TRANSFORMATIONAL BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW by Stephen Phinney

January 16, 2012 - 12 minutes read

The term “Christian worldview” is really a bad idea. The ideology of God’s view of the world is a healthier way to define the Christians’ adoption of their view of the world. Christians should actually fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our view. If believers are focused on Jesus, then whatever view He has of the world will come to us through the mind of Christ in us (Phil. 2:2).

Just the idea of teaching Christians to have a worldview can become dangerous. It can actually be a set up for many deceptions. For example: most Americans refer to themselves as Christian. But, there are cultish groups like Mormon, Jehovah Witnesses, Chrislam, Freemasonry, Kabbalah, and many others – each claiming to be Christian and professing a Christian worldview. So you see, I am not sure it is wise for true indwelt Christians to use this label anymore. Therefore, for lack of a better title, I will reference my view as: Transformational Biblical Worldview.

The term “transformational” is used because it is beyond intellectual understanding and more centered upon life change. “Biblical” is utilized because this worldview is founded and rooted in the Bible – the spoken view of God. Finally, my view of “worldview” is in the sense of God’s view of the world, which is separate from my own opinion or view.

With that said, God is the One who answers the BIG questions of life. This should breed much hope, meaning, and purpose into one’s worldview.

First of all, God is real!

The world (earth) He created is real and the universe He placed this real world in is real. Because of this, we can know personally both the world around us and God Himself through the passageway of His Son – Jesus Christ. God takes a proactive role in our lives, saved or unsaved. With the saved, He has a personal relationship – much like a Father and child role. With the unsaved, He has a proactive role in working to restore such a one back into the fold, or arms, of the Creator. That can only happen through Jesus Christ and Him alone. The Word reveals that God speaks to us through general revelation (the world around us) when we are unsaved. Once we become saved and the Holy Spirit indwells us, He reveals and speaks to us through both special and general revelations within our “new nature” – spirit man (Gen. 1:26-27; Ps. 19; Isa. 45:18-19; 55:6-11; John 1:1-4, 9, 14, 18; 7:16-17; 14:6; Acts 14:14-17; 17:22-31; Rom. 1:16-32; 3:21-31; 2 Tim. 3:10-4: 4).

One of the BIG questions depraved minds ask: “Is there a God?”

The answer to that is – YES! God is transcendent (existing outside the material universe and so not limited by it), but yet He is a very personal God, who cares deeply about that cancer cell in our mortal body. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present – everywhere at once, and is 100% perfect. In fact, He is the definition of perfection. He exists as three beings, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. Most churches today refer to this tri-oneness as the Trinity (Ex. 3:13-14; Isa. 40:21-31; 45:18-19).

In the groupie of Polytheism, mankind has to live in fear, always attempting to escape the anger of the gods and endeavoring to appease them through rituals and sacrifices of fruitlessness. In Finite Godism, God is not in control. He doesn’t even have the ability to know what is going to happen from day-to-day. HOWEVER, in an indwelt Christian’s life, we can take great comfort in the Truth that there is ONE God who is entirely good and meticulously concerned about the smallest details in our lives and has a plan to work it all for His good.

Depraved mind question three: “Where did God come from?”

This is the easiest question of them all! God created the world out of nothing but a spoken Word. He designed us and the world in which we live and breathe. Mankind was specifically created in the image of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, possessing all the creative elements of the Trinity: creativity, personal gifting, ability to think, emotional beings, and a people of a will (Gen. 1-2; Ps. 8; 139; Rom. 1-8; 1 Cor. 11:7-12; James 3:8-9). To top it all off, we are created to choose right or wrong. In the beginning, we were created perfectly – no sin in the mortal body. After Adam fell, sin got into his seed through the seed within the fruit of death (Tree of Knowledge). After that day, Adam’s seed formed all children with sin inside their mortal bodies – because of one man’s sin all men are born into sin (Rom 5:12). Since then, we all live in a world that is filled with evil and are in dire need of a Savior (Gen. 1-3; Rom. 8; Ps. 51:5; Isa. 52:13, Jer. 17:9; Rom. 1-8; Titus 3:3-8).

Keep in mind that depraved thinkers don’t support all of this. Pantheists believe our identity and self-lives are illusions we must run from. Atheists are a bit more organic – that we are highly advanced animals and are here on this “planet” by chance. For groups like this to believe that indwelt Christians are a special, handpicked, group of Bridal members for Jesus Christ, well, that is absurd. What saddens me all the more is that every knee will bow and confess that these statements are True (Phil. 2:10-11); but it will be too late for them, once they have passed to the other side.

That brings us to our next question: “How should we live?”

There is an easy answer for this one, but the practical application of the answer takes a lifetime of discipleship. Since the fall destroyed any hope of us being able to live life effectively and eternally, God sent His only begotten Son to die and come back to life for us, in order that we could live. In fact, anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord (owner) and Savior is given the privilege of being crucified with Christ on the Cross (Gal. 2:20). This is the method God uses to put to death our old nature and give us resurrection life and power. Through His Son, God redeemed mankind, but only to those who choose to accept His worldview. Those who choose to reject His single-minded worldview, or pathway of redemption, will go directly to Hell with the being who started this “worldview” mess – Satan. Those individuals will be forced into a single worldview for eternity, whether they like it or not (Gen. 2:15-16; Isa. 45:18-19; Matt. 5:17-48; Mark 12:28-34; Rom. 1:18-32).

Our final question is: “Where are we going from here?”

For those of us who are not trapped in the deception of the worldview conflict, this becomes our most exciting thought. Because we were baptized into the likeness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God gave us a new future as well. This new future includes a new place of dwelling – Heaven (Rom. 6). Our old future, Hell, was placed in the tomb, never to be regenerated again. To die to self is to live in Him and to live in Him is to live in Heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father (Col. 3). How do you get from here to there? Well, it isn’t being a pew sitter, that’s for sure. You have to go through a born-again experience in order for this type of eternal transference to happen. For those who are being led into praying a prayer like this, consider praying:

Dear Heavenly Father:

I believe that Jesus is Your Son, He died on the cross for my sins, and I, my Old Man, died there with Him. I believe in the Trinity, You as the Father, Jesus as the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I confess that I have been a sinner – totally separated from You. I choose to accept Your forgiveness for my sins through the power of the blood of Jesus that was shed for me on the cross. As a child of God, I choose to deny SELF and allow you to Exchange my life for His. I now ask that you send the Holy Spirit to live inside my mortal body. Thank you for saving me! In Jesus’ Name – Amen.

In Atheism and Pantheism, no prayers of conversion exist! They believe that our lives as individuals cease to exist once we are put into the ground and buried. This is when their worldviews come to a rest and offer no assurance of an afterlife with God and their souls are at the mercy of unpredictability and finite gods. If you know people like this, pray for them now. For they need the confidence that Christ Jesus offers hope and that their lives and decisions here on earth have meaning beyond the grave. God will resurrect all of us who have put our faith and trust in Him for eternity.