There’s no doubt about it, we live in dark times.
Gender confusion and corruption in government run amok, and rampant immorality plagues our nation.
Yet there is a recent report that is giving some a glimmer of hope.
Bible sales increase by 22% in first ten months of 2024
The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, with an estimated five to seven billion sold worldwide.
Even though it is the most sold book of all time, biblical ignorance also seems to be at an all-time high.
For example, according to a 2018 Barna Group study, 51 percent of churchgoers don’t know of the Great Commission that Christ gave to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20.
In 2021, the American Worldview Inventory undertaken by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that 64 percent of American adults believe that the Bible is ambiguous on the issue of abortion, which is shocking for a nation where nearly seven out of 10 adults self-identified as Christians.
American Christians in large part seemingly don’t know what the Bible says, so it is really not that shocking that the general population doesn’t know what the Bible says and its implications on their lives.
Yet according to the Wall Street Journal, Bible sales in 2024 saw a dramatic increase in the first ten months of the year over and above the sales witnessed in the previous year, with many first-time Bible readers reporting their purchase of a Bible is driven by a desire to discover meaning in life.
With a growing trend of social media influencers and Hollywood stars such as Tim Allen and Russell Brand publicly sharing their journeys in reading the Bible, it certainly seems that we are experiencing a broader cultural moment.
Of course, this report on Bible sales comes at a time when public opinion research shows a steady decline of professing Christians, and even those who identify as “religious” falling, while “non-religion” or atheistic is on the rise.
The Word falling on good soil
Recent history is awash with famous people professing faith in Christ and quickly falling away, like the seed that falls on the rocky ground in the Parable of the Sower.
And there have been cultural moments before where people have sought out the church because of chaos in the world, but quickly fade away as soon as the hard times are gone.
The fact is we live in one of those moments where moral relativism is reigning in our land, and it is making an absolute mess of things.
It is an encouragement that many are turning to the Word to find meaning and purpose in life, but it cannot end there.
The ultimate goal of reading Scripture is to end up placing one’s faith in Christ alone for salvation, but also to be discipled as Christ instructed in the Great Commission.
This requires churches who are prepared to give an account for the faith that they have in Christ, but also then to explain why God’s law as found in the Scriptures is instructive to how we are to live as Christians and how we are to order society.
Abortion is an abomination because God’s Word says it is an abomination. “Thou shalt not kill.”
Psalm 119:105 says of God’s Word, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
The Bible’s goal is ultimately to point us to Christ for salvation and it also instructs us how we are to best live our lives to honor Him.
The world is a better place when people have knowledge of the Word.
Perhaps we are living in a time similar to that of King Josiah found in 2 Kings when the Book of the Law had been found after being lost for years, after which it was read, followed and Judah was restored.
More Bibles in the hands of people is good, but let it not be for head knowledge alone. Let it be for the changing of the heart of this nation.
Pro-Life Press will keep you up-to-date on any new developments to this ongoing story.
