Billy Graham Quotes - Page 23

The heart symbolizes the center of our moral, spiritual, and intellectual life. It is the seat of our conscience and life.

In our desire to make Christ known and to increase the influence of the church, we are many times prone to think that Christians and the church can be made popular with the unbelieving world. This is a grave mistake on the part of the church.

The Bible warns us against greed and selfishness, it does encourage frugality and thrift.

Without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless.

When something brings profit or pleasure to us, we are inclined to call evil good, even if we know it is dead wrong.

In Christ the middle wall of partition has been broken down. There is no Jew, no Gentile—no black, white, yellow, or red. We could be one great brotherhood in Jesus Christ. However, until we come to recognize Him as the Prince of Peace and receive His love in our hearts, the racial tensions will increase, racial demands will become more militant, and a great deal of blood will be shed. The race problem could become another flame out of control!

My visits to Hungary over the past twelve years absolutely fixed my conviction that God’s Holy Spirit was releasing a spiritual force in that part of the world that was bound to challenge the atheistic philosophy that had dominated nations in that region for decades.

It is important to realize that a person with the gift of discernment can often tell the difference between what is of God and what is not. Such a person can often point out false teachings or false teachers—he has an almost uncanny ability to perceivehypocrisy, shallowness, deceit, or phoniness.

We are told in Scripture that there will be signs pointing toward the return of the Lord.I believe that we see those signs in the world today. I believe that the coming of the Lord is near.

Satan’s first appearance in the Bible included an attack on a marriage—trying to divide Adam and Eve. His tactics have not changed. He wants our marriages to flounder and fail, because he knows that few things will discourage us more.

Grief which is not dealt with properly can cause us to lose our perspective on life.

God has not promised to bless my thoughts, but He has promised to bless His Word.

Faith in Christ is voluntary. A person cannot be coerced, bribed, or tricked into trusting Jesus. God will not force His way into your life. The Holy Spirit will do everything possible to disturb you, draw you, love you—but finally it is your personal decision.

In my years of global travels, I have seen a world in pain . . . Without God’s guidance, our response to suffering is a futile attempt to find solutions to conditions that cannot be solved.

Remember that “where God guides, He provides. Where He leads, He supplies all needs.

What is the most difficult word for young people to pronounce? It’s the word no. When we say no [to what is against God], He will help us to stand by it. He will give us courage.

Some people have said that man has improved . . . [and] that if Christ came back today, He would not be crucified but would be given a glorious reception. Christ does come to us every day in the form of Bibles that we do not read, in the form of churches that we do not attend, in the form of human need that we pass by. I am convinced that if Christ came back today, He would be crucified more quickly than He was two thousand years ago. Sin never improves. Human nature has not changed.

Conscience is our wisest counselor and teacher, our most faithful and most patient friend.

Evangelism, instead of being a normal part of careful and regular expository preaching, with the twin effect on the consciences of the unconverted and on the growth in grace of Christians, becomes a special, dramatic activity. This leads to an orientation of church life away from Scripture, and as scriptural and non-scriptural duties become confused, the main duties which God requires of Christians and ministers are overshadowed.

An unbelieving world may say otherwise, but so-called “sexual liberation” is actually sexual slavery—slavery to our own lusts.

[Multitudes] have never been born again. They will go into eternity lost—while thinking they are saved because they belong to the church, or were baptized.

Many Christians would prefer to hear “What a great guy” from the crowd rather than “Well done, good and faithful servant” from the Master [Matthew 25:23].

If I stick to the Bible and preach the principles and the teachings of the Bible, and quote the Bible, it has an impact of its own.

The destiny of your own soul is in your own hands by the choice you make.

Each generation becomes more addicted to the sedatives of life, to dull the pain of living.

In some churches and religious television programs, we see an effort to make Christianity popular and always positive. This may be a comfortable cushion for those who find the hard facts too difficult.

Death is not a trip, but a destination.

It doesn’t take great wealth or social influence to be faithful, but it does take obedience and endurance.

Patience includes perseverance—the ability to bear up under weariness, strain, and persecution when doing the work of the Lord.

The serious student of the Bible cannot dismiss homosexual behavior simply as an alternate lifestyle. Nor can it be argued that homosexuals were “born this way” or that such behavior is an illness.

