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With the Lord’s help, we engage in
several areas of ministry in support of that goal:
Radio Broadcast
The Scripture-Driven Church, our
flagship radio program, airs weekly across the United States and around the
world.
Online Resource Center
You'll find thousands of pages
of Bible teaching content on this website in our Bible Knowledgebase,
Scripture & You, Scripture & the Church,
Treasures From the Original and other sections.
Publications
Sign up to receive our free
publication, The
Profitable Word. We also publish books and other print and
electronic media designed to equip believers with Biblical truth.
Seminars & Events
Educational programs for
your church, school, or organization addressing the today’s challenges to
Biblical authority.
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Paul M. Elliott,
President of
TeachingtheWord |
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You can read our doctrinal statement
here.
Why this
mission? Let's answer that question with a question —
Do you ever
wonder why the Evangelical church seems ineffectual in our time, while societies
disintegrate around the globe, and
aggressive Islam, resurgent Roman Catholicism, and the New Atheism are making
great gains?
I believe the answer is pretty
straightforward.
The Evangelical church has
become the church unplugged — disconnected from the only source of
truth and authority, the Word of God. And the church unplugged has become the
church uncertain — unsure of what it believes, unable to articulate
and defend even the core truths of the Christian faith. The church unplugged and
uncertain has become the church ineffectual — poorly prepared for
spiritual warfare against the enemies of the truth.
Compelling evidence supports this picture.
The Church
Unplugged
 According to reliable surveys,
only 15% of adults in Evangelical churches read the Bible regularly, and 35%
never read it at all. Systematic, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse, expository
preaching of the Word of God has mostly given way to a topical approach geared
toward the felt needs of the audience. Look at the major television church
programs today, and that is what you will see. The church is unplugged from its
source of authority and power, the Holy Scriptures.
When the church
neglects the Bible, it creates a spiritual vacuum. What is true in physics is
also true in the church: Nature abhors a vacuum. The secular mindset fills that
vacuum. Man, not God, becomes the source of authority. As a result, man’s word,
not God’s Word, shapes the church’s agenda. If the church doesn’t teach the Word
of God, it teaches the thinking of the world. There is no third alternative.
The Church
Uncertain
The church unplugged has
become the church uncertain — unsure of what it believes, and unable to
articulate and defend even the core truths of the Christian faith.
 Dr. Stephen Prothero, head of
the department of religion at Boston University, has done significant research
in this area. During a recent television interview, Dr. Prothero said that when
they are asked to do so, most Evangelicals cannot articulate or defend the most
basic Christian doctrines from the Bible — essentials like the authority
of Scripture and the rudiments of the Christian Gospel.
Furthermore, he said, most Evangelicals cannot defend Christian moral positions
on abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, sex outside of marriage, etc., from
Scripture. Most Evangelicals, he said, know in a vague way that the Bible
says these things are wrong. But they cannot tell you exactly what the
Bible says on these vital issues, or where it says it. When asked why
this is the case, Dr. Prothero replied with this chilling observation:
“Among Evangelicals there’s
been this shift over time — from Bible reading to feeling — from knowing
what Jesus actually had to say to having a ‘relationship’ with a ‘Jesus’ that
they know little or nothing about — from actually reading the Bible to
merely revering the Bible…”
In many cases, today’s
Evangelical church is driven by purposes that have little or nothing to do with
the Bible. The results are disastrous — for the leadership, for the membership,
and for the lost in our communities. Consider these statistics:
-
37%
of adults in Evangelical churches do not believe the Bible is totally
accurate.
-
45%
do not believe Jesus Christ was sinless.
-
52%
do not believe Satan is real.
-
57% do not believe that Jesus is the only
way to eternal life.
-
57%
believe that good works play a part in gaining eternal life.
The Church
Ineffectual
 The church unplugged and
uncertain has become the church ineffectual
— poorly prepared for spiritual
warfare against the enemies of the truth. The Evangelical church’s uncertainty
about what it believes is reflected in its worldview, behavior, and diminishing
impact on society:
-
Less than 10% of adults in
Evangelical churches cite the Bible as the primary basis of their worldview
and behavior.
-
19% of those who are
living with a partner outside of marriage identify themselves as members of
Evangelical churches.
-
Over 50% of adults in
Evangelical churches think other religions are valid, and 57% of
Evangelicals do not believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal
life.
-
Nearly 70% of Evangelical
young people leave the church when they reach adulthood. Their main stated
reason is that they no longer believe the Bible is true, and the church has
done little or nothing to answer their doubts.
-
The fastest-growing
“religious group” in America is the “no religion” category. Today, 16% of
the adult population identifies with no religious group. This number has
tripled since the 1980s, and the major growth of this group has been among
young adults ages 18 to 29.
-
Despite the mega-church
movement, Evangelical church attendance is down nearly 15% since the 1990s.
Fewer than 17% of Evangelical churches are growing today, and only 2.2% are
growing through conversions.
The
Church’s Sole Authority and Infallible Critic
 To regain its lost
spiritual power, Christ’s church must once again become
the Scripture-driven church.
1st
Corinthians 2:13 tells us that God’s Word is the Christian’s sole authority.
Our authority is found “not in words which
man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual”
—
literally, “things from the Spirit with things from the Spirit”
—
in other words, comparing Scripture with Scripture.
2nd
Timothy 3:16-17 tells that the Word of God is the church’s fourfold authority.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable” for four
things – “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness.” And the reason, the Apostle Paul tells us, is so “that the man
of God”
—
and thus the church of Christ
—
“may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
“All Scripture…is profitable...for doctrine.”
Sound
doctrine is the only right path for Christ’s church. Titus 1:9 tells us that
church leaders must “be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict
those who contradict.” Sound doctrine must govern the individual Christian's
thinking. Sound doctrine must determine the church’s purpose. Sound doctrine
must drive every one of our actions.
“All Scripture…is profitable…for reproof.”
When the church goes its own way instead of staying on the only God-ordained
path, it is Scripture that reprimands us.
“All Scripture…is profitable…for correction.”
Once reproved, the church must seek correction from the Scriptures. It is the
Word of God that brings us back to the right path when the church has gone in
the wrong direction.
“All Scripture…is profitable…for instruction in righteousness.”
It
is the Word of God that keeps Christ’s church on the path He has ordained.
In
Hebrews 4:12 we read that the Word of God is the church’s infallible critic:
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner [in the original language, a critic] of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.”
As the
result of the neglect of sound doctrine, Jesus’ indictment of church leaders
during His days on earth often applies to the Evangelical church in our time:
“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as
doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8—9).
Needed: The
Scripture-Driven Church
If there was ever a time when
the church needed to return to the authority of the Word of God, it is now.
The
Bible must be its sole source of doctrine. The Bible must be its sole authority.
The Bible alone must be its infallible critic in all things. Christ must be the
undisputed Head of the church. To regain its lost spiritual power, Christ’s
church must once again become the Scripture-driven
church.
We pray
that God will use this ministry in the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer to the
Father, “Sanctify them by Your Word. Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).
We
appreciate your prayers for
TeachingtheWord,
and your financial support as the
Lord leads. |
