14. Chapter 13: The Plan Of Salvation According To Billy Graham

Chapter 13 The Plan Of Salvation According To Billy Graham

In the whole of modern Christendom, perhaps no other personality is more recognizable than that of Evangelist Billy Graham. For decades, Graham has delivered his message to millions of spiritually hungry people all over the world through radio, television, books, a popular ministry magazine, and by filling stadiums and arenas to maximum capacity. Graham is perhaps the best-known Christian personality of all time apart from Christ Himself. As such, perhaps no other personality has sought so fervently to persuade and to influence our views concerning salvation from God’s wrath against sin.

Graham, with his intense gaze and authoritative voice, mesmerizes his audience with statements that strike at the very core of each attentive individual. His sermons, from decades ago, are still broadcast today on popular Christian networks across the world. His intensity of conviction, longevity within the evangelical arena, and the vast amounts of exposure he has been afforded have made him a true international icon in both monumental and unrivaled stature. It is, in part, because of Graham’s stern stares into the camera lens and his ability to vociferate his opinions with such authority, that few in their right minds would ever question the validity of his biblical interpretations. Essentially, by his sheer force of persuasion and brilliantly delivered oratory, Graham’s massive audiences are unknowingly held in a state of subconscious yet willful hypnotism to the point where they would believe anything he told them. The purpose for which I’m writing this chapter is to show you that the plan of salvation put forth by Billy Graham stands in stark contrast to the plan of salvation that Jesus Christ provides. I will use several bible verses in my argument and I will supplement Jesus’ stance on salvation by borrowing a passage from the very generous Dr. A. Ray Stanford who gave me his permission to do so. With that being said let us now move on to the plan of salvation that is offered to us by Billy Graham via the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) Website. When you click upon the “How To Know Jesus” link at the BGEA site you will be taken through a four-step process on how to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Now, because we must assume that all online materials from organizations such as BGEA are copyrighted, I will paraphrase as accurately as I can what Billy Graham’s plan of salvation says; however, you must visit his site in order to read it word-for-word. In step one, you are told that God loves you and that He wants you to have abundant life both now and forever, and a question is raised to get you to ponder deeply as to why most people do not have the abundance or peace that God “originally planned” for us to have in this life. In step two, we are told of our sinful condition and how our free will has led us away from God. He talks about how our sins have created a gap between us and God and that we cannot bridge that gap between us and God no matter how many good works we do. In step three, we are told that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, that Christ bridged that gap between us and God by paying the penalty for our sins, and that God has provided us only one way to Him and that we must make a “choice.” In step four, we are told that we must trust Jesus as our “Lord” and as our “Savior” by personal invitation. To do this, Billy Graham says that you must first admit you are a sinner, then be willing to turn from your sins (the “English definition” of repent), then believe

Jesus died for you on the cross and rose from the dead, and lastly, through a prayer, invite Jesus to come in and to control your life through the Holy Spirit, i.e., the equivalent of making Him your “Lord and Savior.”

I, as well as every member of my family, including all of my relatives, have followed the teachings of Billy Graham. When I was a boy, my family would gather around the television set and we would watch Graham’s sermons. We were as quiet as we could possibly be as we listened to his preaching. We were, in every sense possible, as reverent and as respectful during his television sermons as we were in church every Sunday morning. I would be enthralled by Graham’s strength of voice, and toward the end of his sermons as hundreds of people would get out of their seats and walk down to meet him on the stadium floor, something just felt “right” about the whole thing even though I had no idea what he was talking about. I was very impressionable at that age, yet I did not discover the truth of God’s Word until almost three decades later.

