Franklin Graham: Speaking Truth or Hype?

Posted on May 10, 2010
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OK... I want your input on this. Franklin Graham has, of course, been in the spotlight recently over the whole National Day of Prayer dis-invitation thing. Last week, on the eve of the National Day of Prayer, Graham said this in a webcase from the offices of the Family Research Council:

"I think its coming to this country where we (will) have the freedom to preach inside a church wall, but we will lose the freedom to do it outside. That day will probably come – maybe in my lifetime."

I want to know what you think of this quote.

Do you agree or disagree?

Is it probably truth or purely hype?

Franklin Graham continues:

“(In the United States) we see everyday our rights being eroded. Just a little at a time, but its happening. Everyday. So let’s preach while we can. Let’s stand up and holler ‘Jesus Christ! King of Kings, Lord of Lords!’to the top of our voice... The secularists are going to get ticked off, the news media’s going to hate it. I don’t know, maybe the people in the White House are going to be mad. But you know what, I don’t care. Because God has called us to take the Gospel -- His Gospel, the power of God and His Salvation -- unto the ends of the Earth.”

Again... agree or disagree?

My take: I don't know. In some ways, I think it is the proverbial militant preacher that is preaching 'Jesus Christ! King of Kings, Lord of Lords' at the top of their voice that somehow is causing much of the turmoil and 'rights reduction' in America. Don't get me wrong... America was based on religious freedom, and we need to protect our right to proclaim the gospel without government intervention; but purposefully ticking off the people who are the ones who are in power over making the rules doesn't make sense to me either.

We can holler Jesus' name all day long at those we don't agree with; and at people who don't know Jesus. They'll just think we're nuts. (And they should... they don't know Jesus!) And if they think we're nuts, they probably WILL move to keep us quiet. After all, that's what we want to do with them, right?

What's the answer? Let the church be the church. Like it was in Nashville last week. The more we as churches (and individuals) can be the hands and feet of Jesus rather than trying to be the mouth of Jesus, the better off we are. Out of the opportunities that God gives us every day being the hands and feet, lives will be changed, and instead of having to 'holler' Jesus' name; we can whisper it. And my guess is that we'll be a lot more effective.

Am I all wet? It's Monday. Early. And I haven't had my coffee yet. (But that's no excuse... I hate coffee).

What do YOU think? Leave a comment below...

Todd

Comments

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Todd Rhoades on Mon, May 10, 2010

Just as I thought. Some agree. Some disagree. Go figure.

I am in no way saying that we don’t need to be bold in either our spoken word or our witness.

All I’m saying is that I think our culture has stereotyped Christians totally by what we’re against rather than what we’re for.

Quite frankly, I’m tired of Christians using the passage about the world hating us as license to be jerks.

Todd
Christopher Fontenot on Mon, May 10, 2010

I don’t know why I am in disbelief of the the responses of Stewart, Michael, and Sgillesp but I can’t help but shake my head. The complete lack of Scriptural discernment, for some reason, just makes me wonder what Jesus do they serve.

Sgillesp wrote: ” I dearly wish Franklin would go back to running Samaritan�s Purse and stop talking publicly.” Yes….just shut up about Jesus saving sinners and God’s holiness. People don’t want to hear that kind of thing. REALLY??? What kind of Christian, who has been GIVEN the gift of eternal life, would keep that to himself and unlovingly allow other sinners to go to hell? Charles Spurgeon (one of those guys that should have just stayed within the 4 walls of the church building instead of spreading the Gospel to all creation) said this: “Have you no desire for sinners to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself; be sure of that!”

Michael wrote: “The boycotts, the in your face shouting, pounding the pulpit�it�s not working.” REALLY? So you can see into the portals of heaven and see that no one there was saved by the public proclamation of the Gospel? Do you instruct God in His sovereignty to not save people who hear these preachers share the ENTIRE Gospel to a lost world? You are one powerful person. I certainly hope you don’t dislocate your shoulder in the attempt to pat yourself on the back for your omniscient knowledge on how God saves the lost. You have to defend your belief of this idea against the clear teaching of Mark 16:15 and 1 Corinthians 1:21.
I agree with you that people are not bullied into a relationship with Christ. But God first draws their heart to Christ by His Spirit and providentially puts someone in their path to tell them the Gospel. That message IS foolishness to those who are lost, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. No true Christian who shares the Gospel to this lost world does it in a spirit of hatred, or bullying, or judgmental-ism. We bring the truth of God’s holiness and in light of THAT perfection, the exceeding sinfulness of sin is clear. The conscience is pricked and either God opens their blind minds to the truth or He hardens their hearts. They will either be broken over their sin against God or they will hate God even more than they already do.

