Quotes by Billy Graham

Out of pain and problems have come the sweetest songs, and the most gripping stories.

Our thoughts determine our actions.

I believe integrity can be restored to a society one person at a time. The choice belongs to each of us.

Integrity means that we are trustworthy and dependable, and our character is above approach.

Integrity means our outward life is consistent with our inner convictions.

Integrity means that if our private life was suddenly exposed, we'd have no reason to be ashamed and embarrassed.

Death strips the rich of his millions and the poor man of his rags.

Many believe that pagan worship is a thing of the past, but it is ever present-we have just given it a new name: pop culture.

Our lives speak loudly to those around us, especially the children in our home.

Some young people are taking pills called 'heaven or hell' drugs, because you're liable to experience either one.

Many people are trying to steady themselves by taking tranquilizers. Jesus is the greatest tranquilizer of all. He can straighten out your life and put you back on center.

One of the characteristics of some drugs is that they make a person feel strong and alert--when in fact the opposite is the case. Don't allow yourself to be deceived.

Faith literally means to give up, surrender, or commit. Faith is complete confidence.

Repeat when you fail, and immediately seek God's forgiveness and restoration. Sin breaks our fellowship with God.

Nothing brings more joy than a good marriage, and nothing brings more misery than a bad marriage.

I'm going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: 'Lord, remember me.

Christ can rid you of inner conflict. Man without God is always torn between two urges.

A real Christian is the one who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip.

God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.

God has given us two hands, one to receive with
and the other to give with.

Christ wants to give you hope for the future.

The perfect marriage is a uniting of three persons -- a man and a woman and God. That is what makes marriage holy.

As husband and wife, to have a happy life together, you must have confidence and respect, you must have substantial agreement in you faith.

Evil and suffering are real.. They aren't an illusion, nor are they simply an absence of good.

Every manifestation of evil is the result of basic sin-sin that has remained unchanged since the moment it first entered the human race.

Evil is present to cleverly disguise itself as good.

A baby isn't meant to stay a baby forever, and neither is a new Christian.

Whatever is unlike Christ in conduct, speech, or disposition grieves the Spirit of grace.

The motive of grace is the infinite.

We are living in an age of grace, in which God promises that whosever will may come and receive His son. But this period of grace will not go on idefinitely.

May God give you grace to triumph in affliction.

When you pick up the cross of unpopularity, wherever you may be, you will find God's grace is there, more than sufficient to meet your every need.

Children, pray for the salvation of your parents.

Many children today are growing up without discipline. As they become adults and the discipline of job or family demands are placed upon them, they do not know how to cope.

Children respect discipline. They want to be guided. It gives them a sense of belonging, a sense of security.

There is always the exceptional child, but the average tells us that the child is largely what the home has made him.

We must never minimize the suffering of another. Scripture's mandate to us is, Weep with them that weep. (Romans 12:15, KJV).

The greatest need in the world is the transformation of human nature. We need a new heart that will not have lust and greed and hate in it.

One test of greed is that it is never satisfied.

Greed is an unreasonable all-absorbing desire to acquire things or wealth.

Greed must not be allowed to make man the slave of wealth.

Life is not a matter of dollars and cents, houses and lands, earning capacity and financial achievement.

Greed and envy have their roots in selfishness.

The Bible sees greed as a form of idolatry, because a greedy person worships things instead of God.

I have never met an envious or greedy person who was at peace.

Envy and greed always-always-exact a terrible price.

When a husband and wife are concerned only about their own individual desires, the stage is set for conflict.

Too many husbands and wives enter into marriage with the idea that their spouse exists for one purpose: to make them happy.

God holds every man accountable for his rejection of Christ.

As Christians we have an obligation to show others what God says about living self-controlled lives and being responsible for our moral actions, as God defines them.

What began as an apparently harmless pastime has ended up as a frightening, overpowering addiction or obsession.

Do not seek solace in alcohol. Alcohol obscures good judgement and leaves you unable to think clearly.

Thousands are killed and injured every year by teenagers driving too fast or under the influence of drugs and drink.

Drunkenness is not a new vice, Its ravages have always been a scourge on the human race.

Among young people. Drinking is for getting drunk. And many go on to become alcoholics.

