Worldview: Learning to Think and Live Biblically by Greg Laurie
Ch. 1 Absolute Truth: Crisis of Biblical Illiteracy:
-rejection of the accuracy of the Bible
-reject the existence of Satan
-claim that Jesus sinned
-see no need to evangelize
-believe that good works are one of the keys to persuading God to forgive their sins
-describe their commitment to Christianity as moderate or even less firm
What is a Biblical Worldview?
-worldview dictates our behavior
-there is a living God who is revealed Himself in Scripture
-we find absolute truth from the Word of God
“As Christians we are not only to know the right world-view, the world-view that tells us the truth of what is, but consciously to act upon that world-view so as to influence society in all its parts and facets across the whole spectrum of life, as much as we can to the extent of our individual and collective ability” (Francis Schaeffer, Christian philosopher).
-1st you must believe in the eternal existence of the personal, transcendent, triune, Creator God
-2nd you must believe the God of Scripture has revealed His character, purposes, infallible, inerrant, and is His special revelation, the Bible
-the Bible is superior to any other source of revelation or human reason alone
Factors that go into forming our world view:
-it is the way we see life
-it’s formed by the culture in which we are raised
-it’s our upbringing
-it’s the books we read
-it’s our education
-it’s the media to which we’ve exposed ourselves
***We don’t base our beliefs on your emotions or on what our culture tells us, so we base our beliefs on what the Bible teaches
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else” (C.S. Lewis).
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Timothy 3: 1-5).
Spiritual Worldview:
-America has never been more “spiritual” yet more “immoral”
-Americans want to shape their faith and spirituality than they are in Christianity
-Americans want to shape their own faith experience
***they want to customize their own religion
-It is a uniquely personal brand of faith
-departure from truth has brought the nation to where we are today
-abortion on demand, redefined marriage, separation of family, rampant violence, indoctrinated student increasing suicide rates, and distain for sexual morality
“They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind” (Hosea 8: 7).
Technology era of the iGod:
-likes and dislikes on social media becomes the identity of the culture
-social media breeds the need to an iGod
-people can keep stuff that they like and makes sense to them
-people can delete teachings they do not like or can’t understand
-people find and keep what is convenient and remove the inconvenient
-people delete what makes them feel uncomfortable
“The iGod you have created for yourself and made in your own image”
-God is man in my own image
Moral Relativism:
-is the belief that there are not absolutes in life
-is the belief that we are born good so only bad because we are a product of our environment
-people are all random products of an evolutionary process and were not created by a personal God
-there is no right or wrong, no good or evil
-there is no plan or purpose so no rhyme or reason for out lives here on Earth
-we are only here by chance
-we create our own luck, own truth, forge our own fate, and weave our own destiny
-all roads lead to God
-tend to state they have a better understanding of what the Bible teaches more than so-called believers
-tend to tolerate everyone, but those who hold to absolute beliefs
-Intolerant, angry, and even violent to those who say “I believe that the Bible is the Word of God”
Ex. moral relativism removes all traffic lights, signs, lines in the streets making driving chaos
Liberal Christians:
-refer to having a “fundamentalist faith” viewpoint
-doesn’t take the stories from Scripture literally and don’t believe in the traditional doctrines
-doesn’t believe in the doctrine of atonement that Jesus died for our sins
-there is no distinction between the fundamentalist faith and liberal views
“When sloppy thinking of moral relativism is promoted from the nation’s pulpits, men, and women who seek truth have no idea what to believe. So they come up with their own ‘religion’ and a god of their own making to fill the gaping emptiness in their souls.”
Does today’s worldview measure up to the standard of Scripture?
-No, Jesus is the only way to God
-Jesus alone can save you from your sin
“No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14: 6).
-Our country was founded on what we call Judeo-Christian principles
**Founding Father Patrick Henry is famous for his words: “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Just as powerful:
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly and too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religion but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”
Where do we find absolute truth?
Written by the finger of God on tablets of stone: The Ten Commandments
What is the greatest commandment in the law”
Jesus stated, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hand on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 37-40).
***Jesus wasn’t doing away with the Ten Commandments when He made that statement; He was summing them up, showing us how those commandments play out in our lives
-If you love God with all my heart, soul, and mind then I won’t have any other gods before me
-I will not make or worship a graven image of Him
-I won’t take his name in vain
-If I love my neighbor as myself then I won’t steal from them, covet their possessions, or tell them lies
“Get these two things down, and the commandments will come together for you.”
The Ten Commandments:
-the ten commandments are found in Exodus 20
And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
1st Commandment = The place of God in your life:
-you will serve what or whom you worship
“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10).
-if the Lord is number one in your life, then everything else will fall into place
-It is a reminder of what God has done for us already
-It is a reminder to Israel from what God delivered them from
-It is a reminder to us what Christ has done to redeem us through forgiveness of our sins
“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
***God is basically saying “Get out of My face with all these false gods. They’re an offense to Me.”
-God is omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (everywhere present)
-God sees you, what you are doing, and what is in your heart and thoughts
“If I try to hide in the darkness, the night becomes light to me. For even darkness cannot hide from God: to you the night shines bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you” (Psalm 139: 11-12).
What is an idol?
-anything or anyone that takes the place of God in your life
-even atheists have a god
-being our own god gives us control
-worshiping a god of our own making gives us a sense of control-a false sense of control
Biblical Worldview:
-believing in God as He is revealed in Scripture
-the Bible alone is the source and holds all authority for our beliefs
“Let God be true, and every human be a liar” (Romans 3:4).
***Left to ourselves, we will love ourselves more than anything or anyone else
“For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephesians 5:29).
Develop your spiritual fitness:
“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).
-there is value in physical exercise but above all is spiritual fitness and pursuing spiritual goals
Warnings:
“Consider yourselves dead to worldly contacts: have nothing to do with sexual immorality, dirty-mindedness, uncontrolled passion, evil desire, and the lust for other people’s goods, which amounts to idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).
No one can live out the 10 commandments perfectly:
-in the Ten Commandments, we find absolute truth
-the Lord knows the truth
-we needed a Savior-Jesus Christ
-we need Jesus in our lives
***The commandments weren’t given to make us righteous; they were given to show us that we are not righteous
“We know that whatever the law says, it says to those that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19).
-the Law shuts our mouth and opens our eyes
-it challenges us, but doesn’t change us
-it leaves us without excuse
-it drives us to Jesus
-Jesus is the answer we are looking for
-the Law is a moral mirror
-the Laws are standards that we can never live up to in our own ability
-the Law points out that we all fall short
-Jesus wraps us in His own righteousness
-we all need Jesus to change our lives and heart
-the Law gives us a desire to obey God’s commands out of love and devotion to Him (not merely a duty)
***Law’s whole purpose is to send us to Jesus, the one who can help, save, redeem, cleanse, and heal.
“He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2: 13-14).