{"id":13703,"date":"2025-09-09T11:56:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=13703"},"modified":"2025-09-09T11:56:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:56:40","slug":"most-christians-dont-believe-what-the-bible-says-about-sin-heres-why-that-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/09\/most-christians-dont-believe-what-the-bible-says-about-sin-heres-why-that-matters.html","title":{"rendered":"Most Christians Don\u2019t Believe What the Bible Says About Sin\u2014Here\u2019s Why That Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_13709\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13709\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13709\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2025\/09\/Church-Sin_credit-Adobe-Stock.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13709\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arizonachristian.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BARNA_CRC_AWVI-2025-8-Americans-Christians-Deny-Their-Sinfulness.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">recent study<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by Dr. George Barna of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University revealed that most Christians do not have a \u201cbiblically accurate view\u201d of sin. Is this a problem? If so, how did the Church get here? And how does the Church correct it?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The report lists several elements of the Bible\u2019s teaching on sin:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">No human being is morally perfect (\u201cfor all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,\u201d <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans%203%3A23&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Romans 3:23<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Humans are born in rebellion against God, sinful from birth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sin separates us from God.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On their own, humans cannot atone for their sin (<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Ephesians%202%3A8-9&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ephesians 2:8-9<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Through Jesus Christ, God has provided atonement for sins (<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%203%3A16&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">John 3:16<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Those who accept God\u2019s gift of forgiveness and life will be saved, while those who reject Christ will not (<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20Thessalonians%201%3A9-10&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">2 Thessalonians 1:9-10<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite the Bible\u2019s clear teaching about sin, \u201ca mere 14% of all self-described Christians have a biblically-consistent theology\u201d on sin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Eighty-four percent of people agreed that sin exists and is real. Among those who consider themselves Christians, that number jumps to 95%. That percentage holds regardless of whether the respondent is Catholic or Protestant.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, only about two-thirds of those who identify themselves as Christian believe that \u201ceveryone has sinned.\u201d While this is more than the general public (52%), it still means that one-third of those who consider themselves Christian agree with what the Bible teaches on that subject.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The study breaks this down further; 85 percent of \u201cTheologically-Identified Born Again Christians\u201d agree that everyone has sinned. (The study defined these believers as those who \u201cbelieve that after they die on Earth they will live eternally in heaven, but only because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.\u201d) Fifty percent of those who attend a Catholic church agree, while 73% of Protestants do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">When asked whether they considered themselves to be \u201csinners,\u201d only sixty percent of those who identify themselves as Christians said \u201cyes.\u201d Among Catholics, the total was 50%; among Protestants, it was 66%. Even among those who are born again, only 74% agree with the statement, \u201cI am a sinner.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The study notes, however, that this may be because they believe that because they have accepted Jesus as Savior, they are no longer \u201csinners.\u201d One other observation from the survey stands out: \u201cOverall, one-third (33%) of adults argue that while everyone else is guilty of sin, they are not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Finally \u2013 and perhaps most concerning \u2013 over 70 percent of those who consider themselves Christian agree with the statement, \u201cSin is real, but people are basically good at heart.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Seventy percent of \u201ctheologically-identified born-again Christians\u201d held this view. Interestingly, only 65% of those who identify as non-Christians agree with the statement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In other words, more \u201cborn-again Christians\u201d believe that people are \u201cgood at heart\u201d than do unbelievers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">How Did This Happen?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Bible clearly teaches that all have sinned and that people are only saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. So why do so many Christians not agree with the Biblical view of sin?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Barna\u2019s report points to the Church.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cThe job of the local church is to educate God\u2019s people about God\u2019s ways. Yet, a <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2019\/12\/16\/the-digital-pulpit-a-nationwide-analysis-of-online-sermons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">2019 Pew Research study<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> that analyzed sermon content across the nation determined that just 3% of all sermons preached even mentioned sin.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Pew report in question acknowledges that it is not comprehensive; it was based on a study of sermons posted online over eight weeks surrounding Easter. Because it analyzed sermons that were available online, many churches would not be represented. Additionally, some of the \u201cchurches\u201d whose sermons were included were not Christian churches.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, two factors from the Pew study are revealing. First, phrases relating to sin, punishment, and redemption were included in less than ten percent of sermons from evangelical churches, compared to about 3% for all of the sermons studied. Second, other phrases related to the topics of sin and salvation were also largely absent in the sermons studied.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Phrases like \u201ceternal hell,\u201d \u201close salvation,\u201d and \u201ctrespass\/sin\u201d appeared in less than ten percent of \u201cevangelical\u201d sermons. Although those phrases were three times more likely to occur in evangelical sermons than in those from other churches, the fact that less than ten percent of sermons discussed these subjects means that most Christians were not hearing about sin and salvation regularly from their preachers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">These studies group churches and believers based on their theology and practice. The Barna study considers those who call themselves Christians and breaks them down further into \u201cProtestant,\u201d \u201cCatholic,\u201d and \u201cTheologically-identified born-again Christians.\u201d (\u201cProtestant\u201d and \u201cCatholic\u201d refer to the churches those respondents usually attend, not necessarily whether they are \u201cmembers\u201d of those denominations.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Pew study of sermon content divides churches into \u201cEvangelical Protestant,\u201d \u201cCatholic,\u201d \u201cHistorically Black Protestant,\u201d and \u201cMainline Protestant.\u201d Obviously, the researchers do so because there are theological and practical differences between the various groups of \u201cChristians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In spite of the concerning findings of his study, Barna does not consider the situation hopeless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cSin is not a difficult concept to understand or identify. Hopefully, our avoidance of teaching and accountability regarding sin can be quickly and easily rectified by those who seek to add value to the spiritual journey of the people they influence. Inserting sin back into the national consciousness would be an invaluable investment into who we are as a nation and as the Church.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Churches need to return to actively teaching what their theology says. Encouraging people to read the Bible regularly and teaching the whole biblical message can help to correct misunderstandings about human sinfulness and salvation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The concept of sin is fundamental to the Gospel. After all, if there is no bad news \u2013 no concept of human sinfulness \u2013 then why would people need the Good News?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent study by Dr. George Barna of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University revealed that most Christians do not have a \u201cbiblically accurate view\u201d of sin. Is this a problem? If so, how did the Church get here? And how does the Church correct it? The report lists several elements of the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":13709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Most Christians Don\u2019t Believe What the Bible Says About Sin\u2014Here\u2019s Why That Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Study finds most Christians lack a biblical view of sin. 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Experts say churches must return to teaching sin, grace, and salvation clearly.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/09\/most-christians-dont-believe-what-the-bible-says-about-sin-heres-why-that-matters.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Most Christians Don\u2019t Believe What the Bible Says About Sin\u2014Here\u2019s Why That Matters","og_description":"Study finds most Christians lack a biblical view of sin. 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