Billy Graham Quotes - Page 32

Salvation is an act of God. It is initiated by God, wrought by God, and sustained by God.

As for the world system of evil, we are to be separated from it. This then is our problem: to associate with and love those who are involved in the world without being contaminated, influenced, or swayed by them. This distinction can be achieved only by a close walk with Christ, by constant prayer, and by seeking the Holy Spirit’s leadership every hour of the day. We are in the world, but the world is not to be in us.

In America we have an idolatry called the “adulation of youth.” Apparently distressed by their inability to communicate with the younger generation, many adults simply imitate it.

At the return of Christ the resurrection of believers will take place. It will take the unbelieving world by surprise.

The human conscience is reliable only when it is guided by the Holy Spirit.

Sin is serious—so serious it sent Jesus Christ to the cross. Flee from [sin] and stay close to Christ.

Sickness is deep within the soul of our society—and that has always been God’s exclusive territory.

We glorify God by living lives that honor Him.

Our world today is looking for men and women with integrity, for communicators who back up their ministry with their lives. Our preaching emerges out of what we are. We are called to be a holy people—separated from the moral evils of the world.

Some people seem to put the devil on a par with God. Actually, Satan is a fallen angel.

Forgiveness does not come easily to us, especially when someone we have trusted betrays our trust. And yet if we do not learn to forgive, we will discover that we can never really rebuild trust.

If the human race would turn from its evil ways and return to God, putting behind its sins of disobedience, idolatry, pride, greed, and belligerence, and all the various aberrations that lead to war, the possibility of peace exists.

Some years ago I was invited to be on a television talk show with one of the most famous personalities in America. Afterward she took me aside and told of the emptiness in her life. “My beauty is gone,” she said, “I am getting old, I’m living on alcohol, and I have nothing to live for.

Sin is rebellion against God.

Church is not for pretenders and performers. Church is a place for pastors to preach principles of the faith in order to prepare believers to face the storms of life on the stage of an unbelieving world.

Go is the first part of the word Gospel.It should be the watchword of every true follower of Christ.It should be emblazoned on the banners of the church.

Be willing to be sneered at than to be approved, counting the cross of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Washington, London, Paris, or Moscow.

Men and women do make decisions wherever the Gospel is proclaimed; whether publicly or privately, some say yes, some say no, and some procrastinate. No one ever hears the Gospel proclaimed without making some kind of decision!

All transgressions begin with sinful thinking . . . guard against the pictures of lewdness and sensuality that Satan flashes upon the screen of your imagination, select with care the books you read, choose discerningly the kind of entertainment youattend, the kind of associates with whom you mingle, and the kind of environment in which you place yourself.

I missed the joy of seeing our children grow and change. I thank God for watching over them during those years.

The Antichrist . . . will be the embodiment of evil, and will have great power to deceive those who choose to follow him.

Today the idea of the shed blood of Christ is becoming old-fashioned and out of date in a lot of preaching. It is in the Bible. It is the very heart of Christianity.

Sooner or later we must leave our dream world and face up to the facts of God, sin, and judgment. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23 NIV].

Repentance is mentioned seventy times in the New Testament . . . the Bible says God commands repentance . . . it is a command . . .God says, “Repent! Or perish!

Peace—[the ability] to sleep in the storm!

The Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit is God Himself.

The devil will tremble when you pray.

Galatians 5:21 constitutes the most serious warning to those who may think they can sin that grace may abound.

Once God leads you to make a decision, don’t draw back. Instead, trust His leading, and believe He goes before you—because He does.

Whether prayer changes our situation or not, one thing is certain: Prayer will change us!

There is something wrong when a brother or sister becomes alienated from the rest of their family, so there is something wrong when Christians refuse to have anything to do with their fellow Christians. God wants us to live this Christian life together.

God never calls a person [into His service] without equipping him. I know that from experience.

The perfect marriage is a uniting of three persons—a man and a woman and God. That is what makes marriage holy.

Those who believe [in Christ] are expected to be different from the world . . . they are members of a new society.

Before three thousand people were brought into the church on the day of Pentecost, the disciples had spent fifty days in prayer, fasting, and spiritual travail.