The posters were for the 'Harvest' evangelistic event in California and were put up in a mall outside Orange county.
However, the real estate company who Harvest teamed up with for the adverts, Irvine Company, claimed they had received compaints and a 'serious threat' that was provoked by the adverts.
Harvest resubmitted their ad design without the Bible included but all the ads were then removed anyway by Irvine Company.
Pastor Greg Laurie, who leads the multi-campus Harvest Christian Fellowship, wrote on his blog that the image of him holding a Bible was a reference to Billy Graham, who was often seen in a similar pose and is one of his heroes.
He added that the book in the image didn't have the word 'Bible' on, nor a cross.
For some, the Bible is offensive. https://t.co/GR1ePLxVRF
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) 8 August 2018
He said: "Everybody needs to just relax a little bit. I see images on billboards and displays in stores that I find offensive all the time. I do not complain or boycott. I just think as Christians we ought to have "equal time" and a voice in the marketplace."
SoCal Harvest event has been running for 29 years and aims to tell people about Jesus and raise money for charity.
Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.