Too many people want to have one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God, and it is like straddling a fence.

The secret of the power of Christianity is not in its ethics. It is not in Christian ideas or philosophy...the secret of Christianity is found...in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Conscience is our wisest counselor and teacher, our most faithful and most patient friend.

From a cleansed conscience emerges a changed life.

The world does need changing, society needs changing, the nation needs changing, but we never will change it until we ourselves are changed.

My home is heaven. I'm just traveling through this world.

Heaven will be the perfection we've always longed for. All the things that made Earth unlovely and tragic will be absent in heaven.

If he is to become a ball player, he must learn the rules of the game. And, contrary to popular thinking, children appreciate rules.

Many of us are looking to find a church or fellowship to join with a concept that this is where God wants me to be permanently.

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost.

Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will.

God speaks to those who are prepared in their hearts to listen. Discern the voice from heaven above the noisy din of earth's confusion.

Commitment means burning all bridges behind you.

Even in the darkest moment, before death snatches man's last breath. God is willing to save a lost soul.

Although the testimony of my mother's life helped mold me and taught me how to live, the testimony of her last years and her death gave me insight into how to die.

Satan is masterful at using just enough of God's truth to capture a person's attention and then mix it with his devious potion that will lead believers astray.

The underlying principle of all Satan's tactics is deception. He is a crafty and clever camouflage.

Certainly a woman should never disguise the fact that she is a woman. A woman's body is very beautiful.

Go is the first part of the word Gospel.
It should be the watchword of every true follower of Christ.
It should be emblazoned on the banners of the church.

Be attractive and winsome, but do not compromise your convictions for the sake of popularity.

Pure hearts will be Christlike. It is God's desire that we be conformed to the image of His Son.

It is a tragedy that many of God's people have conformed themselves to the world and its thinking, rather than being transformed by the renewing of their minds.

We don't need to be crippled any longer by the disease of sin--because God has provided the cure.

Philip is the only person in the Bible who was called an evangelist, and he was a deacon!

Nowhere do the Scriptures tell us to seek results, nor do the Scriptures rebuke evangelists if the results are meager.

Some evangelists spend too much time thinking and even planning about how to achieve visible results. This is an easy trap to fall into.

Evangelism has always been the heartbeat for our ministry; it is what God has called us to do.

Man has no ability to repair this damaged planet. The flaw in human nature is too great. God is our only hope!

Salvation is free, but there is a price to pay in following Jesus. It is never said in Scripture that we can have Christ and .... It is always Christ or .... What is your or?

Jesus Himself was the first missionary ...He pledged His followers to be missionaries too!

The men who followed Jesus were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up.

Learn to keep close to Jesus, to listen to His voice, and follow Him.

Following Christ has been made too easy. It is easy to follow Him when our world is safe and comfortable ...but when that world shatters, only a secure faith will sustain us.

Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, and the story of His life, death, and resurrection is the only Good News the world will ever hear.

God knows what we are going through when we grieve, and He wants to assure us of His love and concern. He also wants us to turn to Him and bring our heartaches and burdens to Him.

The Bible says that as Christians we don't grieve the same way people do who have no hope of eternity and of Heaven -- but we still grieve.

The Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit is God Himself.

Many people have come to Christ as a result of my participation in presenting the Gospel to them. It's all the work of the Holy Spirit.

Our magazine covers frequently feature the immoral, the perverted, the psychologically sick. Sin is in. People don't like to be told they are sinners.

New morality is nothing more than the old immorality brought up to date.

Don't conform to those who have been overwhelmed by the tide of immorality sweeping our country!

Gratitude is one of the greatest Christian virtues; ingratitude, one of the most vicious sins.

If ever there was a time this country needed the intervention of God, it is now.

God does not call us to be successful, but to be obedient.

We can be convicted of sin--we can pray and confess our sin--we can repent--but the real test is our willingness to obey.

All too often we are more afraid of physical pain than of moral wrong. The cross is the standing evidence of the fact that holiness is a principle for which God would die.

Repentance is mentioned seventy times in the New Testament ... the Bible says God commands repentance ... it is a command ...
God says, Repent! Or perish!

We should not covet or expect the praise of ungodly men ... the very fact that they are inclined to persecute us is proof that we are not of the world.

