“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20
Biblical illiteracy in the church is a very concerning problem – one that all Christians should care about. So what is it? And why does it matter? First, let’s define illiteracy – to lack knowledge in a particular subject. Thus, biblical illiteracy is the lack of knowledge of the Bible and what’s in it. Consequently, it means someone that is biblically illiterate has a lack of knowledge about God, who He is, how He works, what His plan is, what He calls us to do, and much, much more.
Now, I will admit that there’s probably a pretty negative connotation that comes with the word “illiterate”. We often think of that word on its own as a description of someone unable to read or write. Someone uneducated or ignorant of basic things. In describing someone this way, there is ample opportunity for the person being called illiterate to be offended as if it is some condemnation or judgment of them. But when it comes to biblical illiteracy, I see it like this.
About 14 years ago or so, when we first moved to Texas after Bible college, I got a job as a car salesman at CarMax. Believe me, it was not the first thing I wanted to do, but I had to get a job to pay our bills and I heard it was a good company. The problem was, I knew nothing about cars. I wasn’t raised in a family where we worked on cars, dreamed about cars, read up on them and their capabilities or functions – we didn’t care. And suddenly, I’m in this position where people are walking in the door and asking me about what I would recommend based upon what they were looking for. Through my training, I was paired with a mentor that walked me through the basics. He helped me focus on the main things I needed to get down first about vehicles that mattered most to buyers, and helped me to not get too overwhelmed with all the intricate details of each and every vehicle. Then I remember one day getting a lead in which someone was interested in a vehicle with a manual transmission – a stick shift! Again, I had never driven one, no one in my family had ever owned one, and yet, very soon I was going to have to get into a manual transmission vehicle with their potential buyer and drive them out of the parking lot to go on a test drive. Thankfully, my mentor calmed me down, took me out to one of the stick shift cars we had on the lot, and slowly walked me through the process of how to operate this vehicle without making a fool of myself.
You see, in that story, I was illiterate when it came to all things cars, especially being able to drive a stick shift. It wasn’t a knock on my ability, character or heart, but rather it was a sign that I had never been trained. No one had ever come alongside me to show me how to do that. And sadly, that’s the very same issue we have in the church today, and one of the main reasons why we have so many Christians that truly are illiterate when it comes to their Bibles. We have no discipleship. There isn’t a walking alongside of younger or less mature believers by those that are maybe older or more mature, helping them grow in their understanding and knowledge of God through the study of Scripture, formulating and developing their faith and theology in God to where they can articulate it when asked, and teach it to their own families and friends.
As I’ve thought on this problem and been in the trenches of ministry alongside it, I’ve had to grapple with why this is the case. Why are so many in the church biblically illiterate when we are supposed to be a people defined by, governed by and all about the Word of God? I can think of four main reasons (although I’m sure there are more), and here they are in no particular order.
#1 – The Lack of Intentional and Focused Discipleship
First, I believe there is a lack of intentional and focused discipleship in the church. What do I mean by that? Discipleship, to me, is a bit harder to define and put a pin in because it’s something that’s not actually a biblical term. “Disciple” is, of course, but “discipleship” is sort of a newly formulated word that we use to encapsulate many different ideas and missions. All of that to say, discipleship is both our following of Christ and our helping of others to follow Christ. So in terms of there being a lack of discipleship that affects the presence of biblical illiteracy in the church, first, I’m saying that there have been too few endeavors and devoted missions to uphold the Great Commission that Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:19-20 which says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” To make a disciple was not just to convert them to faith in Christ, but was to walk them along through obedience in baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as then teach them ALL that Christ commanded them. This is something that Jesus’ disciples took to heart and passed on through their own ministries:
Ephesians 6:4 – Paul encourages fathers to train their children.
Titus 2:3 – Paul instructs older women to teach younger women.
2 Timothy 2:2 – Paul says, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
Disciple-making was much more than evangelizing and being used to help bring someone to Jesus. There was much involvement and work on the part of the established believer now in the life of the new believer to train them up in the faith to then do the very same thing to those that come behind them. Sadly, in many American churches, while they may state that this is their goal and desire for every believer, the programs they promote, the way they teach the Bible, and what they spend their resources and time focused on shape the health and spiritual growth of their churches in a way that does not bring about maturity in the lives of their members.
But also on the subject of the lack of discipleship, that can also fall on us in that we do not seek out help from others. We don’t humble ourselves enough to go to another brother or sister in Christ to ask to be trained, to confess sin, to admit that we are lacking in our knowledge and need direction, which comes with accountability that we often fight against.
