Developing a Biblical Worldview
by John Piper
Let’s clarify what the Supreme Court did forty years ago. In Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court in effect made abortion on demand untouchable by law. The way this was done was with two steps.
One step was to say, laws may not prevent abortion, even during the full nine months, if the abortion is “to preserve the life or health of the mother.” The other step was to define “health” as “all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman's age — relevant to the well-being of the patient.”
For forty years this has meant that any perceived stress is a legal ground for eliminating the child. We have killed fifty million babies. And what increases our guilt as a nation is that we know what we are doing. Here’s the evidence that we know we are killing children. (read more)
What is a Worldview?
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th Edition, 2000) defines “worldview” as “the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.” But “perspective” can be an elusive word. Oftentimes a person’s perspective is influenced by their perception of a situation–and perception is influenced by how clearly we see and understand all of the factors facing us. “Truth” and “reality” therefore become key components in determining perspective.
Wouldn’t it be great to know that the decisions you are daily making are based on real truth? That the perspective you hold on to is indeed grounded in reality?
But what, in today’s world, can be a relied-upon source of truth? Our friends, family, the media, history, the internet? In order to ascertain truth for our lives, we must begin by committing ourselves to something that can be relied upon for providing a foundation of truth. Only the Bible can be trusted to provide us with real truth. Thus, we end up with a “biblical worldview,” a perspective that is based on the Bible–on God’s truth.
A biblical worldview is grounded in a commitment to knowing and understanding the Bible. It is a commitment to ascertaining truth for our lives and applying that truth to the everyday situations we encounter.
Meditate on the following Bible passages and ask the Holy Spirit to increase your understanding of God’s truth. (read Bible passages)
Our perspective is made up of core convictions that establish our point of view. If we want to experience God’s truth then we must first make sure that our core convictions are consistent with the truth God has revealed to us in the Bible. (read more)
There are four steps involved in the process of renewing your mind: receptivity, comprehension, conviction, and transformation. Don’t settle for knowledge of God, He wants His truth and His Spirit to transform your life! (read more)
After we regain our perspective and are open to having our minds renewed by God’s truth, we can begin to apply the truth cycle to all areas of our lives. God’s truth can and will change us! (read more)
Story and Structure in the Christian Worldview
Every human being has a worldview, a framework for understanding and interacting with the physical world, other humans, and the Divine. Every worldview tells a story – an explanation of life and our place in it – that makes sense to the one who holds it. (read article)
Worldview Spheres represent the particular categories of truth, disciplines of study, and arenas of practice within which the Truth comes to light in human experience. (see the 8 worldview spheres)
by Charles R. Swindoll
Sometimes life hits us so hard that we begin to doubt all we’ve learned about God and the Bible. Our circumstances loom large and crowd out our view of anything else. At those times, this is a very practical and helpful article to read. Chuck Swindoll encourages us to remain hopeful by relying on our all-powerful, loving, and never-changing God. (read more)
By Mark Earley
What should be the result of a biblical worldview? Often we think of a biblical worldview only as it pertains to right thinking. But it can never stop there. In 1 Timothy 1:5, Paul says that “the goal of our instruction” is love. (read more)
by David K. Naugle
For Christians, understanding the worldview one holds is especially critical because a biblical worldview is shaped by Jesus Christ himself. Everybody has a worldview; most people simply don’t realize this – not even most Christians. But understanding our own worldview and working hard to live it out as fully as possible is, in a certain sense, the sum and substance of what it means to be a Christian. In this first installment of a 17-part series, Dr. David Naugle introduces the concept of worldview and why it matters. (read more)
by David K. Naugle
“I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?” said Sam to Frodo in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers. That’s a good question for each of us to ask and answer as well. The tale that we Christians have fallen into by the mercy of God is His very own story, a drama of cosmic proportions. It is the narrative key that unlocks the secrets of the universe. It is the master plot that explains the meaning and purpose of life. (Note: This is article 2 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding article above.) (read more)
by David K. Naugle
If we are to understand any story, we must know something about its cast of characters and the roles they play as the drama unfolds. If we are to comprehend God’s story in Scripture, we must know who its main characters are and what roles He intends for them to play. In addition to God Himself (and perhaps the angels), the main characters are, of course, well, you and me! People are, indeed, center stage! Grasping our part in the divine drama is a giant step forward in understanding the grand narrative of the Bible. It also helps us to get to know ourselves better from God’s point of view! (Note: This is article 3 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by David K. Naugle
Wendell Berry, the contemporary poet/farmer from Kentucky, published a collection of his essays about a dozen years ago, using a title that has always intrigued me: What Are People For? While Berry had his own purposes in mind for his title, for us it raises the question about the specific roles we are to play in God’s plan for creation and human life. Why did God make us? What does He expect us to do? Why are we here? (Note: This is article 4 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by David K. Naugle
In the account of the creation of man and woman we find a lovely, highly personal statement about mankind’s nature and purpose, and the love God bears for His creatures. (Note: This is article 5 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by David K. Naugle
