Biblical Illiteracy

I read an article recently by George Guthrie that didn't surprise me, but it did reaffirm how important it is that we as a church take every opportunity to teach people how to read and study the Bible. Some of the statistics that he gave were:

• 25 million Bibles are sold each year in the US
• 400 million copies of all or part of the Bible are distributed through Bible societies each year

Those are the good numbers, but read on for the rest of the story.

• Only 16% of church goers read the Bible daily
• 25% of church goers never read the Bible
• Only 37% of those who attend church regularly say that reading the Bible has made a significant difference in the way they live their lives.

For those of us who are in leadership in the life of the church it is vital that we not only teach people what the Bible says, but we must also teach them how to read the Bible and apply its truths to our daily lives.

John 8:31–32 (NASB95) – “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

The only way to continue or to obey Jesus' words is to read and to study the Bible!