Buying into a Biblical Worldview
I’m sure you are asking the question in one form or another “Why a biblical worldview?” It’s easy today to tell people all of the reasons they should do something, but much harder to actually get people to under understand the “why” behind something. But before we get into that, lets refresh on part 1 just so were all on the same page.
Refresher:
A worldview guides and influences the way we as people perceive situations and circumstances around us. But, as we also know, not all worldviews are good and should have influence in our lives. For example, worldviews like hedonism, secularism, and post-modernism seek only to self-fulfill pleasures and desires at the expense of everything else. This type of outlook on life will lead you down roads with dead ends and never into any true fulfillment.
Luckily there is a worldview that completely counteracts the effects of these worldviews, it’s called a biblical worldview. In the last blog we saw that a biblical worldview is put into action when we use the Bible as a lens to view reality through and that “this view should influence the way we as Christians (and even non-Christians) seek to answer the questions and circumstances around us.” For more depth on this go read A Biblical Worldview: The Basics.
We used the example of a contact lens to further the idea that the lens we use is so important to how we view the world. If your contact lens is out of date or not the right type of lens that will make your vision worse, but if you were to have the right lens and prescription then you would see the world in the way that it truly is.
We even saw a biblical worldview lived out and portrayed many times in scripture! Acts 10:9-23 encompasses this perfectly when we see Peter break past the wrong societal standards of Jews never interacting with Romans, especially the ones who killed Jesus. Peter uses the word of God to look past the reality around him and to see the situation the way God sees it.
The Importance of Having a Biblical Worldview:
Okay so now that we have a basic understanding of what a biblical worldview is and the scriptural backing for it, let’s answer the question of WHY having a biblical worldview is important to us as Christians (and non-Christians).
As we know, a biblical worldview should encompass the way we interact with the world around us, and in our case how we engage with politics and culture. And as you should know by now everyone has a worldview that influences the way they engage in and see politics and all things related to politics.
A recent Barna study actually showed that only 4% of Gen-Z and only 6% of Millennials have a biblical worldview. This was deeply disturbing as someone who has a heart for young people, but confirms that we, as a generation, are compartmentalizing our relationship with God which takes us from a relationship into a legalistic religion like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Moreso, this leads us to making decisions based off what we think is right or what the world thinks is right and not from the absolute truth laid out for us in the Word of God!
This is pervasive amongst Christians. There are Christians on all sides of the aisle that are just wrong on how they engage in and see politics, all because their politics aren’t all encompassed by Jesus. They aren’t actively partaking in a biblical worldview. According to the PEW research center 33% of Evangelical protestants believe abortion should be legal in all/most cases. That is 1 out of every 3 Christians. In no way should a Christian view abortion as just blatantly okay and acceptable and “should be legal in most/all cases.” That is a product of Christians not all encompassed by Jesus in how they view politics (Judges 21:25). That is the price of our compartmentalization. Sadly, in this case and many others its cost the lives of millions of people who would’ve had profound impacts on the world and the Kingdom. (For reference, abortion is just an example and will be covered more fully at a later date).
Why Christians Should Engage in Politics:
There are so many in the body that talk about how churches and Christians have become “too political,” but I’m not so sure that this is really the case. Certainly, you have churches and Christians who have overdone it, but it’s not that the church has become more political, it’s that politics has become more religious.
So, the question is posed, “Why should people care to use a biblical worldview when engaging with politics?” We should engage because how we view policies and politicians influences how we vote on policies and politicians. And how we vote on these impacts people. It impacts our neighbors. In the Gospel of Mark, verses 12:30-31 we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves and that “there is no other greater commandment than” loving God and loving people. If we do not care about voting, how to vote, how to view the things were voting for, and what to vote/not vote for then you are not loving your neighbor to the fullest that you can.
Even if we are just apathetic about voting and politics you are doing a disservice to your neighbors and most importantly the Kingdom of God. Voting is how we as Christians advance kingdom principles (more on this at a later date) that are for the betterment of all people (1 Corinthians 9:23)!
