John 17:14-15 “I have given them Your word;and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.”
What is the context by which you relate to others?
When examining our relationship to God, others, ourselves, or the rest of Creation, how do we measure our position?
Without trying to be too vague, let me add some specifics to the question.
- When you consider God, how do you see yourself before Him?
- When you relate to others, how do you want them to see you and how do you see them?
- When considering the earth, the cosmos, and the life it holds, how do you see yourself in relation to the world around you?
The consideration of who you are comparative to all that you know or believe is often considered to be your worldview.
Your worldview shapes your ideas, affects your actions, and determines your priorities.
What you consider important or vital to who you are, is what comes forth from your life. You may claim a worldview but your actions say otherwise. If I claimed to be a Christian,(which I do), my life goals, ambitions, and the way I relate to others would reflect my christian beliefs. If someone claims to be an atheist, then the expectation of action would be their rejection that there exists a God.
If I claim to be a christian and live like an atheist, how valid is my position?
Those who claim one position and yet live another are considered hypocrites. If you want to invoke the rebuke of just about everyone in society, live like a hypocrite, this is one commonality that is universally agreed upon.
This site is dedicated to what it means to seek after Truth as it relates to Jesus Christ. Christianity that is Christ centered, biblically founded, and true to the tenets of christendom are the examples I seek to help guide myself in my walk and others who seek the Lord as well.
Christian World View
A secular humanist believes that the material world is all that exists, while a Buddhist believes he can be liberated from suffering by self-purification.
Someone with a biblical worldview believes his primary reason for existence is to love and serve God.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
How do we love God?
Well, the command was first given to love the Lord with everything that we are, then in the subsequent verses we see what that looks like.
Loving God is being obedient to His commands. Although Israel had statutes that reflected religious holy days, and ceremonial laws governing the Temple, the commandments of the Lord stood the test of time.
Why are God’s commands relevant to us today?
Matthew 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
The law of the Lord is perfect, it converts the soul, it brings down pride, and lifts up the meek and humble.
Those who desire to live a Christian Worldview must understand the magnitude of God’s laws and why they are so important.
Secular Worldview
Navigate onto any open forum that is public and you’ll quickly witness the manifold set of worldviews. State your christian worldview and you’ll soon hear from the atheists that stand fundamentally opposed to anything pertaining to the Bible.
It doesn’t take long to gain an understanding of what a secular worldview entails.
- They reject anything supernatural, particularly in regards to the Bible.
- They fundamentally rest their hope for meaning toward a society that respects all positions, unless those positions are opposed to theirs.
- They base their life on science and not just proven science, any science that speculates on origin of life, life on other planets, and a symbiosis of nature that allows for its continuance indefinitely without God being in the picture.
- The secularist may adopt luck as a guide or karma principles for doing what they consider good and evil, and even make definitive claims on life that places mankind at the epicenter. Society sets the standard of morality and evil is to oppose them.
- The secularist devalues life unless it comes to the good of society, the health of the earth, or the perceived impact of man on nature(as they call it) as being beneficial.
Affecting the World
You can see based off a worldview position what kind of impact your going to leave behind. From a christian perspective the hope is to leave a legacy of righteousness, godliness, and love that glorifies the Lord.
From the position of godlessness, the mark left is one that glorifies your own name, it seeks your own comfort, and supports your view of what the world would be without any oversight or judgement.
Psalm 95:1-5 “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.”
All that we see and know, the Lord holds within His hands. The depths of the earth represent the judgement of Hell, the heights of the hills are where He leads His people in praise and honor. The seas represent the world and the people therein, they may or may not worship Him but He still sends His rains upon their lands and the sun to make their crops grow.
Just because people reject the Lord doesn’t prevent them from experiencing His love. The world may not recognize His goodness, they may neglect to see the balance of Creation and how He holds it all in order, and they may attribute blessing to just good luck or some fortunate circumstances—one day they will see and know.
Biblical Worldview
A Christian worldview is a biblical worldview.
If we want to rise above this world and the influence of rebellion and sin we have to stand upon a standard that does not change, it is not affected by cultural tides, and does not compromise on any point at any time.
The Bible represents absolute Truth. Truth that is over all and is all. Any such Truth must have a foundation that is equal to its position and that foundation is God.
The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind.
George Barna did a survey that asked people who called themselves christians a series of question relating to the Bible:
- Do absolute moral truths exist?
- Is absolute truth defined by the Bible?
- Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life?
- Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today?
- Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned?
- Is Satan real?
- Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people?
- Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings?
Out of all the people who answered these questions, only 9% answered yes to all of them.
What is telling is the level of decline in American Worldviews from a christian view founded in God’s Word to a secular view that believes morality is only relative to your own belief system.
Another telling sign of the church is how people view death. Out of evangelical christians, 24% believe in reincarnation while 36% of self-identified christians believe reincarnation is a possibility for them. With these surprising numbers is the fact that only 2% of Americans think they will go to Hell.
Can you see why your worldview is so important?
If you believe yourself to be a born-again christian, you have relegated yourself to a life that is centered on God’s Word. By inserting a Hindu doctrine of reincarnation or a secular view of morality, you separate yourself from walking in the freedom that God has called you to.
Worldly doctrine is diametrically opposed to God’s doctrine in the Bible. If you attempt to make up some mishmash of religion that incorporates a variety of beliefs, you expose yourself to the mandates of those doctrines and deny the Truth of Christ.
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Jesus made it very clear…the Word of God purifies His people and sets them apart. By living in the world but not being of the world, we keep from being affected by a world philosophy.
Do you identify with Jesus? Do you call yourself a Christian?
The Word of God must be your absolute standard of living…nothing else will do.
U.T. 