false believers

Billy Graham: Standout evangelist, or sad example of one who will say ‘Lord, Lord’?

Posted on February 10, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I made a comment the other day in a recent essay about Billy Graham. A person directly asked me if I was saying Graham was not saved. I said I didn’t know about his salvation, but given his stances over the years, it is not likely.

Billy Graham was a 20th century (and a bit of 21st century) itinerant evangelist. He was known for his “Crusades”, which were events that filled arenas to the max and so popular they were held over multiple days, weeks, or even months. He’d preach, there would be choirs and singing, testimonies, and a final “Just as I Am” song with invitations for attendees to come and pray with a counselor on the field, and then be referred to a local church for follow up.

Los Angeles Crusade, I think, 1963. Source

Graham was listed by Time Magazine and others as “pastor to Presidents”, meeting with 13 presidents, from Harry Truman to George W. Bush, over his career. He was known as “America’s Pastor” and was seen as a major religious figure of the 20th century.

Rolling Stone wrote of Graham,

Since the late 1940s, when two of the country’s most powerful publishers – William Randolph Hearst and Henry Luce – helped turn the ambitious blond hunk of North Carolina farmboy into a national celebrity, Graham had merged old-time fundamentalism with modern media to create a wildly popular civic religion. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association produced movies, radio shows, magazines and syndicated newspaper columns. Its crusades were television spectacles watched by millions of families like ours. They sometimes became headline news: Just a few years earlier, a single night of “crusading” in Seoul, South Korea, was attended by a jaw-dropping 1.1 million people. You might have called Billy Graham the rock star of Biblical literalism, except that he was bigger than Elvis and the Beatles combined. Source

It’s hard to picture a man who spent his entire adult life ‘crusading’ for Jesus and “winning souls” all over the world as a false teacher or a false convert. Our minds have a hard time going there. He was so busy! He was so fervent!

But the Bible pierces that mental resistance and trumps it. Matthew 7:21-23 says that on that 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 will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.‘ (Matthew 7:21-23).

There are many other warnings about being true to Jesus and not false, as well, like James 1:22, Luke 6:46, John 14:21, 1 John 2:4, Romans 2:13…

Judas lived with the other disciples day and night, was trusted with the treasury, and heard every sermon and teaching that came out of Jesus’ mouth for three and a half years. Yet none of the disciples even had a whisper of an idea that Judas was false. They first suspected themselves over him.

So it is possible to be ‘doing’ for Jesus but not ‘knowing’ Jesus.

David Frost, a famous English interviewer and mid 20^th century journalist followed Billy Graham’s trajectory from the 1940s and onward. Cecil Andrews of Take Heed Ministries said in a talk about Graham,

“David Frost said in the early days Billy Graham would usually preface things by saying the Bible says but he says as time went on he dropped that and it began to be more what Billy Graham thinks rather than what the Bible says. I think that really sums up the problem where Billy Graham is concerned.“

We see in the book Examining Billy Graham’s Theology of Evangelism by Thomas P Johnston on page 379, a table showing the four phases of Graham’s drift over the years. Johnson lists the five fundamentals for belief as a saved person and how Graham compromised on all of them over the years. By the end, Graham even taught that even if someone didn’t know Jesus, they were saved.

Cecil Andrews participated in a Crusade as a counselor in the later 20th century and also sang in Graham’s choir once or twice in England. Andrews said,

“I know a number of men who do door to door work in Northern Ireland and they constantly come across people whose view is ‘oh I made a decision at a Billy Graham crew said but I don’t go to church now I haven’t gone for years and so on’. But yet somehow or other they’re relying on this emotional response 30 or 40 years ago. Yet they would have gone down as one of the people who went forward as an Inquirer. They would be viewed rightly or wrongly by others as fruit…”

Did you know that people streaming down the aisles at the end of the Crusades during the ‘Invitation’, would be funneled to receiving counselors of their home religious tradition. If a Jew, there was a rabbi there. If a Catholic or ex-Catholic, they would receive counseling from a priest. So, no, those likely would not be bearing fruit for the Lord. Nor the ones who made an Arminian decision once (“prayed a prayer”) and then never honored the Lord by attending church.

Are the people who said they were ‘saved’ at a Graham Crusade really saved? It’s another question I was asked.

I am sure though that of the masses of people who had contact in some way with something Graham has said or taught, that the Lord in his providential wisdom saved some.

The Youtube talk by Cecil Andrews of Take Heed Ministries is called “Billy Graham: The man and his message” and it’s been on Youtube for 12 years. I’ve watched it several times, including 12 years ago, when barely anyone said Graham’s evangelism methods were problematic. Andrews was clear but humble in the talk, pointed about orthodoxy but sensitive when delivering his biblical perspective. I recommend the talk.