One day, at the age of seven, after our pastor of our little church had preached his sermon and the choir sang “Just As I Am,” the very same song that is sung by Billy Graham’s choir at the end of every service, I got out of the pew and walked forward the same way my friend walked forward earlier only a week before. You see, my friend had recently walked down to the front the same way all of those folks did at the end of Graham’s sermons, and a few days later I saw my friend get “dunked in water.” I wanted to be just like my friend, and because I always saw so many people go forward at the end of Graham’s shows, I assumed that I should do the same thing, yet, I never knew what salvation was all about. The day that I went forward in my church, the pastor put his hand on my shoulder, and all the members of our church looked upon me with smiles and with the most joyful sense of approval that I knew deep in my heart that I’d done the right thing. Each of them came up and shook my hand at the end of the service. About a week later I was fitted for a baptismal robe, was told to walk up the stairs to the baptismal pool, and I waded into the cold water while looking outward at the approving audience seated in the pews of our church. The pastor then lifted his right hand, said some holy sounding words that I didn’t understand at all, and then he submerged my little body into the water and then raised me up out of it. I exited the pool of water, went into the back room, changed my clothes and then scampered quickly back to the pew upon which my family sat in order to listen to our pastor’s sermon. I remember feeling very happy about what I had just done, although I had no idea of what I’d just done. Still, it felt like the right thing to do and I was happy about the whole thing. Back then I always had to attend Sunday school, whether I wanted to or not. “Lost in Space” came on every Sunday morning and, as I look back upon this time now, I always wanted to stay home and watch it rather than having to go to Sunday school, but Sunday school was fun and we always got cookies and punch. The lady who led our lessons would always have us sing along with her the “In To My Heart” song that essentially was a way of asking Christ into our hearts even though none of us really understood what it meant, but deep down, it felt like the right and holy thing to do. The point I am trying to make here is that you can be water baptized and you can ask Christ to come into your heart and still not be born again. While Billy Graham does not baptize people in water during his massive, stadium-filled services, he does instruct everyone to ask Jesus to come into their hearts. In the next section I would like to give you some paraphrased examples of what Billy Graham says to his audiences in virtually every televised sermon he delivers.

Billy Graham, like a boxer, hits you with a series of combinations to the point where you are completely off balance as he instructs you in how to be saved. I want you to follow very carefully how he zigs and zags his way through his version of salvation. What he says about salvation on his television programs varies just a bit from what he says on his Internet page about salvation. What you are about to read may be difficult to follow, but if you will read it slowly, you will understand exactly why his plan of salvation is completely different from Christ’s own plan of salvation. Again, please follow this carefully. In any given sermon you will see, he will first lay a foundation of understanding that he expects you to comprehend without question or doubt of any kind. In his televised sermons the basic foundation consists of four parts. Billy Graham says, first of all, that we are all sinners and he then provides bible verses that confirm the fact that God sees all of humankind as sinners. Secondly, using various scriptures to support his arguments, Billy always says that God loves us and that He sent Jesus to die for us even though we are lost sinners who do not deserve God’s love. Thirdly, Billy says that we must repent of our sins and attempts to provide examples from the bible that suggest we are supposed to repent of our sins in order to be born again; however, his examples are weak and hold no truth at all because the bible “never” tells us to quit sinning in order to be saved; in fact, the phrase “repent of sin” does not even occur in the bible. Billy often refers to the Greek word for repent which is metanoia, which he erroneously defines as turning away from our sins, to feel sorry for our sins, that we should change our minds about sin and walk away from it altogether as a “requirement” for our being born again. Very often, as a way of telling us that we have to quit willfully and deliberately sinning in order to be born again, he will refer to where Jesus said in Luke 13:3 that we must repent or perish, yet in the original Greek manuscript, the word for repent means to change your mind and has nothing at all to do with turning from sins. Fourthly, he will say that we must come to Christ by faith in order to receive His “free gift” of everlasting life that we cannot earn by our works, or our service, or by anything that we “of ourselves” can do. Billy then usually tells his audience to say “yes” to Christ, to make a decision to follow Christ, to give their lives to Christ, and/or to commit themselves to Christ. Also at this point in his preaching, he will very often quote John 3:16 which states that salvation is by faith in Christ alone, which directly contradicts everything he has said up to that point. He will also give other verses, such as Titus 3:5 which states that “... not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by his mercy he saves us...” And this is why “salvation according to Billy Graham” becomes so complicated and so very confusing to the lost people who have come to Billy in order to learn how to be saved.