Stewart wrote: “When someone asked Jesus how to get eternal life, he didn�t answer by saying �preach louder� or anything like that did he? Nope. He said �Love God and love others.� (That�s the stewart summed up paraphrased version )” REALLY? Where is that in the Bible? Or could it be that you are reading into the Scripture what you want to believe about the god you created in your own mind? Your “summed-up paraphrased version” is un-Biblical. Jesus told him to keep the Commandments, which he arrogantly professed to have done since he was a youth. Which, by the way, proves Scripture to be truth because it tells us that every man is right in his own eyes. (Prov 20:6) Jesus did not “just love on him” nor did He let him off the hook because He then exposed to that man that his god was his money. Interesting enough, that man WALKED AWAY….and Jesus didn’t run after him and say “Hey, just make a decision for Me, sign this card and pray this prayer and all will be made right.” He let that guy leave. He gave him the truth and that man rejected it. Just like they reject that same truth today.

Love is the answer and nothing is more loving than to show someone how their sins are an affront to God’s holiness. To show them how they can have eternal life is the most loving thing we can do but watering down or sugar-coating that message in any way so the it doesn’t seem “mean” is just as much an affront. It is His message of salvation…not ours. We tell it as Scripture tells it and let God save them. Will they hate us for it? Most do, including professing Christians. But isn’t that what Jesus promised us?
Christopher Fontenot on Mon, May 10, 2010

Karen,

If you wait to “build a relationship” before you tell them the Gospel, what happens in the mean-time if they die before you get the chance to tell them how they can have eternal life?
Paul Wilkes on Mon, May 10, 2010

I believe that he is right that he is right about the future being one where we will be unable to preach outside of a Church. In fact in the UK there are many incidents taking place where Christians are being silenced and stopped from having the freedoms to speak. There are people being finished from work because of wearing the symbol of a cross. Not being allowed to offer to pray for someone.
We need to cherish the freedoms and not abuse them. I really believe that we have remained silent on issues that should be voiced and a Christian perspective placed on them. Preaching without the support of actions is no good. James says, show me your faith by what you do and Jesus said They will know you are my disciples by the love you have for one another.
4 Common Sense on Mon, May 10, 2010

Franklin Graham is so right on. You who call yourselves Christians better go back and read your Bible. “calling Islam evil” I guess you didn’t read about Jesus calling the Pharisees “Whited Sepulchres”. Jesus was not a wimp. When He was engaged, He went after them and was not a coward when it came to “the money changers” or when he preached in the Temples to the Religious Leaders. They were angry at what Jesus had to say. What is it with you so called Christians? Do you not think that the Religious leaders of Jesus’s time liked Him? No. They hated him. Even to the point where they wanted to kill him. We do need to be salt and light to the world. What do do thing salt does to a open wound of sin. It hurts like heck. How many souls have you lead to the Kingdom? We need more Franklin Grahams today.
Lee Elliott on Mon, May 10, 2010

I’m definitely okay with Franklin. We have been too quiet for too long and we have let “political correctness” get in the way of spreading the truth of the Gospel. Make no mistake, Jesus did get in the face of the temple and ‘religious leaders’ of the day. Maybe we don’t remember the entry into Jerusalem on Psalm Sunday. Maybe, just maybe it’s time for the Government or poliitical correctness to be countered by real live and speaking Christians!
John Newsome on Mon, May 10, 2010

I am afraid he is right. Yes, the hollering part can be misleading and we have all heard or seen hateful speech in the name of Jesus Christ, but I do not think he is saying that. We need to be vocal, but do so with grace and respect.
Dave Simmon on Mon, May 10, 2010

Well as always, such vital issues require more than sound byte answers. Unfortunately, in the blogosphere that is sometimes all that is possible. So let me give it a go on a few separate but connected bytes.

1.) We’re foolish to think that it can’t, or won’t, happen to us in the USA - When South Park won’t do a bit on Islam for fear of offending Muslims but WILL do an entire series to mock Jesus, then it is, in fact, already happening - even today

2.) We should absolutely be the hands and feet of a Loving Savior. But we should also be the voice of a Good Shepherd calling to lost sheep. Remember: the command is to ‘speak the truth in love’..... BOTH/AND, not EITHER/OR.

Works of mercy or compassion done without a clear explanation that they are reflections of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the Cross is like hiding our light under the proverbial bushel basket - Somehow we have to balance compassion with the reality that we are here on a ‘vertical’ rescue mission not a horizontal ‘relief’ mission

3.) We live in a participatory democracy / representative republic where it is our civic duty and our Biblical responsibility to participate. We have been commissioned to represent the Lord Jesus, and His interests, in the public square as His ambassadors - clearly & respectfully, but also unabashedly, proclaiming the Kingdom in our midst and the King on His way

4.) Jeremiah 18, and Psalm 33 (esp. v. 12) tell us clearly that we are on the hook AS A NATION for how we treat God by name [YHWH ; or Yahweh]. Which begs the question: is God’s goal for America that we treat Him as our ONLY Sovereign God or that we treat Him as the equal of ALL gods of all faiths? In the end if we want the LORD to bless the USA, then it seems to me that we’d better not be ‘ashamed’ to say so.

5.) Since God gave the privilege and power of prayer to us, we might benefit from remembering that all our righteous works are as filthy rags unless He ‘supercharges’ them by pouring out His power through them. (Apart from Me you can do nothing)

So maybe before we wrestle over which of our techniques is best, the Church in America think about getting together corporately, getting back on it’s knees collectively as one Body, and wrestling through the night before God’s throne of grace crying out for mercy.

