What is a worldview? Do you have one? Does Scripture express a worldview? Does my worldview really matter? These are some of the questions we are seeking to address in these posts on Worldview Matters.
The claim is that everybody lives with a worldview, but that the Christian is especially called to think and to live according to the one true worldview. This post will challenge the believer to examine their way of life in the light of God’s revealed worldview. There may be many of you who are thinking, “I don’t remember any verse that says, ‘Thou shalt think and live worldviewishly.’” But what we need to stress is that although the word ‘worldview’ is not in Scripture—the principle sure is! Just like the word “Trinity” is not found in Scripture, yet you cannot avoid the truth of the Trinity if you take the Scriptures seriously. So it’s fine that the actual English word ‘worldview’ is of very recent stock. It’s the meaning intended by that word that we want to learn about and grow in.
Below we are going to list each of the 5 Big Questions (We listed them in Part 1 – Read Worldview Matters: Looking At Our Glasses) and we will seek to answer them biblically and give a brief comment on how this reveals our Worldview. This is where a lot of what we have talked about begins to come together and make more sense, so hang in there!
Biblical Answers to Big Questions
- Is There A God?
Scripture actually does not try to prove that God exists—it assumes that God is! There is no question of “if”. Scripture reveals to humanity who God is and what God requires of humanity. Please take the time to look up these verses and consider who this God is that the Bible speaks of.
God not only exists, but is self-existent (Exodus 3:14). He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Genesis 1; Job 38-41; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2-3), He is All-Powerful (Daniel 4:34-35; Psalm 148:1-6, 62:11; Romans 1:20; Ephesians 1:19, 21), All-Knowing and All-Wise (Isaiah 46:9-10; Romans 11:33-34; 1 Corinthians 1:19-24), Holy (Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16), and many other attributes.
- How Did We Get Here?
Genesis 1:26–27 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
God made man and woman. He made them for Himself and for each other. This is also a familiar fact for those who are familiar with the Bible. But don’t let this familiarity rob you of the worldview importance. If we are created by God, there is a whole host of implications that flow from that ‘simple’ fact. These implications will be drawn out in answering the other Big-Questions and especially when we engage in Worldview Warfare.
- What Is Our Purpose In Life?
You can see how these questions are related to one another…and that is because your worldview is a connected network of beliefs. A true worldview will be consistent with itself, it will have a natural connection and flow to it. All the parts of a true worldview will play into a larger and unified picture. Since God exists and since God made us, we would expect to find God giving us His reason for doing so. There are several places where we see this in Scripture; the following verses are “big-picture” purposes of God: Genesis 1:28-30; Jeremiah 30:18-22; Ephesians 1:9-10,18; Revelation 21:2-4. Then there are texts that speak to our salvation, sanctification, obedience, fruitfulness and doing all things to God’s glory in the individual Christian’s life.
- What Is Right And Wrong?
The Christian worldview takes its standard of morality—what is right and what is wrong—from Scripture. We believe that murder is wrong because God says it is. We believe that stealing is wrong because God says it is. Exodus 20:1-17 is a classic summation of the Law of God, known as the 10 Commandments. Romans 2:14-15 also talks about our consciences being witnesses to this Law just by virtue of the fact that we are human. God gives his Law in written form, and our consciences bear witness from within, even if we’ve never read the 10 Commandments! This is an important point to grasp, even though it is so obvious for the Christian: God reveals what is right and what is wrong. This will play a huge part in our Worldview Warfare.
- What Is Our Destiny?
In the big picture there will be “the sheep and the goats” of Matthew 25:31-46: Every single person that has or will ever exist will be either a sheep or a goat according to that parable. God’s people will rule and reign with Him in the New Heavens and Earth (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10, 20:6, 22:5) finally and fully fulfilling the Cultural Mandate of Genesis 1:28.
Those who reject God in this life will have their desire eternally filled by dwelling in the “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12) where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13) and the worm of their destruction does not die (Mark 9:48).
There is obviously much more we could say to answer these questions, but this begins to demonstrate how the Bible offers solid answers to the Big Questions of life. But what we have done so far is really only secondary in the context of a Biblical Worldview.
There are some questions we should be asking before we ask the Big Questions!
Bigger Questions!
Why is there a natural desire to ask/answer these Big Questions? We need to recognize that the very fact that all of humanity asks these Big Questions is actually already an expression of a Worldview:
- (Ecclesiastes 3:11) “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
God has put eternity into the heart of humanity! This is why every single human being asks questions like “What happens after we die?” or “What is my destiny?”
- (Psalms 119:105, 130) “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” and “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”
Humanity asks the questions like “What is my purpose in life?” or “Where do I fit in this big old world?”
- (Romans 2:14–15) “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them”
God has created all of humanity with a moral conscience that is an echo of being created in His Image. We ask the question “What is right and wrong?” because God made us with that sensibility.
Conclusion
We could continue giving Scriptures that not only answer the Big Questions of life but also—and more importantly—explain why humans even ask such questions! This may not seem like big deal, but when we realize that there is no other worldview that can account for these kinds of human peculiarities, you will begin to see how powerful living at the worldview level can be for evangelism. Other worldviews will attempt to answer the Big Questions, but they cannot provide an answer as to why humans would even want to ask the Big Questions in the first place! We are focusing so much on “worldview” because it is at the worldview level that Christianity powerfully demonstrates the falsity of other worldview claims and the truth of its own. We hope to post a demonstration of this Worldview Warfare in the near future.
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