Confused State

The Bible is more than just a guidebook for living, more than merely a set of rules and regulations - God's Word reflects the very heart of God!   It is living and active, as the Scriptures say, and it should not only form the basis for the way we live, but empower us to effectively live the Christian life.  It forms our worldview, our theology, and it is critical that people of God are people of Scripture.  2nd Timothy 3 (ESV) highlights the authority of Scripture:
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Timothy is certainly a model of a person dedicated to spiritual growth.  But, no matter when we start, the Word of God determines how we finish.  

Ligonier Ministries, which carries on the theological work of the late R.C. Sproul, has released the 2025 State of Theology study - it's a barometer on how well the evangelical church is doing in a variety of key areas concerning our faith.  A report on the survey at the ministry's website relates:

This nationwide study from Ligonier Ministries reveals what Americans believe about key doctrines of the Christian faith. And the findings show that confusion still reigns among professing Christians:

• 53% of American evangelicals agree that “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”
• 53% think that “The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.”
• 47% believe “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”

The summary goes on to say: "These are not statistics from skeptics or secularists. These are the beliefs of evangelicals—people who claim a high view of the Bible. What we see is not merely a knowledge gap but a discipleship gap."

In referencing some of the findings, Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis states on its website:

Whew, what a shocking mess! To be considered an Evangelical on the survey, each respondent had to answer that they “strongly agree” that “The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe,” and yet 19% think science has disproven it, a similar percentage likewise don’t think what the Bible says about homosexuality applies to us today, and nearly half are confused about objective truth and Christianity!

Similarly, 98% affirm the doctrine of the Trinity, but over half think the Holy Spirit is just a force, and 28% think Jesus was just some great teacher. That doesn’t make sense!

Ham writes, "The state of theology among so-called Evangelicals is sobering. It really should be a wake-up call to both pastors and parents. We’ve raised generations on 'Bible stories' without giving them the meat of God’s Word, teaching them to think biblically, or shaping their biblical worldview. Instead of being guided by Scripture, they’re guided by a mishmash of biblical teaching and our culture’s beliefs."

This reminds us that we should always, as born-again, Bible-believing Christ-followers, submit our beliefs to the authority of Scripture.  We should allow the teachings of the Bible to govern personal belief and behavior, not crafting our personal theology based on our opinion or experience and using the Bible to justify it, using the flawed methodology of picking and choosing which Scriptures we adhere to.

We need to talk about sin - since over half of evangelicals believe we are good by nature, that becomes a sticking point when you consider that Jesus died for our sins because we are not good by nature.  If a person believes he or she is basically good, that lessens his or her perception of the need for a Savior.  So, their view of salvation can be warped.  

And, with just less than half of self-identified evangelical Christians saying that practitioners of certain world religions have access to God, that is a clear violation of the declaration of Jesus that He is the way, truth, and life.  A clearer understanding of what it means to be saved is needed - what we have been saved from and what we have been saved to.  Our new life in Christ is predicated on our heart belief in Him and confession of His Lordship, and it can be helpful to consider how we have been changed and how we live our lives in light of what Jesus has done for us.