Foundations: Developing A Biblical Worldveiw

Tonight I want to begin a series, I am calling, Foundations: Developing a Christian / Biblical Worldview. We are going to talk about some of the most important aspects of everyone’s life. WV is at the center of who you are… it’s the glasses that you and I look through to see the world.

There are 4 basic WV questions we will answer.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What’s wrong?

What’s the remedy?

We’ll get the answers to these and more as we go though this study.

Activity - Color Red. 4 groups

1 Loves Red

2. Hates Red

3. There is no such thing as red.

4. We should all get along no matter what we believe about Red...

With these different WV’s, let me ask, How would you like to have a delicious red apple?

Shout out your answers…

WV creates energy and passion. If i had asked the question before I gave you your WV, you would have answered it based on whether you were hungry or not… or wether you like apples or not. But now, we are focused on the color of the apple.

Whatever is at the center of your worldview is the basis of how you feel about different issues.

Philippians 1:9–10 NLT

9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

Circle knowledge and understanding. Our love and our ability to choose what is best are not a matter of your feelings or even your experiences, but they grow out of knowledge and understanding.

The term worldview may sound abstract or philosophical, a topic discussed by pipe-smoking, tweed-jacketed professors in academic settings. But actually a person's worldview is intensely practical. It is simply the sum total of our beliefs about the world, the "big picture" that directs our daily decisions and actions. Chuck Colson

Jude 20 The Living Bible

20 But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

Circle foundation and faith.

Your view of this world is determined by the foundation that you choose to build your life on. Build your life on making money and you'll have one view of the world. Build on being popular and you'll have an entirely different view of what's happening around you. The foundation God wants us to build our lives on 1s faith in him.

Another WV is DOCTRINE.

What is Christian Doctrine?

What is Christian Doctrine? Christian Doctrine is an ORGANIZED SUMMARY of what the BIBLE TEACHES about the most important issues of life.

IOW - Doctrine is the study of what God has to say about something. It answers questions like...

How do I determine right from wrong?

What happens to me when I die?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do people act the way they do?

Where do I find the life that I hope for?

That’s why Chuck Swindoll says,

What roots are to a tree, the doctrines are to the Christian. From them, we draw our emotional stability, our mental food for growth, as well as our spiritual energy and perspective on life itself. By returning to our roots, we determine precisely where we stand. We equip ourselves for living the way God designed. ChucK Colson.

A working definition of theology is: FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING.

Theology is the study of God. Christianity is a thinking faith! You don’t turn your brains off to become a Christian.

If you are looking for answers of just want to know God and your Bible better, you are in the right place.

Why Learn Doctrine? Because knowing the truth about God helps me KNOW GOD BETTER.

We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place ... for those who do not know about God. JI Packer

Living in our world without aa relationship with the Lord is like trying to drive around here with your windows blacked out. It doesn’t matter what you try, you will keep running into things and you will not get anywhere.

We were created with a God shaped hole in our lives and I believe almost everyone has a desire to know God, or would if they really knew about him. God gets a bad rap today. Good news - God wants you and I to know him… that’s why he sent Jesus to our world.

John 17:3 NLT

3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

Let's put this in perspective. Knowing truths about God is not enough to give you a relationship with him. We all know people who know truths about the Bible and about God but don't really know him in a personal way. Still, to get to know God better and better, you and I must learn more and more of the truth about him.

The desire to read God's Word to learn about him is a sign of your love for God. Imagine a college student saying to his girlfriend back home, "I received the twenty-three love letters you wrote to me this semester and intend to read them as soon as things settle down a bit. But I really do love you!"

If you are going to know God, you have to know the truth about God. You can’t develop a relationship with God based on your wishes, or your guesses about who He is… Good relationships are built on truth. You cannot know someone if you believe lies about them.

Proverbs 2:2–5 NCV

2 Listen carefully to wisdom; set your mind on understanding. 3 Cry out for wisdom, and beg for understanding. 4 Search for it like silver, and hunt for it like hidden treasure. 5 Then you will understand respect for the Lord, and you will find that you know God.

