The Rise of Biblical Illiteracy

Despite the notable development in technology, the knowledge of the written word of God has alarmingly declined. According to a LifeWay Research study, 22 percent of those who attend the church regularly only read their Bibles once or twice in a month.

 Almost 20 percent of churchgoers rarely or never read the Bible at all. Those who confirmed reading their Bibles every day were just 20 percent.

Though 90 percent of those questioned said, they desire to please God and honor Him, their efforts to know His will from the scriptures are almost absent. Ignorance has led to many Christians doubting everything they have believed all along.

When God commissioned Joshua to lead the children of Israel, he said to him, “This book of law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate upon it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it...” (Joshua 1:8 NKJV).

Effects of poor Bible study habits

Poor Bible study habits have led to a society that only believes in a God they do not understand His ways.

Just like schoolbooks, the Bible requires some organized approach to internalize its content. According to christianitytoday.com, very few believers and churchgoers embrace the fundamental  Biblical teachings.

Due to their poor knowledge of the word of God, individuals start questioning the existence of God, heaven, hell, and most of all, salvation through Jesus Christ.

The United Kingdom Bible Society found that children could not identify familiar Bible stories with 33 percent claiming that Nativity is part of the Bible.

Their parent fared no better. Over 30 percent of them are unfamiliar with the story of Adam and Eve.

Christianity vs. Secularism

A lack of biblical knowledge has seen Christian values losing to secular values. That is why we have activists fighting for acceptance of rising cultural trends.

Some are an abomination before the eyes of God. Some Christians question the authority of God and the authenticity of the biblical truths.

Pluralism (believing that there are many ways to heaven other than Jesus Christ) is a result of contention on the supremacy of Jesus Christ. The carnal mind argues that we have to change with the times, but God never changes with the times. As he was in the beginning, so is He even today.

Parents, you are failing

When God gave his laws to the Israelite's at Mt. Sinai, Moses commanded parents to teach their children, and grandchildren the law so that they could teach other generations (Deuteronomy 4:8-9).

I would say parents have been failing to the point that we have ill-informed kids becoming parents over the generations. Their grandchildren get worse, drifting away from the written truth.

What would you expect of parents who think that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife?

Some parents contacted by LifeWay said that Billy Graham gave the Sermon on the Mount.

The emergence of consumable gospel

Some blame rests on pastors and ministers of the word. They have opted to give a consumable gospel rather than the genuine gospel of Christ.

The faithful Christians don’t need some motivational speech to grow. They need the unpolluted word of God.

 Church leaders have realized that their audiences have a preference for ‘feel good’ sermons instead of those that point at their incompleteness.

Therefore, pastors take little or no time to teach the truth of the Bible. Eventually, the flock of Christ suffers from Spiritual malnutrition. Pastors seek to benefit from the big gatherings of clueless ‘sheep.'
Woe unto the shepherds.

Before Jesus ascended, he asked Peter to take care of and feed His (Christ’s) sheep. That way, Peter became the rock on which the church was built. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood in Jerusalem and spoke the TRUTH, and 3,000 people accepted Christ (Acts 2:41). Out of speaking the actual word of God, hearts get convicted to change and follow Christ. Therefore, teachers and the pastors need to wake up and do the work they were called for. In the book of Ezekiel, God says, “… I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:10 NIV)

The solution to this illiteracy is starting guided Bible classes in our homes and local churches.

Small groups have always worked wonders when it comes to studying the Bible. As individuals, we should also explore the word of God before going for group studies.

This effort leaves us informed and puts us in a position to share with our group members what we understand from the word.

The best way to remember what you have learned is to teach others.

We need to come to the reality of Spiritual growth. During his temptation, Jesus answered to the devil and said a person cannot live on bread alone, but by every word of God (Matthew 4:4).

 We are in a battle

To overcome crafty phantom quotes that most Christians mistake to be biblical, the word of God has to be in us.

The Bible calls the Word of God the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6: 17).

We are in a battle, and we need the sword of the Spirit since we don’t fight a physical fight, it is a spiritual battle. We do need to keep the Bible as a library book to succeed, but beyond that, the content of the Bible should be in us.

Paul told Timothy to devote himself to reading the word of God so that he may answer anyone who questions him (1 Timothy 4:13).

Finally

If you teach your faith’s basics to your children, they will identify and be proud of it. Parents should take the challenge and bring up a generation that upholds Biblical teachings.

Their parents can only set the best examples for the kids to follow. Once the “home churches” are healthy, the whole congregation of the church of Christ will be healthy and strong.

All answers about Christianity are in the Bible. Not in research, scientific experiments, or some human rights activism.

 In the end, the Church will be knowledgeable in the things of God, able to teach them to another generation.