Franklin Graham’s evangelism in his commercials

ALAYMAN

ALAYMAN

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The article below is a bit dated, but the criticism is still fair game for our discussion, based on what his content is still currently running…​

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Responding to Franklin Graham’s Fox News Commercial​


So, though I am not reformed nor a 5 pointer, I somewhat sympathize with this man’s critique. In addition to his points, I also wonder whether Franklin’s “Just say this prayer with me” tactic is also potentially unintentionally misleading.

I know a TV commercial has limits to what can be said in terms of the nature and full-orbed content of the gospel, but I would think some of these concerns could have been ironed out and packaged better.

What say you?
 
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God, I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sins. I believe Jesus Christ is your Son. And I want to invite Him to come into my heart, into my life. I’m willing to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord. And I pray this in Jesus’ name.”

Franklin Graham was basically giving the essence of what one must do to be saved without going into a lot of depth. Not only must one be “sorry for their sins” and “believe” in Him, but they must also “follow Him as Lord” which is nothing more than saying they must “repent” or turn from their old way of life to be saved. That was the message. The apostle Paul made it clear that Jesus lives in the hearts of true believers (Ephesians 3:17) and repeats this in Galations 2:20 where he says Christ lives in us. So I wouldn’t say Graham is a heretic for telling people they should “invite Him into their hearts.” I could find numerous clips where Franklin Graham says “repentance” is necessary, not just having a head belief that produces no change. Franklin has warned Donald Trump that he can’t save himself and made it clear that his “good works” could not save him.
https://www.facebook.com/FollowJesu...he-received-from-evangelist/1371017035063977/
https://www.facebook.com/erickstake...alvation-but-when-president/1281717436673658/

When Franklin Graham goes overseas he doesn’t water the gospel down either.
“If you’re willing to repent, turn from your sins, and believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven. You can be sure that your soul is safe and secure in the hands of God.”

R.C. Sproul was a strong Reformed leader and I’m sure he had a problem with some of the “altar calls” just as I did which were so prevalent in the Billy Graham Crusades but he also acknowledged the powerful message of the gospel that went around the world through this man who wasn’t perfect. Sproul said one time, “I don’t believe I will see Billy Graham in Heaven. Billy Graham will be so close to the throne of God and I will be so far away from the throne of God that I will be lucky to even get a glimpse of him.”
bcworldview.org

Why R.C. Sproul and Billy Graham Will Meet in Heaven – What Calvinism and Arminianism reveal about truth, grace, and unity in Christ

R.C. Sproul and Billy Graham stood on opposite sides of the Calvinist-Arminian divide, yet their shared faith in Christ points to a deeper unity than theological rivalry.
bcworldview.org bcworldview.org

I thank God for Franklin Graham.
 
biscuit1953 said:
God, I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sins. I believe Jesus Christ is your Son. And I want to invite Him to come into my heart, into my life. I’m willing to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord. And I pray this in Jesus’ name.”

Franklin Graham was basically giving the essence of what one must do to be saved without going into a lot of depth. Not only must one be “sorry for their sins” and “believe” in Him, but they must also “follow Him as Lord” which is nothing more than saying they must “repent” or turn from their old way of life to be saved. That was the message. The apostle Paul made it clear that Jesus lives in the hearts of true believers (Ephesians 3:17) and repeats this in Galations 2:20 where he says Christ lives in us. So I wouldn’t say Graham is a heretic for telling people they should “invite Him into their hearts.” I could find numerous clips where Franklin Graham says “repentance” is necessary, not just having a head belief that produces no change. Franklin has warned Donald Trump that he can’t save himself and made it clear that his “good works” could not save him.
https://www.facebook.com/FollowJesu...he-received-from-evangelist/1371017035063977/
https://www.facebook.com/erickstake...alvation-but-when-president/1281717436673658/

When Franklin Graham goes overseas he doesn’t water the gospel down either.
“If you’re willing to repent, turn from your sins, and believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven. You can be sure that your soul is safe and secure in the hands of God.”

R.C. Sproul was a strong Reformed leader and I’m sure he had a problem with some of the “altar calls” just as I did which were so prevalent in the Billy Graham Crusades but he also acknowledged the powerful message of the gospel that went around the world through this man who wasn’t perfect. Sproul said one time, “I don’t believe I will see Billy Graham in Heaven. Billy Graham will be so close to the throne of God and I will be so far away from the throne of God that I will be lucky to even get a glimpse of him.”
bcworldview.org

Why R.C. Sproul and Billy Graham Will Meet in Heaven – What Calvinism and Arminianism reveal about truth, grace, and unity in Christ

R.C. Sproul and Billy Graham stood on opposite sides of the Calvinist-Arminian divide, yet their shared faith in Christ points to a deeper unity than theological rivalry.
bcworldview.org bcworldview.org

I thank God for Franklin Graham.
Click to expand...
I’m very thankful for Graham and his Ministry and influence as well. My criticism, mild as it is, is certainly not like the He Gets Us stuff. I’m just concerned that his presentation in such a short span can be understood by the person hearing him that a prayer saves a person. Like you said, he does make it clear that he would love for anybody listening to call in, and at that time I’m sure they would take the appropriate time to explain the gospel and it’s full of context.
 
