We talked Sunday (Jul 8, 2012) about worldviews.
What’s a world view? “Worldview” is the latest buzzword in Christian circles. We’re all told we need one, and whether we know it or not, we all have one. But what is a worldview? Literally, of course, worldview is how a person views the world. It’s from the German word philosophers use, Weltanschauung, (pronounce that Vel’-tan-schau-ung) which literally means “world view.”
And we identified six popular world views:
1. “The one with the most toys wins.” This is the worldview of … materialism, and the goal of life is getting more stuff
2. “I’ve got to think of me first.” This is called … narcissism; it’s obviously all about me
3. “Do what feels good.” This is … hedonism. Pleasure comfort and happiness are top priority.
4. “Whatever works for you.” This worldview is called … Relativism. There is no absolute truth, everything is equally true.
5. “God doesn’t exist.” This worldview is … naturalism or atheism. We are just sophisticated animals and when we die, it’s all over.
6. “You are your own god.” This worldview is called … humanism. I am the captain of my own fate, the master of my soul.
All of these worldviews have consequences. Every day we’re affected and influenced by them. We’re often not even aware of it. There’s only one worldview that is consistent with the Bible. Here are seven elements of a bibe-based worldview…
1. God exists. There is no god like God. There is no other God. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God (Look up Isaiah 45:5; 46:9; 1 Kings 8:59, 50; Joel 2:27).
2. God made the universe, the world and all that is in it. Physicists admit that there was a time when there was no universe. Now there is. In spite of all our intelligence, we don’t know all the incredibly complex details. But we do know that something cannot come from nothing. “For this is what the LORD says — he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited — he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:18; John 1:1-4; Colossians 1:16, 17).
3. Just as good exists, evil also exists. If you have any question about the existence of evil, watch the evening news. Any defiance, any independence, any replacement of God is sin (Genesis 3:22; Exodus 20:3; Romans 3:23).
4. God has a grand eternal cosmic plan. God is in control. Look at Isaiah, the OT prophet in the middle of your bible, Isaiah, chapter 14, find verse 24: The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. (Verse 26) This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (see also Isaiah 37:26; 46:10,11).
What’s God’s grand, eternal, cosmic plan? It’s this: redemption; to redeem fallen mankind and … fallen creation. To restore fallen, broken people to new life as his deeply loved, adopted children. And to finally overcome evil with good. To restore creation to its full beauty and wholeness — think Eden recreated — in the new heaven and new earth.
5. God made us for his purposes. It says that we exist for his pleasure. It’s 180 degrees different from the other worldviews above. Ephesians 1, starting at verse 4: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Verse 11: In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, createdin Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” You have a purpose: to glorify God in all that you do by loving God with all your heart, soul and mind, and loving your neighbor as much as you love yourself, and even loving … your enemy!
6. There is such a thing as absolute truth. Ask any scientist, any mathematician. All proposed claims cannot be equally true: I cannot be 5’6” and 6’4”. It’s clearly one or the other. If there is no truth, there is no right and no wrong. There is truth. And in fact, truth has a name. His name is … Jesus. He said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6. Very true. Very exclusive. Very confrontational.
7. God wants to be known. Far from being secret or unknowable, God has revealed himself in his creation. Psalm 19:1-4: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them yet their voicegoes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (look up Romans 1;18-20). He revealed himself through creation. He revealed himself through the prophets. He reveled himself through his Word, our bibles. And finally he revealed himself—fully, completely and finally—in his one and only Son, Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being (see Hebrews 12:1).
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ.”
– Colossians 2:6-8
Resting in Him,
Steve
