Christian education and biblical literacy are incredibly important. For a number of years, Ligonier Ministries has partnered with Lifeway Research to produce a report called The State of Theology, which depicts the beliefs of Christians around the United States of America. The results of this study are frequently disconcerting. A staggering percentage of American Christians believe things about God, the Bible, and the Christian faith that simply are not true.
In 2025, 64% of American Christians believed that “everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God,” which is in direct contradiction to Romans 3:10, 23, and plenty of other Scriptures. Likewise, 53% of American Christians agree with the statement that, “The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being,” which conflicts with all the Bible says about the personhood of the Holy Spirit (See Ephesians 4:30, 1 Corinthians 2:11, Romans 8:27, and others). This is not good!
In order to worship God, we do first have to know God. In the same way I ought to know my wife before I declare my love for her, we will struggle to truly love and obey God if we do not first know Him. It is so vitally important for us to know information about God, but it is also important for us to understand that discipleship and life change requires more than just knowledge about God.
As Christians, we should know that everyone is not born innocent in the eyes of God and that the Holy Spirit is a person and not a force, but thinking rightly about these important beliefs does not automatically lead to following Jesus more closely and becoming more like Him.
Knowing and Becoming Are Not the Same
As already mentioned, biblical literacy and Christian education are important and perhaps an endangered species in some American churches today, but knowledge alone cannot lead to life change and discipleship. While, clearly, some American Christians could benefit from knowing more, plenty of Christians have fallen for the lie that knowing things about God automatically creates intimacy with God.
From even the earliest days of the Christian faith we see that knowing God and being familiar with Jesus does not lead to true belief and life change. Judas Iscariot knew Jesus as well as just about anybody, and yet he still betrayed Him for a few silver coins. Peter was eventually charged by Christ to help lead the early church, but only after he repented of his repeated denial of Jesus, which happened while he knew plenty about Him.
The teachings of Jesus Christ were surely an important part of His earthly ministry, but hearing His teachings did not create intimacy with Him on its own. In order to be in relationship with God, we must be willing to submit ourselves to Jesus as Lord of our lives and give up control. In order for Christ to be seated on the throne of our hearts, we must first stand up and move out of the way. This can happen in the wake of learning about Jesus, but it does not happen as an automatic result of reading the Bible or hearing it preached. True transformation happens in relationships, in community.
Transformation Happens in Relationships
The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” We gather together for a purpose: to encourage and provoke one another to live like Christ. We don’t simply gather to learn, but to turn knowledge into Christlikeness and sacrificial love.
When we commit to follow Christ and commit to making Him the Lord of our lives, we are also committing to a life lived in community with other followers of Jesus. The Christian life is not a solo sport. To try to follow Jesus alone would be like taking a football field or basketball court alone and expecting to have a chance against an opposing team—it’s just not how it was designed to be. Trying to follow Christ alone, apart from community, is a similarly irrational effort—it just is not how it was designed to be.
Share the Gospel, Share Life
In 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul writes to the believers in Thessalonica, “We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.”
We are meant to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with one another, and we are meant to share life with one another. We must learn about the God we serve and the love He has shown us in Christ, and then we must turn that knowledge into a love for neighbor and for enemy alike.
