Since the fall of man in the Garden, Satan has relentlessly schemed to undermine the authority of God’s Word by parsing half-truths—which are nothing more than clever lies—into a counterfeit gospel.
Today we call it Progressive Christianity, and it’s a lie—just enough truth to deceive. Lately, this false gospel is being proclaimed by many progressives, most notably on the campaign trail by Texas politician James Talarico, who is masquerading as an angel of light.
The U.S. Senate candidate and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary student couldn’t be more wrong. The Bible is not silent on abortion as he claims—that’s an absolute lie. God commands us, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Abortion is taking a life—it is murder. The Word of God tells us we are created in the image of God and consistently underscores the value of human life. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you.”
In 2021, this same Texas Democrat legislator opposed a bill to ban men from women’s sports, saying that “God is non-binary.” That’s ridiculous. Don’t ever be deceived by politicians spouting heresy like this.
Evangelical pastor Jeff Mullen, of Henderson, Nevada, has written one of the best rebuttals to Talarico’s nonsense that I have read (read the entirety of Mullen’s open letter to the Texas politician).
Ever since Almighty God created man and woman as His perfect design for human sexuality, marriage and the family, Satan has been working to undermine and thwart our Creator’s plans and purposes for His creation.
When God granted Adam perfect dominion over the Garden of Eden, His command was clear.
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).
The Bible says the cunning serpent deceived Eve by questioning God’s motives or intent while reinterpreting His command.
“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4-5).
For Adam and Eve, the prideful temptation to be like God overcame them and sin was birthed in the heart of mankind for all of human history.
That’s exactly why God sent His only begotten Son to Earth on a rescue mission to save sinners from their condemnation—the penalty of death. And again, Satan tried to twist God’s Word to deter Jesus Christ from sacrificing His life on a cross and shedding His blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:1-4).
That’s why the authority of God’s Word is the foundation of everything the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association does. I will not preach any message that does not lift up Jesus as “the way, the truth and the life” and the only means by which sinful humanity may be reconciled with a holy and righteous God.
Meanwhile, the Bible describes the current challenge of our day. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Yet, we have witnessed hundreds profess Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord during recent Festivals in Minsk, Belarus , Madrid, Spain, and my son Will’s recent Celebration in Korea. I praise God for His faithfulness to the preaching of His Word.
Regardless of the darkness of this present age, the Gospel remains the power of God unto salvation for all who will repent of their sin and by faith surrender their lives to King Jesus.
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. … But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-2, 5).
