Bulletin Articles
Thinking Biblically
The biblical worldview is grounded upon our recognition of the human need to reach out to God. By “biblical,” we mean that God has communicated through a written medium that has been preserved and passed down throughout the generations, resulting in a collection of works that we call the Bible. By “worldview,” we mean a total, interconnected web of beliefs that make sense of what we know and reflects what we think about the true, the good, and the beautiful. Our worldview entails what we conceive about reality. This includes not only the reality of the material world but also moral reality. Is reality the product of mindless, chance processes, or is it the product of an ultimate mind? Our answer to that question will affect how we perceive everything else and how we choose to live.
The apostle Paul spoke about this human need to reach out to God in Acts 17:25-28, teaching that God is not “served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist…” This worldview is founded upon the God who needs nothing from us, but who gives to us all life and breath and all things. Therefore, humble recognition of God's power and grace is a vital part of the biblical worldview.
One of the important reasons for focusing upon worldview questions is that it forces us to consider the most important issues of life. Who is God? What or who are human beings? Why are we here? What is our purpose? Where are we going? How do we know what is right and wrong? Why should we treat others with respect? We cannot think about worldviews without due consideration of these matters. And no approach to life can be considered adequate if we do not pay attention to these questions. Our need to search out these answers appears to be fundamental to who we are as human beings. This makes sense if, as Paul says, “in Him we live and move and exist.”
Learning to think biblically is a challenge, but it is necessary if we are going to think God's thoughts after Him. Why would we say this? Think about Paul's point in 1 Corinthians 2. “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God” (v. 11). We cannot know the thoughts of other people unless they tell us what they are thinking. Even more, we cannot know the thoughts of God unless God reveals those thoughts to us. Paul continues, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (v. 12). The Spirit has revealed the mind of God so that we might know God's will. This is the purpose of revelation.
Without the revelation of the mind of God, we could not possibly begin to understand God's thoughts. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:8-9). When God speaks His mind, we know that it will accomplish what He desires. In the same context, the Lord said through Isaiah, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (v. 11). It is vital that we pay attention to God's revelation as we have it recorded because therein are recorded “words of eternal life” from our Lord (John 6:68).
The point is that we cannot have a biblical worldview without acknowledging the proper place of the Bible as a written standard for the way that we think. We are not at liberty to fabricate God's will for us then say that we are thinking the way God desires. What this means practically is that the development of the biblical worldview is built upon our desire to do God's will. Jesus, our perfect example, expressed it this way: “Yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). This captures the essence of any attempt we should have to develop and live a biblical worldview. It is what being a disciple is about. “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32).