The fall of humanity into sin in Genesis 3 is bad news, very bad news. God formed all things by creation, but humanity deformed all things by sin. God’s blessing has been replaced by judgment. Life has been undermined by death. Fellowship with God was broken. Idolatry reigns. Relationships with others have been disrupted. Human society is divided. The world has undergone a great disturbance. It is no longer normal. (Note: This is article 6 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by David K. Naugle
Now there is no way to really appreciate the significance of our salvation except by understanding how deeply sin has wounded creation and all things in it. The catastrophic nature of our predicament must become transparent to us if we are to grasp the real triumph of the Kingdom of God. So, in this lesson on Genesis 4-11, we will learn how things go from bad to worse as sin spreads and escalates in the stories about Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, and the tower of Babel. (Note: This is article 7 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by David K. Naugle
Jesus was the smartest man that ever lived! Remember? In our efforts to develop the mind of Christ, we need to know something about what He taught about sin and its effects on people. Now we must realize that Jesus was not a systematic theologian. He did not offer any formal, abstract discussion about hamartiology, or the doctrine of humanity in sin. Rather, He was primarily interested in real people at a personal level. He interacted with them in the ordinary experiences of everyday life. In these informal settings, His ideas about the human condition emerge. (Note: This is article 8 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
During the turbulent days of the second World War, Dorothy Sayers bemoaned the fact that “We have rather lost sight of the idea that Christianity is supposed to be an interpretation of the universe.”[1] It is this larger vision of our faith that we are striving to recover! But we have an even more important goal than this. We want a Biblical view of life so that we can be about the business of Kingdom living here and now!
To assist us in this purpose, we need to nail down our theology of creation and the fall. In this lesson, therefore, we will present some several theological principles that will round out our thinking about these two vital areas. (Note: This is article 9 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
Just exactly how should we understand the Bible? What is it really all about? Here’s a good way to look at it. Overall, we can say that the Bible is the story of redemption with a three-chapter preface.
Genesis 1-2 tells us about God’s very good creation and His permanent purposes for humanity and the earth. Genesis 3 tells us about the fall into sin and how our sin has corrupted the entire creation (the spread and escalation of sin are, of course, detailed in Genesis 4-11). The rest of the Bible — all the way from Genesis 3:15 which is the first promise of redemption to Revelation 22:21 which is the last verse of Scripture — is the story of redemption! (Note: This is article 10 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
Things went from bad to worse once Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Shortly thereafter, Cain murdered Abel (Gen. 4:1-15), and Cain’s wicked descendents established the first secular, humanistic civilization characterized by pride, idolatry, and immorality (Gen. 4:16-24). Eventually, under the influence of this runaway culture, the whole human race fell away from God in total apostasy. As a result, God was both sad and mad. He grieved over the pitiful spiritual condition of His creatures. He also resolved in His righteous anger to bring judgment upon these evildoers through the waters of the flood. (Note: This is article 11 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
Eventually, Israel arrived at Mt. Sinai and camped at the foot of this holy mountain. The next big step in Israel’s history would transpire at this location. At Sinai, God entered into a deeper covenant relationship with His newly redeemed people. This “Sinai covenant,” as we may call it, fleshes out in a deeper way the character and purpose of national Israel. (Note: This is article 12 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
The Old Testament ends on a note of expectation —the return of Elijah the prophet who would soften the hearts of the people to obey the Law of Moses in conformity with Israel’s calling as God’s holy nation (Mal. 4:4-6). However, four hundred long years pass before Israel hears any word from God.
Finally, the deafening silence was shattered by the strong voice of John the Baptist — the promised forerunner of Messiah who was also the new Elijah. John the Baptist made this startling, but exciting announcement: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”!(Note: This is article 13 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
Ok, let’s do some thinking! In the New Testament, there is both unity and diversity in its theology.
What I mean is that the New Testament presents one, key redemptive event accomplished by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. At the same time, however, there are also a variety of non-conflicting interpretations of this one, key redemptive event by the various New Testament authors. (Note: This is article 14 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
Jesus has come, and He is coming again! This is the theological structure of the New Testament, the context of the Kingdom of God, the framework of the Christian life. Christ’s one key, redemptive work arrives in two stages that are, in fact, quite different from each other. (Note: This is article 15 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
From the beginning of the Church until the present, Christians of every stripe have wrestled with a most fundamental problem: how to relate to the world and its culture. How do believers act in and interact with the society which surrounds them, and of which they are a part? Of course, we are all familiar with the old adage that Christians are to be in the world, but not of it. But what does that really mean? (Note: This is article 16 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles above.) (read more)
by Dr. David Naugle
Who is in the ministry?
It’s really easy for “ordinary” believers in Jesus Christ to feel like they are second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. They often feel disenfranchised from the faith which they cherish and from the Lord Whom they love.
Why do they feel this way? Because frequently the language used in our churches conveys the clear message that only pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and other “full-time Christian workers” are called into the ministry serving God. Everybody else just has a secular job. (Note: This is article 17 in a series of 17 on developing a biblical view of life. See the preceding articles below.) (read more)
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