Quotes by Billy Graham
Welcome to our collection of quotes (with shareable picture quotes) by Billy Graham. We hope you enjoy pondering them and that you will share them widely.
Wikipedia Summary for Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist, a prominent evangelical Christian figure, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. One of his biographers has placed him "among the most influential Christian leaders" of the 20th century.\n\nAs a preacher, he held large indoor and outdoor rallies with sermons that were broadcast on radio and television; some were still being re-broadcast into the 21st century. In his six decades on television, Graham hosted annual "Crusades", evangelistic campaigns that ran from 1947 until his retirement in 2005. He also hosted the radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954.
He repudiated racial segregation and insisted on racial integration for his revivals and crusades, starting in 1953; he also invited Martin Luther King Jr. to preach jointly at a revival in New York City in 1957. In addition to his religious aims, he helped shape the worldview of a huge number of people who came from different backgrounds, leading them to find a relationship between the Bible and contemporary secular viewpoints.
According to his website, Graham preached to live audiences of 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings, including BMS World Mission and Global Mission.
Graham was a spiritual adviser to U.S. presidents, and he provided spiritual counsel for every president from Harry S. Truman (33rd) to Barack Obama (44th). He was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson (one of Graham's closest friends), and Richard Nixon. He was also lifelong friends with another televangelist, the founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, Robert Schuller, whom Graham talked into starting his own television ministry.
Graham operated a variety of media and publishing outlets. According to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to "accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior". Graham's evangelism was appreciated by mainline Protestant denominations, as he encouraged those mainline Protestants who were converted to his evangelical message to remain within or return to their mainline churches. Despite his early suspicions and apprehension, common among contemporaneous evangelical Protestants, towards Roman Catholicism, Graham eventually developed amicable ties with many American Catholic Church figures and later encouraged unity between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
As of 2008, Graham's estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. One special televised broadcast in 1996 alone may have reached a television audience of as many as 2.5 billion people worldwide. Because of his crusades, Graham preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. Graham was on Gallup's list of most admired men and women a record 61 times. Grant Wacker writes that by the mid-1960s, he had become the "Great Legitimator": "By then his presence conferred status on presidents, acceptability on wars, shame on racial prejudice, desirability on decency, dishonor on indecency, and prestige on civic events".
Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent.
Every year during their High Holy Days, the Jewish community reminds us all of our need for repentance and forgiveness.
I believe integrity can be restored to a society one person at a time. The choice belongs to each of us.
Integrity means that if our private life was suddenly exposed, we'd have no reason to be ashamed and embarrassed.
Many believe that pagan worship is a thing of the past, but it is ever present-we have just given it a new name: pop culture.
Some young people are taking pills called 'heaven or hell' drugs, because you're liable to experience either one.
Many people are trying to steady themselves by taking tranquilizers. Jesus is the greatest tranquilizer of all. He can straighten out your life and put you back on center.
One of the characteristics of some drugs is that they make a person feel strong and alert--when in fact the opposite is the case. Don't allow yourself to be deceived.
Repeat when you fail, and immediately seek God's forgiveness and restoration. Sin breaks our fellowship with God.
I'm going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: 'Lord, remember me.
God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.
The perfect marriage is a uniting of three persons -- a man and a woman and God. That is what makes marriage holy.
As husband and wife, to have a happy life together, you must have confidence and respect, you must have substantial agreement in you faith.
Every manifestation of evil is the result of basic sin-sin that has remained unchanged since the moment it first entered the human race.
The motive of grace is the infinite.
Longer Version/[Notes]:
The motive of grace is the infinite, compassionate love of a merciful God, but the work of grace was the death of Christ on the cross.
We are living in an age of grace, in which God promises that whosever will may come and receive His son. But this period of grace will not go on idefinitely.
When you pick up the cross of unpopularity, wherever you may be, you will find God's grace is there, more than sufficient to meet your every need.
Many children today are growing up without discipline. As they become adults and the discipline of job or family demands are placed upon them, they do not know how to cope.
Children respect discipline. They want to be guided. It gives them a sense of belonging, a sense of security.
There is always the exceptional child, but the average tells us that the child is largely what the home has made him.
We must never minimize the suffering of another. Scripture's mandate to us is, Weep with them that weep. (Romans 12:15, KJV).
The greatest need in the world is the transformation of human nature. We need a new heart that will not have lust and greed and hate in it.
Life is not a matter of dollars and cents, houses and lands, earning capacity and financial achievement.
When a husband and wife are concerned only about their own individual desires, the stage is set for conflict.
Too many husbands and wives enter into marriage with the idea that their spouse exists for one purpose: to make them happy.
As Christians we have an obligation to show others what God says about living self-controlled lives and being responsible for our moral actions, as God defines them.
What began as an apparently harmless pastime has ended up as a frightening, overpowering addiction or obsession.
Do not seek solace in alcohol. Alcohol obscures good judgement and leaves you unable to think clearly.
Thousands are killed and injured every year by teenagers driving too fast or under the influence of drugs and drink.
Too many people want to have one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God, and it is like straddling a fence.
The secret of the power of Christianity is not in its ethics. It is not in Christian ideas or philosophy...the secret of Christianity is found...in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The world does need changing, society needs changing, the nation needs changing, but we never will change it until we ourselves are changed.
Heaven will be the perfection we've always longed for. All the things that made Earth unlovely and tragic will be absent in heaven.
If he is to become a ball player, he must learn the rules of the game. And, contrary to popular thinking, children appreciate rules.
Many of us are looking to find a church or fellowship to join with a concept that this is where God wants me to be permanently.
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost.
God speaks to those who are prepared in their hearts to listen. Discern the voice from heaven above the noisy din of earth's confusion.
Even in the darkest moment, before death snatches man's last breath. God is willing to save a lost soul.
Although the testimony of my mother's life helped mold me and taught me how to live, the testimony of her last years and her death gave me insight into how to die.
Satan is masterful at using just enough of God's truth to capture a person's attention and then mix it with his devious potion that will lead believers astray.
Certainly a woman should never disguise the fact that she is a woman. A woman's body is very beautiful.
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.
It is a tragedy that many of God's people have conformed themselves to the world and its thinking, rather than being transformed by the renewing of their minds.
Nowhere do the Scriptures tell us to seek results, nor do the Scriptures rebuke evangelists if the results are meager.
Some evangelists spend too much time thinking and even planning about how to achieve visible results. This is an easy trap to fall into.
Man has no ability to repair this damaged planet. The flaw in human nature is too great. God is our only hope!
Salvation is free, but there is a price to pay in following Jesus. It is never said in Scripture that we can have Christ and .... It is always Christ or .... What is your or?
The men who followed Jesus were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up.
Following Christ has been made too easy. It is easy to follow Him when our world is safe and comfortable ...but when that world shatters, only a secure faith will sustain us.
Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, and the story of His life, death, and resurrection is the only Good News the world will ever hear.
God knows what we are going through when we grieve, and He wants to assure us of His love and concern. He also wants us to turn to Him and bring our heartaches and burdens to Him.
The Bible says that as Christians we don't grieve the same way people do who have no hope of eternity and of Heaven -- but we still grieve.
Many people have come to Christ as a result of my participation in presenting the Gospel to them. It's all the work of the Holy Spirit.
Our magazine covers frequently feature the immoral, the perverted, the psychologically sick. Sin is in. People don't like to be told they are sinners.
We can be convicted of sin--we can pray and confess our sin--we can repent--but the real test is our willingness to obey.
All too often we are more afraid of physical pain than of moral wrong. The cross is the standing evidence of the fact that holiness is a principle for which God would die.
Repentance is mentioned seventy times in the New Testament ... the Bible says God commands repentance ... it is a command ...
God says, Repent! Or perish!
We should not covet or expect the praise of ungodly men ... the very fact that they are inclined to persecute us is proof that we are not of the world.
Persecution may wear an insulting face. Insults may come as a result of a Christian's lifestyle, which should be different from that of the secular world.
There is no such thing as a social gospel. It is a misnomer. There is only one Gospel. If any man preach any other gospel unto you ...
let him be accursed Galatians 1:9 KJV.
I preach a Gospel not of despair but of hope for the individual, hope for society, and hope for the world.
God's strength is made perfect in weakness. The weaker I became, the more powerful became the preaching.
Preach with authority. The authority for us is the Word of God. Preach with simplicity ... Preach with urgency ... heaven and hell are at stake. Preach for a decision.
Understanding the consequence of sin and arrogance should motivate every Christian to pray for repentance and revival.
The Bible does not teach that sin is completely eradicated from the Christian in this life, but it does teach that sin shall no longer reign over you.
God's holiness demands that sin be punished -- but God's love has provided the way of redemption through Christ.
It would be the greatest tragedy if I didn't tell you that unless you repent of your sins and receive Christ as your Savior, you are going to be lost.
Sin pierced the very heart of God. God felt every piercing nail and spear thrust. God felt the burning sun. God felt the mocking derision and the body blows.
The unbelieving world should see our testimony lived out daily because it just may point them to the Savior.
I urge new converts to take plenty of time in Bible study and prayer before getting on a public platform to testify.
You and I, God's ambassadors, are called to sound the warning, to call sinners to repentance, to point the way to peace with God and the hope that is in Christ.
