Posted on 08/11/2020 7:12:36 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Less than half of U.S. Christians expect to experience eternal salvation because of their confession of sin and acceptance of Christ as their Savior, while a larger number of professing Christians believe good works will get them into Heaven, a new survey has found.
The American Worldview Inventory 2020 survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that a majority of people who describe themselves as Christian (52%) accept a “works-oriented” means to God’s acceptance.
In contrast, a minority of adults (46%) who describe themselves as “Christian” expect to experience eternal salvation because of their confession of sin and acceptance of Christ as their savior.
The study also found that “huge proportions of people” associated with churches whose official doctrine says eternal salvation comes only from embracing Jesus Christ as savior “believe that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good.” That includes close to half of all adults associated with Pentecostal (46%), mainline Protestant (44%), and evangelical (41%) churches. A much larger share of Catholics (70%) embrace that point of view.
The survey of 2,000 individuals found that one in three Americans (33%) say they consider themselves to be a Christian and affirm the statement that “when you die you will go to heaven only because you have confessed your sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior.”
Len Munsil, president of Arizona Christian University, said the “lack of understanding of basic Christian theology is stunning,” with “potentially devastating consequences for individual souls and really for all aspects of American life and culture.”
“It’s a wakeup call for the church, and for leaders in all areas of influence, to speak, teach and work to restore biblical truth,” Munsil said. “Many souls will be lost if people are misled by the false notion that we can earn our way to heaven, rather than recognizing the truth that Christ alone and His righteousness are the basis for our salvation.”
Overall, 54% of U.S. adults believe they will get to Heaven after they die and only 2% believe they are going to hell. Additionally, 63% of adults believe “having faith matters more than which faith you have.”
George Barna, director of research for the Cultural Research Center, said Americans are “in an ‘anything goes’ mindset when it comes to faith, morals, values and lifestyle.”
“Americans appear to be creating unique, highly customized worldviews based on feelings, experiences and opportunities rather than working within the boundaries of a comprehensive, time-tested, consistent worldview,” he said.
“... By abandoning our moral standards and traditions, and replacing them with inclusive and conditional preferences, we are losing the foundations that have enabled the ‘American experiment’ to succeed for more than two centuries,” Barna added.
“We can only hope that our critical moral institutions — particularly the family and churches — will wake up and help the nation to get back on track.”
The survey corroborates a previous report released by the Barna Group and the American Bible Society which found that Scripture engagement is on the decline, with U.S. adults who say they read the Bible daily dropping from 14% to 9% between early 2019 and 2020.
Another recent poll from LifeWay Research, in partnership with Explore the Bible, found that 57% of Protestant churchgoers say the Bible is “challenging” when read alone.
In recent years, a number of pastors have stressed the importance of discipleship within churches amid a nationwide decline in biblical literacy.
“You and I are so overstimulated, you and I are so overwhelmed with fast-paced, energized entertainment that we have developed a real idealized sense of life with a real low pain tolerance,” megachurch Pastor Matt Chandler said in a sermon last year. “The Church herself no longer is about discipleship, no longer is about being shaped, no longer is it about being formed. It’s about being entertained in the gathering.”
Chandler noted that in Acts, Paul warns the Ephesians, “After I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.”
“How do you fight that? You walk with one another in community, you encourage one another in your giftedness, and you embrace that you’ve been called a minister of reconciliation and an ambassador of Christ for the building up of the body,” he said.
Pastor H.B. Charles Jr. told The Christian Post that every aspect of corporate worship should be a means of “making disciples of Jesus Christ,” from the preaching of the Word to singing.
“Faithful shepherds are needed to oversee the worship life of the Church to keep the Church focused on the Word of God,” he said. “Every element of a worship service must be geared around the Word of God so that we sing the Scriptures, read the Scriptures, pray the Scriptures, preach the Scriptures and enact the Scriptures in prayer and the ministry of the word.”
“We need to build safeguards around the Church so that the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ are central,” Charles added.
Church folks and God’s folks ain’t the same. Church folk goes to church. God’s folk are the church.
Yes and amen! BELIEVE...
John 6:29
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
1 John 3:23
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
Romans 4:5
But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
Romans 10:9-13
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
Was waiting for that comment.
You’re wrong.
Read more. That is a heresy. We, the Catholic Church, don’t teach that.
There are so many numerous times in Scripture where His humor comes out. Double-meanings, and double-fulfillments of things.
John 14:6: Way, Truth, Life
in Latin: Via, Veritas, Vida (say that 3 times fast).
+ 1 Billion
It’s a life changing event to find that you can live freely and not be on the hook for your deeds. Consequences will happen for sinful behavior, but nothing can separate us from the Salvation of Christ if we let Jesus Save Us.
That 33% figure has held true for nearly a century. It is strange, in view of Jesus' adamant statement, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God". Pride gets in the way of truth.
“larger number of professing Christians believe good works will get them into Heaven”
A large number of Christians don’t actually study the written word, instead they just declare themselves Christians by simply showing up to Church on Sunday. So this really doesn’t surprise me.
“Just curious. Can someone be “born again” more than once? If s/he is born again, then falls, gets reborn, then falls again, what are the chances s/he can be “reborn” a third, fourth, tenth time?”
What you are describing is the process of sanctification. A person is saved once and for eternity. From that point on he must continue to strive in Christ’s teachings, following His commandments, and learn to lean on Him each time he inevitably fails, over and over and over again. God is patient and merciful, but he is also holy and just. Through his grace, He makes us holy and He will accept nothing less. Our works, in themselves, are nothing more than dust.
I don’t know....murder people....help people...hard to say which act God might approve of.
“The only real path is accepting Jesus as your savior.”
I always thought God might have a problem with that.
Our works are nothing but dust? I think that they tell our Lord who we are. They tell the world who we are. "In themselves" is harsh. I don't believe that God would be so harsh as to make us think that our good works IN THEMSELVES are nothing but dust.
It would be like telling children that their good deeds don't really mean much unless...
Sounds downright cruel to me.
Just an opinion.
Correct. “For by Grace are you saved, not of good works, lest any man can boast”
Since actual Christians live under grace, not law, these people aren’t Christians.
Sure, Christianity didn't start until the 1500s!
My pastor preaches the Gospel each and every Sunday.
If someone in my church walks out thinking their good works will save them it isn’t the fault of the pastor.
He never did ANY good works his whole life? ONLY bad, sinful stuff from the start until the day he died on that cross? Not even once in his life he did something good?
You seriously believe that?
I think you need to read more. The Roman Church teaches works salvation If you depended solely on Christ for salvation you would have assurance of salvation and not have to wait for some future judgement to find out if you made it into Heaven or not
“Our works are nothing but dust? I think that they tell our Lord who we are. They tell the world who we are. “In themselves” is harsh. I don’t believe that God would be so harsh as to make us think that our good works IN THEMSELVES are nothing but dust.
It would be like telling children that their good deeds don’t really mean much unless...
Sounds downright cruel to me. Just an opinion.”
Please refer to: Psalm 51:1-9 (by King David, a man after God’s own heart)
David understood the inadequacy of his own works.
Arrogance will get you into a hot spot.
James 2:14-26
New King James Version
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without [a]your works, and I will show you my faith by [b]my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is [c]dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made [d]perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was [e]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
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