#2 – Christians Not Taking Ownership of Their Faith
The second reason is that I think Christians don’t take ownership of their faith and pursue the Lord wholly. They’re lazy and undisciplined in their walk, which is a sign of immaturity – I’m just going to say that plainly – it’s not meant to offend or be harsh – it just is what it is. It’s just like with working out or eating healthy – if you don’t do it, you’re eventually going to start suffering the consequences of that as you’re more prone to sickness, injury, and weight gain, which also affect your mood and how you feel on a daily basis, which then affects your desires to be more productive and not procrastinate on things that are important. The same is true for our relationship with God. If we are not active in our relationship with Him, pursuing Him through the fellowship of believers, sitting under the teaching of the Word, studying the Word, praying, then we will begin to suffer the spiritual consequences of falling more prey to sin, feeling distant from the Lord, more unable to discern what He wants us to do. So we must stop being undisciplined and lazy and as Paul tells Timothy…
1 Timothy 4:7-8 – Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
In regards to their personal faith, it’s “take it up when I want to and put it down when I want to.” I’ve had some tell me it’s a simple faith, where they don’t want to get into anything beyond the surface because there are problems, division that can happen, that all we need is Jesus. Well, that is true – all we need is Jesus. But aren’t there endless things to know and love and find out about Jesus? Shouldn’t we want more of that? If we had more of that wouldn’t it affect our lives in obedience and faithfulness to Him? Absolutely it would.
#3 – Christians Not Committed to the Authority of Scripture
The third reason biblical illiteracy is rampant in the church is that there are Christians that are not wholly committed to the authority of Scripture. When this basic foundational belief is not in place in your worship of God and acceptance of His Word, this type of person will always have an out clause or an excuse they can pull to get around submitting to any doctrine that leads to greater knowledge of God and maturity in the faith.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness
And just so everyone knows,when I speak of knowledge of God, I’m not just referencing your memory storage or ability to quote Scripture. Knowledge in the biblical sense – to know – is to be in a deeper, more intimate relationship with someone. Jessa, is it safe to say that the more I know about you, the more likely I am to appreciate you, be considerate of you, live with you in an understanding way? My love and relationship with you is not judged on the fact that I know as a matter of fact that you don’t like mayonnaise on your burgers or when I sneeze at decibels that can burst eardrums . But knowing those things and many other fun and incredible facts about you, helps me to know how to love and consider you above myself in more ways each day, and that’s what matters.
#4 – Pastors Not Preaching the Word Expositionally
The last reason I’ll mention in regards to this problem of biblical illiteracy is that there are many pastors not preaching the Word expositionally, verse-by-verse, and instead, are gearing a large part of the teaching of the church towards seekers or non-believers, which leaves the believers in a place of being on spiritual milk for far too long when they need to be weaned and move on to meat.
So let’s take this whole issue seriously. Let’s think for a moment about what living a biblically illiterate life can look like. First, those that are biblically illiterate will most likely lead lives that don’t look too different from that of the world’s. It’s like we talked about last time with sanctification, the idea of not being common – well, when you don’t know what the Bible says, what God calls for you to do and how to live, who He is and how that should change you, there won’t be as much of a register to help you discern situations and decisions spiritually. You’re more likely to make fleshly decisions.
Being more specific, here are some examples of what I think are traps set by the enemy that those who are biblically illiterate can fall into:
- Propensity to have friends and regularly fellowship with those openly living in sin and rejection of Christ – drinking, partying, spending significant time together being influenced by them – while never calling them out of that or living as an example of a holy life that may deny many of the decisions and aspects of their lifestyle.
- Support for and tolerance of homosexuality, abortion, mature TV/movies, addictions to substances/sports/work.
- Allowing your kids to have unrestricted access to social media, devices, video games, etc. all in the name of wanting them to enjoy life, have the fun experiences their friends are getting to, all the while it’s poisoning their minds, stealing their innocence and leading them into temptation after temptation to sin. We will talk much more about this in the future, but we are big proponents of protecting your children, having clear boundaries to safeguard them from the enemy’s schemes, and definitely being ok with their lives not looking like that of their friends. It is better for them!
I would like to clarify for a moment on something in regards to this subject. Please don’t mistake me for saying that the more you know about the Bible that you won’t struggle with sin. We all know that until the day the Lord brings us home to Him we will have battle after battle and temptation after temptation to sin, often falling and being humbled before the Lord once again. We have seen even the closest to the Lord, like Peter, fall into temptation although having access to and greater knowledge of the things of God. We all must be vigilant to die to our flesh daily, no matter how much we know about the Bible. Knowledge of the Bible does not equate with automatically sinning less. What I am trying to lead us to is that the Word of God is truth! This truth opens our eyes to the way things really are in the world around us. It helps us identify what is good and what is evil, and by the Spirit’s power, that truth is applied to help us walk through the battles, trials and temptations. I would much rather go into battle knowing more of the Word, equipped with the Sword of the Spirit, ready to fight and win, rather than to go into it unarmed, weakened to perhaps fall harder in the struggle. Lastly, as it is with many of our podcasts and episodes, we will speak of things generally as we’ve seen problems and situations, both positively and negatively, in the church. I recognize that there are those out there that have a sincere faith in Christ, are living holy lives unto the Lord, but maybe don’t know near as much about the Bible as others. I would still encourage that person to dig deeper as the Word of God always rings true and helps build up believers to walk more faithfully unto God.
