Elements of a Biblical Worldview
- The world, the universe, was created by the triune God out of nothing and thus began space and time.
- As the crown of creation he made mankind in his image with an eternal soul.
- His purpose was for mankind to live in fellowship, community, with one another and with God.
- After a time, some of the spiritual beings who served God in heaven rebelled against him.
- In turn, the leader of the rebels, Satan, successfully encouraged mankind to disobey God and join the rebellion. The virus of sin spread. Humans were born into a culture which reinforced rebellion, which was characterized by lust, pride, and sloth. The core issue was, and is, POWER. Who is in charge here?
- After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to call humankind back to the original purpose of fellowship among God, spiritual beings, humankind, and all of creation, we are told that God entered into a covenant with Abraham and his heirs to call others to accept and live by God’s initial purpose. Rewards are promised for those who work at this faithfully.
- The Old Testament is mostly an account of the success and failure of Abraham and his descendants in living in fellowship and calling all of humankind to repent and live according to the will of God.
- God, who is characterized as Great, Good, Loving, and Free, provided the Ten Commandments and other laws so that people would know how he wanted them to live. Also, he provided a system whereby the people could make sacrifices to atone for their personal and societal sins. And God sent prophets to warn and remind the people regarding the will of God. The prophets also revealed that God would come to live among humankind, provide a new and expanded covenant, and that he would make the ultimate sacrifice to pay the sin debt for all believers. God also punished the nation for its rebellion. This included a period of exile and restoration.
- In the fullness of time Jesus was born. He came to defeat sin, death and Satan so that we would not fear but live in righteousness and holiness. When Satan killed Jesus, he was released from space and time limitations, so no more temptations. The resurrection demonstrated overcoming death.
- Believers benefit from the victories won by Jesus. We are delivered, forgiven, and declared righteous. We will live eternally in heaven with God and the redeemed.
- Jesus makes a new covenant with the church. We are his people. We are to serve him and one another. We are to call all humankind to repentance, to faith, and to obedience to his commandments.
- One day Jesus will return to earth and establish a perfect Kingdom. He will rule with the assistance of the martyrs. Justice and mercy and righteousness will characterize this kingdom. Resurrection, judgment, punishment, and rewards will be elements of life in the kingdom.
- Then the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven, creation will be restored and eternity will be.The function of a worldview is to provide one with a frame for understanding what is going on; history is the story of the struggle between good and evil, that God is active in history moving it toward his appointed ends, we are free as individuals to cooperate with and obey God, and we will be accountable to God for this. Of course, our response has eternal consequences. Are the leaders of our churches, communities and nations operating in terms of the biblical worldview.