10 Toxic Traditions That Are Killing the Church

Making belief in all the Bible a pre-requisite for salvation.

This one is a tradition that simmers just beneath the surface. I’ve written about this before that we can elevate the Bible to a place where it was never meant to be. Churches today are beginning to talk about the Bible as if belief in all the Bible is a pre-requisite for salvation. The Bible doesn’t save us. Jesus saves us. The Bible points us to Jesus, but the Bible is not Jesus. The entrance exam to heaven isn’t going to be on whether or not you believe Noah’s ark really happened. The requirement was, is and always will be belief in Jesus the Christ. Another slice of this point is that too many churches preach the Bible assuming that everyone knows the stories. We make passing references to stories like David and Goliath and Daniel and the Lion’s Den, assuming that everyone knows those stories already. All this does is reinforce to visitors and guests who don’t know the Bible that they don’t belong.