By Franklin Graham
What is an evangelical?
Recently some people have had discussions about the state of evangelicalism today, almost referring to it as a politically-related term. I can’t speak for others, and I’m certainly not a spokesperson for any kind of evangelical movement, but I can tell you what I believe.
I believe in God. I believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. And I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe my God is three-in-one. I believe that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to take our sins. That He died on a cross and shed His blood for all the sins of mankind.
I believe He took our sins to the grave, and I believe in the resurrection. God raised Him to life on the third day, and I believe He is coming again.
This is God’s Gospel—and I believe there is supernatural, Holy Spirit-filled power in this message. Jesus commanded us to, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel…”
I believe without Christ, a soul will be lost, condemned to hell for all eternity. This should motivate all of us to share the Good News of God’s love to a sick, dying, and compromising world. I am called and committed to preaching this message as long as I have breath or until the Lord returns.
I am also committed to taking Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association forward in this millennium, proclaiming this Gospel to as many people as we possibly can by every means possible.
I’m going to continue to do what I have been doing for some 40 years—feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide medical care for the sick, bring comfort to those ravaged by wars and storms—so that I can reach them with the truth of God’s love, that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to take our sins to the cross.
Evangelism is simply reaching the lost with this message. We should be concerned about how we can reach more, and not get sidetracked. A number of years ago Nike had an ad that said, “Just Do It!”
That’s our job — that’s what we are to do today.
I’m not interested in fanning out in all kinds of directions. I’m interested in focusing on one direction—reaching lost souls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is calling people to cross the line from death to life, in Him. That’s evangelism. And that’s what evangelicalism should be about.
Franklin Graham is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.
