83: 87% of Christians Are Living Like Atheists (And It’s Making Them Miserable)

Most Christians lack a fully biblical worldview, and it’s affecting their mental and spiritual well-being. In this episode, we explore George Barna’s research showing only 13% of believers see life through Scripture. We discuss how hope, God’s inheritance, and His immeasurable power provide certainty, stability, and purpose in a chaotic world. Learn how a biblical worldview cultivates confidence, steadies anxious hearts, and transforms daily life.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I'm Eddie Lawrence and this is the Ready
for Eternity podcast, a podcast and blog
exploring biblical truths
for inquisitive Bible students.
87% of Christians are living like
atheists and it's making them miserable.

(00:22):
The last couple of episodes have
highlighted George Barna's research,
showing that only 13% of born again
believers possess a
fully biblical worldview.
This presents a church in crisis.
When only a fraction of born again
believers view the world
through the Bible's lens,

(00:44):
we have a major problem.
The survey data from 2023 through 2025
revealed that the number of Americans who
experience anxiety,
depression, and fear is on the rise.
Federal government agencies state that
one in four American adults suffer from

(01:05):
some sort of mental health problem.
Barna's research suggests that
individuals who lack a biblical worldview
are more likely to struggle with these
common mental health issues.
He concludes that some people, but not
all, receive a mental illness diagnosis
when they actually suffer from lacking

(01:27):
the assuredness a biblical
identity and purpose provide.
Simply put, remove the Bible's moral
focus and hope and
people start unraveling.
The Bible gives us the deep truths that
steady our hearts when life is uncertain.

(01:49):
It gives us the foundation we need to
stand firm when the world is in chaos.
You see, humans need hope and certainty.
The Apostle Paul understood that need.
In Ephesians chapter 1, he prayed that
God would open

(02:10):
believers' eyes to three truths,
the hope of God's calling, the riches of
His inheritance in the saints, and the
greatness of His power.
I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the

(02:32):
glorious Father, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and revelation
in your knowledge of Him.
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened, so that you may know the
hope of His calling, the riches of His
glorious inheritance in the saints, and
the surpassing greatness of His power to
us who believe these are in accordance

(02:53):
with the working of His mighty strength,
which He exerted in Christ when He raised
Him from the dead and seated Him at His
right hand in the heavenly
realms Ephesians 1, 16-20.
Let's look at these three
things, starting with hope.
Biblical hope differs from a mere wish.

(03:14):
When we wish for a million dollars while
blowing out birthday candles, we don't
really expect to get it.
In contrast, hope is something you both
desire and expect to really happen.
The Greek word in Ephesians 1, verse 18,
which our Bibles translate

(03:36):
"hope," is the Greek word "elpis."
Be dagged finds "elpis" as… The looking
forward to something with some reason for
confidence respecting, fulfillment,
hope, expectation.
What things do Christians hope for?
What do they desire and expect to get?

(03:58):
Here's just a few.
Resurrection and eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15, verses 20-23 speak of
the resurrection of the dead with Christ
as the firstfruits and believers
following in their own time.
We hope for salvation and redemption.
Romans 8, 23-25 talks about the

(04:21):
redemption of our bodies
and the hope of salvation.
We hope for glorification.
Romans 8, 30 mentions glorification as
part of God's plan for believers.
And Matthew 13, 43 says, "Then the
righteous will shine like the sun in the

(04:42):
kingdom of their Father."
And one more, Christians hope for a new
heaven and a new earth.
Second Peter 3, 13 mentions the hope of a
new heaven and a new earth where
righteousness dwells.
You see, the Bible paints a very bright
future for believers.

(05:04):
But there's also inheritance.
Now we need to pay close attention to
what the text says in Ephesians 1, 18
because it's easy to misread.
This verse isn't speaking
about what we will inherit.
Instead, it's talking about what God will
inherit, namely believers, us.

(05:27):
In his commentary on Ephesians, Clyde
Snodgrass says this.
Paul points to the tremendous glory that
is present when God inherits the people
He has set apart for Himself.
It is the Father's inheritance that Paul
refers to, not that of believers in the
saints, means that the inheritance is
found in, or consists of, these people.

(05:49):
The revelation of who God really is and
enjoyment of Him will take place when God
inherits His own people.
His glory will then be made manifest.
Even though it clearly says His
inheritance, we may misread it as our
inheritance unless we pay attention.
In what sense are God's

(06:11):
people His inheritance?
Several Bible passages speak of God's
people as His inheritance.
Here are three examples.
Deuteronomy 32, 9.
For the Lord's portion is His people,
Jacob His allotted inheritance.
Psalm 33, 12.

(06:32):
Blessed is the nation whose God is the
Lord, the people He
chose for His inheritance.
Micah 7, 18.
Who is a God like you who pardons sin and
forgives the transgression of
the remnant of His inheritance?
You do not stay angry
forever but delight to show mercy.

(06:52):
The concept of God inheriting His people
is metaphorical and carries several
theological implications.
One is ownership.
Just as an inheritance belongs to an
heir, God's people belong to Him.
Another implication is value.
An inheritance is precious

(07:14):
to the one who receives it.
This tells us that God
treasures His people.
Another implication is
a chosen relationship.
Inheritance implies a special
relationship, often familial.
This metaphor emphasizes the intimate
connection between God and His people.

(07:36):
And finally, purpose.
An inheritance is often used or managed
according to the will
of the one who grants it.
Likewise, God calls His
people to fulfill His purposes.
The metaphor emphasizes the special
status and relationship

(07:57):
of God's people to Him.
And the third thing that Paul wanted
believers to be aware of is God's power.
Paul uses four Greek synonyms in
Ephesians 1.19 to convey
the immensity of God's power.
He says, "What is the immeasurable
greatness of His power toward us who

(08:18):
believe according to the
working of His great might?"
The word power is dunamis in Greek and it
generally denotes ability
to accomplish something.
The word for working in this verse is the
Greek word inergai and it suggests

(08:39):
inherent power or strength.
The Greek word that is translated "great"
in verse 19 is iskos, and it potentially
is referring to the exercise of power.
And finally, the Greek word for "might"
is kratos, indicating
power to overcome obstacles.

(09:02):
By piling up these synonyms, Paul
attempts to exhaust the Greek language's
resources to impress upon his readers the
sheer scale of God's might.
This power is multifaceted and it
encompasses the life-giving power that
raised Jesus from the dead, which he

(09:23):
talks about in the next verse, the
revelatory power at work in Paul's
Gospel, which he mentions in chapter 3,
and finally, the power available for
believers to
appropriate in their own lives.
In essence, Paul is conveying that the
same immeasurable power that orchestrated

(09:44):
Christ's resurrection is now oriented
toward believers, and it's available for
our spiritual enlightenment,
transformation, and
empowerment in living out our faith.
To sum it all up, a biblical worldview
cultivates confidence and hope.

(10:07):
Paul's prayer for the Ephesian believers
addresses the crisis that Barna describes
by providing what anxious hearts lack.
Hope assures believers their story ends
in glory, not despair.
Inheritance confirms the believer's worth
because God treasures us.

(10:30):
Power guarantees God works within
believers with the same strength that
raised Christ from the dead.
These truths confront the fear and
uncertainty that plague those
without a biblical worldview.
They give believers a stable identity, a
secure future, and a

(10:53):
present filled with divine help.
Paul directs our eyes to what God already
provides, and these realities steady our
minds when the world feels unstable.
Barna says that God wants us to thrive.
He gave us biblical principles and
commands to facilitate human flourishing.

(11:17):
This echoes Jesus' own words in John 10.
"I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly."