Sound The Trumpet : Billy Graham: the Spokesman for New Evangelicalism

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“Billy Graham: the Spokesman for New Evangelicalism”
by Art Sadlier
January 1st, 2009

Raymond Teachout makes the following correct assessment of Billy Graham's ministry.

"Billy Graham has had much fruit for his labour. Even from a casual knowledge of his ministry and his preaching, one cannot miss his advancement of a more unified ecumenical global church. This ecumenism is based on the inclusive gospel which he has embraced and which he has been propagating for decades, whether through his crusades or through the institutions he has set up. His biggest influence on evangelicalism as a whole is to have substantially brought down the wall which once distinguished genuine believers from those who are trusting in their sacramental faith to get them to God. As this wall is taken down, the greater 'unity' being formed is based on an inclusive gospel. It is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is exclusive, absolute and through faith alone.

The very fact that Graham has preached an inclusive gospel has caused great confusion in the ranks of the faithful. Even most who oppose Graham's ministry have missed the real issue. The issue goes far beyond the problem of a lack of separation. It deals with the very basics of the gospel. Some and maybe even much of what Graham has to say is biblically accurate. But when you hear him through, his message as a whole turns you away from the gospel of Jesus Christ unto another message ... the sting-less message of evangelical inclusivism."

In his press release of December 8, 1957, Dr. Ockenga outlined the "organizational front" which would win the respect of liberalism and defeat the grungy forces of fundamentalism. He outlined the organizational front of the New Evangelical movement after listing the first five points he said.... "Sixth, there is the appearance of an evangelist, Billy Graham, who on the mass level is the spokesman of the convictions and ideals of the New Evangelicalism."

Billy Graham has dominated the Evangelical scene for over fifty years, and his influence has dominated evangelicals.

William Ashbrook stated, "Every fundamental pastor has faced the fame of Billy Graham. Newcomers attracted to the church ask the pastor, "What do you think of Billy Graham?" Woe to the pastor who has a negative hint in his answer. If he dares to question the famous evangelist's associations, positions or policies, he is immediately dismissed as unloving and non-evangelistic. Many fundamental churches would be twice their size if they only went along with Billy Graham. Graham's conduct has become the popular norm for evangelicalism, more valued than what the Bible says."

He continues, "I do not want to belabour what everyone already knows about Billy Graham. When he burst upon the national scene in the late 1940's he held positions which would have been shared by Bible believers in every denomination. He believed in an inerrant Scripture, the lost condition of all men, the necessity of salvation through the blood of Christ and the eternal destiny of man in either heaven or hell. He would have shared a desire to be separate from the world, a hatred for the liberalism which had robbed modernistic churches of the gospel, a clear perception of Roman Catholicism as a false religious system, a non-charismatic orientation and recognition of atheistic communism as one of the shrewdest works of the devil. It would be my observation that, in every one of these areas, Billy Graham has moved from orthodoxy to accommodation. The neutralist penchant to be accepted by the world has led to an accommodation to the world's view in every area."

Salvation without the Saviour?
McCall's, in January 1978 carried a five-page interview and story on Billy Graham titled, "I Can't Play God Any More." The theme of the article was to show that Graham no longer held to his dogmatic (Biblical) convictions of the past. For instance, Graham is quoted as saying:

"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."

Graham is also quoted in the same article as saying:

"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."

With regard to Billy's accommodation to Roman Catholicism, in the McCall's article Graham stated:

"I am far more tolerant of other kinds of Christians than I once was. My contact with Catholic, Lutheran and other leaders - people far removed from my own Southern Baptist tradition - has helped me, hopefully, to move in the right direction. I've found that my beliefs are essentially the same as those of orthodox Roman Catholics, for instance. They believe in the Virgin Birth, and so do I. They believe in the Resurrection of Jesus and the coming judgment of God, and so do I. We only differ on some matters of later church tradition." (Quotes from New Neutralism)

In our lifetime we have seen a transition from Philadelphia to Laodicea, from Fundamentalism to New Evangelicalism. We have seen an evolution within New Evangelicalism, First- the Church Growth movement, then- the User Friendly Church,- then the Purpose Driven Church, now - the impending transition to the Emergent Church. This transition has been based on a departure from Biblical instruction concerning what the church is to be, what the church is to do and how it is to do it. The pattern for the Church is clearly laid out in the scriptures. New Evangelicalism violates that pattern.

I believe that New Evangelicalism is the last days religious deception that Jesus warned of in Matthew 24:5, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; (I Speak for Christ) and shall deceive many." I believe that New Evangelicalism is apostasy, God's remedy for apostasy is to separate from it. Failure to separate from New Evangelicalism and New Evangelical Churches and New Evangelical philosophy leads to the perversion of the gospel and the destruction of the Church. If God's people had separated from New Evangelicalism from the beginning it never would have gotten off the ground.

I believe the greatest single issue of the hour for God's people, is separation from New Evangelicalism!

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13