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Understanding a Biblical Worldview

What is a Worldview?

In plain terms, a worldview is the filter through which one examines the world. Additionally, opinions are formulated based on that which is seen, understood, perceived, experienced, and felt. Subsequently, decisions are made in direct response to those estimations, and the result is a set of core values and convictions to be followed. In the introduction of his book, Think Biblically!, John MacArthur describes a worldview as a “collection of presuppositions, convictions, and values from which a person tries to understand and make sense out of the world and life” (13). R.C. Sproul simply calls it “the glue found in a unifying system of thought” (29). For example, if a young girl has grown up with a physically and verbally abusive father, she may have troubled relationships with adult men, and those feelings may carry over to how she views and relates to God.

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The Christian Worldview

How did life begin?

Christians believe that God formed everything since the beginning of time, starting first with the heavens and earth, which is the only planet mentioned by name in the Bible (Gen. 1.1). The creation account goes on to describe the literal seven-day process of speaking into existence light, darkness, water, dry land, plants, fish, birds, animals, and finally man. Moses and David both concur that God is the originator of human kind (Psa. 139.13.16), and that God created us in His image (Gen. 1.27). God saw fit to provide a helper, a compliment to Adam, and fashioned the female from Adam’s rib (Gen. 2.21).

What does it mean to be human?

God immediately gave Adam and Eve rule over His creation, and also gave them His blessing (Gen. 1:28). This should convince us that humans are more important than animals. David sings praise to God and declares how humans, while lower than angels, still are charged with ruling over beasts, birds, and sea kind (Psa. 8.5.8). The entirety of God’s word is communicated to men, from men, and scripture offers no special revelation about the elevation of animals.

Why does mankind exist?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that humans were designed to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (1 Cor. 10.31).  To this end, we should be proactive in a relationship with God, though prayer, worship, and fellowship with other believers. We should spend time reading the Bible to further that relationship. We were also created to participate in good works, which pleases our Heavenly Father (Eph. 2.10, Matt. 5.16).

What is meant by right and wrong?

To have morals or ethics means to live by a specific set of standards. Having a biblical worldview means that those standards come from God’s word. His word lays the foundation for knowing right from wrong. In the Old Testament this set of rules is know as The Ten Commandments (Ex. 20.3.17).  Through His special revelation, we understand that we born sinners (Ps. 51.5), and that we are offered the gift of salvation because of the death of Jesus Christ, and through that our wrongs can be forgiven.

Is there life after death?

Perhaps the most important consequence of a biblical worldview is what happens to us when we die. We know that heaven and hell are literal places (Rev. 21.1-7, 20.11-15), and once we receive the gift of eternal life, we reap the benefits of an eternity with our Creator. At the end of our lives we are judged by God and those of us who truly knew Him will see our name in the Book of Life (Rev. 20.12).

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Influences of a Biblical Worldview

The way I interact with others on a daily basis and the way I vote in elections should ultimately reflect my biblical worldview. When I am interacting with people who irritate me, who lie to me, who disrespect me, or who keep me from getting my own way, I am called to respond with unending grace. For those who have offended me, I am called to forgive seven times seventy (Mat. 18.21.22), or in other words, repeatedly. I am currently living with a daughter with anger issues, upon who I must constantly heap coals (Pro. 25.21.22) of unconditional loving kindness and tangible acts of service, which is her love language. I do these things as unto the Lord, not unto her, knowing that Christ has been beyond patient with me. Likewise, as I prepare to vote in the next Presidential election, I know that ultimately God places rulers in authority, and that I must submit to those rulers, even when I disagree. It is through these actions that I honor and submit to God, by submitting to the law and order of the land.

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Works Cited

Gutierrez, Ben and Lew Weider. “Understanding Worldview.” Finding Your Worldview:

Thinking Christianly About the World, 2013. Web.Nov.2015.

MacArthur, John. "Introduction." Think Biblically!: Recovering a Christian Worldview.

Wheaton: Crossway, 2003. Print.

Sproul, R. C. "Secularism: Ignoring the Eternal." Lifeviews: Understanding The Ideas That

Shape Society Today. Old Tappan: F.H. Revell, 1986. Print.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Good News Publishers, 2002. Print.