Do You Have a Biblical Worldview? Part 2

Last week we learned about the five basic categories that comprise a person’s worldview.  All of us have “belief glasses,” or a lens through which we see the world.  According to John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle, “Our worldview shapes our values, and our values shape our behavior. Our actions reflect our core beliefs about life. If we are not intentional about what we believe, we’ll simply adopt a worldview to accommodate the values and behaviors in the culture around us.” 

Our view of the world is our explanation of reality, including our beliefs about the following: origin, identity, meaning, morality, and destiny. Let’s touch on each one by asking ourselves some questions. This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but it will jumpstart our thinking.

Origins – Where did everything come from? Was the world created from nothing? Is God the creator of everyone and everything?  Who is God of the Bible?  A biblical worldview says this: He is the source of justice and sets the moral standard. He is infinite, eternal, transcendent, the great I AM, Jehovah. Jesus is God, man’s Savior; He died for man’s sin, was buried and rose from the dead (Rom. 10: 9-10; 1 Tim. 2:5). God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. God is triune: Father, Son, and Spirit. Creation is sustained by God’s power and includes the visible, invisible, natural, and supernatural realms (Col. 1: 16-17). All creation reflects God’s glory (Rom. 1:19-20). You could certainly add more to this list, but determining your belief about the created order of things and Who created this world is important, i.e., creationism vs. evolutionism.   

Identity – Who is mankind? A biblical worldview says this: Man was created good, sinned, fell under a curse, has a sin nature, and needs a Savior (Is. 53:6; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:8-9). Man is mortal; has one life to live on earth (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:27). Man’s body is finite; his spirit and soul are eternal (Matt. 10:28; 1 Thess. 5:23). Man is made in the image of God; was created to have a relationship with God. God made man and woman – two genders (Gen. 1:26). God says that man is fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves you so much that He sent Jesus to die so that you could have eternal life in heaven with Him. 

Meaning/Purpose – What is life’s meaning? What is man’s purpose on earth?  Is it to work as unto the Lord; glorify God and enjoy Him forever?  Is it self-pleasure, enjoyment and getting more stuff?  Man is to love God and others (Duet. 6:4-8; Matt. 22: 37-39). Man has been given dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:4-6). I love this quote taken from The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot, “Rear children with an eternal perspective that they shall fill useful spheres in life and live forever in heaven with Jesus. Ordinary work which is what most of us do is ordained by God every bit as much as the extraordinary. All work done for God is spiritual work and therefore not merely a duty but a holy privilege.” You mean changing a diaper is spiritual work?  Yes. You are a spiritual being and everything you do is a result of who you are in Christ. There is no secular/spiritual divide in the life of a Believer.

Moral Order – What is our measuring stick on what’s right and wrong (Heb. 9:27).  God is the source and sets the moral standard (Ex. 20:1-17; Rom. 1, 3:21, 6,7). There is absolute truth (John 1:1). Moral order is upheld through the family, church, and government (Gen. 2:18-24; Matt. 1:18, Rom. 13: 1-7). God uses parents as the authority for teaching right/wrong to their children.

Destiny – What happens when someone dies? Heb. 9:27 says, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” The only question will be whether we trusted in Jesus to be our Savior, forgiving us of our sin; or, whether we’ve chosen our own path of eternal condemnation, trusting in ourselves. As Christians, our desire is to lead our children into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In A Practical Guide to Culture, Stonestreet and Kunkle state several ways to shape your child’s worldview: 1. Talk about worldview early and often. Children need to know the definition and how a Christian worldview is different from non-Christian’s.  (We pass everything through the lens of Scripture). Begin talking about songs, movies, television programs, articles, social media posts, and commercials - they all reflect values and behaviors that are rooted in a certain worldview.  2. Discuss non-Christian worldviews that are visible in culture.  For example, how does your family make financial decisions; spending, saving, giving are determined by one’s values.  3. Read to your youngsters and encourage your older children to read good books. Read books that espouse the values and character qualities that you want your children to develop. Read the Bible and stories about people in the Bible.  4. Discuss ideas whenever possible – for example, look at commercials and the promises the products make to bring happiness and fulfillment. Identify worldly lies promoted by the culture within commercials.  5. Learn to ask good questions, causing deep thought instead of rote answers. For example, I was recently listening to Ken Ham speak about Jane Goodall’s passing and her worldview. I believe we can discern that she believed we evolved from apes. She spent her life declaring that human beings should honor animals rather than God. One with a biblical worldview would know that humans are made in God’s image, set apart from the animal kingdom and capable of entering into a personal relationship with God through Jesus.  When  visiting zoos, look for signage that opposes a biblical worldview about the animal kingdom.  6. One important topic that every family should be prepared to discuss is the use of technology and its value in terms of personal relationships. Will your decision on this topic relate to your beliefs and convictions? As Dr. Kathy Koch says, “Young people will absorb the three chief virtues of modern society (IF they do not think and act with a biblical worldview): convenience, efficiency, and choice. In other words, the best life is one that is faster, easier, and based on their own terms. Along the way, they’ll miss developing the essential character qualities of patience, prudence, and perseverance.”  Technology gives us the illusion that we are in control. The heart of moralistic therapeutic deism, the dominant worldview of today, is the mistaken idea that this is our world, not God’s; that God serves our agenda. This is far from biblical Christianity.

I have only touched the surface of this topic. I encourage you to engage in your own study and align your worldview with the Truth of Scripture so that you can speak to your children regarding the reason for your beliefs and convictions about finances, politics, education, social trends, and cultural norms. Ultimately, this thinking and believing will drive your decision-making in all areas of life and will certainly drive your thinking about the hot-button, cultural topics of our time.