Omaha Bible Church believes the primary mission of the church is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, as revealed in God’s Word, to the world. As such we are an evangelical and a biblical church.

Being an evangelical church means we preach the good news, which is the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Being a biblical church means the authority for what we teach and believe is the Bible alone.

Given our mission, it is important that we understand the beliefs of those who are living in darkness and to whom we seek to proclaim the light of God's truth.

What do Americans believe about God, Jesus and salvation? What do those who call themselves Christians in America think about these things as well? We are tempted to think that those who call themselves Christians believe and think as we do, but many do not, and many have not only erroneous views, but in some cases heretical views about Christianity.

Two surveys were done in 2016 that found interesting and contradictory beliefs among Americans and those calling themselves evangelicals. The State of Theology was conducted by Ligonier Ministries and the Southern Baptist Convention, The State of the Church was conducted by the Barna Group,

73% of Americans call themselves Christians and a similar number say they have prayed in the last week and religion is very important in their life. 20% of Americans claim no faith at all, and 6% claim Islam, Buddhism, Judaism or Hinduism.

35% of Americans say they have attended church in the last week, and about half that number has attended Sunday School or a small group in the last week. These numbers represent the reality of Christian faith as Americans continue moving toward being a more secular people.

Not surprisingly, 55% of Americans believe that if a person is generally good, they will earn a place in heaven. Only 28% strongly disagree with this statement. That leaves almost three out of four people with some sympathy toward it.

It is clear from The State of Theology survey that Americans do not grasp the true nature and consequences of sin. In response to the statement, “Even the slightest sin deserves damnation” 74% of Americans disagree, and 61% disagree strongly.

The authors of the survey note the significance of this answer for people’s understanding of God, “That conviction is fundamentally a conviction about the character of God. If He is perfectly holy and just, He cannot let sin go unpunished. But God is no longer holy—in the minds of six out of ten Americans.”

This runs directly counter to the statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:48, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." The Apostle Paul also affirms this in Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We cannot have a clear understanding of Christ and the gospel, including our need for a Savior if we do not grasp the heinousness of our sin before a holy God.

Church historian, Stephen Nichols, provides the following analysis of a few revealing questions regarding what Americans think about who Jesus is:

“We can look at two questions and see some significant theological confusion. When asked if Jesus is truly God and has a divine nature and if Jesus is truly man and has a human nature, a strong majority of Americans (62%) agree. Six out of 10 Americans think Jesus is the God-man. Yet, consider this; When asked if Jesus is the first being created by God, 53% agree.

This is a contradiction. To say Jesus is created by God is to deny His divine nature and to deny that He is truly God. To say that Jesus is the first created being is actually to repeat a heresy that echoes through the early centuries of the church - the heresy of Arianism. The answers to this question reveal that this old heresy is still prevalent.

When put over and against the question that asks if Jesus is truly God, this question also reveals how confused Americans are on the essential issue of the identity of Christ. ‘Who do you say that I am?’ was a question Jesus Himself asked. We must point people to the right answer.”

Some surprising results show up among those who claim to be evangelical Christians too. Many of us would claim that as a description, but it is losing its meaning in modern-day America.

Among self-proclaimed evangelicals 46% agree that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.” When you combine this with the fact that 36% of evangelicals agree that “By the good deeds that I do, I partly contribute to earning my place in heaven” you see that many evangelicals undermine the gospel and deny the necessity of the life and work of Christ for our salvation.

Jesus himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me.” Paul also spoke of the only way of salvation in Romans 3:21-24, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law (good works), although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

The only way to be justified; the only way to be redeemed is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot, in any way, be saved by your good works.

What can we learn from this as God’s people? While we may find it discouraging to see the current state of belief in America, these findings should encourage us to continue to proclaim the gospel to a lost world, and as a church to continue to stand for the truth regarding Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible.

Romans 10:13-14
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”