This chart illustrates the sharp divide within modern Christianity between cultural label and actual biblical conviction, based on data from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University (led by George Barna).  

The table measures the percentage of each group who believe these specific behaviors are morally unacceptable / sinful:  

1. Breakdown by Group

• Self-Identified Christians:
  Only 32% believe sex outside of marriage is wrong.
  Roughly barely half view lying (53%), abortion (55%), or cheating on taxes (59%) as morally unacceptable. 

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  Takeaway: Nearly half or more of those who wear the name "Christian" hold moral standards almost indistinguishable from secular culture. 

• Theologically "Born-Again" Christians:
  While numbers rise, a significant gap remains: only 51% view premarital/unmarried sex as morally wrong, and around a third still see nothing morally wrong with lying (33%) or tax cheating (29%).

• Integrated Disciples (Biblical Worldview):
  In this group—representing believers whose beliefs and life choices consistently align with scripture—moral clarity is virtually unanimous: 97% to 99+% recognize lying, abortion, unmarried sex, and cheating as sins.
  Notably, Barna’s research shows that this group makes up only about 4% to 6% of the entire American adult population.

2. Connection to Scripture

This data demonstrates the practical result of separating faith from God's commandments:

• 1 John 3:7–8: "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil..."

• Titus 1:16: "They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good."

• Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

When belief is treated merely as an identity rather than an allegiance to God's eternal word, moral standards inevitably erode to match personal convenience.

When measured against the plain text of Scripture, that belief represents a total breakdown of biblical doctrine:  

1. No One Is "Good Enough"

The foundation of the "good deeds" theory collapses because human standards of goodness are completely detached from God's standard of holiness:

• Isaiah 64:6: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

• Romans 3:10–12: "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away... there is no one who does good, not even one.'"

• Mark 10:18: Yeshua Himself said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone."  

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If human goodness were the scale, the balance would always fall short.

2. Earning vs. A Gift (Works vs. Grace)  

Scripture explicitly warns that if salvation could be earned by human merit, grace would cease to exist and man could boast before the Creator:

• Ephesians 2:8–9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."

• Romans 11:6: "And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."

• Galatians 2:21: "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law [or human effort], Christ died for nothing!" 

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3. The True Place of Obedience and Commandments  

Believing you cannot earn salvation does not mean obedience is optional—which is where modern confusion often lies.

The biblical pattern has always been:

1. Redemption first: God redeemed Israel out of slavery in Egypt before giving them the commandments at Sinai. Likewise, Yeshua redeems a sinner by His blood before they can walk righteously.  

2. Obedience as evidence, not currency: Keeping God’s commandments and doing good is not a payment to buy a ticket to heaven; it is the natural, necessary evidence of genuine love, repentance, and saving faith.

• Ephesians 2:10: Immediately after saying salvation is "not of works," verse 10 declares: "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

• James 2:17–18: "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds."

The 58% statistic reveals how many people have replaced the true Gospel with moralistic self-reliance: imagining God as a cosmic bookkeeper weighing good vs. bad deeds, rather than the holy King whose grace redeems us so we can truly walk in His ways.