From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part one of a 13-part series.

Reliable surveys tell us that for most Evangelical church members, the Bible has become just that - and the results are disastrous.

The Church Unplugged

The Evangelical church has become the church unplugged - largely disconnected from its source of power and authority, the Word of God. Reliable surveys demonstrate how bad things have gotten as a result.

In one set of surveys, taken for an article in Christianity Today magazine, 80% of Evangelical young people could not place Moses, Adam, David, Solomon, and Abraham in chronological order. (Can you?) Only 15% could place the major events of Jesus' earthly life in the actual order in which they happened. Only 20% knew to look in the book of Acts for the account of Paul's missionary journeys. Only 60% of these young people in what claim to be Bible-believing churches could locate the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20. Only 33% knew where to find the Sermon on the Mount.¹ Although the survey cited in this particular article did not mention it, one wonders if these young people knew how to find any passage where the Bible says how they are to be saved from sin.

What about the adults? Among the people who call themselves Bible-believing Christians in America today, less than one adult in six reads the Bible regularly. 35% of the adults in Bible-believing churches never read the Bible at all.²

Dr. Stephen Prothero of Boston University is not a Bible-believing Christian, but he has done extensive statistical research on the changing state of the Evangelical church. He has come to this conclusion, which should send a chill into the hearts of believers: "Among Evangelicals there's been this shift over time - from Bible reading to feeling - from knowing what Jesus actually had to say to having a "relationship" with a "Jesus" that they know little or nothing about - from actually reading the Bible to merely revering the Bible..."³

We see these observations in actual practice every week in thousands of churches that claim to believe the Bible and hold to its authority. In thousands churches, systematic, expository Bible preaching has given way to motivational lectures where the Bible is rarely mentioned, much less really studied. The singing of Bible-based, doctrinally-rich, instructive hymns has given way to the use of repetitious, cliche'-filled songs and choruses. Many of these churches base their programs and policies on the latest fad how-to books rather than on the Bible. They model their services on the practices of television mega-churches rather than on the principles given by the Holy God who is the only legitimate object of worship, in His Word.

The results are disastrous. In the next few days, we shall see how the abandonment of the Bible has led the Evangelical church into deepening uncertainty about what it believes, and deepening sin in the lives of its people.

"To the Law and to the Testimony!"

The book of Isaiah was written to the rebellious kingdom of Judah. Its people, priests, and leaders had abandoned the Word of God. They turned away from the true worship of the one true and living God to embrace the pagan deities of the surrounding nations. They mingled pagan religious practices with those ordained by God in the temple worship. They were engaging in deep immorality with hardly a second thought. In Isaiah 8:20, the Lord through the prophet called backsliding Judah to return to the one source of truth: "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

In other words, "Go to the Word of God alone as your authority - nothing else. If anyone doesn't want to be subject to the authority of the Word of God alone, it is because there is no light in him." The idea in the original Hebrew is quite graphic: In the mind of a person who does not want to be subject to God's Word, light has not dawned. We read the same idea in 1 Corinthians 2:14 - "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God [literally, accept them as true], for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

The sum of these two passages is this: If someone consistently does not want to be subject to the authority of the Word of God alone, on the authority of the Word we have every reason to think that such a person is not truly a believer. If a church consistently does not want to be subject to the authority of the Word of God alone, we have every Biblical reason to fear that those who hold positions of leadership and influence may not be regenerated people in whom God's Spirit dwells.

Being willing to be subject to God's Word is evidence of saving faith in Christ. Lack of that willingness is evidence that someone does not have saving faith in Christ. Now those are strong words. They are unequivocal words, giving no middle ground. But this is God's Word. The question is: Are Evangelicals willing to heed it?

Next: What do 21st-century Evangelicals believe?

References:

1. Gary M. Burge, "The Greatest Story Never Read," Christianity Today, August 9, 1999.

2. Barna Research, www.barna.org; Bible Literacy Center, centerforbibleengagement.com.

3. Dr. Stephen Prothero, C-SPAN television interview May 13, 2007.

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