God has made us all for a purpose, but often times we miss our most important purpose. You weren’t made primarily to have a

successful career

produce wonderful children

write great books

stop injustice in our world

make a lot of money

You were made primarily to know God.

Knowing God will make you wise.

Knowing God will open your eyes

Knowing God will give you hope

Knowing God will help you cope.

There is a second reason why we need to learn God’s truth or doctrine.

Why learn doctrine? Because knowledge is an ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION.

Hebrews 6:1–2 NASB95

1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

We all build our lives on a foundation which guides the way we think, speak and act.

Sometimes we build our foundation on the opinions of other people. That can lead to conflicting and confusing viewpoints.

Sometimes we will make our feelings our foundation. Most of the time, what we feel like doing is wrong.

Sometimes we try to build our foundation on traditions…

But the only foundation strong enough to build on is knowledge of God. Just like you have to know your ABC’s before you can read, you have to GOD before you can live right.

Someone said onetime… ignorance is bliss. That’s not true. If I drive 60 through a 20 and get caught because I didn’t see a gin or something, my ignorance is not bliss. If I see a bottle of liquid and drink it without reading the label that says poison, my ignorance is not bliss.

Ignorance can put you at risk and ignorance of God’s truth is incredibly dangerous. Building a good foundation takes work but it’s worth it. You need to know the answers to questions like

How do I grow as a Christian?

How can I be sure that I am saved?

How do I handle the fact that there is evil in the world?

Only the Bible has the answer to those questions.

Ephesians 4:13–14 NLT

13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

Without truth I am vulnerable to circumstances.

Paul is teaching that life without a foundation of God’s truth will leave us tossed around like the waves… tossed around by our circumstances.

Without truth I am victimized by false teachings.

If we don’t know God’s truth, we will fall for all kinds of crazy teachings.

Matthew 7:24–25 NIV84

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Jesus said we have to build our foundation on the ROCK. We build our lives on the rock by hearing Jesus words and putting them into practice. It takes both.

Why Learn Doctrine? Because doctrine feeds my soul.

Have you ever gone on one of those liquid diets? What happens? In just a few days you would sell your firstborn child for a carrot or anything with some crunch in it! You hunger for solid food. That's a sign of maturity; you need solid food to sustain you.

Doctrine is solid food for our soul. Look at Paul's encouragement to Timothy

1 Timothy 4:6 NASB95

6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.

Nourishment for our soul is not automatic, You have to choose to eat solid food. You have to learn the truths of the Bible, chew on them to see how they relate to your life and what changes you need to make in your life. If you don’t decide to dig into the WOG, you will remain a baby Christian.

Hebrews 5:12–14 NLT

12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Babies need to eat milk all the time, but solid food begins to enable them to eat and gain strength. Same with bay Christians, you need solid food to grow. If you stop feeding on God’s word, you will stop growing.

Acts 20:32 NLT

32 “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

Why learn doctrine? Because knowing the truth enables me to serve others.

Notice the order in

1 Timothy 4:6 GNB

6 If you give these instructions to the believers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, as you feed yourself spiritually on the words of faith and of the true teaching which you have followed.

First you have to feed yourself, then you can feed others. do you want to encourage others?

Titus 1:9 NIV84

9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

One of the keys to teaching or encouraging others is know the truth and holding to it. Without God’s truth, encouragement is empty.

If you have someone needing encouragement… maybe they lost a job, etc. Offering them a cup of coffee won’t do it, but reminding them that God is on control and that he loves them will.

Why learn Doctrine? Because knowing the truth protects agains terror.

Colossians 2:6–8 NLT

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

When you are rooted in God’s Word, it’s difficult for anyone to throw you off with a false doctrine.

For example, in order to drive a car, you don't have to know anything about an internal combustion engine. You just push the gas pedal and the car goes. Likewise, you don't have to know all of the truths we're going to study to become a Christian. All you have to know and believe is that Jesus loves you, that he died for your sins, and that he was resurrected to give you new life.

