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Billy Graham
Billy Graham (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American preacher and evangelist whose global ministry transformed 20th-century Christianity, reaching millions with his message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Born William Franklin Graham Jr. on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina, to Frank and Morrow Graham, he grew up in a devout Presbyterian family. Converted at 16 during a 1934 revival led by Mordecai Ham, he attended Bob Jones College briefly before transferring to Florida Bible Institute (1937–1940) and graduating from Wheaton College (B.A. in Anthropology, 1943), where he met his wife, Ruth Bell. Ordained a Southern Baptist minister in 1939, he began preaching on radio and at youth rallies with Youth for Christ, gaining early fame. Graham’s preaching career skyrocketed after his 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, a tent revival extended from three to eight weeks due to massive crowds and media attention, launching the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). Over six decades, he preached to over 210 million people in 185 countries, holding crusades—often broadcast on TV and radio—featuring sermons like “The Hour of Decision” and hits like “Just As I Am.” Advising U.S. presidents from Truman to Obama, he championed civil rights, notably integrating his rallies post-1954, and authored 33 books, including Peace with God (1953). Married to Ruth in 1943, with whom he had five children—Gigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin, and Ned—he lived modestly in Montreat, North Carolina, until his death at 99 from pneumonia and Parkinson’s disease, buried beside Ruth at the Billy Graham Library.
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Greek Word Studies for Distress (318) explores the concept of anagke, referring to various forms of necessity, compulsion, and distress brought on by external conditions or moral duty. The preacher delves into the dominant themes of trouble, hardship, and obligation found in different Bible verses, emphasizing the inner compulsion and outward pressures that influence our choices. Anagke is depicted as an inevitable force that can lead to suffering, afflictions, and the need for endurance, highlighting the divine constraints and moral responsibilities faced by believers.
Justification by Faith
We have been saved by grace through faith. The apostle Paul emphatically states, "a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16). Justification is a legal standing with God based upon Christ's death and resurrection and our faith in Him. The word Paul uses (dikaioo), comes from Roman legal courts meaning to declare to be righteous, or to pronounce righteous. Therefore, justification is the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God who is Judge. It is the pronouncement of the sinner as righteous, who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's suppose for a moment that I died tonight and stood before the Lord God who is the Supreme Judge of the Universe. No doubt He would ask me, "Wil Pounds, why should I let you into my heaven? You are a guilty sinner. How do you plead?" My response would be, "I plead guilty, Your Honor." My advocate, Jesus Christ, who is standing there beside me speaks up for me. He says, "Your Honor. It is true that Wil Pounds is a grievous sinner. He is guilty. However, Father, I died for him on the cross and rose from the dead. Wil Pounds has put his faith and trust in Me and all that I have done for Him on the Cross. He is a believer. I died for him, and he has accepted Me as his substitute." The Lord God turns to me and says, "Is that true?" I will respond to Him, "Yes sir! That is the truth. I am claiming the shed blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse me of all my sins. I have put my faith in Jesus to save me for all eternity. This is what You have promised in Your Word. Jesus said, 'For God so loved the world (and this includes Wil Pounds), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'" The Lord God responds: "Acquitted! By order of this court I demand that you be set free. The price has been paid by My Son." Furthermore, I get to go home and live with the Judge! Justification means that at the moment of salvation God sovereignly declares the believing sinner righteous in His sight. The believing sinner is declared to be righteous in His standing before God. From that moment on throughout life, through death, that sinner who has believed is now and forever right before God. God accepts him, and he stands acquitted of his sins. A man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified (Galatians 2:16).
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Billy Graham (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American preacher and evangelist whose global ministry transformed 20th-century Christianity, reaching millions with his message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Born William Franklin Graham Jr. on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina, to Frank and Morrow Graham, he grew up in a devout Presbyterian family. Converted at 16 during a 1934 revival led by Mordecai Ham, he attended Bob Jones College briefly before transferring to Florida Bible Institute (1937–1940) and graduating from Wheaton College (B.A. in Anthropology, 1943), where he met his wife, Ruth Bell. Ordained a Southern Baptist minister in 1939, he began preaching on radio and at youth rallies with Youth for Christ, gaining early fame. Graham’s preaching career skyrocketed after his 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, a tent revival extended from three to eight weeks due to massive crowds and media attention, launching the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). Over six decades, he preached to over 210 million people in 185 countries, holding crusades—often broadcast on TV and radio—featuring sermons like “The Hour of Decision” and hits like “Just As I Am.” Advising U.S. presidents from Truman to Obama, he championed civil rights, notably integrating his rallies post-1954, and authored 33 books, including Peace with God (1953). Married to Ruth in 1943, with whom he had five children—Gigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin, and Ned—he lived modestly in Montreat, North Carolina, until his death at 99 from pneumonia and Parkinson’s disease, buried beside Ruth at the Billy Graham Library.