HOW THEN SHALL WE RECOVER OUR
BIBLICAL MIND
By
Jerry Falwell
INTRODUCTION
My good friend, Francis Schaeffer wrote a challenging book How Then Shall We Live? which challenged us to ground our daily living in the Word of God. I have taken a page out of his book to call this sermon How Then Shall We Recover Our Biblical Mind?. Why do we need to recover? Because we’ve lost something we once had, we’ve lost our way of thinking biblically. Americans used to think biblically, but we’ve lost it. A businessman thought biblical principles, our school teachers taught biblical principles, our parents used biblical thoughts of raising children, and the average layman on the street was well-aware of the Bible. But we’ve lost our biblical mind, and we have not put something better in its place. Listen to what the Barna Research Group has said:
· 1 out of 4 Americans can correctly identify John 3:16.
· 1 out of 5 Americans can correctly define the Gospel.
· 1 out of 3 Americans read their Bible regularly.
· 1 out of 3 Americans believe in a literal Hell.
· 4 out of 10 Americans cannot name half of the 10 Commandments.
· 4 out of 10 Americans cannot name one of the four Gospels.
· Only 1 out of 10 Americans can identify the Great Commission.
· 4 out of 10 Americans believe that Jesus sinned.
These statistics are so discouraging, that many people want to give up teaching the Bible. But I would like to ask, “Shall we then give up?” If we then give up, we give in to the world, the flesh and the Devil. Even though Christians seem to know much less knowledge about the Bible than in previous generations, we must turn it around. Chuck Swindoll spoke at Liberty’s graduation and said,
“The greatest need in our times, is for God’s people to be biblically literate.” I could not agree more.
RE-DISCOVERING THE IMPORTANT OF THE BIBLE
The problem with our churches is that we only give lip-service to obeying the Scriptures.
Some pastors only teach Bible content, without applying biblical principles of life. Some pastors only tell Bible stories without calling for repentance. Some pastors preach about the Bible, without influencing the life of hearers. Some pastors don’t even believe the Bible is the Word of God, I have no idea what they preach.
The following Scriptures should help us re-discover a biblical mind. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). This verse tells us that if we want our people to have more faith, we must get them into the Word of God.
“Desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby” (I Peter 2:2). This verse tells us that if we want our people to grow spiritually, we must get them into the Word of God. Why are so many Christians shallow? Because they’re not in the Bible. Why are so many Christians defeated by sin? Because they don’t think scripturally. Why are so many Christians living in sin? Because they don’t have a biblical mind.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16, 17).
The Bible is not just a slogan to put over your desk, or to hang on the walls of your home. This verse tells us why the church is so weak. We do not understand doctrine, because we do not know the Word of God. Why is the sin of Christians not corrected? Because they are not in the Word of God. Why are the men of God not perfect? Because they do not know God’s standards of perfection. Why is the church not doing good works? Because they do not have a Bible mind.
“For the Word of God is full of living power, it is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we are” (Hebrews 4:12 Living Bible).
This verse tells us why Christians today have little power to live for God. They have forgotten that the Bible is the power of God to change lives from the inside out. The King James version of this verse reminds that the Bible has power, “For the Word of God is quick and powerful . . .” (Hebrews 4:12).
What is the greatest power needed by the Church today? It is not the power of money from fund-raising, it is not the power of great crowds attracted by advertisement, it is not the power of excitement that comes from rhythm bands in the church. The greatest power is divine activity that takes place in the heart of the person who opens himself to the Bible. Why do I say people don’t know the power of God,
· Because people are slaves to habits.
· Because people are slaves to making money.
· Because people can’t say no to selfish desires.
· Because good people do wicked things.
· Because Satan is greater than any of us. Christians have forgotten that the Bible claims: “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4).
The believer doesn’t have a chance to live for God, if he doesn’t have a biblical mind. That’s why I say there must be a re-discovery of the biblical mind. But when I say a biblical mind, I do not mean knowing about the Bible, I mean believers must have a biblical mind.
A biblical mind is when the believer has heard the Word of God, meditated on the Word of God, and allows the Word of God to control his mind so that the believer thinks according to Biblical principles.
Again, the greatest power in the world is the divine activity that takes place in the heart of the person who opens himself to the Bible. Why? Because the Bible is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16).
The very future of America depends on Christians understanding the power of the Bible, and claiming that power in their daily life. Once I called for the church to change society; now I realize we must penetrate deeper. We must call for every believer to change his or her church. That way the believer can touch the world by influencing his or her church.
Remember, we can never reduce the work of God to a scientific formulae, so having a biblical mind is not just knowing biblical principles in your mind. That is not enough. You must know biblical principles and let them influence your thoughts; so that your thinking influences your desires . . . your attitudes . . . your actions and your habits. That’s what I mean by re-discovering the biblical mind.
A RE-DISCOVERY OF PREACHING THE BIBLE BY PASTORS
There are many things that pastors do each week in ministry. They visit the sick, teach the Saints, give direction to workers; and of course, they marry and bury. In addition to this, a minister must be a soul-winner, just like every other person in the congregation. But the greatest influence a pastor has each week is preaching the Word of God to his congregation. I believe there is no greater opportunity to change America than through the preaching of the Word of God to the people of God as they gather each week.
