Understanding the Christian Worldview

What is a worldview?

A worldview is a basis of thought for how we, as humans, interpret the world around us. The foundations in which a worldview is built is typically focused on religion, science, or a combination of the two. A biblical worldview focuses on the world from a Godly perspective, as opposed to a secular perspective, in which we try to see the world through a Christian lens.

According to Dr. Henderson, there’s a difference between a Christian worldview and the Christian worldview. A Christian worldview can differ between Christians or church denominations. Some values may not coincide 100% with the teachings found in the bible. The Christian worldview uses the Bible as the ultimate book of salvation. The Bible is our tool for our basic understanding of how the world works and how we are supposed to react to the world around us. The Christian worldview places God at the center and believes that Jesus Christ is God. This worldview believes that Jesus was sent and died for our salvation and that we are to live our lives to glorify Him and the Father. The Christian worldview views the Bible as the ultimate source for how we, as Christians, should behave; which is to ultimately behave as Jesus did and to be more like Him.

When we think in a way that views God as the almighty creator, we are able to see the world around us as the beautiful thing that he created. In Luke 11:34, it states “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body is also full of darkness” (NIV). The Christian worldview allows us to view the world around us through healthy eyes filled with the light of God. When Satan comes in and taints our vision of the world and allows us to view the evilness of the world in a way that it is accepted and often encouraged, our eyes, mind, body, and soul are darkened and we view the world in a negative light.

Our beliefs individually, or even church-wide, can often contradict that of the Christian worldview. Each church sets a doctrine for how they believe God has intended for them to run the church, but this is often focused on trivial deeds as opposed to the ultimate expression of Jesus being the Lord, our God, and living life according to His purpose. John 3:21 states, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (NIV). God is the seer of all and we need to live our lives in a way that glorifies Him. We often get tripped up in the trivial rules and regulations of religion and often forget that the sole purpose is to serve Him in the best possible way.

“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God”

All we need to know about Christianity is located in God’s word.

Ephesians 4, verses 17-24 state a set of instructions for Christian living:

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (NIV).

The chapter continues with a message of how we should speak truthfully and build each other up in Christ.

Maintaining a Christian worldview and being conscious of what the Christian worldview looks like is imperative to living life like Christ. God wants us, his beautiful creation, to see and love the world around us. He wants us to treat others in love and to love ourselves, but to ultimately love and Glorify Him. When we live in this way, in a way that consciously tries to glorify and worship Him, we are living in a light and with a lens that sees the world as broken, but beautiful, and saved by our Heavenly Father.

Much Love,

Caylee

Piper, John, and David Mathis, eds. Thinking. Loving. Doing. A Call to Glorify God with Heart and Mind. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2011. N. pag. Print.

Charry, Ellen T., ed. Inquiring After God. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2000. N. pag. Print.

College Bible: New International VersionB. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012. N. pag. Print.

Henderson, Dr. James M. “What is a Biblical Worldview?.” Regent University. Virginia Beach, Virginia. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.regent.edu/admin/media/vid/?p=3701023668001>.