Overview: 

Everyone has a worldview! Former president of Union University, David Dockery wrote an article entitled “Shaping a Christian Worldview”. In the article, he stated: 

"Immersed in our environment, we have failed to take seriously the ramifications of a secular worldview.  Sociologist and social watchdog Daniel Yankelovich defines culture as an effort to provide a coherent set of answers to the existential situations that confront human beings in the passage of their lives.  A genuine cultural shift is one that makes a decisive break with the shared meaning of the past.  The break particularly affects those meanings that relate to the deepest questions of the purpose and nature of human life."¹  

As Christians, we should live with a Biblical worldview, but we also should not be surprised when others do not hold to such a view. In a post Christian culture, many believers in the United States are struggling with a culture that has rapidly dismissed any semblance of biblical values or morality. Yet, we should not be shocked or discouraged. We have been warned in scripture: 

2 Timothy 3:1–5 (NASB95)  

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.  

1 Timothy 4:1 (NASB95)  

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,   

Matthew 24:10–12 (NASB95)  

At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.  

Listen to evidence gleaned from an article written by Avery Foley:² 

"Despite the growing number of religiously unaffiliated people, over 70% of Americans still claim to be Christians. Yet only 46% of US adults would say they have a biblical worldview. But do almost half of Americans really  possess a biblical framework through which they view the world?"

Worldview questions: 

• “The Bible is totally accurate in all of the life principles it teaches.” 
• “You have a personal responsibility to share your religious beliefs with people who believe differently.” 
• “A person who is generally good, or does enough good things for others, will earn a place in Heaven.” 
• “When He lived on earth, Jesus Christ was fully human and therefore committed sins, like other people.” 
• “Satan does not exist; he is just a symbol of evil.” 
  
• “The Holy Spirit is not a living entity but is a symbol of God’s presence or purity.”  

One hundred twelve million Americans (46%) say they have a biblical worldview. But according to this study, one of the first of its kind, a mere 24 million American adults actually have a biblical worldview. In other words, only 10% of Americans think and act according to the most basic biblical principles.  

George Barna, who directed the study, says, 

“Our research collected information about attitudes and behaviors related to practical matters like lying, cheating, stealing, pornography, the nature of God, and the consequences of unresolved sin. It’s what some might describe as “Christianity 101” substance. That’s what makes the discrepancy between the percentage of people who consider themselves to be Christians—more than seven out of every ten—and those who have a biblical worldview—just one out of every ten—so alarming.” 

Of the millennial generation, just 4% qualified to have a biblical worldview—a paltry 4% of those who will be the next generation of pastors, Sunday School teachers, elders, deacons, Christian school and college teachers, and parents! 

Looking at other age groups, the following hold a biblical worldview: 

• 7% of 30–49 year olds 
• 15% of 50–64 year olds 
• 17% of 65+ 

According to a recent survey commissioned by the BBC,  

“A quarter of people who describe themselves as Christians in Great Britain do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus” and “31% said they did not believe in life after death.”³ 

As we attempt to engage a lost world, it is imperative that we understand the times in which we live. Remember 1 Chronicles 12:32 (NASB95) “Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do.” Seeking to faithfully and effectively “make disciples” we will answer the following six questions: 

What is a worldview? 

 “A worldview comprises one's collection of presuppositions, convictions and values from which a person tries to understand and make sense out of the world and life.”⁴  

(Biblical Worldview Institute) 
A worldview is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. “[It’s] any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world and man’s relations to God and the world,” says David Noebel, author of Understanding the Times. 

“A worldview is a pattern of ideas, beliefs, convictions, and habits that help us make sense of God, the world, and our relationship to God and the world.” Dr. Jeff Myers  

Summit Ministries 

 Worldview:  any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement, or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world, and man’s relation to God and the world. 

“A worldview is a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality.”² 

“A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life.”  (Phillips, W. Gary, and Brown, Williams E., Making Sense of Your World from a Biblical Viewpoint, Moody Press, Chicago, p. 29, 1991.) 

Why is it important to understand different worldviews?

Worldview matters because it is the lens through which people see the world. Your worldview is an invisible, but very real, filter that you use to understand why things are the way they are. Understanding your own worldview is just as important as understanding the worldviews of the people around you. 

In the last couple of centuries, the Christian worldview has lost its dominance, and competing worldviews have become far more prominent. These non-Christian worldviews include: 

1. Naturalism: there is no God; humans are just highly evolved animals; the universe is a closed physical system. 
2. Postmodernism: there are no objective truths and moral standards; “reality” is ultimately a human social construction. 
3. Pantheism: God is the totality of reality; thus, we are all divine by nature. 
4. Pluralism: the different world religions represent equally valid perspectives on the ultimate reality; there are many valid paths to salvation. 
5. Islam: there is only one God, and He has no son; God has revealed His will for all people through His final prophet, Muhammad, and His eternal word, the Qur’an. 
6. Moralistic therapeutic deism: God just wants us to be happy and nice to other people; He intervenes in our affairs only when we call on Him to help us out.⁵ 

Romans 12:1–2 (NASB95)  

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  

What is a Biblical worldview? 

Biblical Worldview Institute 

A Biblical Worldview is an overarching view of the world based on God’s revealed truth, the Bible, which directs our life in this world. A biblical worldview shapes our beliefs about God, Creation, Humanity, Moral Order, and Purpose:  

God – To whom or what do I ultimately answer? 
Creation – What comprises reality? 
Humanity – Who am I, and how did I get here? 
Moral Order – How do I determine right and wrong? 
Purpose – Is there a reason and purpose for my existence?  

What’s a biblical worldview? By Del Tacket with Focus on the Family 

A biblical worldview is based on the infallible Word of God. When you believe the Bible is entirely true, then you allow it to be the foundation of everything you say and do. That means, for instance, you take seriously the mandate in Romans 13 to honor the governing authorities by researching the candidates and issues, making voting a priority. 

Do you have a biblical worldview? Answer the following questions, based on claims found in the Bible and which George Barna used in his survey: 

• Do absolute moral truths exist? 
• Is absolute truth defined by the Bible? 
• Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life? 
• Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today? 
• Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned? 
• Is Satan real? 
• Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people? 
• Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings? 

Did you answer yes to these? Only 9 percent of “born- again” believers did. But what’s more important than your yes to these questions is whether your life shows it. Granted, we are all sinners and fall short, but most of our gut reactions will reflect what we deep-down, honest-to-goodness believe to be real and true.⁶ 

(Answers in Genesis) Think Biblically! edited by Dr. John MacArthur, copyright 2003, pages 13-17 

What is the Christian worldview? The following definition is offered as a working model: 

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. 

What essentially distinguishes the Christian worldview from other worldviews? At the heart of the matter, a Christian worldview contrasts with competing worldviews in that it:  

1. recognizes that God is the unique source of all truth, and  
2. relates all truth back to an understanding of God and His purposes for this life and the next.  

Arthur Holmes superbly summarizes the unique implications of a Christian worldview when relating absolute truth to God. 

1. To say that truth is absolute rather than relative means that it is unchanging and universally the same. 
2. Truth is absolute not in or of itself but because it derives ultimately from the one, eternal God. It is grounded in his “metaphysical objectivity,” and that of his creation. 
3. Absolute propositional truth, therefore, depends on the absolute personal truth (or fidelity) of God, who can be trusted in all he does and says.⁸ 

A Christian worldview provides a framework by which  

1. to understand the world and all of its reality from God's perspective and  
2. to order one's life accordingly to God's will.⁷ 

Jeremiah 9:23–24 (NASB95)  

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.   

Foundational Beliefs of a Christian Worldview Dr. Danny Akin, President Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary ⁸ 

A Basic Biblical Worldview  

1. The belief in absolute moral truths.  
2. The belief that absolute moral truths are revealed in and defined by the Bible.  
3. The belief that Jesus lived a sinless life.  
4. The belief that God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe who sovereignly rules it today.  
5. The belief that salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned.  
6. The belief that Satan is real.  
7. The belief that a Christian has the responsibility to share his faith in Christ with others.  
8. The belief that the Bible is accurate in all its teachings.  
   - Only 4 % of Americans have a basic biblical worldview of thinking.  
   - Only 9 % of those who claim to be born again have a biblical worldview.  

Ten Foundational Beliefs of a Christian Worldview  

Belief One: God  

There is one true God, personal, infinite, self-revealing, all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present, self-existent, sovereign, and eternal. God is righteous, holy, loving, merciful, and redemptive. God is a trinity of three eternal persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; God is also one – a unity.  
Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Jonah 4:2; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:16-21

Belief Two: Revelation  

God has revealed Himself in nature and Scripture, and supremely in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. It truthfully reveals to us knowledge about God, the world, and ourselves. This Word is our sole authority for faith and life.  
Psalm 19; Psalm 119; Matthew 5:17-18; John 10:35; John 17:17; Romans 1:18-20; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21 

Belief Three: Creation  

The universe and all that exists was created by God alone through the power of His Word, and as the theater of His own glory. He oversees what He has made, exercising His holy and wise government for moral ends.  
Genesis 1-2; Psalm 19; John 1:1-5; Acts 17:22-31; Colossians 1:15-17  

Belief Four: Human Beings  

Human beings, male and female, are created equally in the likeness and image of God; However, they are born sinners in rebellion against God. Humans are sinners by nature and sin by choice.  
Genesis 1:26-31; Genesis 3:1-19; Psalm 51:5, Psalm 139:13-16; Romans 3:9-20; James 3:9

Belief Five: Jesus Christ  

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He is perfect both in His deity and also in His humanity, two natures united in one person. He lived a perfect sinless life. He suffered and was crucified for our sins, buried, and rose again in bodily resurrection. He ascended into the heavens and will come again in glory.  
Isaiah 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; John 1:1-18; John 8:58; John 14:1-9; Acts 1:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:13-23; Colossians 2:9-10; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:15

Belief Six: Salvation by Grace Alone Through Faith Alone in Christ Alone  

Salvation is God’s work accomplished in us by His grace alone, through faith alone, in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, whose death on the cross accomplished the redemption of sinners. He died as our penal substitute and was raised victorious over death in His bodily resurrection.  
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Mark 10:45; Romans 3:21-26; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 3:13-14; 1 John 2:12, 1 John 4:10 

Belief Seven: The Family  

The family is God’s gracious and loving creation given for our protection, pleasure, and partnership. Sex is God’s good gift and is to be enjoyed only within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman. It is intended for intimacy, pleasure and the gift of children.  
Genesis 2:18-25; Exodus 20:12; Psalm 127; Psalm 128; Proverbs 5:15-20; Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-6:4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7

Belief Eight: Government and Society  

Human society, government, culture and nations were created by God for our good, though all societies are marred by sin and limited in authority. Christians should seek to make the will of God supreme not only in our own lives, but also in government and society.  
Exodus 20:3-17; Proverbs 14:34; Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:29; Romans 13:1-7 

Belief Nine: Social Order  

The Social Order should be permeated by Christian witness. Living out the ethics of Scripture, we are to be salt and light to a wicked and darkened world. We should oppose racism, greed, selfishness, and all forms of sexual immorality and pornography. We should help the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, and the helpless. We contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.  
Exodus 20-3-17; Deuteronomy 27:18-26; Psalm 139:13-16; Micah 6:8; Matthew 5:13-16; Romans 12-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; 1 Corinthians 7:21-24; Ephesians 4:25-5:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Belief Ten: Judgment  

History has a goal. God will accomplish the fulfillment of all His purposes, according to the pleasure of His own will and to His own glory. On the Day of Judgment, God will judge all persons and His justice and holiness will be fully satisfied. Believers in Jesus Christ, the redeemed, will enter into everlasting life in a place called heaven. Unbelievers, the unrighteous, will go to everlasting punishment in a place called hell.  
Matthew 25:31-46; John 14:1-3; Romans 8:28-39; Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 1:3-14; Revelation 19:11-21; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21-22

What Will Be Some Benefits of Embracing the Christian Worldview?  

Let the following serve as a small sample representing the kinds of crucial life-questions that can be answered with ultimate truth and can be embraced with confident faith.

