Carl Adkins

In 1950, according to a Gallop survey, 90% of Americans professed to be Christians. Out of that 90%, a majority walked in a true biblical manner. In 2022, a survey of religious composition was done, and it concluded that in the 1970s, fewer than 85% of adults remained Christian at age 30. In the 1980s that number shrank to about 80%. It is predicted by scholars that by the year 2050, only roughly 25% of Americans will still profess to be Christians.

These numbers show a steady decline in American adults who accept and follow basic Christian beliefs. Today, many “Christians” spend little or no time reading the Word of God, praying or sharing their faith. Many do not know what is meant by the Gospel or how to share with others what they believe. Even those who claim to be Christians and go to church every week have trouble sharing God’s plan of salvation.

Why are we seeing such a decline in Christianity in America? In Hosea 4:4-10 NKJV it says, “Now let no man contend or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest. Therefore, you shall stumble in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The more they increase, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people; They set their heart on their iniquity. And it shall be like people, like priest. So, I will punish them for their ways and reward them for their deeds. For they shall eat but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the Lord.”

Why is Christianity declining in America? Lack of knowledge of God’s Word. Americans have become soft and rebellious in the things of the Lord. We have become too intellectual, too high tech and too logical for our own good. We are replacing faith in God with faith in our own wisdom. In Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV it says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.”  We need to get back to that childlike faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God.

If we want to stop the decline of Christianity in America, we need to accept every word in the Bible as fact and believe the Bible is without flaw. In Romans 12:1-3 NKJV it says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”  It is not about what we think or how we feel but what the Word of God says. The Word of God is always right, sometimes we just must accept that by faith.

It is true man’s technology has grown, but that is only because of God. Christianity in America is declining because man has lost sight of his relationship with God. Man needs to remember God is in control. God created everything that has been made. Man, the same as Satan, can not make something from nothing, only God can do that.

My dad used to say, “Son, you are getting too big for your britches.” Well, mankind is getting too big for our britches. We will never get to a place where we do not need God.

Someday soon, Jesus is going to return, and we who are his will enter His kingdom with him. Remember a Christian is simply a follower of Christ.

He who endures to the end shall be saved!

Carl Adkins is the lay minister of New Life Bible Chapel. He can be reached at 541-447-6543.