The Most Hated Christian Doctrine
A few weeks ago, a survey called The State of Theology was conducted among evangelicals. The survey, which can be found on the Ligonier website, defined evangelicals as people who believe in the Bible, in Jesus Christ, and in the gospel, as well as those who feel responsible for sharing the gospel with others. In short, if you were a Bible believer, a gospel believer in Christ, and took responsibility to proclaim it, you were considered an evangelical.
Interestingly, the survey revealed that many evangelicals have little understanding of their own beliefs. For instance, some of the questions asked were as follows:
- “Everyone is born innocent” – 65% of evangelicals agreed.
- “The Bible is not literally true” – 55% of evangelicals agreed.
- “God accepts worship from all religions” – 56% of evangelicals agreed.
- “Jesus was a good teacher but not God” – 43% of evangelicals agreed.
This presents a stark contrast to the beliefs of Puritans and other responsible believers. It’s shocking to see evangelicals who don’t fully understand what is necessary for salvation, let alone what it means to be a true evangelical. How did we end up here? This situation stems from leadership that has often neglected to teach the essentials of doctrine, as seen in the words of Hosea, “People don’t rise above their teachers.” Jesus also said the same, highlighting the importance of strong, sound doctrine.
