Feel free to vote in both polls at right - the first is based on the Jan. 16th blog - the 2nd is based on the Jan. 14th blog. Thanks.
Doing what honors God, rather than men, is the only yardstick of success. But to do that, we need Biblical worldviews. We need to be able to think the way Jesus thinks.
According to George Barna, a HUGE percentage of America's born-again adults do not possess either the foundation or the beliefs to qualify as having a Biblical worldview. A HUGE percentage. GUESS how huge.
A lacking Biblical worldview means they do not fully believe that:
* God is the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator of the universe.
* When Jesus was on earth, He lived a sinless life.
* Satan is not just a symbol of evil, but is a real entity.
* A person cannot earn his or her salvation by being good; that it is the free gift of God.
* Every person who believes in Christ has a personal responsibility to share his/her faith with others who believe differently.
* The Bible is totally accurate in all its teachings.
Those six statements are not, of course, a complete inventory of a person's belief system, but they come close to some irreducible minimums.
So - here's the answer to the above question. Ninety-one percent of all born-again adults do NOT have a Biblical worldview that would include even those six statements; 98% of all born-again teenage students do not believe all six of them.
If your heart did not just drop to the floor, then you don't understand the implications of those chilling facts. When people wonder why the American church is losing its influence in society today - which 7 out of 10 American adults currently contend - the reason is so very few really believe or think what Jesus believed or thought.
Here it is, said another way: The U.S. has about 225 million adults. About 175 million of them claim to be Christian. About 80 million are 'born-again' Christians. Roughly 7 million have a Biblical worldview. That is one out of every 30 adults in this nation.
God doesn't need a huge team to help Him 'make it up the hill,' but those figures do give new meaning to the Biblical description of believers as 'the remnant.'
The TRUTH is: JESUS applies to everything. Whether the issue is clothing, divorce, vocation, voting, media content, relationships or family issues -- it doesn't matter; He has something to say about all of it.
And be blessed.
4 comments:
I believe everything in your list of a biblical worldview, but I admit...I have a tendency to forget two of those things. One, that Satan is a real entity. Sometimes, I am a little naive and I try to think a lot more about God and less about Satan's schemes to trip me up.
The other thing is that we can't earn our salvation by being good. I often worry that I will lose my salvation, because I am not good enough.
Good blog...
I believe.
Count me in.
8-)
This blog made me cry PK. To see how few who profess it just don't get it.
Maybe it's the ones who actually study, pray, assemble with the saints & listen to the preacher who do know the truth. I sure don't have the answer!
How can we be so messed up when we have our pants blessed off us every single day of our lives.
Sometimes I wonder why I am such a radical in your face kinda Christian. After reading this list I'm not so sorry anymore, it is a gift God has tempered with wisdom & grace.
I'm glad to be He on His team. I pray earnestly I do my little bit well.
This is a great blog. Thank you.
Wow! I consider myself somewhat of a liberal Christian, so I was sort of expecting to disagree with at least one statement on the list. As I read through them I realized that my biblical worldview matched every one. I am happy about that, but sad that so many "Christians" miss the most foundational truths of our faith... I am a young person who falls right in the gap between GenX and the post-modern generations, and I believe that one of our biggest problems in the church is that we stray from our most foundational teachings... We need to stand on ancient truths and build modern foundations if we intend on continuing our impact as a worldwide range of "born-again" believers!
Be blessed K-Bone;-)
Sincerely:
---One of your 2 sons---
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