Billy says that we cannot earn our salvation no matter what we do, no matter how many good deeds we do, but immediately afterward he tells everyone that they must change their behavior, submit their inner wills to Christ, and to stop sinning. He gives verses that tell us to believe on Christ alone and that salvation is a free gift given to us the instant we believe, such as John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9, yet he turns right around and says that we must make a 180-degree change in our direction, that it takes a lot of effort on our part to do these things, and that we should determine with all of our efforts to follow Christ. He then says that we don’t have the power to follow Christ unless the Holy Spirit enables us to do so. Billy will then usually tell us again that we must commit our lives to Christ and that we must become practicing disciples of Jesus in order to be born again, but at the same time, he knocks everyone off balance when he turns right back around to tell his audience that salvation is free and that it is received by faith alone and that we cannot do a single thing to earn it. Then Billy demands again and again that we must quit sinning in order to be saved, but directly afterward he rotates back and forth from “quit sinning” to “you can do nothing of yourself to earn it.” He says that salvation is free, but immediately afterward he says that we must carefully consider the costs of following Christ. “Costs” is the opposite of “free,” yet, nobody will dare to question Billy Graham about the validity of what he is saying because he is, in fact, so forceful in his tone of voice and in his facial expressions that I am convinced people are afraid of him. The glare alone from his stern stare that one can easily see in his eyes as they sweep across the masses of people in his audience is enough to keep people from ever questioning the validity of his teachings. Again and again, Billy says that salvation is not of yourselves, that it is a free gift, but then quickly does a u-turn and makes your salvation dependent upon quitting your sins and devoting your life to discipleship. Then, to make matters worse, Billy makes everlasting life in heaven dependent upon your walking down the aisle and making your decision to follow Christ “as your Lord” public. Billy says that Christ will not acknowledge you before His Father if you do not acknowledge Him before other people, which, in context, means that you will not go to heaven unless you tell other people that you have made a decision to follow Christ. Then Billy will usually tell his audience that salvation is, again, a free gift that cannot be earned no matter what we do. It is, by far, Graham’s terse persona that captivates and influences an audience rather than the Holy Spirit of God.

Hypothetically speaking, how would you feel if you were in a car with someone the likes of whom I am about to describe? Imagine you are trying to get somewhere that you’ve never been before and the person next to you says this:

“Okay, take a left, and then take a right, and then stop, back up, take another right. Wait. Take another left. My map is correct! Trust me! Stop. Go right again, then turn left. Can’t you go any faster? Okay, turn right here. Stop. Take a left, then take another left. Wait. Go back. Can’t you do anything right? Start over. Go right, then left, go sharply right now. Stop! Can’t you follow my directions? Back up and take another right. Wait, go left. Trust me, I know where I’m taking you!” That, reader, is the sad yet accurate equivalent of the plan of salvation according to Billy Graham. It will get you nowhere.

“There is an increasing number of ‘evangelicals’ today who are preaching that in order for a man to be saved he must not only receive Christ as his Savior, but also must make Him absolute Lord and Master of his life. This doctrine has been termed “Lordship salvation” and has absolutely no support from the Word of God. It is, in fact, another subtle way Satan has invented to get Bible-believing men to add works to salvation without, perhaps, their realizing it, and to do it in such a way that it sounds spiritual and good” (Stanford, 87-88).

