4. Instilling a Biblical Worldview

What are the lenses by which you view the world? Do you filter everything through the Word of God or your own subjective experiences and beliefs? I define a Biblical Worldview as “believing the Bible is the infallible, final authority in all matters of faith and practice, and is all sufficient guide for your daily life.” Here’s Dr. John MacArthur’s definition of a Biblical or Christian Worldview.

“The Christian worldview sees and understands God the Creator and His creation-i.e., man and the world-primarily through the lens of God’s special revelation, the Holy Scriptures, and secondarily through God’s natural revelation in creation as interpreted by human reason and reconciled by and with Scripture, for the purpose of believing and behaving in accord with God’s will and, thereby, glorifying God with one’s mind and life, both now and in eternity.” Article here. 

You may be asking yourself, “why this topic is important to discuss”? Because the vast majority of professed born-again Christians do not hold to a traditional Biblical Worldview. In fact, the statistics are alarming. According to a George Barna survey conducted in 2009, only 9% of American’s hold to a traditional Biblical Worldview. The questions that were asked in the survey are posted below. Only 19% of respondents who claimed to be “born-again” answered yes to all these questions. What’s even more shocking only 1 in 200 or .5% of the Mosaic generation (ages 18-23) have a Biblical worldview as defined by Barna. A lack of a Biblical Worldview will have stunning implications on our culture in the near future.

Everyday our children are bombarded with worldview’s that contradict the Word of God. They experience this daily in public schools, TV, internet, friends, music, books and the list goes on and on. It’s no wonder our culture is embracing secular humanism at an alarming rate. We must strive to build our children upon the foundation of God’s Word. If we don’t, they will likely get swept away by the “wisdom” of this world. If parents and young people don’t posses a Biblical worldview and frankly don’t know God’s Word, this will have devastating effects on their lives and upcoming generations. (Hosea 4:6). Meditate on these verses and answer the questions below. Remember, this isn’t a thorough study on a Biblical Worldview, just a “warm-up” study. I encourage you to utilize the additional resources available (books or sermons) on what a Biblical Worldview is.

These are the Barna Survey Questions:

• Does absolute moral truth exist and is it defined by the Bible? (Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:25, Matthew 24:35)
• Did Jesus Live a Sinless Life? (1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 3:5)
• Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today? (Genesis 1:1, Job 38:4-7, Isaiah 42:5, John 1:1-3)
• Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned? (Ephesians 2:8-9)
• Is Satan real? (1 Peter 5:8, Ezekiel 28:14, 1 John 5:19)
• Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people? (1 Peter 3:15, Colossians 4:6)
• Is the Bible accurate in all of its teaching? (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21)