Worship leader George Beverly Shea kidded Billy Graham that the latter would be unemployed in Heaven -- while Shea would still have a job leading worship.
We live in an upside-down world, in which people hate what they should love and love what they should hate.
We're heading for a world showdown, a worldwide confrontation. If we think we can solve our problems without God, then we're living in a fool's paradise.
We have a mandate to speak out against the sin that so easily entangles Hebrews 12:1 NIV; for though we are not of the world, we are still in it.
The world I once knew as a boy has changed dramatically ... I don't even recognize the world we live in today.
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.
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.
I have found that most young people really want us to spell out a moral code. They may not accept it or believe it, but they want to hear it, clearly and without compromise.
Don't rebel, but give God the opportunity to change your life and help you over the problems of youth, for they are many.
It is entirely possible to be deeply sorry because of the devastation which sin has wrought in our lives--and yet not repent.
God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.
Happy is the person who has learned the secret of being content with whatever life brings him, and has learned to rejoice in the simple and beautiful things around him.
God can take anything that happens to us-even bad things-and use it to shape us and make us into a better, more Christlike person-if we let Him.
Anyone who makes a decision at our meetings is seen later and referred to a local clergyman, Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish.
Even when we allow our imaginations to run wild on the joys of heaven, we find that our minds are incapable of conceiving what it will be like.
Churchgoers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out.
Either communism must die or Christianity must die because it's actually a battle between Christ and Anti-Christ.
Tim Keller's ministry in New York City is leading a generation of seekers and skeptics toward belief in God. I thank God for him.
A true Christian, living an obedient life, is a constant rebuke to those who accept the moral standards of this world.
Learn to commit every situation to God, and trust Him for the outcome. God's love for you never changes, no matter what problems you face or how unsettled life becomes.
I have never been quite sure who controls the weather. Although we always prayed for clear skies, I have had to preach in all kinds of storms.
The growing possibility of our destroying ourselves and the world with our own neglect and excess is tragic and very real.
Living for Christ is a day-to-day going on with Him. It is a continuous dependence upon the Spirit of God. It is believing in His faithfulness.
Our world is obsessed with success. But how does God define success? Success in God's eyes is faithfulness to His calling.
Revelation is a pastor's letter to his floundering flock, an urgent telegram bearing a brilliant battle plan for a people at war.
The book of Revelation may be difficult and demanding to read, yet it is the only biblical book whose author promises a blessing to those who read it.
The study of Revelation instructs us not only about the storms to come, but how to endure and come through them with great victory.
The world is heading for another major crisis that is being called, even by the secular world, Armageddon.
We need to be reminded that there is nothing morbid about honestly confronting the fact of life's end, and preparing for it so that we may go gracefully and peacefully.
The Bible warns us about the little foxes, that spoil the vines Song of Solomon 2:15 KJV. This is a picture of the way little sins
can destroy our fruitfulness for the Lord.
Even if we may not always understand why God allows certain things to happen to us, we can know He is able to bring good out of evil, and triumph out of suffering.
What greater glory can we anticipate than to stand before the throne of God, to humble ourselves before His great and incomparable majesty.
God's will is that we would be righteous in our living. God is holy, and the whole scheme of redemption has holiness for its goal.
God's will is for us to commit our lives to Christ and follow Him. God's will also is that we avoid sin.
Without dark clouds in our lives, we would never know the joy of sunshine. We can become callous and unteachable if we do not learn from pain.
We have been proud and thought we were better than any other race, any other people. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to stumble into hell because of our pride.
One of the primary goals in life ... should be to prepare for death. Everything else should be secondary.
To drive to extinction something He has created is wrong. He has a purpose for everything... We Christians have a responsibility to take the lead in caring for the earth.
All the masterpieces of art contain both light and shadow. A happy life is not one filled with only sunshine, but one which uses both light and shadow to produce beauty.
God does not change -- and neither does His love. He loved you before you were born... He loves you now... and He will love you forever.
Jesus used the carefree attitude of the birds to underscore the fact that worrying is unnatural. I am learning in my own life, day by day, to keep my mind centered on Christ.
I think that I failed by not studying more, and praying more, and spending more time with my family.
Today, we come together to confess our need of God. Those perpetrators who took us on to tear us apart, it has worked the other way. It has backfired; it has brought us together.
It's a paradise that we are going to go into, because to be in the presence of God itself will be a paradise.
Like a spring of pure water, God's peace in our hearts brings cleansing and refreshment to our minds and bodies.
Quotes by Billy Graham are featured in:
Courage Quotes
Forgiveness Quotes
Life Quotes
Man Quotes
Privacy Quotes