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WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW?
Definition from Ligonier Ministries: As the word itself suggests, a worldview is an overall view of the world. It’s not a physical view of the world, but rather a philosophical view, an all-encompassing perspective on everything that exists and matters to us. A person’s worldview represents his most fundamental beliefs and assumptions about the universe he inhabits. It reflects how he would answer all the “big questions” of human existence: fundamental questions about who and what we are, where we came from, why we’re here, where (if anywhere) we’re headed, the meaning and purpose of life, the nature of the afterlife, and what counts as a good life here and now.
And another good definition from the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics states that a worldview is how one views or interprets reality. It is the framework through which or by which one makes sense of the data of life. A worldview makes a world of difference in one’s view of God, origins, evil, human nature, values, and destiny.
WHAT IS A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW?
A Biblical Worldview means that one views life and everything about life through the lens of God’s Word. They would believe the Bible is inspired of God, inerrant (without errors in the original documents), and infallible (inability to err in teaching revealed truth – 1 John 2:20-21 – “no lie comes from the truth”).
We have a Biblical worldview when the Word of God is the source and baseline of data, knowledge, and truth that frames one view of this world, life, and future life. It is when we allow the Eternal and Unchanging word of God to form our foundational beliefs. We see the world through the lens of Scripture.
We can speak of worldview in two ways. First, in a general sense, we can speak of a secular worldview, a pagan worldview, or a Biblical worldview. Each of these worldviews has an essentially common core set of beliefs that shape the worldview. Second, in an individual sense, there are as many worldviews as there are people. No two people have a completely identical worldview. We all have a different set of experiences of which we need to make sense. Even two people, like you and me, who share the same Biblical worldview, can have slightly different perspectives on the issues.
Not sure if you have a biblical worldview? Answer the following questions, based on claims found in the Bible and which George Barna used in one of his surveys:
- 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?
Did you answer yes to these? Sadly, only 9 percent of “born- again” believers did in George Barna’s 2006 survey. Recently there was an updated survey, and sadly, only 6% of born again believers had a Biblical worldview!
But what’s more important than your ‘yes’ to these questions is whether your life shows it. Granted, we are all sinners and fall short, but most of our gut reactions will reflect what we deep-down, honest-to-goodness believe to be real and true.
DILUTION OF THE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW:
Here is an excerpt from Focus on the Family’s article, What is a Christian Worldview?‘: Here is the big problem. Non-biblical worldview ideas don’t just sit in a book somewhere waiting for people to examine them. They bombard us constantly from television, film, music, newspapers, magazines, books, and academia.
Because we live in a selfish, fallen world, these ideas seductively appeal to the desires of our flesh, and we often end up incorporating them into our personal worldview. Sadly, we often do this without even knowing it.
For example, most Christians would agree with 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and other Scriptures that command us to avoid sexual immorality, but how often do Christians fall into lust or premarital and extramarital sexual sin? Is it simply because they are weak when tempted, or did it begin much earlier, with the seductive lies from our sexualized society?
LIES THAT THE WORLD TEACHES ABOUT MONEY…and a Biblical response:
- You don’t have enough…
- Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- More Money = Happiness
- Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
- Money = Security
- Proverbs 23:4–5 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
- Proverbs 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
- I need debt to build wealth
- Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
- Deuteronomy 28:12 The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
- Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
- “MY” possessions
- Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
- Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
- Go ahead and Charge it… After all, you deserve to treat yourself.
- Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
- (The Christian Money Lie…) Let go and let God, thinking about money is sinful.
- Proverbs 10:4–5 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
Overview of a proper view of money for the Believer:
- Lordship:
- 1 Cor. 10:26: “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
- Job 41:11: “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”
- Ps. 24:1: “The earth is the Lord‘s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,”
- Stewardship:
- Luke 16:11: “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?”
- Blessing/Generosity:
- Proverbs 11:24: “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”
- Psalm 112:5: “It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:11: “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”
- Malachi 3:10: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
Our prayer is that you will hold to and live out a Biblical worldview of money and stewardship! According to Barna research, the church has caved another 3% of believers to lean into the world’s view and fade from a solid Biblical worldview of all things, including money and stewardship. The Scriptures give us a different way of thinking and processing. We are different from the world in which we live!
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