Persecution may wear an insulting face. Insults may come as a result of a Christian's lifestyle, which should be different from that of the secular world.

The Bible clearly says that faithfulness and persecution often go hand in hand.

We can take persecution because we know the purpose behind it. The purpose is to glorify God.

There is no such thing as a social gospel. It is a misnomer. There is only one Gospel. If any man preach any other gospel unto you ...
let him be accursed Galatians 1:9 KJV.

Oh God, if You want me to preach, I will do it.

I preach a Gospel not of despair but of hope for the individual, hope for society, and hope for the world.

God's strength is made perfect in weakness. The weaker I became, the more powerful became the preaching.

Preachers are not salesmen, for they have nothing to sell. They are bearers of Good News.

Preach with authority. The authority for us is the Word of God. Preach with simplicity ... Preach with urgency ... heaven and hell are at stake. Preach for a decision.

Understanding the consequence of sin and arrogance should motivate every Christian to pray for repentance and revival.

The Bible does not teach that sin is completely eradicated from the Christian in this life, but it does teach that sin shall no longer reign over you.

The most prominent place in hell is reserved for those who are neutral on the great issues of life.

Freedom is relative.

God's holiness demands that sin be punished -- but God's love has provided the way of redemption through Christ.

Without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless.

It would be the greatest tragedy if I didn't tell you that unless you repent of your sins and receive Christ as your Savior, you are going to be lost.

Ruth and I are happily incompatible.

The cross shows us the seriousness of our sin-but it also shows us the immeasurable love of God.

Sin pierced the very heart of God. God felt every piercing nail and spear thrust. God felt the burning sun. God felt the mocking derision and the body blows.

The unbelieving world should see our testimony lived out daily because it just may point them to the Savior.

I urge new converts to take plenty of time in Bible study and prayer before getting on a public platform to testify.

You and I, God's ambassadors, are called to sound the warning, to call sinners to repentance, to point the way to peace with God and the hope that is in Christ.

The world's favorite verb is 'get.' The verb of the Christian is 'give.'

Worship leader George Beverly Shea kidded Billy Graham that the latter would be unemployed in Heaven -- while Shea would still have a job leading worship.

We live in an upside-down world, in which people hate what they should love and love what they should hate.

We're heading for a world showdown, a worldwide confrontation. If we think we can solve our problems without God, then we're living in a fool's paradise.

We have a mandate to speak out against the sin that so easily entangles Hebrews 12:1 NIV; for though we are not of the world, we are still in it.

The world I once knew as a boy has changed dramatically ... I don't even recognize the world we live in today.

The world judges the Christian by his life, not by his belief.

The world's sewage system threatens to contaminate the stream of Christian thought. Satan will contest every hour you spend in Bible reading or prayer.

Our chaotic, confused world has no greater need than to hear the Gospel truth.

In America we have an idolatry called the adulation of youth. Apparently distressed by their inability to communicate with the younger generation, many adults simply imitate it.

I have found that most young people really want us to spell out a moral code. They may not accept it or believe it, but they want to hear it, clearly and without compromise.

Don't rebel, but give God the opportunity to change your life and help you over the problems of youth, for they are many.

It is entirely possible to be deeply sorry because of the devastation which sin has wrought in our lives--and yet not repent.

God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.

Happy is the person who has learned the secret of being content with whatever life brings him, and has learned to rejoice in the simple and beautiful things around him.

God can take anything that happens to us-even bad things-and use it to shape us and make us into a better, more Christlike person-if we let Him.

Anyone who makes a decision at our meetings is seen later and referred to a local clergyman, Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish.

Even when we allow our imaginations to run wild on the joys of heaven, we find that our minds are incapable of conceiving what it will be like.

Some of us want the crown before the cross.

Churchgoers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out.

Either communism must die or Christianity must die because it's actually a battle between Christ and Anti-Christ.

When the family is destroyed, society eventually disintegrates.

Tim Keller's ministry in New York City is leading a generation of seekers and skeptics toward belief in God. I thank God for him.

The greatest surprise in life to me is the brevity of life.

A true Christian, living an obedient life, is a constant rebuke to those who accept the moral standards of this world.