2 Timothy 4:1-4
Every two years Ligonier Ministries, the legacy of the late R.C. Sproul, does a poll of a cross section of Americans about all things theology. Some of those respondents claim to be Christian; some do not. While the results, taken as a whole, are not all that surprising, they become much more disturbing when you analyze them from the standpoint of those who claim to be Christian. That is the purpose of this post...to look at the poll results from the viewpoint of those who claim to be Christian. The results show confusion and, in some cases, straight heresy. All in all they show a "church" that has no clue what the Bible teaches, a "church" that does not know God and a "church" that has no idea what it believes or why.
Ligonier has been doing this poll since at least 2014. You can find everything in this post pertaining to the poll at this website. We will be looking at results from 2020 and years past. Some questions are asked over the span of multiple years of the poll. Some questions are unique to a specific year. I will be clear when comparing various years as opposed to speaking about a specific poll year. Also, to be clear, all of the questions are true / false questions, so the responses are agree / disagree responses. Let's just dive in.
We are going to start with some poll questions concerning the members of the Godhead:
True or False
Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.
If you are a Christian, if you claim to be saved then this statement is a no-brainer and is Christianity 101. This is foundational. Let's go to John 1:1-2:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
There it is. The Word, being Jesus, WAS God. God didn't create Himself. Therefore, He did not create Jesus. Jesus WAS God. The answer to this, if you are a Christian, is no...false...I disagree...that is straight heresy, plain and simple. Sadly, among professing Christians, that is not the case. 11% were unsure about that statement. 56% agreed with it. So, a total of 67% of "Christians" have no idea who Jesus is. Amazingly, these numbers are actually a little better than they were in 2016, when 70% of professing "Christians" weren't sure or agreed with that statement.
Piggybacking on the above statement, a follow up statement was made only in the 2020 poll:
True or False
Jesus was a great teacher, but He was not God.
Here is the testimony of the Scripture:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2)
I and the Father are one. (John 10:30)
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." (John 8:58)
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form. (Colossians 2:9)
The same 56% of "Christians" that agreed that Jesus was God the Father's greatest creation should also agree with this statement because if Jesus was created, He CANNOT be God. Therefore, the percentage should be at least 56%, because 100% of the 56% should say Jesus wasn't God, if they follow their own line of thinking. However, that is not the case. Only 32% agree with that statement. 4% were not sure. This shows clear confusion as to what they believe. It also shows that they don't understand the implications of what they believe because if Jesus was not the God-man, He cannot be their Savior.
Another statement that should be a non-issue is this one:
True or False
The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.
This is saying that the Holy Spirit is not a person but exerts influence as some sort of mystical, Star Wars type of entity. Again, this should be Christianity 101 because the Holy Spirit can speak:
Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says....(Hebrews 3:7 and following)
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying....(Hebrews 10:15 and following)
The Holy Spirit can be grieved:
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them. (Isaiah 63:10)
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
The Holy Spirit can be lied to:
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4)
A force doesn't speak. A force doesn't become grieved and have feelings. You can't lie to a force. Only a person speaks, has feelings and can be lied to. The Holy Spirit has and does these things. It is the clear testimony of the Scripture. Apparently, this is lost on a majority of those inside the church who call themselves Christian. 51% agree with the statement that the Holy Spirit is a force and not a personal being; that is sad. The results of this poll over the years regarding the person and character of the members of the Godhead are a clear indictment against the "church" and its "leaders". There is no knowledge of God...at all. It's terrible.
Let's look at some statements of what people think about themselves as humans.
True or False
Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good, there is not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
The answer to this is false. Man is born into sin. Man is, by nature, a child of wrath thanks to Adam. Man is born dead in trespasses and sins. Man is born with an evil, selfish bent. That is the testimony of Scripture. That is the testimony of life. Sadly, those who claim to be Christian are unaware of this. In 2020, 47% agree with the above statement. This is slightly better than years gone by but, as a whole, the numbers show an incredible lack of knowledge about what the Scriptures clearly teach about humanity.
To go along in the same vein, the respondents to the poll were then asked this:
True or False
Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation
Any person that calls themselves a Christian should understand the implications of sin and say YES to this statement. ANY sin deserves eternal damnation. Why? Because God is infinitely holy and has no part in sin. He demands that we:
are to be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2:10)
Failing to do what God has told us to do and doing what God has commanded us not to do is sin. That is not perfection. We cannot do what God has commanded us to do. We just can't; it's impossible. But that is beside the point; that is what God demands....perfection.
Praise the Lord for Jesus, who came and lived that perfect life for me because I could not.
One sin, no matter how small and insignificant in our eyes, demands infinite, eternal damnation because it is a sin against an infinitely, eternally holy God.
The above statement should have a 100% agreement rate by all who call themselves Christians. It doesn't. Only 40% agree with it. Put another way, 54% disagree with the understanding that sin is a big deal to God. Simply put, people within the walls of the church, who call themselves Christian, have no idea who God is. That is because those standing in the pulpit have no idea who God is. These percentages stay fairly consistent from year to year and, frankly, it's mind numbing to me.
Here is one last statement to leave you pondering the state of the church and those who call themselves Christians:
True or False
Abortion is a sin
There is absolutely no way around this. Anybody who calls themselves a Christian and does not agree with this statement is, in my opinion, to be frank, not saved, unregenerate and needs to stop calling themselves a Christian. Abortion is murder, period.
Rape is not a valid reason. Incest is not a valid reason. The child having a medical condition, such as Down's Syndrome, is not a valid reason. Eliminating the consequence of your action through terminating the life of the unwanted pregnancy is not a valid reason. Why? Because abortion is murder. There are THOUSANDS of families that would love to adopt your "problem" because they cannot have children.
I know that people love to shout that the health of the mother can be at danger and she needs to have this option to abort. Granted, this happens very, very rarely. I am not saying that this does not take place. I am saying that it does not take place commonly. That statement about the health of the mother is made in an effort to blur the facts. And the fact is this:
Abortion is a matter of convenience.
People want to be able to do whatever they want and have no consequences for their actions. A baby is the natural result of the act of sex. Don't want a baby? Don't have sex. Simple, is it not? But, in the instant gratification age of "I want what I want now and I don't want to have to answer for it", the baby pays the price. It's just true.
The percentage of people who call themselves Christian and think abortion is a sin is somewhere between 76% and 80% over the years. In 2020, 18% said they disagree. 6% were not sure. So, 24% of "Christians" either disagree with the statement "Abortion is a sin" or are not sure about it. This is, honestly, atrocious. It should be 100%...end of discussion.
Friends, behold the "church". These are just a few of the statements put forth to the respondents in the polling since 2014. But I chose these because they are telling. They tell a story. A story of people, people who are supposedly Christians, who have no idea who God is and no idea who they are. They are ignorant of the most elementary doctrines about God and man.
I place the blame squarely at the foot of the pulpit. No, the pastors in the churches are not totally responsible for every aspect of their sheep's theology. But they do set the tone. They are to do what Paul told Timothy, using the Scriptures:
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness...(2 Timothy 3:16)
How do they do this? By doing what the Scripture at the beginning of this post says:
PREACH THE WORD
Pastors, teachers, elders, Sunday School teachers, Wednesday night Bible Study leaders:
PREACH THE WORD
That is the only thing that will lead us to a saving knowledge of Him. Everything else is meaningless.
