According to Barna, 38% of us overall consider ourselves to be "evangelical". However, there seems to be a big difference between thinking we are evangelical (38%), and actually BEING what Barna calls a 9-Point Evangelical (8%).
Here's a brief quote on the differences between self-proclaimed evangelicals and 9-point evangelicals:
Radical Differences in Beliefs
The most striking differences relate to the beliefs of each group. Compared to the 9-point evangelicals, those who say they are evangelicals are:
*60% less likely to believe that Satan is real
*53% less likely to believe that salvation is based on grace, not works
*46% less likely to say they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others
*42% less likely to list their faith in God as the top priority in their life
*38% less likely to believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth
*27% less likely to contend that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings
*23% less likely to say that their life has been greatly transformed by their faith
In fact, the Barna research also noted that one out of every four adults (27%) who say they are evangelicals is not even born again, based upon their beliefs. (The Barna Group defines someone as born again if they say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicate that they believe when they die they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as "born again.")
My husband and I were talking to a woman this past weekend who was telling us about her grown son. She said that as a child he was "on fire for God" but then as he got older, his faith faded to the point of being basically non-existent. Her comment: "Well, he accepted Christ as a child, so how he lives after that is irrelevant." At this point in time, this 20-something young man, who was raised in an Evangelical Free Church, couldn't remember how to tell his terminally ill mother-in-law how to come to a saving faith in Jesus. He had to refer her to his mother. It was apparent that this mother's heart was troubled by her son's apparent rejection of all he was taught as a young boy, and no doubt, he has made his own life choices, but what bothered me was how easily the mom made excuses for her son, to the point of even allowing him to live with his girlfriend in her own home.
According to Barna's research, there are a whole LOT of people who consider themselves to be evangelical, but whose label has little or no effect on how they live.
Does it matter how we live after conversion? Can a person really be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, yet live and act in ways which contradict the Scriptures? Is it true that how we live after "coming to Jesus" doesn't matter? I'm not talking about salvation by works here, or living a perfect and sinless life, but having a faith that actually affects how a person lives. If your faith doesn't affect how you act, then is it faith or simply intellectual agreement? Even the demons believe, and tremble.
This is very sobering for those of us who are parents.
More to come on this topic later, hopefully.
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