I must ask myself, “Billy Graham, are you prepared to meet the Master at any moment?” Yes, I am—but not because I have preached or tried to help people, but solely because I am trusting Christ as my Lord and Savior. Stop right now and ask yourself that question.

If God were to eradicate all evil from this planet, He would have to eradicate all evil men. Who would be exempt? “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23 NIV].God would rather transform the evil man than eradicate him.

Almost nothing is as complex as the human personality, and no simple formula will ever cover every situation or every relationship.

Every destructive emotion bears its own harvest, but anger’s fruit is the most bitter of all.

All around you are people whose lives are filled with trouble and sorrow, and they need your compassion and encouragement.

Something distinguishes Christianity from all the religions of the world. Not only does it carry the truth of the redemption, by the death of our Savior for our sins on the cross, but it carries the fact that Christ rose again.

The nation’s image has become more like a chameleon—accepting whatever trend marketers concoct. Gone are the days of reverencing a holy God in the church or within ourselves. Yet the Bible tells us, “Happy is the man who is always reverent” (Proverbs 28:14 NKJV).

The church has lost its ability to discipline members who live openly in sin. Consequently, we have lost our witness in the community.

The world’s sewage system threatens to contaminate the stream of Christian thought. Satan will contest every hour you spend in Bible reading or prayer.

The devil is a master at making us question God and His Word. Twisting Scripture . . . taking a verse out of context . . .deceiving us into thinking God is mean-spirited—these are some of Satan’s favorite tricks.

Don’t conform to those who have been overwhelmed by the tide of immorality sweeping our country!

When Scripture talks about the heart, it’s not talking about that life-sustaining muscle. It’s talking about our entire inner being. The heart is the seat of our emotions, the seat of decisive action, and the seat of belief (as well as doubt).

Every stage of life has its own temptations and dangers, and Satan will do all he can to exploit them . . .the time to prepare is now, not when it arrives.

Take your eyes and your ears and your hands and your feet and your thoughts and your heart: Give them completely and unreservedly to Christ.

The tragedy of sin reached its crescendo when God in Christ became sin . . .He was offering Himself as the sacrifice required by the justice of God if man was to be redeemed.

One of the bonuses of being a Christian is the glorious hope that extends out beyond the grave into the glory of God’s tomorrow.

The only really sound marriages are those based on mutual respect.

He who is called to and set apart for the work of an evangelist is to devote his time and effort single-mindedly to this God-given task. He is not to be distracted by anything likely to deflect him from this. Persecution will not weaken his resolution. The persuasion of others will fall on deaf ears. Only the clear leading of God will cause him to change his ministry.

God’s grace—His goodness and love toward us in spite of our sin—is the wellspring of our salvation.

Be honest about your weaknesses and ask God to help you overcome them so you can serve Christ more effectively.

[It] is well and good when our convictions are based upon the “Thou shalts” and the “Thou shalt nots” of Scripture rather than our own ideas.

Since the Bible is God’s Word, we shouldn’t be surprised if Satan tries to convince us otherwise.

Why shouldn’t we have laws forbidding pornography and obscenity? Many heroic leaders have tried, but they have stumbled over even the definition of the word “obscenity.” If we cannot agree on the length of a foot, it is because we have lost our yardstick.

Liquor is not necessary either for health or for so-called gracious living . . .It is the cause of untold sorrow, suffering, and material loss, not to mention the spiritual implications of drinking.

The Bible teaches that we are to be patient in suffering. Tears become telescopes to heaven, bringing eternity a little closer.

This is a high-strung, neurotic, impatient age. We hurry when there is no reason to hurry, just to be hurrying. This fast-paced age has produced more problems and less morality than previous generations, and it has given us jangled nerves. Impatience as produced a crop of broken homes, ulcers, and has set the stage for more world wars.

We make a mockery of God’s forgiveness when we deliberately engage in sin because we think He will forgive it later.

While separation does not mean disengagement from the world, there are certain activities and places that God clearly wants us to avoid not only to protect ourselves from spiritual harm but so that the witness we have will not be tarnished.

Man has always been beset by worry, and the pressures of modern life have aggravated the problem . . . Many . . . are filled with a thousand anxieties. Bring them to Jesus Christ by faith. He will bring peace to your soul and your mind.

Be assured that there is no sin you have ever committed that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse.