The Reverend Billy Graham (1918-2018) dedicated his life to sharing the Gospel message and proclaiming God’s unchanging truth. In honor of his life and legacy we are featuring an excerpt from his book, The Reason for My Hope: Salvation (2013). We are grateful for the tremendous impact his life has made on over 200 million people for the cause of Christ.
“I have often emphasized that becoming a Christian is more than making a decision to live a better life or to attend church more regularly. When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, something happens supernaturally. Christ comes to dwell in our hearts and gives us His own supernatural life—eternal life. But it is a mistake to imagine that from then on we are automatically and almost magically victorious over sin and doubt. Not so! Each day we must have the same trust we experienced when we first came to know Christ. This is made possible by the fact that He becomes the predominant Person in our life and empowers us to think differently, to walk in truth, and to follow an upright path. The Bible says,
“Now the just [the righteous] shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back . . . but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:38–39)
We cannot do this in our own power, nor does the power come before we receive Jesus as Savior. It comes when we receive Him as the Lord and Master of our lives, and we cannot live this kind of life apart from Him. This is what it means to be a Christian. And this is the secret of living the Christian life—everyday faith, trusting Him every moment. Each day we renew our faith in God’s assurance that He will give us the faith to follow Him.”