Live out a Biblical worldview

One of the things that stood out to our teens from the sermon Sunday was the percentage of senior pastors who had a Biblical worldview – only 41% –according to research by George Barna.  Doesn’t that amaze you also?  I asked our teens who thought they had a Biblical worldview, and almost to a person they said they did.  

Let’s break that down a bit though.  What does it mean to have a Biblical worldview?  One student shared that it means to believe the Bible.  Another said to love God and share the gospel.  But is that what is meant by the phrase “Biblical worldview?”  Of those 59% of senior pastors, I would venture to say I think most of them preach and teach from the Bible.  So a Biblical worldview isn’t some adherence or use of the Bible.  Instead, holding or having a Biblical worldview is not how you see the Bible, but how the Bible is the lane or lens you have to look at, understand and navigate your life in the world.  To have a Biblical worldview is to apply the percepts, dictates and commands of the Lord through His word to all areas of our life.  It is placing our life and our living out life alongside Scripture in such a way that we align and live parallel to it.  

This is the reason Jesus said that if anyone desires to be His disciple, they need to deny themselves, pick up their cross and follow Him daily. (Luke 9:23) A Biblical worldview is not adding “Christian” to a title, nor quoting (misquoting) a portion of Scripture or adding Praise the Lord to your vocabulary.  A Biblical worldview requires knowing and living the truth in all the areas of life.  And this is where those 59% of senior pastors struggle, right along with the rest of the church.  It is easy to say, “Do as I say, not as I do,” but these attitudes and actions become one of the greatest apologetics against the good news of the salvation of Christ.  We are in a sad state of affairs in the church where only 41% of senior pastors and only 6% of people in the church have a Biblical worldview.  I would posit that the greatest failing of the pastorate and the people is not a lack of knowledge, but of application of the knowledge of God’s Word they already have.  Why?  Because if we will apply what we know, this will spur us towards more faithfulness and more knowledge of the Lord.  

So what is your next step?  Apply and follow the truths of God you already know while learning more and more about faithfully following Jesus. 

I asked the teens if they wanted a quick, easy way to know if they had a Biblical worldview.  Do you?  Anytime you say or think, “I know they Bible says . . ., but . . .” you are not living out a Biblical worldview, at least in that specific area.  And this isn’t usually an isolated case, for rot grows unless you cut it out.  Do you need a “knife” today for any areas of your life?  “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joint and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12)  If so, allow the word of God to do a work in your heart between your desires and the desires of God in your life, leading you to living out a Biblical worldview.

Pressing on…

Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor