Dan,
Glad to see some modern-day commentary from a
dispensational perspective on the religious icon Billy Graham. Due to
his age, health, and international stature it seems as if no-one is
willing to be seen "criticizing" him in the interest of preventing
"divisiveness" in the Body of Christ.
Despite his reputation for promoting love and
ecumenical tolerance, I can honestly say that Graham's lack of
discernment caused an extreme amount of discord in my own spiritual life
as a young Christian. On the one hand, he promoted "assurance" of
salvation but on the other failed to "rightly divide the Bible" by
mixing Israel's Kingdom salvation requirements with "the gospel of the
grace of God".
I remember two things specifically that he taught
during his television crusades that perplexed me:
1. His demand that everyone in the stadium "come
forward" publicly as an absolute requirement of "demonstrating"
their faith, and then turning to the television camera and telling
people that God would "accept them right where they are".
2. Saying that salvation was a "free gift" but
then adding the additional requirement that people "repent of all
their sins and turn their life completely over to God" as a
"commitment requirement" for being justified.
J. Vernon McGhee used to call this kind of
contradiction "commitment salvation", and today this kind of works
salvation is referred to as "Lordship Salvation".
Even as a young believer trying to find some
assurance of salvation, when I had literally NO bible knowledge, I
recognized Billy Graham's message as completely confusing and
contradictory.
To add insult to injury, he used to tell people at
the conclusion of the television broadcasts to "make sure to go to
church this Sunday".
Apparently, any type of church would do, but its
impossible to say how destructive that bit of advice has been in the
lives of millions of people. In my experience, most people have
virtually no biblical discernment whatsoever, and tend to adopt the
theological stance of their first significant pastor, bible study
leader, or mentor in their early Christian lives.
Thus, the legacy of the Church above anything else
is Biblical confusion and chaos despite the continual plea of Paul
to "understand" what the will of the Lord is......and that God is "not
the author of confusion".
By failing to rightly divide the Word, Graham has
sown confusion in the Body of Christ. In my opinion, the gospel
presentation was utterly experiential rather than the type of
JUDICIAL presentation that Paul made in Romans.
The fact that our current generation is utterly obsessed with
"feeling-oriented experience" above the biblical "faith-walk"
(Colossians) can be traced to the obscure and confusing salvation
message that Fundamentalism and Pentecostalism presented to the last
three generations--"Un-Rightly Divided".
Also, I wonder how many Billy Graham converts are
trusting a work for salvation?
I can hear them say "I went forward at a Billy Graham
Crusade"...in answer to the question: "When were you saved"?
Going forward at a crusade doesn't save anyone, and
NOT going forward doesn't indicate that that anyone is NOT saved.
Only personal volitional trust in Christ's Person
(the virgin-born Deity) and Provision (the death, burial and
resurrection) without works or human effort can save anyone.
[signed]