How to Overcome Biblical Illiteracy

We all love the story of Noah and the Ark. We are familiar with the story of David and Goliath. We understand the idea behind the Creation story. We know there was a story about someone in a lion’s den. And didn’t someone get saved from a furnace…or fire…or something like that?

Many Americans are familiar with the Bible and can recollect pieces of stories they have heard throughout their lives. However, for most, it is like trying to recall a distant memory where it comes in flashes, random details, and more of a feeling than actual information and understanding. These are the effects of the growing epidemic of biblical illiteracy in the American church.

In the United States, each year a higher percentage of Christians are living in Biblical illiteracy and have little to no knowledge of what is actually contained in the Bible. This is a catastrophic issue and threatens the well-being of all people whether they attend church or not.

To stop the spread of Biblical Illiteracy and reverse its effects, the Church needs a strategic approach of expository preaching, engaging preaching, practical life application, and systematic devotions.

Introduction

The story of the Bible has been lost. If you are a Christian reading this, the temptation may be to immediately think about our country as a whole and how far away from Biblical principles our culture is.

However, I am talking about inside the church. The story of the Bible has been lost primarily because many Christians do not read their Bible on a daily basis. At best, they rely on their pastor to tell them what the Bible says on Sunday morning. This leads to a lack of knowledge and understanding about the contents of the Bible, as well as the overall story that arches from Genesis to Revelation that reveals the heart and character of God to mankind.

The Growing Epidemic

In research done by Lifeway, it was discovered that 32% of Americans have at least come close to reading the whole Bible, which leaves 68% that have never read through the whole Bible. Within that 68%, 23% have only read a few sentences if they have read it all. This is an unfortunate reality because according to the Pew Research Center, 70.6% of Americans consider themselves Christian. So, where is the disconnect between 32% of Americans reading their whole Bible and 70.6% of Americans claiming Christianity?

If we look deeper into the church and examine those who regularly attend services, the numbers are slightly more encouraging. According to Lifeway’s research, of those who regularly attend church, 45% read their Bibles more than once a week and 40% read it occasionally (1-2 times a month). This means that almost 1 in 5 regular attending church goers never read their Bible, which is essentially the same number as those who read it every day.

If Christians, followers of Christ, are not reading their Bibles consistently, it would stand to reason they would struggle to have ongoing, healthy, personal relationships with their Savior Jesus Christ and the rest of the Trinity. At best, they have knowledge about God and some experiences through the course of their lives with him, but it would be hard to intimately know God and see clearly how to live life to its fullest.

The Problem for the Church

The church, God’s body of believers commissioned by Jesus to “go and make disciples“, has a mission to be a light in this world of Christ’s love and forgiveness. However, this can be quite a difficult task when we are unclear about God’s character, why he sent his Son to die on a cross, and the overall narrative of scripture.
Research has revealed that among those who attend church, 1 in 5 believe that there are many ways to get to heaven rather than through Jesus Christ. 59% believe the Holy Spirit is a force and not a personal being. In general, there are alarming doctrinal breakdowns among Christians on topics such as hell, sin, salvation, Jesus, humanity, and the Bible itself.
How can the Church, the entity commissioned by Jesus to carry his gospel message, fulfill its calling if it is unclear about the truths found in scripture?

I think it is unrealistic for followers of Christ to hold onto an idea that we live in a Christian country operating under Christian principles. On a pretty consistent basis, we see the election cycles filled with “Christian” candidates who have policies and core beliefs that are contradictory to the precepts found in scripture.
As the world becomes more globally oriented and the melting pot of cultures, people groups, and religions get more mingled together, we should not live our day-to-day lives thinking we live in a Christian country that is going to uphold Godly principles for us. Just as no one else can exercise for us, or eat right for us, or get the proper amount of sleep for us, no one can take responsibility for our relationship with Jesus for us.
The growing Biblical illiteracy in the churches of America is further distancing us from the truth God has laid in place for us to provide us with the guidelines to live our best lives possible. It is creating distance between us and God himself, making him more of a concept we know and understand, and less of a person we spend time with and rely on. It is hindering us from fulfilling our ultimate calling by Jesus to “go and make disciples” and leaves the rest of the world without a light to shine the way to hope and truth.