So we have the sad reality of many American Christians who have been converted, but they haven’t been discipled by more mature believers, they haven’t been getting sound, biblical preaching from the pulpit, and they haven’t been disciplined in their own personal study and reading of God’s Word at home – what does this lead to? Often, it can lead to deception and darkness. There is a reason why so many of the letters of the New Testament warn us about false teaching, about being tied in too closely to the ways of the world. But we aren’t left to combat false teaching on our own with no means to figure out what is good and evil, truth and lies. We are told again and again that it is sound doctrine, it is the Word of God, it is knowing God that aids us by the power of the Spirit to test these things so that we are sure to not fall into them.
I won’t quote stats here for the sake of time, but feel free to look up some of the surveys The Gospel Coalition or Ken Ham have posted in recent years showing those that see themselves as evangelical Christians at alarming rates believe the following (listen to this podcast episode to hear some more commentary on how each of these points below is unscriptural):
- Jesus was a created being
- Ordinary sins don’t damn a person to hell, that people are by their nature good
- That you don’t have to be a part of a local church
- That God accepts the worship of other religions
- If you’re a good person you’ll go to heaven
How does this happen? The enemy is certainly at work, but I can’t ignore that the church has failed many, many people in not teaching them the truth unashamedly and thoroughly. We’ve watered down the message, we’ve stuck to applicational Christian living talking points with scripture being used as a jumping off point for a really cool sermon illustration. And essentially, we’ve eroded the biblical literacy of our population to the point where so many don’t know foundational, essential truths about God that would affect their devotion to Him, their amazement with who He is, and their delight in Him above all things.
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First things first – no matter what church you’ve been a part of, what the preaching or leadership is like, or how good or bad they have shepherded their flock, each and every Christian must set that aside and first take responsibility for their personal walk with Christ. We all need one another, which is why God made the church the way He did, and I pray that we will all have brothers and sisters faithfully walking alongside each other through to spiritual maturity and growth. But, there will often be seasons when you don’t have that person or church that is super healthy and mature right off the bat to help you in that way. And we must not neglect the necessity of getting down on our knees before the Father, being totally dependent on Him, running to His Word, and persistently asking Him to open our eyes to His wondrous truth in a way that truly transforms our hearts and minds towards Christ. In order to not be biblically illiterate, you must get into the Word. It’s not something profound – it’s just the truth. Just like if you want to be stronger, you’ve got to lift weights and work out. Put in the time. It will be worth it.
Secondly, seek out a trusted and mature Christian friend of the same sex for the specific, stated intention of studying together, holding you accountable to holy living, and teaching you the basic doctrines of the Word. Don’t make this a social coffee hour that achieves little. Dig in together, find a great book to guide you on your path to learning more about the Word, or simply study a book of the Bible together.
Third, and this one probably happens over a much longer period of time and prayer as you really focus on those first two. Evaluate that you are where you need to be in a church that teaches the Word of God boldly and truthfully, that is focused on the maturity of their flock, and that challenges their flock to live lives set apart for God, that look unlike the world. A doctrinally sound, Gospel-proclaiming, Jesus worshiping church that has strong biblical eldership in place, holds their church members accountable, actually disciples them, that raises up leaders for gospel ministry and sends them out.
Lastly, as you study the Word, chase down thoughts and questions about what you read, and dig into doctrine and theology. That, I am so excited, to cover in depth next time.
If someone begins to consistently seek the Lord in this way and has the light of Christ shining more brightly into their life to expose their sin, to sharpen them in their understanding, to allow them to see the things around them that have been holding them back in deceptions and the pleasures of the world, I’m telling you – you will be empowered by the Spirit to start making decisions with your money, with your family, with your time in a way that accounts for God in all areas of your life. He will invade your schedule, your dinner conversations and what you end up spending your Saturday doing. And it is all a blessing! In this way, we begin to fulfill parts of the command to talk about the Lord and be thinking on Him whether we are laying down to go to bed, getting up in the morning, or going down the road to the grocery store.
Like I said earlier, the more you spend time in the Word, the more you’re going to end up knowing about God. And again, the goal is not just head knowledge – it’s not just to retain information about the Bible and to do really well in Bible trivia. We want to get into the Word because we trust that in being immersed in the study of God in His Word that you will see the face of God more clearly, and as you see it, you will love Him all the more deeply.
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place… – 2 Peter 1:19
The Word of God is illuminating! It shines into the darkness of our lives and of this world and brings its truth and glory. It exposes sin and draws us in to the heart of the Father.
