10 NOVEMBER 2022 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition IN THE WORD It was a distinct privilege to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ this summer in London, where my father first preached in 1954. Thousands came to hear the Word of God, and His Spirit worked to bring hundreds to saving faith. We praise God! While in England, I was invited to appear on the TV program “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” broadcast by the BBC to a large audience. I have been with Piers in the past when he was with another network, and he certainly can ask some penetrating questions. Among the topics we discussed was a Gallup poll which showed that only 47% of Americans believe in God, which is the lowest that Gallup has ever found. Piers mentioned similar percentages in other countries, including 48% in Australia. He said that believers in the United Kingdom now number less than a third of the population. The poll found that the most striking decline was among youngAmericans who defined themselves as liberals. Piers asked me: “Why is religion going out of fashion?” I told him that it is not a question of fashion or religion. “The question is do you have a relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ,” I said. “It’s up to us to turn from our sins and accept Jesus Christ by faith.” Piers speculated that religion is declining because Bible-believing Christians are too preoccupied with sin. After a discussion about homosexuality, he told me, “Franklin, you should just think about this a bit more. Times are changing. People are changing.” That’s an important point for Christians as we deal with a changing world, and it’s one I’m glad to answer with what the Bible says. “God doesn’t change!” I told him. “He’s the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.” Malachi 3:6 assures us, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” God’s character, ways and attributes are forever and eternally fixed. They never change, from generation to generation, regardless of which way the winds of culture may be blowing. In declaring that one day the entire earth will be changed when the Lord returns to establish His millennial Kingdom, Psalm 102 tells us, “Like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end” (102:26-27). Hebrews 13:8 emphatically proclaims, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” However, there is no doubt that the culture has changed radically in a very short time. We have gone from a society that recognized and encouraged the sanctity of life and marriage to one that is virulently anti-life and constantly undermines the pivotal role of a stable family. Drugs, violence and immorality of every kind have swept over our world in ways that we never could have imagined just a few decades ago. Hostility toward Christianity and believers is found in virtually every segment of society — education, politics, the public square. What really troubles me is the number of pulpits that fall prey to the whims of culture and fail miserably to declare the truth of God’s Word. Far too many preachers are afraid of what their peers may say or what their congregations may think if they boldly proclaim the Scripture. Shame on them! The Bible has a lot to say about shepherds who lead their flocks astray by failing to feed them on the truth of Scripture. If you are in a church where the Word of God is not fully proclaimed, and the commands of Scripture are compromised, get out! Find a church home where Scripture is treasured and preached undiluted. Culture may say that homosexuality is OK. Well, it’s not OK with God. In Romans, He warns us that because people turn their backs on Him, His wrath will be poured out against unrighteousness and ungodliness. “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:2628). Culture may insist that a person’s gender is determined by whim, not birth. “I feel like I am a girl; therefore, it doesn’t matter that my birth certificate and biological body state that I am a boy.” How tragic it is that schools are teaching impressionable young children that it’s acceptable to dress and act like a different gender than was given to them by God. Not only are they told it’s acceptable, but they actually are encouraged to transition. This is such a lie from the pit of hell, and it’s devastating to those who buy into its perverted logic. The Bible is clear. “From the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female’” (Mark 10:6). There is no such thing as a transgender person. Since the Scriptures are the authoritative Word of God and never change one iota, I will always preach and proclaim the whole counsel of God wherever I go. We are all born in sin and alienated and separated from a holy God. We walk under the sway of Satan, who seeks to blind us from the liberating power of God. But God, who is rich in mercy, sent His Son to die on a cross and rescue us from our sin and sinful ways. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). For those who repent of their sins, place their trust in Christ and receive Him into their hearts, there is no longer any condemnation, but forgiveness. We receive the gift of eternal life, so that we might be with Him forever. Death opens the door into the very presence of God. Not only is our life forever changed, but our lifestyles are also radically altered. We don’t become sinless, but we eagerly desire to sin less and less. We love to obey the commands of Scripture, and the culture’s grip on our hearts grows slack. Almighty God never changes. And a God who is unchanging in holiness, faithfulness and steadfast love makes it possible for anyone, in any age, to be changed from death to life, from darkness to light, from the dominion of the devil to the dominion of God. The times, they may be changing, but thank God, He never does. ©2022 BGEA Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Decision magazine, SEPTEMBER 2022; ©2022 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; used by permission, all rights reserved. Photo: Shealah Craighead/©2022 BGEA - Franklin Graham - President and CEO Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Franklin Graham: Our Unchanging God God’s character, ways and attributes are forever and eternally fixed. They never change, from generation to generation, regardless of which way the winds of culture may be blowing. ” “ Since the Scriptures are the authoritative Word of God and never change one iota, I will always preach and proclaim the whole counsel of God wherever I go. ” “
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