Billy Graham

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Evang.Benincasa

Bro, but God is going to save Billy for what???? That's all I'm asking, but you seem not to be providing that, you just want us to fawn over your posts like what you are blowing is glowing.

That's a fair question.

I'll answer by starting with a question.

Why is God going to save anyone at all???

None of us deserve it. In fact, we all deserve Hell. Now, why would God save Billy Graham, seeing that He didn't know and/or obey the Apostolic Gospel??? For the same reason that God would choose to save anyone... for the sake of His glory, and to have compassion on one who believed (assuming that Billy's faith was genuine). When God shows mercy on anyone, it brings Him glory. God doesn't rejoice in the destruction of the wicked. And the salvation of mankind through God's elect is His revealed desire. Every time God has His way, this gives Him glory. Every time God doesn't get His desire... it gives the enemy glory.

For nearly 1,800 years, there is no recorded history of any church holding to exactly what we believe. Now, unless God chose to have a sovereign mercy upon those Christians whose hearts were truly sincere and searching, every human being who professed faith in Jesus during that 1,800 year period was lost. If the Gospel's purpose is to provide salvation for mankind, this would imply that it has been an ABYSMAL failure. It would also demonstrate that Satan's efforts to bring the official church into apostasy not only worked... but by doing so Satan successfully alienated the majority of mankind from God through... His own church. As a result, Jehovah would be the only God that... failed. I don't buy that. I can't buy that. God is large and in charge. And no matter what deception might fly, God is sovereign. And it is God's mercy that makes the rule. For example, if a man is guilty of some grave sin and God forgives... does that do away with the commandment? NO. If Satan drags the institutional church into apostasy in a Hellish effort with doctrines of devils to use the very Christianity faith intended to save to alienate man from God and drag man to Hell... and God has a sovereign mercy on those sincere souls... does that negate the truth? NO. It simply demonstrates that God is sovereign and that God will NOT play second fiddle, allowing Satan to hijack His own church in its entirety. And in this... God would be glorified.

Mercy will always triumph over judgment as it pertains to God's elect. And any man's salvation on account of God's sovereign mercy... is God's triumph.

Really? So, you are saying that really they aren't. Because for some UNKNOWN reason they taught religious mythology and because they did good works God judged them righteous. 3-Stepper Sovereign God? Actually I got one better, no stepper, because after you got all these people to follow your formula, they still aren't saved. Because there isn't actually a salvation, they never know they are saved. You probably keep reminding them they that are continually sinners, that "blessed assurance" is not so sure? Chris, think about it. If John Calvin, Martin Luther, Pope John Paul the 2nd are in the hands of God as being saved, then why is doctrine important? Why did Paul rebuke the Churches of the Roman Asia Minor? Ones who were of Paul, ones who were of Cephas, ones who were of Apollos, and ones who were of Christ? Why all the warnings? Why was Paul fighting against those who would add to the word of God. Peter telling the churches that somethings Brother Paul had written in his epistles were hard to understand. Yet, UNLEARNED men twisted them to their OWN damnation? Peter didn't say may their souls rest in God's hands. The New Testament is DEAD SILENT on your "They're in God's Hands" doctrine. Not a peep from Jesus, or the Apostles. Not a peep bro, not a peep.

Please note, even in the churches rebuked by Paul over their sectarian practices and various additions to the Gospel... Paul still identified them all as "the church", "the saints", and "brethren". Paul rebuked them... but Paul didn't disown them.

When the disciples came to Jesus about the man casting out devils who "followeth not us", Jesus explained something interesting:

Luke 9:49-50 King James Version (KJV)
49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

In our sin (the sectarian attitude that Paul was rebuking) we forbid all who are not a part of the Apostolic Movement. Those who are doing a work for Christ and followeth not us are rebuked and condemned...we're so like the disciples sometimes. However, Christ's answer to them was, "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us." Was Billy Graham against us? I don't know of any encounter in which Billy Graham took a stand against Pentecostals. And if he did at some point pitch himself against us, it must have been early on... because Graham became rather open to Christians of all traditions at about the midpoint of his ministry. Was Graham following us? Nope. But he was for us. How? He proliferated the name of Jesus as many other traditional Christians have done. That paves the way for us to share greater truth with those who at the very least have heard of Jesus through men like Billy Graham.

Jesus also said...

Matthew 10:41-42 King James Version (KJV)
41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

The rabbis have a similar saying: "He that gives food to one that studies in the law, God will bless him in this world, and give him a lot in the world to come.", (Syn. Sohar).

Anyone professing to know Christ and who does good in the name of being a disciple of Christ, will not lose their reward. Let us consider that Billy Graham is considered to be the most widely known and most widely appreciated evangelists in America, and perhaps even the world. Graham, even with imperfect understanding, advanced the knowledge of the name of Jesus, breaking up the soil for us who wish to plant the seeds of greater truth. Graham also had one of the greatest missionary organizations of charity on earth, The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Providing water, food, clothing, shelter, and medicine to countless numbers of people throughout the globe (many of which in Africa were no doubt Apostolic)... all in the name of... Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself tells us that people like Graham are not only for us, but that they also will not lose their reward.

TO BE CONTINUED....