Every two years Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research conduct their “The State of Theology” study to identify what Americans believe about God, the Bible, and doctrines historically accepted by the Christian faith. The findings are often helpful in gaining an understanding of how America thinks about moral and religious issues.

Regarding the question of the belief that the Bible is true, evangelical Christians stated in the 2022 survey:

The idea that belief is personal opinion and not objective truth didn’t come out of nowhere. This idea surrounds us in a cultural milieu where truth is relative, and “my truth” can coexist alongside contradictory truth claims, even within the same person. As if this weren’t serious enough, this foolish abandonment of truth has found a place within the evangelical church.

In addressing the believers in the letter to the Hebrews, the biblical author chastised the church for its own lax views toward a rigorous and thoughtful faith: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12, LSB)

We don’t have any indicators about how long these Christians had been believers (“by this time…”), but the author is confident that they are way behind in their ability to pass along the faith to others. Some Christians feel as if they do not need to study the Word, or to do so seriously because they are not “gifted to teach.” But the author of Hebrews doesn’t seem to give this as an option. He doesn’t say, “Now to you who have been called by God to be teachers…” His words of rebuke are aimed at a general audience, strongly implying that all believers ought to be teachers.

Lest anyone think that this is an anomaly, Paul writes these words to the church in Colosse: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16, LSB). Paul commands the church to be, among other things, “teaching and admonishing one another.” We understand that there are those within the church who are called as teachers, but Paul is assuming that there is also an informal type of teaching that is to be practiced by all within the body of Christ–the more mature teaching the less mature.

This idea has deep roots within the Jewish community that was commanded by the Lord to make sure that the children of God’s covenant people were well taught by their parents: “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7, LSB).

In his book, The Disciplines of a Godly Man, R. Kent Hughes recalls an interview with radio talk show host Dennis Prater, who is Jewish. Prager states:

“One thing I noticed about Evangelicals is that they do not read. They do not read the Bible, they do not read the great Christian thinkers, they have never heard of Aquinas. If they’re Presbyterian, they’ve never read the founders of Presbyterianism. I do not understand that. As a Jew, that’s confusing to me. The commandment of study is so deep in Judaism that we immerse ourselves in study. God gave us a brain, aren’t we to use it in His service? When I walk into an Evangelical Christian’s home and see a total of 30 books, most of them best-sellers, I do not understand. I have bookcases of Christian books, and I am a Jew. Why do I have more Christian books than 98 percent of the Christians in America? That is so bizarre to me.”²

More than bizarre, such a statement is to our shame if it is true. And according to The State of Theology study, it is true. So, what can we do about it? Tolle lege! Let us take up and read! Some have a sense of superiority connected to their simple thinking and willful ignorance. May we instead dive deeply into the things of God to grow–not in arrogance and price, but instead into a deeper love and relationship with the God of the Bible.

1. https://thestateoftheology.com/data-explorer/2022/31?AGE=30&MF=14&REGION=30&DENSITY=62&EDUCATION=62&INCOME=254&MARITAL=126&ETHNICITY=62&RELTRAD=62&EVB=2&ATTENDANCE=254 ↩︎
2. R. Kent Hughes, The Disciplines of a Godly Man, 97. ↩︎