Dearly beloved,
Dr. Billy Graham was born in 1918 and was saved at the age of 16. He graduated from Wheaton College and began well when he was called to the pastoral ministry of teaching and preaching. He was a fundamentalist who stood together with other Bible-believing Christians to defend the faith against the floods of Modernism, Darwinism, Dispensationalism and so on. He was reckoned by many to be the most influential Protestant evangelist of modern times but sadly today he is not what he once was but has turned liberal. It is said that he has preached to more than 210 million people. In 1978, my wife and I attended the, “The Billy Graham Crusade” at the now defunct National Stadium, a packed stadium of more than 60,000 strong.
Dr. Billy Graham may have his followers even till today but to Christians who love the Lord and His Word, he is clearly seen to have compromised his Christian principles. He started well in 1944 as a preacher and in his early years, would not hold back on the preaching of hell and damnation but now he would prefer to preach on the love of God.
And the tragedy of his compromised ministry that began before 1957 has remained till this day. And how far he has departed from preaching the faithful message of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ to take on a compromising stance, is well illustrated in the remarks that he made in an interview, “And that’s what God is doing today, He’s calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ, because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they are saved, and that they’re going to be with us in heaven.”
When questioned by the interviewer, “Is this the correct interpretation of what you are saying?” His reply, “Yes, it is, because I believe that. I’ve met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations, that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, and never heard of Jesus, but they’ve believed in their hearts that there was a God, and they’ve tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived.”
A quick check with the Longman dictionary for the word, “compromise”, is to reach an agreement in which everyone involved accepts less than what they wanted at first. Webster’s definition of compromise is “a method of reaching as amicable agreement between two parties in controversies; an act to settle their differences by mutual concession which can be either harmful or depreciative.” But what is it to compromise as far as it seen from the Bible’s perspective?
A Christian compromises when he or she changes his or her stand towards what the Bible says. Synonymous with compromise is the association with other so-called Christians who are disobedient, e.g. Charismatics, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists and to have fellowship with them.
An example of compromise can never be more illustrative than in the case of the recent Methodist Church of Singapore’s 125 years celebration. It was joined by leaders from different religions and politicians. The Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was the guest of honour and his message was to urge all Singaporeans “to live and let live” to the end that harmony and peace may be achieved in spite of its diversity. And reiterating the words of the Prime Minister, Bishop Robert Solomon of the Methodist Church and President of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), said that he would discuss with leaders of other religions to work together on a common platform to bring people from different communities and races together based on fund raising to help the poor than to open the door of utterance that the mystery of Christ to be spoken to all. To compromise the Gospel is a tragedy and especially in the case when the Word of God is not emphasized.
On one hand, Billy Graham’s change in his doctrinal position would deprive the people of the word of God but on the other hand, a greater influence on people for a diluted gospel when his ability to preach is not lost.
In our daily interaction and interface with other people, we make compromises to the end and intent that we may have harmony and peace with all men as the Word of God has instructed us. However, to do that which is against our Christian principles, convictions, positions and truths is an evil compromise that will not be approved of God. Compromises on important and vital issues can lead the church away from sound doctrinal teachings. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 says, “… what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?…” 2 Thessalonians 3:6 says, “… ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” are commandments given by God. As quoted by Dr. Jeffrey Khoo in his book, “Biblical Separation” which has it that the doctrine of separation is not just a denominational distinctive but an ecclesiastical principle and separation is a command and not an option.
The Lord in the book of Deuteronomy commanded the Israelites to keep themselves separated from the heathens for purification and preservation. In Ian Brown’s book “Billy Graham – Custodian of the Faith or Figure of Compromise”, he traces the ministry of Billy Graham and to call the “Balaam” of modern times. Prior to his slighting from his fundamental persuasion in the early 50’s, he wrote that the devil was attacking him on all sides. He says, “Modernists are beginning to write letters against me. Articles are beginning to appear in certain papers attacking the things for which I stand” and to give further evidence of his unequivocal stand to the truth without regard to the Virgin Birth, the vicarious atonement and the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. These would take a drastic change in his biblical stand and can be attributed to a number of things from the observation that was made by Ian Brown. Firstly, the crusades of Billy Graham lacked of doctrinal emphasis and at best, they were both flimsy and false doctrines. In 1989, the doctrinal statement of faith is blurred when Billy Graham changed his doctrinal stand. And by which time, he had taken an anti-biblical stand against creation, the virgin birth, the word of God, the one way to salvation, on hell and the blood of Christ and so on. To this day, he continues to work alongside liberals to promote ecumenism among Christians and make no apology to say that Catholicism also lies with the truth and the likes of easy believism, Non-Lordship salvation, a low view of God’s Person and His Word, Carnality, Contemporary worship, taking sin lightly and so on are the adverse effects of spiritual compromise.
Pastor Douglas Ho
Testimony
Evangelised by Segamat Wesley Church members, I finally accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour (by God’s marvelous grace) and subsequently baptized (in a waterfall) in 1991. It was a vibrant church led by one of the lay-leaders, Dr. Ronald Ling, and later joined by Pastor Paul George. There was no lack of church activities. Prayer meetings, care group meetings and session meetings were well attended and frequent. Evangelistic meetings were regularly carried out in the church and in members’ homes. I was quickly drafted into the session committee and allocated responsibilities.