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
As Christians we are all striving to be the best follower of Christ that we can be and loving our neighbor is a foundational principle in doing this. As people we all want to be the best person we can be and loving those around us is still foundational to that. After all, in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Paul talks about how you can do so many great things but if you don’t have love, “it profits me nothing.” Our every action, breath, and motive should be done in and out of love and if they aren’t they aren’t worth a thing. It’s necessary to check our hearts to make sure 1) everything is done out of love and 2) we are doing everything we can to love people. Afterall only God and people can love people.
So no, it’s not right when Christians vote solely based off mere opinion or what the culture and media are saying, and not how the word guides us to vote. It’s wrong when Christian’s lack discernment in critical times because they are too busy caught up in the world’s talking points and not enough in how God views this time (1 Chronicles 12:32). It’s wrong when the Bible isn’t your first and most important standard of measurement in politics and culture. It’s wrong when we as Christians don’t occupy this earth to the best of our ability until Jesus comes back (Luke 19:13 KJV). This is a wakeup call to everyone, your vote matters whether you think so or not. And how you view the world affects how you vote, which effects how well you love your neighbor and how much you advance the Kingdom.
Wrapping up the series:
I can’t utterly stress enough how important a biblical worldview is to live out this life God has called you and I to live. A biblical worldview SHOULD transform why we interact and the ways we interact with policies, politics, and politicians. Without this crucial view through the lens of the bible we will ALWAYS miss the mark on how God wants us to engage in or view something in the political sphere (1 Chronicles 12:32).
Policies, politics, and politicians impact people and as followers of Christ we are commanded to love God and love our neighbor. If we are to disengage from politics we simply aren’t loving our neighbor and advancing the kingdom as much as we should. Viewing politics through the lens of the Bible is more crucial than could ever be expressed. As Christians we cannot sit idly by and be politically apathetic, we are charged to occupy until he comes (Luke 19:13 KJV)!
There could be books written on this topic and still not cover everything, but hopefully this has given you enough to stand on and to see the importance of using a biblical worldview!
Notes and References to Guide your Reading:
https://www.barna.com/research/competing-worldviews-influence-todays-christians/
- Worldviews that have crept into Christianity.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/views-about-abortion/
- 33% of Evangelical protestants believe abortion should be legal in all/most cases.
https://www.impact360institute.org/articles/4-percent-gen-z-biblical-worldview/
- Only 4% of gen-z and 6% of millennials have a biblical worldview
https://www.arizonachristian.edu/2023/02/28/biblical-worldview-among-u-s-adults-drops-33-since-start-of-covid-19-pandemic/ and https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CRC_AWVI2023_Release1.pdf
- Age has a consistent correlation with biblical worldview incidence. The younger a person, the less likely they are to be an Integrated Disciple (i.e., have a biblical worldview). Among adults under 30, just 1% have a biblical worldview. The incidence rises to 3% among people in their 30s and 40s; 5% among those ages 50 to 64; and peaks at 8% among adults 65-plus.
Formal education shows little correlation with having a biblical worldview. The incidence of biblical worldview among those who never attended college is 3%; among those who attended college but do not have a 4-year degree is 4%; and among those with a bachelor’s degree or more, it is 5%.
Among adults who are consistently conservative on political issues, 12% are Integrated Disciples. In contrast, just 2% who are consistently moderate on political issues and 1% of political liberals and progressives have a biblical worldview.
Scripture:
- Luke 19:13 KJV “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”
- Judges 21:25 NASB “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
- Romans 12:2 NASB “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.”
- 1st Corinthians 9:23 NASB “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may be a fellow partaker of it.”
- Mark 12:30-31 “And you shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- 1 Chronicles 12:32 “Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do…”
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
- Acts 10:9-23“On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. While peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you. ‘But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.’ Peter went down to the men and said, ‘Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?’ They said, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.’ So he invited them in and gave them lodging.”