A new study finds that the overwhelming majority of those who read the Bible at least three times a year have experienced transformation as a result of their encounters with Scripture, along with a sizable minority of Christians who interact with the Bible less frequently.
The American Bible Society released the seventh chapter of its 12th annual “State of the Bible” report that focuses on “Bible use”. The survey defines “Bible users” as those who said they interacted with the Bible at least three to four times a year.
Within this group of “Bible users”, 92% answered in the affirmative when asked if “the message of the Bible has transformed my life”. Just 8% said otherwise. By contrast, a majority of respondents who did not meet the criteria for designation as a “Bible user” did not see the message of the Bible as a source of transformation in their lives, while 38% did.
John Farquhar Plake, the director of ministry intelligence for the American Bible Society, said in a statement: “While we’ve reported that there has been a sharp decline in Bible reading, nearly 60 million people who engage with the Bible less than three times per year say it has had a transformative impact on their lives. Our research shows that consistent interaction with God’s Word changes us.”
He added, “As the Church, we must look for every opportunity to show our neighbors the transformational love of Jesus — which is all over the pages of the Bible.”