The Importance of a Biblical Worldview: Part 2
(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.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Why a renewed mind?
A proper biblical understanding of sin is that all humans have had their bodies corrupted by it. Sin is like a disease that spreads rapidly through our inner parts and eventually leads to death. Sin affects every part of our body. Our passions are corrupted, our words are corrupted, our desires are corrupted, and our minds are corrupted. As Christians, we know we were once slaves to our desires, and as slaves we carry out the desires of the flesh. When we have faith that Christ is the Son of God who died to pay the penalty for our sins and is now resurrected from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, we are made into new creatures. We are now made new creatures by the power of the Holy Spirit who causes us to be transformed over time into the likeness of Christ. Although it is God who does the work of saving sinners from death, it is our obligation to continue to submit ourselves to the transforming influence of the Holy Spirit (Philippians 2:12). In Romans 12:2, Paul says "not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." Transforming here is “metamorphoō.” It's where we get the English word metamorphosis and means to change into another form. Our “form” is that of mimicking Christ.
Because of our regenerated nature, we now have the ability to be holy just as God is holy (Leviticus 19:20; 1 Peter 1:16). As stated, our call to holiness starts with a changed heart and a renewed mind. Why? Because our mind has been corrupted by sin and needs to be renewed. In Romans 12:2, the Greek word for renewed is “anakainōsis,” meaning a complete change for the better. In order to become more like Christ and have the mind of Christ, our minds must be renewed. This is a continual process that comes with consistently reading and obeying the Bible (John 17:16-19).
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
With our new life in Christ also comes freedom from the sinful temptation to conform to the ways of the world (Romans 12:2). In the passage stated by the Apostle Paul, conformity means to fashion one's character around something. Paul's exhortation is for us not to fashion ourselves to the patterns of the world, but to Christ. We have an obligation to God to keep ourselves unstained from the world (James 1:27). Our minds are the active ruling part of us, so the renewing of the mind is the renewing of the whole man. As our minds are renewed, we are equipped to discern the attacks and snares of the devil and to discern what the will of God is, what is acceptable and perfect to Him. When salvation takes place, Christians are provided with a regenerated mental ability to comprehend spiritual truth.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
Why a biblical worldview?
My goal is to communicate why "critical thinking" and "human reasoning" is a reliable practice. The reason why is because God is a God with intellect and created people with intellect. As I previously stated, our minds are the ruling part of us, the driving force we use to apply all truth. But we battle against the flesh; our mind is in constant war with the ungodly things we’re exposed to on a daily basis. We’re constantly tempted to not discipline our minds or to not embrace the truth of Scripture. We struggle with the common calamities of human life, with the opposing powers of darkness, and with many enemies whose goal is to keep our minds off Christ and heaven.
Satan has little interest in those who are already his, but his attacks are against the people of God and his primary weapon is the mind. He uses doubt of God’s Word and promises just as he did with Eve in Eden (Genesis 3:1; 1 Peter 5:8-9). But God has given us weapons of defense. In Paul's epistle to the church in Ephesus, he states in 6:17 to "take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." As part of our spiritual armor, God has given us the helmet of salvation to protect us from the works of darkness. The helmet is what protects the head in battle, and metaphorically speaking, it is what protects the mind. In battle, a soldier's helmet was vital because it protected the brain, which is what commands the rest of the body. If the brain is damaged, the whole body goes. The "helmet of salvation" refers to a believer's assurance and hope in the ongoing saving work of Christ. And "the sword of the Spirit" is the Word of God. Our choices of defense is our assurance and God's Word. The helmet is what protects us from Satan's attacks and helps us to rest in the understanding that because of the power of the cross, sin and death no longer has any power over us (Romans 8:2). Our minds are a battlefield and the action that we should take to protect them is to renew our minds. A mind renewal helps to protect us from anything contrary to God’s Word, ungodly opinions and unbiblical worldviews. Matthew Henry, the Puritan pastor says in his commentary on this passage:
“Our natural courage is as perfect cowardice, and our natural strength as perfect weakness but all our sufficiency is of God.”
Considering all we have to fight against, the world, the flesh, and the devil, let us be wise and prepare ourselves for the battle that is before us. We take action, ready for battle, and put on the helmet of salvation God has given us by developing a biblical worldview.
One other reason why I believe God calls us to a biblical worldview is because of identity. God calls us to think biblically because in doing so, we identify ourselves as a people who are not of this world but followers of Jesus. A believer who views the world from a biblical perspective recognizes that he is not of this world. Jesus says in John 15:19, "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." Jesus is saying that we don't belong. We don't pursue the same practices and principles the world does, therefore the world doesn't love us as their own. Being hated by the wicked should give evidence to our piety. Notice how the people of the world hated those who were righteous: Cain hated Abel because his works were righteous; Esau hated Jacob because of his father’s blessing; Joseph was hated by his brothers because his father favored him; King Saul hated David because the Lord was with him; and Ahab hated Micaiah because of his prophecies. The world is able to identify their own by observing the practices and philosophy of people and they hate those that oppose these practices. But those who identify with Jesus are loved and blessed by Him. As I wrap up my discussion on why I believe God has called us to have a biblical worldview, I will discuss the consequences that not having a biblical worldview has had on the Church in part 3 of this series.