In March of this year, news outlets reported that only 6% of American Christians have a Biblical worldview of life. You might say, “What is that?” and “Why is that important?” Some people who claim to be Christian and say they trust in Jesus for their salvation still live from an atheistic or Earth-centered perception, saying, “This world is all there is.” Their strongest emphasis in life focuses on safety, protection and comfort.
L. Agnes Russell
In contrast, the biblical view of how to live life is that we realize this world is temporary; our focus must be on God, to give Him glory, to seek Him, His Kingdom of God and His righteousness. We see that God created the Earth and made man in His image. Adam and Eve, that original couple, sinned and fell away from God’s glory, unable to return without God’s help. In loving response, the Father promised one who would come to redeem mankind and restore God’s creation.
The entire Bible points to the coming of that One, Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, who alone would be able to save us from our sins. In the New Testament, we see that He did come, born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life, displayed His power and authority to all in that time and place, was cursed to die on a tree for you and me, crucified on that Roman cross and placed in a borrowed tomb. Fulfilling His own prophecy, He conquered death, was raised to life, appeared to many, gave His final instructions to believers and ascended to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. We have been given the opportunity, by grace and through faith, to be saved to the uttermost from hell and to live in eternity with God.
The problem today is that many look at these truths taken from scripture and pick and choose what they want to believe. The non-biblical worldview fails to recognize that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by men who were moved to write by the Holy Spirit. Much of American culture rejects the idea of Jesus as being the only way to God. Their worldview does not admit to a necessity of accepting what Jesus did as the only way of salvation nor does it include repentance of our sins and faith in Him.
But let’s say that a person does believe in that very exclusive way of salvation. There are many who do, yet they live as though they are combining God’s worldview with the view of life as seen by all Americans on television. When our hearts are set on submitting to God’s ways, His truths, His values, then our behavior will line up with what God says is good and right. It seems as though many Christians have only heard the part of the gospel that offers them that salvation, that way of escape, that fire insurance. They don’t seem to know what else is included in the package, with its instructions in the manual that is included, which is the Bible. Therefore, many Christians are agreeing with the world concerning many things that God says He counts as wrong, as sins, as abominations even.
First, there is the matter of the sanctity of life. All through the Word of God, we see that He values life, especially the innocent lives of children, calling them a heritage and a reward. Our country has so disbelieved this, calling children a burden and inconvenience, that Americans have destroyed the lives of over 60 million American children. God does not wink at this great horror.
Our Creator declares in His Word that He created this world, by the words of His mouth; yet our schools teach children that they are not bearers of God’s image, they are just products of chance and time. The world teaches that humans are only animals, thus there is no real reason for believing they should live by standards of right and wrong. God created each individual for a specific purpose, to live holy, to glorify God, and to enjoy eternal life with Him. Yet, a secular worldview removes that truth from the spectrum of life.
In fact, the world now teaches, everywhere we look, that the individual person is their own god, to beautify, to feed and clothe, to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. For decades now, children have been taught to have self-esteem, whereas, those who live by the Bible are taught that we are to esteem others better than ourselves and to live to love and serve others.
God’s Word very specifically teaches that God “created them male and female,” and He then taught that a family would be made up of a male father, a female mother, and their children, safe in the confines of a marriage. This has been the basis for nations, societies, peoples all over this world for thousands of years; yet, here in God’s country of America, people have taken it upon themselves to declare that each person can decide whether he is male or female, not based upon his physical makeup but upon his feelings! They also declare that a family is made up of just whoever wants to live together. There are no rules concerning sexual activity, though God’s Word puts strict boundaries around that in the most sacred ordinance of marriage.
I also heard on the radio that surveys have revealed that only three or four percent of millennials believe in absolute truth. Of course, many in other age groups also are of that opinion. In other words, truth is just what you as an individual want it to be. However, God values truth, His truth as revealed in His Word, very highly, and He even says all liars will have their place in the lake of fire for eternity. (Rev. 21:8)
In God’s eyes, or to say it another way, according to God’s worldview, sin is serious. Yet, here in our land, we have become desensitized to it by our constant consumption of television and movies, many of which are produced by those who only have guidelines of freedom from any moral restraints and decency. I watched a movie recently touted as just a fun watch, as entertaining, and it was pretty much a PG movie. Yet this particular story applauded a teenager’s success with lying, deceiving, disrespecting adults and making them look like fools. Someone had us watch an old sitcom episode, which we never watched and never let our children watch when they were growing up. I realized very soon the reason why we didn’t. Even back then, decades ago, this very popular television show’s episode was full of sexual content, including girls kissing girls.
The world’s view is that God has no right to tell us what to do. As we head into this election, we must decide to be on God’s side, if we care about what happens to our country.
Live for Jesus! He’s coming soon! You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