The problem is, many ministers downplay the role of preaching. Some call it conversational preaching, some rely only on drama, some have substituted worship praise and other pastors just get up to give a friendly chat to the people, and of course liberals read book reports.
Then there is another problem. Some think that the Bible is best taught in small groups in the home or other places such as Sunday School classes, cells, or people can hear the Bible taught over Christian radio or television. All of these things are important, but the preaching of the Word by the man of God is the greatest leverage that God has to bring America back to a biblical mind.
Practically, let’s look at what can happen. On Sunday we have a great majority of believers; sitting together at one time, giving attention to one thing, i.e., the Word of God. If the Word of God is powerfully preached, why does preaching not change the Church and change our society? All preachers must face that fact, people are listening to sermons, but their sermons are not changing lives.
I want to call on pastors to make preaching their number one priority in 1999. Preaching should occupy the pastor’s time and energy more than anything he does. The study of the Word in preparation for preaching should be more important than watching television or anything else he does. What a pastor has learned in Bible college and seminary is not enough for next Sunday’s message. First, the pastor must meet God daily in a quiet place. Second, the pastor must feed his soul from the Word of God, then with a heart aflame, the pastor must go into the presence of God to intercede for his needs, and the needs of his people.
Finally, the pastor must take his sermon into the presence of God, like Solomon bringing sacrifices for the dedication of the new Temple. Solomon had to wait for God’s fire to fall from heaven. Pastors, I challenge you . . . take your sermon into the presence of God and ask for fire from heaven. Then when you walk into the pulpit, God’s fire may kindle the hearts of those who listen to you.
What do people in the pew want? Do they want more academic dissertations, do they want more humor? No! Do they want conversational preaching? No! Do they want to find an appropriately packaged sermon that is presented in an interesting way? No! The people of God want to come into the pulpit and feel fire from God. They want their hearts warmed.
Dr. Towns told me about a student we had at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary over ten years ago, Howard Quigley, an Episcopalian who testified he was a born-again Episcopalian who went into his pulpit with the following Invocation,
“I know God and this morning you can know God. This week I touched God, but this morning, you can touch God; more importantly, God can touch you.” The truth of this Invocation is what’s needed in our pulpits, our people need to touch God as God touches them.
For the pastor to have a biblical mind, it is more than having a pure life . . . more than having a daily devotional time . . . more than caring for the flock . . . and more than reading the Bible. For the pastor to have a Bible-mind, he must be enthusiastically hungry to devour the Word of God as a hungry man sits down to eat what’s on the table. That enthusiasm must carry over into the pulpit. The pastor must take his enthusiasm for the Bible into the pulpit and let it spill over to the people.
If the pastor’s life is not being touched by the Word of God, he will not have a biblical mind. His people will catch on that his ministry “is mere professionalism” and they will listen with an ear for professional statements.
I want to say a word for Liberty University’s School of Religion and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. We train our young men in in-depth study of the Scriptures, then proper biblical hermeneutical principles of interpreting Scriptures, and then in classes of Homiletics where the Word of God is preached. Dr. Danny Lovett does an outstanding job of putting fire into their lives; Dr. Paul Fink does a good job of making them interpret the Word of God correctly. These two men form a great team to produce effective biblical preachers.
RE-DISCOVERY OF THE BIBLE MIND IN THE PEW
I am deeply concerned about biblical literacy among our lay people. Many people do not know the Bible, and they do not care to memorize the Bible. They don’t try to remember the Bible or where things are in the Bible. To many Christians, the Bible is a good book . . . a nice book . . . an interesting book . . . and God’s Book. What they don’t realize is that the Word of God is the only way we can find salvation, the only way we can know Jesus Christ, and contains the only way to heaven.
When George Barna surveyed Americans and found that 80 percent believe that the phrase, “God helps those who help themselves” is found in the Bible,” I wonder why people are not embarrassed. Again, George Barna found that 10 percent of Americans believe that Noah’s wife was named Joan of Arc (Ark). I laugh at that, but it’s a sad commentary on where people are today.
The re-discovery of the American mind will begin in the pulpit as the Word of God is preached to American believers. After hearing Bible preaching, believers must go into adult Sunday School, small groups, and other places where Scripture is taught to continue growing as believers. After preaching, believers must listen to Christian radio and television, visit Christian bookstores, and use all the Bible study helps that are available to us today. And don’t forget good Bible reading programs. If you have not read the Bible through . . . every verse . . . start this year to read the Bible through in 1999. Let me give you a challenge.
“Read the whole Bible through in a whole year . . . before the next century.”
I have devoted my life to preaching the Bible and helping people discover God’s message to them in the Bible. The Old Time Gospel Hour must have given away almost a million Bibles. The faculty of Liberty has written a Bible commentary, giving the interpretation of every verse in the Bible. The Liberty Home Bible Institute has taught the Bible literally to thousands of students. That doesn’t include all those who have heard us preach the Bible on radio and television or in the classes of Thomas Road Baptist Church or from this pulpit. I’ve given my life to preaching the Word of God. Now I’m asking, “How then shall we recover our biblical mind?” We shall re-discover our biblical mind when we repent of our mental laziness, discipline ourselves to study and commit ourselves to live by the principles we’re learned. Then we will recover our biblical mind.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God.