There are many reasons why Graham in my opinion will be one of the sad souls pleading with the Lord on Judgment day Lord, Lord. Many. Dissertations, books, and essays have been written about Graham’s personal life and how it didn’t follow the biblical pattern for a godly husband, and many essays recounting Graham’s non-biblical stances- all of which indicate he was not a true believer. Too many to explain and back up in one essay. But the point is:

Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will gain heaven. Event he most seemingly busy and fervent workers for Jesus may be false.

The Pharisees spent their lives ‘doing’ religious things for God, but were not saved. Also the Sadducees. Also Cain, Demas, Judas, and the hordes who will cry out on Judgment day as per Matthew 7. These false teachers and false converts masquerade as righteous, (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) and masquerade means they wear a disguise to cloak and hide their unrighteousness. It is hard to detect some of these. Others, well, the mind does not want to go there, as in the case of Graham.

Therefore, do not be surprised that one who seems so fervent for the Lord, so busy doing for the Lord many not be all he or she seems to be. Be discerning.

theology

False piety is a killer

Posted on August 19, 2023August 19, 2023 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“Nothing in my nature is a Godly woman. So every morning I have a challenge ahead. I need prayer.” ~Beth Moore

While true, Moore’s constant emphasis on her unworthiness eventually reveals a pietistic drumbeat similar to Pharisees mumbling long prayers or disfiguring their fasting faces in public. After 50 years as a Christian, one would hope there was something in Beth’s nature that she could acknowledge as good, namely 50 years of progress in slaying sin in her ever forward sanctification. But no.

While it seems humble to point to one’s sinful state, one must also thank the Holy Spirit at some point for His work. Constant pointing to one’s self, either as a boastful and prideful success, or as a seemingly pitiful sinner, is unbalanced theology and is a worldly focus on self.

@BethMooreLPM preaches Jesus but converts people to dead religion filled with fake piety and false holiness. Be careful not to fall into the trap of the Pharisees, making a show of our piety as a virtue signal instead of pointing to Jesus and reveling in His love and forgiveness.

Read about Esau’s false piety here, from Ligonier where we learn to be wary of seeking “the covenant’s benefits without seeking the covenant’s Lord“.

Fake piety is described in many places in the Bible, like here, 2 Timothy 3:5, holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

Jesus gives us the main text against false piety:

Matthew 23:1-12
THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES DENOUNCED
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and keep, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by men.

But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

theology

They used the wrong evidence to defend themselves

Posted on April 21, 2023April 21, 2023 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

21“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 will enter. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

Here, the surprised, shocked, and dismayed false Christians are revealed ‘on that day’. They had been busy for the Lord, laboring in His churches, working and doing religious-type activities. They knew the Lord and they knew His name.

But he didn’t know them. He consigned them to outer darkness.

That set of verses are deeply convicting, scary, and worrisome. All people reading them should examine one’s self to see if they pass the test of faith and assure themselves they will not hear those words. Ask the Spirit to testify to you that you are a child of God.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, (Romans 8:16).

First of all, too many people today, when they pray, sign off at the end with “In Jesus’ name” as if it is a mantra. It’s not a mantra. It isn’t a magical covering. Michelle Lesley wrote:

♦ If you’re tacking the phrase “in Jesus’ name” on to your decreeing and declaring and binding and rebuking as some sort of way to harness the power of God into making your words a reality, you’re taking God’s name in vain because you’re doing the same thing witches and pagans do when they use incantations and cast spells. “In Jesus’ name” isn’t the Christian version of “abracadabra.” To pray in Jesus’ name means to pray that what God wants – not what we want – will be done.

Now as to the verses: the three religious activities these false Christians hurled at Jesus in desperate attempt to prove their identity as a child of God:

1. prophesy in Your name,
2. in Your name cast out demons,
3. in Your name perform many miracles

These 3 activities were part of the collection of sign gifts. These were the showy gifts whose purpose in the first decades of the new covenant was to affirm the messenger’s authenticity because the canon was not completed yet. The sign gifts also included tongues and interpretation of tongues.

What was the purpose of the biblical sign gifts?

Once the canon was complete, new revelation was not necessary. Believers had the word in print and/or preached to them. Prophesying ceased. Miracles performed by believers ceased. Casting our demons by the hand or word of a believer ceased.

The word prophesy means in the Bible either preaching the word, or foretelling something about the future. The word prophesy as it’s used in the Matthew verse is the latter, foretelling. AKA a sign gift.

Yet these false Christians persisted in faking their prophecies, working at casting out demons (who likely laughed at them, Acts 19:15), and pretending to do miracles. The same continues to this very day. Their efforts are vapor, not done in Jesus’ name, and will be uncovered as false on the day.

