In partnership with reputable Lifeway Research, reputable Ligonier Ministries recently released the results of a survey seeking to discover what evangelicals in the US believe about Christianity, truth, and ethics. A startling 30% say they don’t believe Jesus is God. Check the Ligonier article here.
Knowing God is relational high octane for life and living, being and doing.. Know about God–like who Jesus is–is the first step. Knowing Jesus is God is foundational to our faith. If Jesus is not God, his death on the cross would have no power to rescue us from the death penalty for sin of which we are all guilty. Because he is God in the flesh, fully God, fully man without sin, he could take our penalty for our sin. He “took the bullet” for us.
So I wonder why 30% of evangelical Christians do not think he is God? Don’t you wonder too?
Why is this? What needs to be done to correct it? Is teaching lacking? Does discipleship need to be strengthened? Memorize the Nicene Creed?
Let’s figure this out together! Please leave a comment below!
I think the wording in the results needs to be changed. Instead of 30% of evangelical Christians don’t believe Jesus is God it should read 30% of professing Christians are not true believers because they do not believe Jesus is God. Is the Muslim saved because he believes Jesus to be a great prophet? Is the Buddhist saved because he believes Jesus to be a great teacher? Nor, is the Christian saved who does not believe Jesus to be God.
I believe we need to start being very clear in our presentation of the gospel and stop assuming “everyone already knows.” Those of us who grew up especially in small town America often have an assumption that everyone already knows the essentials. Jesus is God, Jesus was sinless, Jesus physically died on the cross and physically rose from the grave. We assume the majority already know the Nicene Creed. However reality is, they don’t. We jump right to telling people what Jesus can do for them. Fix their marriage, their finances, their depression and we might even through in that He can save their souls. But we have jumped over the essentials, trying to convince them to believe in Jesus for what He can do for them, and not for who He is.
The church must move beyond teaching morality lessons to children and adults and return to teaching them sound doctrine. Parents, must move beyond Veggie Tales theology, and teach sound doctrine. We, in our witness and outreach must stop assuming everyone already knows, and begin with who Jesus is, who we are and our desperate need of the Savior.
Well said, Travis. “Everyone already knows” is a huge assumption, isn’t it? And if we don’t know Jesus is the Son of God, God himself in the flesh, than we are truly followers of Jesus. As a pastor in a new location, how do you approach, plan to approach this need? Or perhaps I should ask, how is it happening already?
In the absence of believing Jesus is God, your evangelicalism is merely a religion and has limited if any value.
I am totally with you on that! How does the local church you are attending address this need? Any suggestions for others?