The Problem for Society

When asked about the content of the Bible here is what the average American believes:

• 56% believe the Bible is a good source of morals
• 64% believe God accepts the worship of all religions including Judaism and Islam
• 52% believe Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God rather than a part of the Trinity

In the hilarious segment of the Tonight Show when Jay Leno was the host, Americans had some interesting answers to his questions:

• “How many wise men were there?” Answer…12
• “Who found the burning bush?” Answer…Nixon
• “Who won in the story of David and Goliath?” Answer…Goliath
• “Who were Cain and Abel?” Answer…a sitcom
• “What language was the Old Testament written in?” Answer…Old English

Though it is entertaining to watch segments like this and see the answers people come up with, it is also alarming to realize how little people know about the Bible. But, this is not the most alarming issue when it comes to Biblical illiteracy.
Since we believe we live in a Christian country we expect people within the borders of this country to know about the Bible and have basic beliefs that align with the Bible. However, this is an expectation we should not hold onto.
As American Christians, we have to stop looking at our country as an American country. Though we have Biblical principles in our history and strongly engrained into our foundation, most Americans do not operate from a Christian perspective and nurture their relationship with God. This is evidenced by their lack of understanding about the scripture.
The most alarming issue that has resulted from growing Biblical illiteracy is the fact that the Church has an uninformed and confusing voice in the ears of the rest of the country. God’s herald of truth about sin, repentance, and forgiveness seems to talk more about self-help, living a happy life, and getting along with their fellow man. Though there is some Biblical truth to such concepts, they are secondary to entering into a relationship with Jesus and living a life that emulates him.
The Biblical illiteracy of the church is hurting society as a whole. When we have major humanitarian issues such as modern slavery, racism, abortion, bullying and assisted suicide being advocated by “Christian” politicians, it sends a confusing message to the rest of the country that develops their perspective of God from their interactions with his people.

Many Christian Americans do not know what to stand up for because they are unclear what the Bible says about those issues, or they fall for improper teachings and logic because they are not grounded in the principles of God’s word. It is not our Christian America that is at stake, it is the eternity of individuals. When we read our Bibles and understand the heart of God as it truly is, we understand that the eternity of one individual is what we are fighting for, not a Christian Republic. Would that be nice? Sure…but it isn’t what we were commissioned toward. We were commissioned to “go and make disciples”. Period.

Fighting Biblical Illiteracy

When we want to become healthier, the best way to get there is by making better choices each day. Every day you choose to eat an apple rather than a cookie. You choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator. You choose to go to bed an hour earlier instead of watching another Netflix episode.
Well, the fight against Biblical illiteracy is no different. The answer is found in the incremental choices we make on a consistent basis. The temptation is to just read your Bible more, and though there is a nice simplicity to this answer, practically, it isn’t working for most of us. There has to be more thought behind it, more strategy, and more intentionality is we are truly going to tackle this epidemic. Here are 4 giant steps the Church as a whole can make toward increasing Biblical literacy.

Expository Preaching

Expository preaching is the systematic approach to presenting the Bible by discovering what the Bible is saying in a particular body of text. Every book of the Bible is written to a particular group of people at a particular time in history, and an expository style of preaching pulls the original intentions of the author and applies them to our lives today. It provides a clear picture of the whole puzzle instead of a looking at individual puzzle pieces on their own.

Engaging Preaching

If you attend a conference, a play, or a political rally you will hear a rousing presentation that is designed to inspire, entertain, and motivate toward action. Unfortunately, this is not the experience of churchgoers as a whole. Too often Sunday sermons are bland, uninspiring, and feel more like a marathon of consciousness rather than an engaging experience with God’s word.

Practical Application

It is incredibly important to understand the information found in scripture, however, it is also important to be able to apply that information to our lives. Sermons need to include an element of application because the scriptures are supposed to change how we live as followers of Christ. When we live out the scriptures, we have a greater understanding of the information as well as how it applies to our daily lives.

Systematic Devotions

As has been mentioned above, Christians have to move beyond relying on sermons for their Biblical understanding. There needs to be active engagement with the scriptures on a daily basis. The best way to accomplish this is through a systematic approach to doing daily devotions. Ideally, the devotions would lead you through a full experience with the scriptures moving through the whole Bible using a modern version of the Bible that you can understand. This does not have to be individualistic, though. It can be done personally but shared congregationally to increase collective growth in the Bible.

Conclusion

Biblical illiteracy is not just a church issue, but it is a national issue. People are hurting and looking for a deeper meaning to life. The Bible is the only source of true meaning in life through a personal relationship with Jesus. It is vital that this message is properly understood and reaches the corners of society. It is important that it is a personal message that impacts the lives of people where they are and brings hope for the hurting. This doesn’t happen if Biblical illiteracy continues to grow and take over the landscape of personal spiritual development.
The Church is called to be a light of hope with a message of transformation. We must understand the whole Bible to present a clear message to the world so they may understand who Jesus really is in their lives.
Resources

References

https://lifewayresearch.com/2017/04/25/lifeway-research-americans-are-fond-of-the-bible-dont-actually-read-it/
http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/
https://influencemagazine.com/Practice/Biblical-Illiteracy-and-Its-Solution
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/october/biblical-literacy-by-numbers-3.html