John S Dickerson, in his book, Hope of Nations, comments that “Any ministry or family that abandons the authority of Scripture (no matter how noble the argument for it) is one generation away from abandoning Christianity entirely.”

The Bible. The story of God’s pursuit for His people has weathered countless cultural storms for more than a thousand years. Since its canonization in the fourth century A.D., it has been burned, banned, and belittled. It has been celebrated, revered, and trusted. It has been used to spawn incredible good as well as justify horrendous acts of evil. It’s 2019, and the Bible remains on top of the all-time best seller list and yet is increasingly ignored and mocked by mainstream culture. It’s been classified as not relevant.

Western Culture

Western culture is insistence on promoting and somehow living out a post-truth reality—one based almost entirely on felt needs rather than fact. It has systematically driven the authority of Scripture out of homes, schools, and even universities founded on the Word of God.

Think about this for a minute.

Harvard University, America’s first college, now one of the most secular universities in the western world, was founded by a group of pastors for training church and state leaders. As you enter one of the busiest gates into the famous Harvard Yard, you pass under the words of Isaiah 26:2, “Open ye gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.” Even the university seal is inscribed with the word, Veritas, the Latin for truth. Yet Harvard openly chooses to promote a post-truth ideology.

Christian Pastors and Churches

Even Christian pastors and churches have made a conscious decision to cast aside the biblical foundation for truth for a softer, seemingly more palatable version of it. They said the Bible is too harsh, too irrelevant, too bigoted, too hateful, and not relevant. We need not take the Bible so literally and only use it as a general guide when it fits our current cultural climate.

Fascinating Research on the Relevancy of the Bible

It seems like every day there is something that reminds me how vital it is for Christians to hold firm to scriptural authority. Recently I came across some fascinating research conducted by the Center for Bible Engagement. They interviewed more than 200,000 people from 8 to 80 years old, from 20 countries, and more than 75 denominations. They discovered that just by reading the Bible four times a week, a person’s life could change radically.

They determined that someone who engages the Bible four or more times a week is:

228% more likely to share their faith with others.

407% more likely to memorize Scripture.

59% less likely to view pornography.

30% less likely to struggle with loneliness.

“A key discovery from the CBE research is that the life of someone who engages scripture four or more times a week looks radically different from the life of someone who does not. In fact, the lives of Christians who do not engage the Bible most days of the week are statistically the same as the lives of non-believers.” – backtothebible.org

The Word of God

These simple, yet staggering statistics ought to remind us that the Bible we hold in our hands, the one that collects dust on our shelves, and the one we promise each New Year’s Eve to read daily in the new year, is the living, breathing, active, and miraculous Word of God.

Do we really need any more reason to make certain that as a pastor, each time you stand behind the pulpit, to be entirely dependent on Scripture? Do we need any more motivation as a parent to be daily in the Word, searching for wisdom on how to best to raise our children, and as student leaders guiding our youth with the Bible as they begin to mature into adults and own their faith?

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