Rock the River

Anthony Bataglia, Craig Gremillion and I went to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Society's concert/crusade event in Baton Rouge on 18 July 2009. My post here is not to pick anything apart but, as the Bereans did, search the Scriptures to see if these things are so. I believe that as Christians when we preach the Gospel our FIRST responsibility is to be Biblically sound. Our culture has been invaded by political correctness. The church in America has been invaded by the culture so there are many who, under the cloak of Christianity, attempt to offer a "relationship with Christ" or "Christ will solve your problems" kind of salvation. Remember this, the plan of salvation offered by God is HIS plan so if it seems foolish to preach HIS message to the lost then I have to agree since THAT IS HIS PLAN! Few things are more blasphemous than to preach a "sugar-coated" or a "watered-down" or a lighter version of the Gospel.

We got there about 4:30pm and the only music I heard that worshipped God was at the end after most people had left or were leaving. They sang "How Great Thou Art" and "The Revelation Song" which were a blessing. Most of the rest of the music was too loud to hear the lyrics so I couldn't tell you if it was God-centered.

This event lasted 7 hours! In that seven hour period, Franklin Graham preached three times for a grand total of about 45 minutes! I wanted so badly to have just 20 minutes on that stage with that microphone. I'll give him credit for speaking about sin and hell but everything went south when he called everyone who wanted to "make Jesus their personal Savior" to come down to the stage and led them in a "salvation prayer." He gave hundreds of people a false human assurance that they were Christians, their sins were forgiven, and they had eternal life. Salvation is of the Lord. It is not of a prayer. It is not by human will. People don't make decisions for Jesus. They even gave out little plastic cards that look like credit cards. On the back was a place to write down the date you "asked Jesus into your heart" and a salvation poem. I guess you pull that out at the pearly gate and show it to St. Peter or scan it in the machine and in you go.

We must never presume to "improve" on the truth of the Gospel by a conscience or unconscience attempt to change His message to the lost. To cloak a secular event in the robe of Christianity does little to honor the Lord. How can the lost understand holiness when those who profess to be Christian do things that look like the world? Girls who wore tee shirts with "Christian" phrases or statements were dressed like the world with very little cover up. One young lady wore a cross with a dress cut way too low. Boys with mohawks and wearing makeup when asked if they were Christians answered "Yes!" What happened to pursuing holiness? What happened to sanctification? You might be thinking, "Chris, you're being judgmental!" Yes, I know. Jesus said that when we judge we are to do so righteously. The standard for righteous judgment is the Word of God. By that standard it is easy to see that these professing Christians are not pursuing holiness. Question is: Who are they trying to please?..God or man?

We have to quit trying to "nice" people into eternal life. Tell them the whole truth and let God's Spirit do the rest. If they hate you for it, count it all joy. If they break under the weight of the Law of God then praise the Lord!

We were standing next to the entrance of the event singing praises to the Lord along with the few praise songs that were sung when some representatives with the BGEA asked Anthony if he would like to be interviewed about his views of the event. What a blessing from God. They asked him, "What surprised him the most about the event?" Anthony answered honestly and respectfully but he spoke his mind. Needless to say, you won't be seeing that interview on the Rock the River website.