A commercial is very different from what he used to do at festivals and his father did in stadiums. There is nothing really to prepare the heart or mind like music and the additional encouragement of seeing others go forward. For evangelism in a commercial to work at all it would depend entirely on the Holy Spirit. I know some make much about the modern sinner's prayer but some have prayed it and meant it and their lives were changed - me for example. In the Bible there is a singer's prayer that simply says God have mercy on me a sinner. There are no particular words one needs to say of course but the words should agree with the heart and not contradict the message in any way.
 
ALAYMAN said:
I’m very thankful for Graham and his Ministry and influence as well. My criticism, mild as it is, is certainly not like the He Gets Us stuff. I’m just concerned that his presentation in such a short span can be understood by the person hearing him that a prayer saves a person. Like you said, he does make it clear that he would love for anybody listening to call in, and at that time I’m sure they would take the appropriate time to explain the gospel and it’s full of context.
Click to expand...
I appreciate what you are saying. My thoughts are that the seed is planted by one person, watered by another and God gives the increase. When God sent Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch, after showing him who Jesus was, Philip was immediately taken away. Ray Comfort comments on that passage, “A true convert will not need to be followed. He will put his hand to the plow and not look back (Luke 9:62). He will need to be fed and discipled, but a true convert will persevere to the end (Philippians 1:6).” You can’t give a whole Sunday morning sermon during a brief television commercial but as you said, people were invited to call in for more information. I believe if someone is truly born again through a TV commercial or a simple gospel tract, God will protect that individual and change his life gradually as he grows in grace. This is the testimony of someone who experienced a false conversion.

“I have left my religious conversion behind and settled into a comfortable state of atheism. I have come to think that religion has caused more harm than any other idea since the beginning of time.” Larry Flynt (publisher of Hustler magazine, in his autobiography, “An Unseemly Man”)
 
It's the return of the "should we teach people to invite Jesus into their heart" debate, which we discussed in another thread last year.

rootedthinking.com

Do You Speak “Churchese”? Ask Jesus Into Your Heart

What does this mean to ask Jesus into your heart? What do those who hear us say it think we mean by this? Where do we get this phrase?
rootedthinking.com rootedthinking.com

sermonscript.com

Paul Washer - Regeneration vs The Idolatry of Decisional Evangelism | SermonScript

When we look at Romans 1:16, we understand that the Apostle Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel: “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.”
sermonscript.com sermonscript.com

I

Thread 'Should Unsaved Be Told To "Ask Jesus Into Your Heart?"'

This missionary says "no" -

rootedthinking.com

Do You Speak “Churchese”? Ask Jesus Into Your Heart

What does this mean to ask Jesus into your heart? What do those who hear us say it think we mean by this? Where do we get this phrase?
rootedthinking.com rootedthinking.com

“'Ask Jesus into your heart.' You’ve heard it said. Maybe you’ve said it yourself. Often, it’s what we say to children as we encourage them to become Christians. I’ve heard it in the U.S., the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. 'Ask Jesus into your heart' has become standard verbiage in leading someone to Christ. . . .

"Encouraging someone to 'ask Jesus into their heart' is similar to telling them they must only ask Jesus to let them into heaven and they will be...

It would be great if we could get the entire world saved just by having everyone recite the so-called "Salvation Prayer" but is that really all that it takes for a genuine conversion?

"I have also been concerned that witnessing to a stranger for 5 minutes and then asking them to pray to Jesus for salvation does not give sufficient time for the Holy Spirit to do His work. Often times, they are totally ignorant of Jesus and the glorious Gospel that provides salvation. I believe there is danger when sinners are told that they are saved because they asked Jesus to save them."

 
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illinoisguy said:
"I have also been concerned that witnessing to a stranger for 5 minutes and then asking them to pray to Jesus for salvation does not give sufficient time for the Holy Spirit to do His work. Often times, they are totally ignorant of Jesus and the glorious Gospel that provides salvation. I believe there is danger when sinners are told that they are saved because they asked Jesus to save them."

Click to expand...
Someone can be 100% orthodox in their beliefs and not be born again whether Reformed or not. So what is enough time for someone to understand the gospel?
 
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