But let's get back in your car. Let's say you're driving down the street and the car sta,ts to make a horrible sound. You think the sound is coming from the engine but you're not sure. Spotting an auto repair shop, you pull in and ask a mechanic what might be wrong. The mechanic tells you, "You need to fill your gas tank with water. That will fix everything." At that point, even a little bit of knowledge about cars would be of great help to you.

The best way to protect yourself against errors of any kind is to know the truth. Agents at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing are taught to recognize a counterfeit bill not by looking at counterfeits but by staring at new money eight hours a day, looking for flaws. Once you know the truth, you can spot a counterfeit every time.

Hebrews 5:14 NLT

14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Once you become trained in the truth, you can train others.

How can we equip ourselves and our kids for survival in a disintegrating culture? With Truth firmly believed, clearly taught, and constantly lived out.

Because How I think determines HOW I ACT.

Proverbs 23:7 NASB95

7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

Beliefs determine Behavior. Thoughts result in actions.

If I told you there was a 100 dollar bill under the pughs, you would look and check… if you believed me. We live in a world that says, here is where to find the 100 dollar bill… so we spend our lives struggling for fulfillment in our vacations, jobs, relationships, etc. We just keep looking under the pughs and all we come with is nothing. We do this over and over again.

Listen, you will never change the way you act until you change your thinking… the way you believe.

Knowing God’s truth changes the way we live, the way we work, the way we parent, the way we handle our business. It changes us.

Why Learn Doctrine? Because I am commanded to: 1. Study the Truth 2. Live the Truth 3. Defend the truth

1. We are commanded to Study the Truth

2 Timothy 2:15 NASB95

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Knowing the truth enables you to better use the truth. Paul isn’t saying everyone is going to be a teacher, but he is saying we are all responsible to know the Truth in the WOG. We have to study it for ourselves and not JUST hear it from others.

2. We are commanded to live the truth.

Psalm 25:5 GNB

5 Teach me to live according to your truth, for you are my God, who saves me. I always trust in you.

Titus 1:1 NLT

1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives.

Paul says to live the truth you have to know the truth. But to know the truth, you have to learn the truth. You don’t just grab a musical instrument and begin playing complicated songs. You have to learn to play. We have to learn God’s commands.

If you don’t learn the truth, you will basically be determining what your faith is based on and it will not take you too far. You will not know what direction it will take you either.

3. Defend the Truth.

Each of us should be ready to defend God’s word.

1 Peter 3:15 NASB95

15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Always be ready to explain your faith. Look at the attitude we are to use. Gentleness and reverence. Not an angry legalistic attitude.

Here is a warning for us all.

Knowledge all by itself can be very dangerous.

Knowledge is the foundation but that’s jus the beginning of the journey. Satan will try to puff you up. You may know a lot, but are living it?

Knowledge must be balanced with DISCERMENT.

Philippians 1:9–10 NIV84

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,

Discernment is the ability to use the truth you have learned int he right way at the right time in your life.

Someone who has knowledge without discernment shows: knowledge remains theoretical; one group becomes that person’s exclusive source of knowledge.

Without discernment you can easily fall prey to false teachings.

Knowledge must be balanced with GRACE.

2 Peter 3:18 NLT

18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

You have to grown in both GRACE and KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge without Grace is usually ugly. These folks are legalistic, rigid, focused on rules, … You cannot grow closer to God just by keeping rules.

Knowledge must be balanced with LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13:2 NLT

2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.

Without Love we are nothing. Paul tells us why knowledge alone is so dangerous...

1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV84

1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

Knowledge is not the problem… lack of Love is.

ILL- It was required in Jesus' day that you take care of your aging parents, even if it was a financial burden. A group of religious men called the Pharisees found a way around that. They would call a portion of their income or wealth "dedicated to God." Since God was more important than their parents, they would not have to spend that portion on their family. Of course, since these Pharisees were serving God, they could then justify spending the money on themselves in a variety of ways.

Their problem was a lack of love. Think about ways we allow knowledge to cause us to have a lack of love.

A person who has knowledge but not love is characterized by: intolerance of others, sometimes pride.

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