Teaching the Word of God

Do you know the Bible? Can you teach it to others?  If so, you are in the minority. Consider these statistics:

• 87 percent of American households possess a Bible, but most people who do (53 percent) barely open it.
• Only 19 percent of American Christians say they read the Bible every day, and only 20 percent report thinking about biblical truths throughout the day.

It gets even worse,

• Only half (51 percent) of American pastors have a biblical worldview.

People do not know the Bible like they used to. It is no wonder most Christians believe incorrect and false teaching. Here are just a few examples of false teaching which permeates the church.

• God just needed another angel (Said by family and friends when someone dies).
• God will not give you more than you can handle.
• If you mess up, you may not be a Christian.
• It is God’s choice, not ours if we believe or not.
• You must repent of all your sins and confess before you can be a true Christian.

This list goes on and on. These five statements are not biblical, they are false teaching, and yet we hear them from Christian brothers and sisters.

In Cambodia the lack of Bible knowledge is dismal. The country is devoid of truth. Bible teaching churches are hard to find.

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This week Hope Now is leading our second annual (two-day) Christian Leadership conference for our staff.  The training is not nearly long enough, but it touches on and corrects many of the false points listed above.

Our day began by reading together through the book of Philippians. We spent time praying for each other. Then we saturated ourselves with the tenets of the Christian faith. Everything we studied was backed up by Scripture. Is the Bible the Word of God? What is the Trinity? Who is Jesus Christ? Who is the Holy Spirit? Are the sign gifts (tongues, apostolic miracles) still in effect? Did man evolve? How is a person saved? What is the Church? What biblical practices should Christians observe? Who are angels? Will Jesus return? What will our future in eternity look like? How should a disciple of Jesus live?

All of that in day one!

Tomorrow we take on the differences between salvation and discipleship, and we delve into the glorious book of Ephesians. If only we had more time!

The goal is to train our staff to use God’s Word to help men see they cannot save themselves, rather resuce comes only by the Savior. To teach that, our staff must rightly divide the Word. It is time to be an ambassdor for Christ. The days are numbered. We must know the Word of God and know how to commuicate it correctly and clearly with others.