Billy Graham is the most well-known Christian in recent memory, and his impact on Christendom continues to be felt around the world. His ecumenical connections, along with the gospel he preached and promoted, are the main reasons for revising and releasing this book.
Lordship salvation was one of the doctrines he was most known for. The Catholic "plan of salvation," which teaches that one must "first turn from their sins to be saved," is another gospel that Paul condemns in the Book of Galatians. This ecumenical lordship salvation "gospel" is something all true Bible believers should be concerned enough about to speak out against and to warn anyone who calls themselves a Christian to ensure they are not promoting it.
Sinners can only be saved by faith alone in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. His precious blood was shed for the sins of the world, and only one's sole faith in this will save sinners from the eternal fires of hell.
What concerned me when first publishing this in 2004 was Billy Graham's frank admission that he had doubts about the existence of God up until only a few years before his death. He told Larry King in 2005 that after a visit to the private Mayo Clinic (where Mother Teresa was treated), and following a failed operation to insert a shunt in his head, he had an experience: in a flash of a moment, all his long-forgotten sins came to his attention.
At that moment, he prayed to God to forgive him and cleanse him of these sins. Then he felt a great peace come over him. My question is this: Was this the first time in 50 years that he believed himself to have been saved, or had he never had the assurance of salvation before?
Either way, it is intriguing that this giant in the world of "Christian celebrities" could have conducted a religious and very powerful enterprise for so long, and yet, it would appear, lacked the assurance ? and perhaps even the forgiveness ? of sins until he was in his mid-80s.
James G. Battell is a Christian writer, radio broadcaster, video maker, and podcaster. He also runs an international Christian ministry with his father.
