Billy Graham Quotes - Page 28

Apart from religious influence, the family is the most important unit of society.

Man boasts of his nobility, his ideals, and his progress. Man’s goal is imitation, not redemption.

The fiercest storm is taking place in some of our churches—the unbelief and disobedience of God’s Word.

God and God’s Word are inseparable.

Before asking God’s forgiveness there is something important you must do. You must repent, that is, turn from the behavior and lifestyle that [leads to sin].

What does repentance mean? It means to change—to change your mind, change the way that you’re living—and to determine that with God’s help you will live for Christ.

Many people turn to alcohol to try to drown the [cries] and longings of the soul. Others attempt to quiet the longings of their souls in other ways. Nothing but God ever completely satisfies, because the soul is made for God.

The word church as applied to the Christian society was first used by Jesus Himself when He told Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church” [Matthew 16:18]. He is the foundation of all Christian experience.

A life without God is like a boat without an anchor.

It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love.

O God! There are many things in [the Bible] I do not understand . . . I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.

If we are at peace with this world, it may be because we have sold out to it and compromised with it.

Getting to know God and being able to call on Him is the most important step in storing up for the storms.

Denying the existence of God cannot make Him go away any more than denying the existence of the Internal Revenue Service can make the tax man vanish. Many people who imagine a god of their own choosing will be horrified when they stand before the true God of heaven.

If it is Christian, it will be Bible-centered.

If we are living according to what we believe, we may be falsely accused.

God is able to do what we can’t do.

God’s church is a Bible-centered church, and it grows strong under persecution.

Men and women may devise plans to satisfy their inner longings, but in the midst of all the “religions” of the world, God’s way is available in the Bible for all who will come to Him on His terms.

End of Construction. Thank you 'for your patience. " Inscription on Ruth Bell Graham's grave -- inspired hy a road sign she saw.

The kind of society we live in can contribute to loneliness. Mobility and constant change tend to make some individuals feel rootless and disconnected.

When I have a problem of deciding right from wrong, I always give it three tests.First, I give it the common-sense test, and ask if it is reasonable. Then, I give it the prayer test. I ask God if it is good and edifying. Then, I give it the Scripture test. I see if the Bible has anything to say for or against it.

What a moment to take the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other and watch the unfolding of the great drama of the ages. This is an exciting and thrilling time to be alive. I would not want to live in any other period.

When we are young and restless to be free, home is the place from which we long to escape. But if there is still a home intact when trouble arises and life becomes a battlefield, home is the place to which we yearn to return.

There is a strong movement, especially in Protestantism, to recast the Christian message in order to make it acceptable to modern man.

We should go to no place that we would not go in His Presence. But He is not with us just to judge or condemn us; He is near to comfort, protect, guide, encourage, strengthen, cleanse, and help.

Suppose there was no anger, no profanity, no lying, no grumbling or complaining; suppose there were no dirty stories told, no unjust criticism—what a different world this would be!

Materialism and self-centeredness are the great vices of our age.

I have had the privilege of preaching the Gospel on every continent in most of the countries of the world, and I have found that when I present the simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with authority, quoting from the very Word of God—He takes that message and drives it supernaturally into the human heart.

As life hits us head-on we can respond with resentment, resignation, acceptance, or welcome. We are the living examples of our responses.

This self-confident generation has produced more alcoholics, more drug addicts, more criminals, more wars, more broken homes, more assaults, more embezzlements, more murders, and more suicides . . .it is time all of us . . . begin to take stock of our failures, blunders, and costly mistakes. It is about time that we place less confidence in ourselves and more trust and faith in God.

Every word that [Jesus] spoke was historically true. Every word that He spoke was scientifically true. Every word that He spoke was ethically true. There were no loopholes in the moral conceptionsand statements of Jesus Christ. His ethical vision was wholly correct, correct in the age in which He lived and correct in every age that has followed it.

Heaven is real and hell is real, and eternity is but a breath away.

It could be said that going to church will not make one a Christian. But . . . refusing to fellowship with believers will not make you one either.

Millions today want salvation, but on their own terms. They want to come their own way, and so we have hundreds of schemes and plans devised by men to regain paradise.

Christ warned His followers that to believe in Him would not make them popular, and that they should be prepared to face affliction for His sake.

We need to encourage new believers to feed on God’s Word—it is nourishment for the soul.

Sin’s masterpiece of shame and hate became God’s masterpiece of mercy and forgiveness. Through the death of Christ upon the cross, sin itself was crucified for those who believe in Him.

Peace with God and the peace of God in a man’s heart and the joy of fellowship with Christ have in themselves a beneficial effect upon the body and mind and will lead to the development and preservation of physical and mental power.

Our nation grew strong in an era when moral standards were emphasized, and it will grow weak when we condone that which we once condemned.

If you are ignorant of God’s Word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will.

I am conscious of the fact that the subject of hell is not a very pleasant one. It is very unpopular, controversial, and misunderstood . . .As a minister I must deal with it. I cannot ignore it.

Satan rejoices when old habits overwhelm [us] and we cave in to the pressure of the crowd . . .perhaps temptation lures [us] into sin . . .a backsliding Christian compromises their faith and causes unbelievers to mock the Gospel.

It is not the posture of the body, but the attitude of the heart that counts when we pray . . . The important thing is not the position of the body but the condition of the soul.

Effective preaching must be biblical preaching, whether it is the exposition of a single word in the Bible, a text, or a chapter. The Word is what the Spirit uses.

Our imaginations are so stilted. The very thought of being like Jesus is breathtaking.

Partial education throughout the world is far worse than none at all if we educate the mind but not the soul.

Our creativity, our inner sense of right and wrong, our ability to love and to reason—all bear witness to the fact that God created us in His image. The Bible says God “has not left himself without testimony” [Acts 14:17 NIV].

What is your story? Be ready to share it when the Lord gives you the opportunity.

In thousands of churches [people] are led astray theologically. Thus spiritually and morally they are drifting aimlessly, without compass or guide.

There must be no discrepancy between what we say and what we do, between our walk and our talk.

Every journey has a starting point . . . and it has an end. God meant for [life] to be filled with joy and purpose. He invites us to . . . take the rest of our journey with Him.

A Christian funeral should be a coronation ceremony, a statement to the world about eternal life.

The Bible teaches us to be more concerned about the needs and feelings of others than our own. We are to encourage and build self-confidence in our loved ones, friends, and associates.

Marriage is the most serious long-term contract a couple will make in their lifetime, but many enter into it with a lack of maturity and knowledge. The growing number of divorces shows how imperative it is that young people be adequately prepared for marriage.

The Bible teaches that faith is the only approach that we have to God. No man has sins forgiven, no man goes to heaven, no man has assurance of peace and happiness, until he has faith in Jesus Christ.

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.

All false religions cut away parts of God’s revelation, add ideas of their own, and come out with various viewpoints that differ from God’s revelation in the Bible.

God’s Word is not a book of human ideas . . . it is given to us by [God] to teach us how to live.

Children must be taught obedience just as much as they need to be taught to read and write.