1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

How Did Billy Graham Help You?

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Mark Corbett, Feb 21, 2018.

  1. Mark Corbett

    Mark Corbett Active Member

    Joined:
    May 13, 2017
    Messages:
    365
    Likes Received:
    84
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I join many people around the world today in giving thanks to God for the life and ministry of Billy Graham. God used him in so many ways to help so many people. If God used Billy Graham to help you in some way, feel free to thank God for that in the comments. Here, I will share how I have been blessed through Billy:

    I did not come to Christ through Billy Graham, but God used him to help me in another way. To me, Billy Graham was an example of integrity.

    Many big name evangelists eventually brought dishonor to the Lord and His work because they fell into sin. But not Billy. How I thank God for his integrity.

    I want to get very specific. There is a rule in ministry which some even call “The Billy Graham Rule”. Here it is in his own words:

    We pledged among ourselves to avoid any situation that would have even the appearance of compromise or suspicion. From that day on, I did not travel, meet or eat alone with a woman other than my wife. (From Just As I Am by Billy Graham, quoted in Where Did the Billy Graham Rule Come From? in TGC by Justin Taylor).​


    I remember reading this and deciding that I should have basically the same rule for myself. My slightly altered version is that I will not meet with a woman in a private setting unless she is clearly old enough to literally be my mother.

    This rule has helped to guard me throughout more than twenty years of full time ministry. I realize it is not a specific rule in the Bible, so I do not judge others if they do not follow this rule. But I do highly recommend it. I think it is an excellent way to put into practice some Biblical principles. Consider these verses:

    But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. (Eph. 5:3 NIV)

    Flee from sexual immorality. (1 Cor. 6:18a NIV)


    Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Tim. 2:22 NIV)

    God's will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. (1 Thess. 4:3 NLT)

    In addition to avoiding sexual immorality, Billy Graham also made specific efforts to avoid temptations related to money and other sins. I am convinced that Billy’s integrity throughout his lifetime is a major reason that God used him so powerfully to win so many people to the Lord and also to encourage many in ministry. This is not surprising. It is an application of this teaching from the Apostle Paul:

    In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (2 Tim. 2:20-21 NIV)

    I thank God for the good example of Billy Graham’s integrity. I do not have his level of gifting in evangelism, very few do. But by God’s grace and with God’s help, we can have the same level of integrity. And when we do, we can be confident that we, too, will be “useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

    This is adapted from a post on my blog.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  2. kdm1984

    kdm1984 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2018
    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    8
    Faith:
    Baptist
    My dad always admired him. Billy Graham definitely walked the walk in addition to talking the talk. Agreed on the example of integrity.

    Also liked how he stuck to the prime Biblical truths and compassion without getting hung up on any particular sub-issue. I think he spoke the most important truths in love without being either too liberty-oriented/loose or too doctrinaire/rigid. Too often, any of us can get too hung up on Calvinism vs. Arminianism, Republican vs. Democrat, patriarchy vs. complementarianism, "religion" vs. "relationship," preterist vs. futurist eschatology, or whatever other pet issue there is. I never got any impression that Billy Graham over-focused on any of these at the expense of others.

    And, he was never full of himself, or status-conscious. How often do men become prideful when they receive increased media attention or "success." Never saw Billy Graham lord over anyone, or compare himself more favorably than others.

    Finally, if any will think he was loved by the world because of his famous name, or that he was allegedly too compromising, take a look at all the social media vitriol he is receiving from most atheists simply for being such a strong Christian. Only two atheists I saw had to grudgingly admit he was a good example. The rest are absolutely assailing him.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Yeshua1

    Yeshua1 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2012
    Messages:
    52,624
    Likes Received:
    2,742
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Before the Lord saved me, I would watch His crusade evry time that one was on, so the Lord was using Him to keep on watering into me until that appointed time to get saved!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. Van

    Van Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Messages:
    26,913
    Likes Received:
    1,017
    Faith:
    Baptist
    When there was a crusade in an area, Billy's team would involve the local churches. So I attended training secessions to be a helper at the location. The key idea was that when people respond to the call, we would be there to connect them with local churches so they could grow, be discipled and be water baptized. The idea that believers work as a team for the benefit of the body of Christ changed my life.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Mark Corbett

    Mark Corbett Active Member

    Joined:
    May 13, 2017
    Messages:
    365
    Likes Received:
    84
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Amen! While we come to Christ individually, and we each have a personal relationship with Christ, and we rightly value time alone with God in our prayer closets, nevertheless, Christianity is a group thing, a family affair, and a team effort!
     
Loading...