Who knows, maybe the LORD will respond by reviving His people once and Awakening America once again?

6.) Finally, if we have the power to be salt, light and leaven to change the world, then it also stands to reason that responsibility for whatever happens in America, good or bad, lies squarely at the door of the Church. More than anything else, we have to engage God, and then fearlessly engage the culture - in that order. If we fail to seek Him first, then in the end, there won’t be much need for discussion.
beth g sanders on Mon, May 10, 2010

I know his intentions are good. His heart is in the right place.

But the shrill screaming and demanding has to stop. Why do Christians think that the best way to change society is to force our values upon the public? Why don’t we get that being “against” only puts the rest of the world on the defensive?

Instead of making the “world” our adversary, something to fight against, why not begin with the things we have in common?

No one will ever care that Jesus is Lord until they see His love from us. Otherwise, it’s all just clanging cymbals.

And a bunch of clanging cymbals to me is ... just freakin’ annoying.
Todd Rhoades on Mon, May 10, 2010

4 Common Sense writes:

“You who call yourselves Christians better go back and read your Bible.”

Man… that’s exactly what I’m talking about.

What do you expect me to say to that?

“Uh… you’re right 4 Common Sense. I just read my Bible. You’re right.”

You can holler as loud as you want with that message. I’ll just turn up my iPod.

Todd
Sgillesp on Mon, May 10, 2010

Christopher, if what he was “dis-invited” for was preaching the gospel, I would agree with you. But he mixes talking about Jesus with defending a Christendom in which public institutions would support whatever Christians want to say. Speaking from an American point of view, we have troops on the ground in Muslim countries: why would a civic group planning a prayer service invite someone who has called Islam an “evil, wicked religion” publicly? You could argue whether such prayer services are even worth doing, from a kingdom-of-God perspective. I’m not even saying I disagree with Graham on that: what I’m saying is that he is not wise or temperate in his public proclamations ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE NOT THE GOSPEL. Thus he drags the gospel into disrepute. So stop implying that I and others are not willing to preach the pure gospel - I’m just unwilling to pick fights that aren’t on the main things, and I’m not willing to do that because I don’t think Jesus did, although plenty of people tried to get him to. Getting people mad at you doesn’t mean you were actually preaching the gospel, even though we shouldn’t fear to preach the gospel lest people get mad.
Mike B on Mon, May 10, 2010

Todd, apart from how we should express our faith, I have to agree with Franklin’s comments. I have personally experienced a serious decline in this country regarding our ability to express our faith freely. I have witnessed students threatened with a myriad of punitive actions at our high schools and universities for holding to simple biblical convictions. The move to stop the National Day of Prayer is another example. Yes, we should serve no matter what…and we do. But we must also tell people why we do this - regardless of whether it is “legal” or not - so they can experience the gracious love of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:13-20.
Wendi Hammond on Mon, May 10, 2010

Franklin, Franklin . . . . for calling American Muslims wicked in a discussion about the �National Day of Prayer� you deserve to be uninvited. We have a right to participate in something sponsored by our tax dollars for this day, but we (the Christians) do not own it. Celebrations of this day should include people of every faith, and we should win people over by our influence, not our bullying. I agree with Todd, we may well be eroding our own rights by our imprudent behavior.

Interesting that Chris chose Jesus� words in Luke to defend Franklin (I think). Jesus� focus for proclaiming was on the poor, the captives, the sick and the oppressed. Franklin�s rant was focused on the people who disagree with his beliefs. I don�t think Jesus had in mind what Franklin is proposing when he spoke about His own calling.

Wendi
Larry C on Mon, May 10, 2010

I believe 100% in his first comment. Liberals are controlling our educational system, our media, our Congress, the White House, and soon, the Supreme Court. In my lifetime I have seen religious expression suppressed at every turn, and the rate of suppression is increasing.

I believe 100% in the SPIRIT of what Franklin said in his second comment. I don’t think he was speaking literally when he said we needed to “shout” the Gospel. I do know that Jesus said we aren’t to hide our candle on a basket, but put it on a lampstand. Light “shouts” in the darkness, just by being light. (If you don’t believe be, just try lighting a small candle in a pitch black room. The darkness ‘flees’.) What we DO have to be is VOCAL. Just ‘acting out our faith’ won’t convert or save anyone. Quiet faith is silent faith.

I think what Franklin is saying is “speak up!” If the gays can gain rights through “Act Up!”, maybe Christians need to start a new emphasis in their churches and call it just that” “Speak Up!”
Albert J Gunter on Mon, May 10, 2010

I wonder if perhaps the point has been missed, sure there is no virtue in ‘hollering’ but just declaring the Lordship of Christ within our church buildings, is really just preaching to the converted. Here in the UK we are several steps ahead of you in this anti-Christian march. As a regular visitor to the States, from this side of the pond I would urge the American church to wake up to the danger.
Yes we are meant to be hands and feet of Jesus, but we are also meant to be His voice. Government (local and national) are usually more than happy for us fulfilling this role, but we do it on our terms - that is within thje context of the Gospel - and must not allow them to side line us.