Then came the “Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship” (FGBMF) movement. It swept over the district of Segamat like a celebrated festival among the churches there – be it English, Chinese or Tamil speaking. It saw a coming together of the majority of the leaders of the various churches, irrespective of denomination. Never before was there such ‘unity’ among the different churches found in Segamat. Even Roman Catholic members became committee members. The unity was in the area of evangelistic meetings, organised by the committee of FGBMF Segamat. A trademark of this movement is to carry out evangelistic meetings in restaurants. Famed foreign speakers were invited to deliver the gospel messages but it was their testimonies of how God had miraculously delivered them from dangers of near death and diseases that intrigued and impressed the audience. Sensationalism with signs and wonders was the emphasis. Each meeting would be followed with a session of deliverance for the sick and ailing. Mood music was used to influence and draw the audience to come forward to be prayed over with loud babblings of ‘speaking in tongues’. The phenomenon of being ‘slain by the spirit’ was rampant and extensive. Every member of FGBMF must be able to ‘speak in tongues’. And rich members of the various churches were targeted to sponsor people for the tables in the restaurants. No wonder, the big turn out – free meals and lots of excitement. Somehow, by God’s grace, my zeal and growth in the knowledge of God’s Word grew rather well – personal relationship with the Lord and His people was a constant encouragement. But after a few years, the atmosphere of the movement gradually died down and church life meandered down to a much slower pace. Meanwhile, the impression of serving God fulltime nibbled at my mind and heart. But I did not have the courage to do so. I rationalised that, if it is God’s will for me to serve Him fulltime, He will confirm it in my dear wife’s heart. Upon checking with her, the idea wasn’t supported.
Subsequently, the impression to quit the teaching profession gnawed at my heart. I had a hard time struggling with the idea and committed it to God in prayer – both individually and corporately. Amazingly, circumstantial evidences lined up my path in support of the idea. Checking with my wife for confirmation, I quit teaching to join my cousin’s furniture export factory. It entailed having to shift home from Segamat to Tangkak. Amazing circumstantial evidences again littered this part of my working life – with God’s mercies and graces making their marvelous impact. Topping it all was my coming into contact with the Bible Presbyterian (BP) Church ministries.
Initially, I was warned against associating with BP churches – which are said to uphold extreme doctrines. However, by God’s grace, I found that the BP church ministers from Singapore who ministered to the newly set up BP church in Tangkak, have a very good grasp of Bible knowledge. This was the one thing that I felt frustratingly lacking in myself. The desire to have a better and accurate understanding of God’s truth from His most Holy Word had pestered me for quite sometime already. It did not take long before my heart was again stirred with regards fulltime calling. Encouragements from some Singapore brethren followed before I checked with my wife. Praise God!, she was for the idea this time around. However, it was not until I imitated Gideon’s example with the fleece to bargain with God concerning the decision that I finally took the courage to serve Him fulltime – with God’s assurance, “where God guides, He provides.”
I found myself enrolled at FEBC Singapore where I studied during the weekdays and returned to Tangkak to serve on weekends. This was to be one of the most important time of my life – to be properly trained in the knowledge of God’s Word in order that I may, by God’s grace, be able to handle His truth according to the whole council of God. A lot of unlearning had to be done. I truly thank God for the most enriching moments of my life there. There was no shortage of God’s mercies, graces and favours throughout the five and a half years there. Of course, there was also no shortage of trials and tribulations that God allowed to shape and equip me (James 1:2-4). My faith in God and His truth has been much grounded and enhanced.
I am now serving as a preacher in a small church of less than 20 members in Tangkak. There are many struggles to face but am reminded and encouraged that God’s grace is sufficient for us in Christ. It is when we are weak that we are made strong (2 Cor.12:9-10) – by being dependent upon Him for empowerment. It is my prayer that I would be found faithful and worthy to serve Him – looking unto Jesus, the perfect example by which to imitate. Do uphold me in prayer.
Preacher Yap Kim Chuan
Tangkak BP Church
Johor, Malaysia
God Hidden in People
Once God promised an elderly lady that he would visit her that day. So she got ready… She scrubbed and cleaned and polished and dusted and put everything in order. Then she sat down and waited for God to come. Suddenly someone knocked. She raced to the door and quickly pulled it open and what did she see but just a poor beggar standing outside. “No, not today,” the lady said, “for heaven’s sake get along with you… I am waiting for God to come any minute now… I can’t be bothered with you.” The beggar left as hungry as he had come. A bit later there was another knock. The lady opened the door even faster than before. A poor old man stood there. “Sorry,” said the lady, “I can’t take care of you today.” With that she slammed the door in his face. Quite a bit later someone again knocked at the door. Again it was a ragged hungry beggar. She sent him off empty-handed and sat down to wait. Evening came on and still there was no sign of God. Finally she went to bed with a heavy heart. She dreamt that the good Lord had come to her and said, “I came to you three times today and all three times you threw me out.”
There is an old custom in the monasteries of Europe. All guests, all people coming to the door, are treated well, because they believe in the old saying: “When a guest comes, Christ comes.”