We would all agree that quitting sins and bad habits is the right thing to do, and that following Christ and doing the things that He says to do is the right and honorable way to live in every case or situation we might find ourselves in, but quitting your sins and bad habits, as well as following Christ to the best of your ability, are not part of God’s simple plan of salvation. As good as the Christian Lifestyle is, no aspect of it is included in God’s salvation contract with humankind. Living the Christian Lifestyle and doing all of those wonderful deeds that we are supposed to do as born again Christians comes “after” we are saved, not before. In Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;...” we see that believers who were “quickened” or “made alive” through faith in Jesus Christ, were “dead in their sins” before the Holy Spirit brought them to a saving knowledge of Christ. Quite literally, a dead person (one who is spiritually dead) cannot help themselves. They cannot turn from their sins because they don’t have the power to do so. God gives people the power to walk according to His principles only “after” a person is born again. The person “must” be born again before he or she is able to consciously turn from sin. Yet, Billy Graham and the majority of pastors today make turning from sins an essential element in salvation when the bible states outright that those who are dead in their sins do not have the power or the desire to quit those sinful things that bring them joy. For example, a person who cannot stop drinking alcohol might hear Billy Graham say that he must stop his drinking in order to be saved, yet, because he cannot stop drinking, he gives up all hope of ever coming to Christ for salvation because he has been deceived into thinking that he must quit or at least be willing to quit something he is neither capable of nor wanting to do in the first place, and as he hears the Graham sermon draw to a close, he hears the choir sing a different message than the one Billy has just taught him. Billy says to quit sinning and to devote your life to Christ, but the choir sings, “Just as I am, I come, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me...Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve, because thy promise I believe O Lamb of God, I come, I come...” Confused, the drunkard gives up and walks away feeling all the more defeated because he cannot live up to Billy Graham’s standards, which, he is led to believe are God’s own standards; however, if the unfortunate alcoholic was to hear the true plan of salvation according to Christ, he could receive instantly the gift of everlasting life the very same moment that he believes Jesus paid for his sins by His death on the cross, that He was buried, and that He walked out of the grave alive three days later. How can we know this is true? Because the bible says so. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Jesus said very plainly, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). And one of the most potent verses of all time that refutes Billy’s turn-from-sin requirement is this one: “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). What the bible is telling us through these verses is that turning from sins cannot save us and that God does not require a lost person to turn from sins in order to be saved. So, we must ask ourselves this question: “Why does Billy Graham tell us that we must repent of our sins in order to be saved?” That is a question I have asked myself repeatedly ever since I realized he was wrong and that Christ was right. I cannot explain the reasons for which Billy feels this great need to ignore what Christ has said so clearly and to instead add works to God’s grace. I believe Billy is not aware of what metanoia really means, yet, I am in no way insinuating that he is ignorant of the meaning, I just believe that Satan will not allow him to understand it because, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them”(2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Simply put, the only logical conclusion to which I can arrive in an attempt to answer this question is that Satan has blinded him to the truth about salvation the way the aforementioned verse suggests. Also, Billy needs to be made aware of one major malapropism and the simple definition of it that he routinely stumbles over during his salvation invitations. Penitence is sorrow for sin, not repentance. I bring this up because Billy requires a lost person to feel extremely sorry for his or her sins, and the fact of the matter is that a lost sinner is most likely not sorry for their sins, rather, he or she enjoys them very much. When Billy tells a lost person that he or she should feel extremely sorry for their sins, the person is left feeling confused. Consequently, because that person enjoys smoking, drinking, having sex outside of marriage, gambling, or whatever the case may be, they are not about to buy in to the philosophy of someone they automatically assume is saying “you are not as good as me... I am better than you are... listen to me because I have all the answers.” In my study of the Greek word for repent, which is metanoia, I have found another form of this word that may be causing Billy to misinterpret Jesus’ true intentions when He said “repent” in Luke 13:3. The word that I believe is being accidentally misconstrued with “metanoia” is the word “metamelomai,” which, in Greek, means “to regret or to feel sorry”; however, it needs to be emphasized that “metamelomai” is rarely ever used. The overwhelming majority of all forms of “repent” refer to the “change of mind” that Christ commands us to have. For instance, Mark 1:15 shows us, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” This particular repent is, in fact, “metanoia,” which meant for those people to “change their minds” from what they were trusting in to get them to heaven (law of Moses) and to trust in the gospel (the “person” of Jesus Christ), instead. The “gospel” is, of course, the “good news” message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When you do a little digging and find the original Greek meanings behind the forms of repent you will see in the bible, the true spirit and intention of what God is trying to say to us begins to come so alive that the verses begin to leap off of the pages.

