Franklin Graham sat down for an interview with Christianity Today to clarify some of the recent statements he had made. During the discussion, Graham insisted that he never questioned the place of President Obama’s birth and doesn’t even care; he was simply making the point that the issue has been a “headache” for Obama and so it only seems logical that he’d produce his birth certificate in order to shut every one up.
This led into a discussion about Obama’s faith, with Graham asserting that he’s never believed that Obama is a Muslim … mainly because Obama is clealrly just a bad Christian:
I was with President Obama when he was Senator Obama. I asked him, “How did you come to faith in Christ? What is your testimony?” He said, “I was organizing a community in the South Side of Chicago. The community said, ‘What church do you go to?’ I told them I didn’t go to church. If you’re going to organize a community, you’re going to have to join a church.” So he joined Jeremiah Wright’s church. That’s the testimony he told me, word for word.
The point is, nobody knows. I don’t know if you’re a Christian. God knows your heart. I’m not your judge. I’m not President Obama’s judge. He has to stand before God one day. I’m going to have to stand before God. Only God knows a person’s heart. For millions of Americans, being a Christian is being a member of a church. When I read the Bible, Jesus says, “There will be many in the last day who say ‘Lord, Lord,’ but I will say, ‘Away from me, I knew you not.'” A Christian is a person who identifies himself with Christ, has confessed sin and received Christ into his heart and is following him in obedience. Church membership cannot save you.
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We have to look at the policies, are they consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ? The President’s support of gay and lesbian rights in this country—is that consistent with the teachings of the Word of God? Those kinds of things have to be looked at. Do the positions match what they say they believe? If someone says they follow Jesus Christ, then why don’t they obey him?