Now, let’s contrast their fake religious activity to real religious activity.

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)

1. Teaching & Learning
2. Fellowship
3. Breaking of bread= communion/meals together
4. Prayer

This day-by-day, persevering in spiritual disciplines, is the true religious activity. It was noted in Acts and lauded.

“The foremost of the disciplines is that involving the Word of God and constitutes the reading, study, memorization, and meditation of Scripture.” ~GotQuestions

Notice the false Christians didn’t say, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we pray, and study, and memorize scripture, and devote ourselves to worship?’ Not that false Christians don’t do those things too, but just note the three religious activities the false Christians chose to use as their primary defense when trying to argue their way into the Kingdom. The very ones that have passed away. Many will discover this to their eternal regret.

The word many as it is used here, means:

4183 polýs – many (high in number); multitudinous, plenteous, “much”; “great” in amount (extent).

4183 /polýs (“much in number”) emphasizes the quantity involved. 4183 (polýs) “signifies ‘many, numerous’; . . . with the article it is said of a multitude as being numerous” (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 113,114) – i.e. great in amount.

It breaks my heart to think of the shock of the MANY as they are confronted by an angry Christ. They are thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:19).

If you, dear reader or listener, are one who believes you are hearing from Christ, or casting out devils, or performing (fake) miracles, consider those sobering words from Jesus.

If you, dear reader or listener, are growing weary with your spiritual disciplines, thinking that such a ‘insignificant’ walk surely must be displeasing to Christ- it isn’t. It’s laudable. It’s worthy of Him. Devote yourself to the teaching and breaking of bread and fellowship and prayer. And you will rejoice on the Day!

discernment

What was the worst danger to Paul? (Hint: It wasn’t robbers, shipwreck or stoning)

Posted on March 15, 2017 by elizabethprata

Look at the list of devastating experiences Paul said he had endured for the Gospel:

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers (2 Corinthians 11:24-27a)

I’ve lived on a sailboat and traveled 12,000 miles on it. It was the scariest thought that over any of those nautical miles, one slip of the foot or one swipe of the boom or one misjudgment and a coral reef would rip the bottom of your boat open like a jagged can opener, and you could be in the shark infested waters in a split second. That never did happen to us, but it did to Paul. There he was in stormy waves, legs dangling enticingly below the surface of the water, freezing salt-soaked hands clinging to scraps of wood for a day and a night. /Shudder/

I’ve never been robbed and beaten but I know those are terrible things. People who have been robbed or assaulted recall that there remains in them a feeling of violation and threat for many months or years afterward.

And stoning? Being pelted with rocks by an angry mob, any one rock would crush your head? Awful.

Paul’s sufferings as an Apostle for the name of the Lord are well documented. Through all he rejoiced. That’s one lesson. God’s grace was sufficient for him. That’s another lesson.

But did you notice one of the hardships Paul chose to include? This is today’s lesson.

“danger from false brothers”.

Can it be true that Paul equates shipwreck, robbery, beating, city danger, (which included riot, theft, and beatings,) and wilderness danger (which included robbery, bears, venomous snakes, torrential rain, and blizzards), hefty dangers to be sure, with the danger of false brethren??

Yes. Is there any worse danger than a danger to the soul?

False brethren are divisive, sly, and greedy. (Romans 16:17, Matthew 7:15, 2 Peter 2:1-3). They upset whole families, corrupt, poison, and are leaven that spoils the whole lump. (Titus 1:11, 2 Timothy 2:17, (Galatians 5:9). They are hypocrites, liars, and have seared consciences. (1 Timothy 4:2).

Far from the tolerant or even dismissive attitudes many people have today about the danger of false teachers, false doctrine, and false brothers, they present just as much if not more of a major danger as the other hazards Paul lists. They creep in unnoticed (Jude 1:4). That’s one reason why it’s important even as a layman, to hone your discernment skills, and if you’ve been given discernment as a gift, to be extra vigilant so as to ensure that on one “creeps in unnoticed.”

John MacArthur writes of the false brethren noted in the verse, from his commentary,

But the most insidious danger of all was the false brethren, who posed as believers and then tried to destroy Paul’s ministry. The false apostles at Corinth were prime examples of such treacherous pseudo-brethren, as were the Judaizers (Gal. 2:4). Because of the danger posed by false believers, Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church, “From among your own selves men will be speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

Barnes wrote in his notes, that the danger from false brethren was “the crowning danger and trial to Paul, as it is to all others.”

We should think well of our church family and not look at each person suspiciously or askance. However, false believers DO exist. Remember that Paul considered false believers one of his greatest trials and dangers. False believers pose a serious threat, and we should take Paul’s admonition seriously.

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