Theological Confusion Exposed

When Dr Billy Graham held evangelistic Crusades in GB, there were evangelicals who were less than easy with the way Graham conducted these events.  Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones did not give his crusades his support nor did he get involved in them. Despite praying that God would bless the Gospel preached by Graham to the salvation of souls, Lloyd-Jones was very concerned about the theological confusion that Dr Graham was causing by encouraging thew involvement of liberal ministers in these campaigns, and also his policy of sending those who confessed conversion back to their own churches, including the Roman Catholic church.

Men of conviction saw this as unfaithfulness to the Word of God, and also of sending out a mixed message to those who both attended the rallies and those who were counselled afterwards.  Evangelicals were delighted that the Gospel was being preached to the masses and that thousands were being saved and brought into the Kingdom of God.

However, it is somewhat ironic that reformed and evangelical ministers within the main denominations who criticised the Graham evangelistic crusades for causing confusion were more than happy to accept ministerial colleagues who also held theological liberal views within their own churches.  Indeed they criticise people like Billy Graham for doing precisely what they themselves are doing.  It is rather pointless to claim that theological liberalism is bankrupt, and then work with colleagues in the ordained ministry who hold identical views!

For there to be any improvement in the life of the churches, there must be a radical reassessment of where they are at, how they got there, what must be done to remedy the situation, and who will lead it.  They ask three very important and necessary questions, and then give the biblical answers to these questions:

(1)  What is a Christians?

(2)  How does someone become a Christian?

(3)  What is the Church?

Unless and until the church identifies and then implements the answers to these questions, there will be no likelihood of spiritual improvement or of practical usefulness in the interests of the Kingdom of God.