The Importance of a Biblical Worldview: Part 3
(From part 1) As a result of sin, everything is affected including our intellect; our understanding has been darkened. If we leave it up to ourselves we would never know the truth of God. It's obvious that we need a redeemed mind. When God saves a person, He redeems the entire person: body, soul, and mind. A saved person is a new creation who's been given the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 2:16). A saved person is transformed by the renewing of his mind (Romans 12:2). As a person's mind is renewed, discernment between the "fleeting wisdom of this age" and God's wisdom increases. A way to think about this renewed mind is in the development of a biblical worldview.
One of my desires for the Village Church is for us to think biblically, or to have a biblical worldview. We will continue to be faced with cultural, social, philosophical and theological challenges and I believe it’s possible to be united if we approach these challenges by thinking biblically. My aim in this article is to communicate why a biblical worldview is important. I will discuss why a renewed mind is important so that a biblical worldview can be developed and its benefits can be experienced.
The Sufficiency of God's word
There are many ways the health of the church has been damaged due to an unbiblical worldview. From my vantage point, many church leaders have abandoned Scripture as the sufficient diet for the saints. They supplement biblical, expositional preaching with entertainment and pragmatic marketing ideas drawn from secular sources. Numerous churches are exchanging biblical preaching with carnal amusements. The idea of pastors studying and thinking carefully through the text of Scripture so that they can provide a thorough, thoughtful, accurate, and clear understanding of the Bible seems to be more rare than the norm. This worldly exchange has left the church malnourished.
Professing Christians have to face the question of whether they believe the Bible is sufficient or not. Many give lip service to this idea of sufficiency, but they treat the Word of God as secondary. For example, a large number of professing Christians today have developed a practice of Christian Mysticism. Christian Mysticism largely emphasizes dreams, visions, feelings, experiences, and other forms of new revelation. It seeks to hear God speaking primarily through strong impressions in the mind, a voice in the head, or other mystical means, not the Bible, which is the actual Word of God. Since we have the Bible, we are not to seek after new revelation. This is dangerous, occult-like behavior that communicates a lack of confidence in Scripture and conformity to the world. The reality is that God’s Word is sufficient in its instruction for how Christians should conduct themselves in both behavior and how they approach preaching (1 Tim 3:1-7; 2 Tim 4:1-5). The call is for sound teaching. The Greek word for sound is “hygiaino,” meaning to be in health or to be uncorrupted. The idea is that sound teaching is healthy for the body, and once sound teaching is abandoned, the body becomes malnourished.
“For a time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Christians must be equipped with sound doctrine to be able to observe the world through the lens of God's Word. This should be the only method of thinking we use to properly analyze our lives. A biblical view of the world also contributes to our sanctification. Our sanctification is inevitable if we continue to renew our mind by allowing the truth of God's Word to eliminate anything in contradiction to it. When Jesus prayed to the Father for Christians’ sanctification, He said, “Sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is true” (John 17:17). The implication is that being set apart from sin, and being holy, is dependent on being in the Word of God. Jesus didn’t say God’s Word and something else. His teaching conveys to the reader that the Christian’s holiness is in response to the Word of God. This should bring us great comfort and satisfaction. Our call is to be holy and God has given us His living Word to help in this. This doesn’t mean that we should read the Bible and expect "magic" to happen. What this means is that we should approach the Bible with the understanding that as we continue to read and study Scripture, our affections and love for God will grow. We begin with God’s Word because it teaches us how to pursue all the other means of grace. This quote from F. Garrett Kell from his book Pure in Heart shows us how God renews our minds:
“God’s word keeps us on the path of purity because it changes what we love. We will love the wrong things if our minds aren’t filled with God’s truth. Your sin and your Bible cannot mix for long: either the Scriptures will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Scriptures.”
The Mind of Christ
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes where his wisdom and discernment comes from: "And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:13). Through the Holy Spirit, God dispenses His wisdom to Christians. Christians who abide by Scripture can have a comprehensive ability to discern things because, according to 1 Corinthians 2:16, we have the mind of Christ. For mature Christians, the Word of God is so comprehensive that they can judge things in a healthy way.
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience.”
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul says "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." The systems of false philosophy, exalted opinions of humanity, the pride of the human heart, and all the powers that wage war against the mind are to be subdued by the power of the Gospel. In this passage, the phrase “and bringing into captivity” is taken from military language meaning to capture someone, or to lead away a captive. “Casting down imagination” refers to fighting against our carnal reasoning. This is strong language from the Apostle Paul. Our minds have been renewed, but our natural human minds, which are at enmity with God, are still there. This is why it's important to pursue with consistency a renewal of our minds. Our thoughts, understanding, and perceptions should be enslaved and in obedience to the Word of God. If we claim that Jesus is Lord, we should willingly submit ourselves to Him, not to how we grew up, how our pastor teaches us, or how the world, the flesh, and the devil tell us to think, but in direct submission to the Word of the living God. This act of submission is what it looks like to take our thoughts captive.
Taking every thought captive and considering all things according to the Word of God requires discipline of the mind. Although this is difficult, it is a biblical mandate. By taking our thoughts captive, we obey Christ and are equipped to discern the evil of this world.
“Now we have received not the Spirit of this world, but the Spirit from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.... So who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Closing remarks
Many Christians may already agree with this, or even find it trivial. But I have a challenge I would like the reader to think about. Although on the surface, we may say we believe all that was written, do we apply it in our everyday lives? Do we apply it when we’re faced with information or social/political challenges? The reason why the Apostles throughout the New Testament and other writers put emphasis on conformity to Christ is because they understand the temptation to conform to something else. Developing a biblical worldview is how we conform our minds to Christ and I hope that I’ve communicated through these articles that having a biblical worldview is non-negotiable.
If we claim to be seekers of the truth and people who hold to the sufficiency of God’s Word, we will seek to view the world through the eyes of Scripture. This distinguishes us from the world. It’s what communicates that we believe that God is true and that His Word is sufficient. Lastly, our approach of seeking a biblical worldview gives God glory. Our Lord tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind (Matthew 22:37). Our minds are meant to be used and developed like the exercising of muscles in our body. We strengthen our mind by using it. We shouldn't think that by using our mind we’re somehow leaving out the spiritual or emotional component to worship. We cannot worship God rightly without an understanding of Him and His Word. Contrary to popular belief, doctrine is important to understand. So that we may comprehend, and by doing so, we obey. Emotion is not void in this practice. Understanding doctrine should be accompanied by emotion. I want to end with two quotes from one of the faculty members from the Master’s seminary, Richard L. Mayue, that summarize this article…
“Man’s mind was so debilitated that fellowship with God proved no longer humanly possible, and the ability to see and understand life from God’s perspective vanished. The human race was now estranged from it’s God and Creator. As a result, God’s original two created human beings, and every one of their offspring, experienced a brutal reversal in their relationship with God and His world.”
A redeemed mind:
“As a result of salvation, the mind of a newly redeemed person knows and comprehends the glory of God, whereas before it was blinded by Satan. This person now possesses the “helmet of salvation” to protect the mind against the schemes of Satan rather than being left vulnerable against him as before salvation. The believer must always be on guard lest he/she return to foolish and unbiblical thought patterns due to the lingering effects of sin.”