1. How did the world and all that is in it come into being?  
2. What is reality in terms of knowledge and truth? 
3. How does/should the world function?  
4. What is the nature of a human being?  
5. What is one's personal purpose of existence?  
6. How should one live?  
7. Is there any personal hope for the future? 
8. What happens to a person at and after death? 
9. Why is it possible to know anything at all? 
10. How does one know what is right and what is wrong? 
11. What is the meaning of human history? 
12. What does the future hold?⁹  

This suggestive list has been adapted from Sire, James, Discipleship of the Mind, IVP, Downers Grove, Illinois, pp. 30-31, 1990 and The Universe Next Door, 2nd ed., IVP, Downers Grove, Illinois, p. 18, 1968. 

Why do so many Christians not have a consistently biblical worldview? 

 There are many possible reasons why some Christians fail to have a consistently biblical worldview: 

1. They lack knowledge of what the Bible says.  
2. They reject what the Bible says on certain issues.  
3. They are more concerned with what the world thinks of them than what God thinks.  
4. They are lukewarm in their commitment to Christ.  
5. They are influenced by the lies of the world.  
6. They are swayed by their circumstances and doubt God’s promises.  

 To have a consistently biblical worldview we must go back to the Bible and take hold of the promises God has made to us, for the world offers us nothing (Luke 9:25; John 12:25; Matthew 6:19).¹⁰ 

How to cultivate a biblical worldview? 

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (NASB95)  

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,   

1. Acknowledge and accept that you are in a spiritual battle. (verse 3) 

 "There are two ways to be fooled: One is to believe what isn't so; the other is to refuse to believe what is so." - Soren Kierkegaard  

The Christian life is not merely a walk, but war! (verse 3) 

Ephesians 6:12  (KJV)

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Strong’s #3823 pale (pal’ay); from pallo (to vibrate; another form for 906); wrestling: KJV + wrestle. (DIC)  

Strong’s #746 arche (arkhay’); from 756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank): KJV—beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule. (DIC)  

Strong’s #4754 strateuomai (stratyoo’omahee); middle voice from the base of 4756; to serve in a military campaign; figuratively, to execute the apostolate (with its arduous duties and functions), to contend with carnal inclinations: KJV—soldier, (go to) war (fare). (DIC)  

WAR (VERB AND NOUN)  

strateuo ^4754^, used in the middle voice, “to make war” (from stratos, “an encamped army”), is translated “to war” in <2 Cor. 10:3>; metaphorically, of spiritual “conflict,” <1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:3>, KJV; <Jas. 4:1; 1 Pet. 2:11>. See SOLDIER, B. (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words) (Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)  

Strong’s #4559 sarkikos (sarkeekos’); from 4561; pertaining to flesh, i.e. (by extension) bodily, temporal, or (by implication)

The enemy is Satan! (Ezekiel  28:11-18 , King of Tyre, Isaiah 14:12-15)  

The Christian life is warfare against evil and error! (verse 4) 

Attack on biblical authority

1 Timothy 2:5-7; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 6:14-16 – Christ, the gospel – 1 Timothy 4-7 

Attack on biblical morality

1 Timothy 5:9-10, 19-20

In writing about America’s problems with our own national security, Jim Banford, author of “The Puzzle Palace”, said, “Once you’ve sold one secret you’re usually hooked.  They don’t start by asking to get a top secret document.  They usually ask for something innocuous, like a telephone directory.  Once a person starts, they’re hooked at that point.”  Isn’t that the way Satan operates?  He tempts us to make little compromises that seem so insignificant and end up ensnaring us in sin.  

2. Appropriate the proper tools for spiritual warfare. (verse 5; Ephesians 6:10-18)
 

3. Act decisively and proactively in spiritual warfare. (verse 5) 

a. Destroy  
b. Take captive   

Proverbs 23:7 (NASB95)  

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

1 Timothy 6:20 (NASB95)  

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”—  

2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB95)  

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.  

1 Peter 1:13 (NASB95)  

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  

1 Peter 3:15 (NASB95)   

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;  

Matthew 22:37 (NASB95)  

And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." 

“A Christian living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ must know both what he believes and why he believes. In the day in which we live, this has never been more important.”