There is a passage consisting of three verses that uses all three variations of the Greek word for repent (a.k.a. metanoia). Look very closely at this wonderful passage that forever puts to rest the idea that one must quit sinning in order to be born again:

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 states, “For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

Now, upon first glance, that passage will seem a bit wordy, a bit unclear, so what I would like to do for you at this time is to write this verse out again while putting the numbers one through three (1-2-3) next to every variation of “repent” so that you can understand the original intention of what God was saying to us in the original Greek manuscript that He wrote through Paul. Look at this revised verse, please:

Number one (1) is metanoia, which is defined as “a change of mind.” Number two (2) is metamelomai, which is defined as “to regret or to feel sorry. Number three (3) is ametamelētos, which is defined as “irrevocable; cannot change your mind; permanent.”

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 reads like this: “For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent (1), though I did repent (2): for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance (1): for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance (1) to salvation not to be repented (3) of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

Because of the incredible importance of this passage, I will again attempt to make it as clear as humanly possible for you to understand by writing it all out again using the proper definitions of each variation of repent. Please follow this closely: The original intent of 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 is as follows: “For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not (change my mind about the reasons that were necessary to make you feel bad), though I did (feel sorry for having to upset you): for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to (changing your mind from trusting in works to trusting in Christ alone): for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh (that change of mind from works to Christ) to salvation not to be (revoked; once saved, God cannot change His mind; He saves you forever) of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” This passage from 2 Corinthians proves that repentance in salvation means to have a change of mind from works or discipleship or any combination of faith in Christ plus the addition of our filthy works (Isaiah 64:6) to instead placing our total confidence in Christ to save us from the penalty of sin for which we are incapable of paying. Since “one lie” is enough to keep us out of heaven (Revelation 21:27), and since the payment for sin is death and separation from God for all eternity (Romans 6:23), we need a “savior” to save us. We are completely helpless without Christ. Only “Christ’s righteousness” is seen by God the Father as worthy of paying for sin. When we trust Jesus Christ as our savior, simultaneously (in one act) He removes the guilt and punishment that would be rightfully ours because of our sins and He instead credits us with “His righteousness.” Look at this: “For he (God) hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). When a lost person trusts Christ alone as his or her savior, a “swap” happens. Simultaneously, the death penalty is removed and everlasting life in heaven is given to the believer, immediately. That is why Christ says “hath” in the verse John 6:47. It means “has now,” at this very moment. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). The instant you trust Christ alone for your eternal life in heaven, you have that “free gift” the split second you trust Christ as the one who died on the cross for all sins, was buried, but came back to life. When I finally understood that Jesus was telling me in His bible that I had to stop trusting in the Christian Lifestyle, just like Jesus’ very own words that I mentioned to you a moment ago in Mark 1:15, and to trust only in what He alone did for me by His “finished work” at Calvary, I was freed from the lifelong ball-and-chain of indentured servitude that Billy Graham had shackled onto me from a very early age.

Something about Billy’s teachings, as well as the teachings I received at that legalistic Christian school I attended as a youth that based their own teachings upon the books and sermons of Billy Graham, something about him just never quite squared away with my spirit. I thank God that I never could completely swallow Billy Graham’s plan of salvation, but believe me, I tried. I tried with all of my heart and soul to trust in Billy’s plan of salvation, but God kept me from being fully immersed into it.

Instead, after I came out of atheism, God “allowed” me to be deceived by false plans of salvation for only three years — just long enough to gain enough education about false gospels so that I could write this book that you are holding in your hands at this very moment. God chose me to write a chapter about Billy Graham for you, the reader, so that you may consider his version of salvation very carefully and to eventually make up your own mind as to whether you will ultimately trust his plan or Christ’s plan. Although there are many people who are much more qualified than I am to write about Billy Graham, I have yet to find one who will speak out against Graham’s version of salvation via the medium of a book. Sure, Internet pages abound with criticisms about his plan of salvation, yet, most are uninformed and are rather mean spirited, also. In contrast, my aim is to present you with an unbiased chapter in which I seek to merely juxtapose side-by-side Graham’s plan of salvation and Christ’s plan of salvation. My great hope is that you now see the differences between the two. Above all, remember that there’s only “one plan of salvation.” Both are different, so, both cannot be true. One of them is false, yet, you have to decide which one is true and which one is false.

If you will focus totally upon the words of Christ rather than on the words of Billy Graham, you will never be confused about how to go to heaven. I did not enjoy writing this chapter, but I do enjoy Christ’s truths. I tell people of His truth every chance I get; however, let me give you a word of warning: I urge you never to look to any man for the truth; in fact, don’t even take my word for it, reader. Trust “only” in what Christ tells you about salvation, and you will never be sorry. Now, you have a choice to make concerning these two plans. It’s either the plan of salvation according to Billy Graham or it’s the plan of salvation according to Jesus Christ Himself. If you are not saved, will you stop sinning, quit your bad habits, start feeling really sorry about all of those fun yet sinful things you do, and will you give control of your life over to a God you don’t even know yet, and will you walk down the aisle in front of a congregation of people in a church you know nothing about and then tell those people you have decided to make Christ your Lord and that you will follow Him all the days of your life because He died for you and that’s the least you can do for Him in return? Are you ready to do that now, friend? Or would you like to do what Jesus said to do. Jesus said that we could do nothing to pay for our sins. Jesus said that all of those great-sounding requirements that we hear pastors such as Billy Graham telling us to do won’t help us. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were doing the same things then that Billy is telling you to do today, friend. Jesus called them vipers. Jesus also said, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins”(John 8:24). Jesus said that the only way to heaven is through Him. Jesus has only one requirement for you: trust. That’s it. When you realize you are a sinner, and then trust that Jesus alone fully paid for your sins by His death, burial and resurrection from the grave three days later, He knows the instant that you believe Him and He saves you. Period. After you are born again, you are then free to serve Him and be used by Him. He will not allow you to live as you please, though. He, like any father of sound mind, will chasten you, and correct you when you disobey. But He will never relegate you to a life of unwilling obedience to His Lordship. Once you have trusted Christ as your savior you will never lose your salvation. You can know beyond any doubt that you are His child the instant you trust Him to be your savior. 1 John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” We don’t have to hope so or guess so, we can “know so” because God cannot lie. He said that if you trust in His Son to save you, which is the equivalent of trusting in that “good news” message of the gospel, which in its most elemental form Isaiah 1:1-31) We are sinners, 2) Jesus died for our sins, 3) His dead body was buried, 4) He arose from the dead three days later, He saves you. The problem with all of the modern counterfeit plans of salvation is that they add works and self efforts to what God freely gives. Our works, deeds, behavioral changes and promises to do better cancel out the grace of God. “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4). Since there is no justification by the law, when we attempt to save ourselves by putting partial faith in obeying the law and partial faith in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we will have no grace (no salvation). It is extremely important that you realize the difference between what Billy Graham’s plan of salvation will get you and what Jesus Christ’s plan of salvation will get you. They are not the same plan of salvation. In sum, will you choose to believe Billy Graham, or will you choose to believe Jesus Christ? Go to his BGEA Website, read what his salvation statement says, listen to him on the radio, watch his television sermons. Inform yourself fully on what he teaches. Then contrast what he says with the things Jesus Christ says. In the end, compare everything you learn about Billy Graham’s teachings to what God tells us in John 3:16, John 6:40, John 6:47, 1 Thessalonians 4:14, and Ephesians 2:8-9. They will not match. They will be very different, but, you must choose whom you will believe. If you choose what Christ says, you will have everlasting life in heaven; however, if you choose a plan that is different from Christ’s plan of salvation, you will be cast into the everlasting lake of fire:

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”(Revelation 20:11-15).