Billy Graham

March 2, 2018

This morning we watched the Billy Graham funeral. There were marvelous testimonies given by his family about the kind of man he was, humble, compassionate and forgiving. Franklin Graham preached a very clear gospel message. It was an entirely God honoring service and caused me to hope that the president and his wife, who attended, as well as millions of others watching, may have been convinced of their need to trust Christ alone as their Savior.

It was disappointing, however, watching Fox News and their regular priest guest completely miss the message. The priest said the emphasis from Franklin Graham was for people to try their best to reach God. That wasn't it at all. Salvation is by God's grace when you repent of your sins and ask Him by faith to save you. Not of your own works or efforts as Franklin clearly quoted Ephesians 2:8.

For the last week the accolades from the press and world leaders have rightfully flowed forth pointing out that in Billy Graham's life and ministry there were no moral or financial scandals. Such a testimony is to be lauded, but Graham's ministry was not without controversy. I have in my life met many people who were saved in Graham crusades and will not hear any criticism of him. I also know many Fundamentalists who do not have a kind word to say about him. I would like to try and reach some balance without offending everybody if that's possible.

Graham came to Christ in a Mordecai Ham evangelistic meeting and attended a semester at Bob Jones College before transferring to Wheaton. In his early days he was considered to be a Fundamentalist. He followed a long tradition of fundamentalist preachers including D.L. Moody, J. Wilbur Chapman, Billy Sunday, Ham and Bob Jones. In 1954 he was the featured speaker at the annual Bible conference at Bob Jones University.

Having graduated from BJU myself I've often wondered why he left Bob Jones College. It's an issue that has never been explained or examined as far as I know but I think I have an idea. BJC, as most colleges in the deep south in the 1930s were, was a segregated institution, something that I think Graham probably could not abide. In one of his early crusades in Florida the local city had decided to cordon off a section for black people in the stadium, but Graham said he would not come if they made such a restriction. The gospel is open to all. This may have been one of the things that led him to leave the Fundamentalist camp.

In 1952 at BJU a time capsule was buried on the campus to be opened in 1977. It included a taped message by Bob Jones, Sr. in which he spoke of Billy Graham and warned him of the danger of desiring the spotlight and the praise of men. HIs fear seemed to have been realized at the 1957 New York City crusade. The crusade saw an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and went on for nearly sixteen weeks. It was during this crusade that George Beverly Shea introduced to the world the great hymn, How Great Thou Art.

At that crusade, however, Graham broke with the Fundamentalists and invited Catholics and modernists to join him on the platform. In years to come he would have celebrities, some with dubious testimonies, appear with him. He then became the chief evangelist for the New Evangelical movement, which preaches a watered down social gospel that compromises the truth of the Word of God. When we visited the Billy Graham museum in Charlotte, North Carolina some years ago there was a wall with life size pictures of Graham's mentors, which included Harold John Ockenga, who was also known as the father of the New Evangelicalism.

While Graham's public preaching was as hot and straight as any hell-fire and brimstone preacher, away from the pulpit or in personal settings he seems to have been almost timid and non-confrontational. After a celebrated crusade in Hungary in the 1970s, he came back saying that Hungarian Christians were not being persecuted by the communists, a statement that was blind or oblivious to the reality of the time.

As a teenager I saw a TV talk show shortly after Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in which the host, Noel Harrison (son of the actor, Rex Harrison), asked Graham if he believed in hell. Graham's answer was noncommittal. He then asked him if he thought RFK might have been saved because after he had been shot someone put a crucifix in his hand and he grasped it. Graham nodded that it was possible.

More recently Glen Beck stated that when he talked to Graham, Graham indicated he thought Beck was saved and going to heaven. Beck is a Mormon and doesn't even believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible. Graham was the pastor to twelve presidents and that is well and good, but you have to wonder what it was he might have said to the Muslim loving Obama, who didn't even have time to view his casket in the Capital Rotunda, or to Bill Clinton, JFK or LBJ, all of whom were shameless womanizers. Did he ever call them out for their immorality? There didn't appear to be any change in their lives.In his crusades Graham sent those who came to receive Christ back to the same churches they came from, whether Catholic, modernist, or even cultist, where they had never before heard the saving message of faith in Christ alone.

On the other hand, many Fundamentalists took the position that anyone compromising on their associations or not walking in lock-step with them in their scriptural convictions was to be condemned and opposed. While Graham preached love and compassion, they came across as cold and self-centered. Their criticism of Graham became vocal and loud. They boycotted his crusades. And they shot themselves in the foot because the more they openly opposed Graham, the higher his star rose and they in turn looked petty and small.

Besides, Graham did not completely abandon fundamentalist churches. When he came to Denver in the 1960s he sent a letter to every fundamental Baptist church in the city asking for their church information and offering to give them the names of everyone in their areas who received Christ at the crusade so they could follow up, but they refused because Graham had become ecumenical. "What an opportunity we missed," my uncle, who had been one of those pastors, in reflection told me.

So while I believe Fundamentalists, of which I am one, had legitimate concerns about the methods and associations of Graham's ministry, I think they went about it all wrong. In Luke 9:49-50, the disciples saw one ministering and they told him to stop because he was not one of them. But Jesus replied, "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."

Regardless of the theological differences Fundamentalism has had with him, Billy Graham was a man of unquestionable integrity who preached the gospel in his crusades as clear as it has ever been preached. God certainly used him. An estimated 200 million people heard the gospel through Graham. Scores of millions came to Christ. For that Billy Graham should be remembered as a man of God who loved sinners compassionately and glorified God by spending his life trying to win the lost to Christ.

And by the way, when we visited the Graham museum, the last stop on our way out was in a little chapel where a counselor asked us about our salvation and offered to share the gospel with us.