Does culture make certain biblical truths obsolete?
Lifeway Research recently published a new study of American churchgoers (defined as those who attend church at least once a month), and the results were . . . puzzling. For example, 84% were either somewhat or very confident that if someone came to them expressing doubts about the truthfulness of Scripture, they could directly address those doubts. That seems like a great thing—over 8 in 10 Christians feel equipped to defend the faith!
But at the same time, 28% agreed (and 6% were unsure) that “as culture changes, some biblical truths become obsolete” and 34% said, “I accept some truths from the Bible, but others just don’t fit what I believe.” (The younger the churchgoer, the more likely they were to agree with these two statements).
So a large percentage believe they can defend the truth of Scripture . . . but a significant number believe the truths of Scripture can become obsolete and that not everything in the Bible fits with what they believe! Now the study doesn’t go into much detail about what these churchgoers mean so it’s difficult to know exactly which biblical truths they believe have become obsolete (for example, it is possible these people are confusing specific Levitical laws that no longer apply to believers with the unchanging truths of Scripture . . . and it’s also possible these answers show they do not have as high a view of Scripture as they should!).
It’s worth noting that the study also found that 82% of churchgoers “believe the truth of God’s Word can mean different things to different people.” This makes me wonder what these churchgoers mean by being able to defend the truth of Scripture! Does that just mean creating a new, less offensive or less difficult meaning out of the passage? Does it mean just outright rejecting the truth because it’s not what we’d like to hear?
God’s Word is not a spiritual buffet for us to put what we want on our plate and reject what we don’t want. God’s Word—all of it—is the revelation of the one true God who has given us the key information we need to build the right worldview so we can understand God, His world, our sinful condition, and what He did to save us.
Often the Bible is taught as a book of moral or spiritual things—something you add to your thinking, like a guidebook to life. But that’s not what the Bible is. Consider how Scripture refers to itself:
“Forever, O Yahweh, your word stands firm in heaven” (Psalm 119:89)
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8)
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12)
“Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17)
The Bible is eternal truth. It withstands the ever-changing whims of culture or personal opinion. God’s Word remains fixed forever, sufficient for every situation, culture, and time because it was written by the eternal God who sees the end from the beginning and has given us everything we need for life and godliness.
However, again, to be fair, some of the survey respondents may have had specific passages from the Law which teach about animal sacrifices or “clean” and “unclean” foods, for example, in mind when they answered this question. In the context of the survey, they may have chosen “as culture changes, some biblical truths become obsolete” and even directly thought of this passage: “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:13).
If that’s the case, they may indeed believe Scripture is eternally authoritative (though it’s worth noting that the Levitical Law is no longer binding on Christians because of a change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, not because of a change in culture!). Because of the word “culture” in the question, though, I think the respondents could be referring to biblical teachings such as marriage and gender becoming obsolete, as I’ve had people tell me that the Bible’s teachings on these things were only for the culture of biblical times!
This study is a reminder of what I’ve been saying for five decades now—we must raise up generations who start their thinking with the authority of Scripture, from the very first verse. That is the foundation for all our thinking.
We—sinful, fallible human beings who don’t know everything, haven’t always been there, and frequently make mistakes—are not the authority over the infallible, inerrant, perfect Word of the God who knows everything, who has always been there, and who has never made a mistake. He must be the authority in all areas.
God’s Word is not obsolete. Although certain passages from the Levitical Law may not be directly applicable to us today, the principles still apply and are instructive for us, especially regarding God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness. Every precious truth from Genesis to Revelation is as relevant now as it was when it was written because it’s the God-breathed Word of the Creator. Human pride and foolishness are saying we know better than God and can pick and choose what we want to believe or can decide our own meaning from the text. We need to allow God to be the authority and humbly submit ourselves to His perfect Word.
