so. When Mr Graham dies, there will be many accolades and an outpouring. I want you to know the truth: not all who claim the name of Jesus are in Him. The scriptures say that many will plead with Jesus on His day.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
It is the most heartbreaking scripture in the bible. It tears my heart apart every time I read it. My mother will be one of these pleading with Jesus. So will my sister. And so will Billy Graham.
The precision of God is ultimate. It is laser-point. It is Jesus.
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Further reading
“My Hope America” with Billy Graham, and a look at Graham’s teachings (Part 1/2)
My Hope America & Billy Graham, part 2
Links
Video: Christ the Only Way (RC Sproul)
Tim Challies: Billy Graham and Ecumenicism (essay)
John MacArthur clip, A Wideness in God’s Mercy? (video)
Cecil Andrews: Billy Graham: The Man and His Message (video)
World View Weekend: Billy Graham (article)
David Cloud: Billy Graham’s Sad Disobedience To The Word Of God (note: I disagree with a lot of Mr Cloud’s teaching but the article I’ve linked to is mostly Graham quotes and discussion of same, with sources)
John MacArthur: Deliverance: From the Temporal World to the Eternal Kingdom (sermon)
Midwest Today: A Conversation with Billy Graham, 1997 (news article, printed interview)
CARM.org: Billy Graham
the-end-time.org 
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