STUDY THEME: ADOPTING A BIBLICAL WOLDVIEW 6-11-00
UNIT 2: CONTOURS OF A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW. HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW?
ECCL. 8:16-17, ROM. 8:5-8, EPH. 4:17-18, 22-24, HEB. 11: 1-2.
In last Sunday's lesson we focused on the concept of a worldview. We
discovered that every person has a worldview. Therefore, the question is
not," Do I have a worldview?" The question is, What is my worldview? The
answer will determine what you believe and how you act. Secular filters
such as popular entertainment, education, other people, and the society
in which people live have shaped most of their worldviews. Even the
worldviews of many Christians are influenced by these factors.
I suppose this began in he garden of Eden when Satan misquoted God's
word concerning eating of the fruit of the trees in the garden. When Eve
quoted almost the correct words of God, Satan pointed out the fallacy of
God's Word. Today the world is not attacking so much the Word of God as
the interpretation of it. They keep asking, "How do we know what we
know?"
In today's world it is critical that we hold a biblical worldview. Only
then can we begin to see our world as God sees it. Only then can we think
and act according to God's will. A biblical worldview is based on he
Bible and maintains biblical convictions.
Today we begin the second unit which contains 12 lessons that focus on
the elements of a biblical worldview. Fundamental human life needs are
addressed in this unit. The relationship between reality and knowledge is
one issue that shapes our worldview. I am praying that studying these 12
lessons will help each of us to adopt and live by a biblical worldview.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES CHAPTER 8.
This book takes its title from the Hebrew word meaning that the author is
a teacher or preacher. It is one of the five scrolls. Along with Ruth,
the song of Solomon, Esther, and Lamentations Ecclesiastes stands as one
of the books the Rabbis read in the synagogue on five special occasions
during the year. Ecclesiastes being read on Pentecost. The book was
written by King Solomon, son of David about 931 BC.
Ecclesiastes is the book of man "under the sun" reasoning about life. The
philosophy it sets forth represents the worldview of the wise man who
knew there is a Holy God, and that He will bring everything into
judgment. He declared in 1:1 that he had applied his mind to observe and
teach, but he soon learned that his mind was limited. Greater realities
and meanings existed than he could comprehend.
1. PLEASE READ ECCLESIASTES 8: 16-17.
When God created humans in His image, He gave them the gift of a mind and
the ability to think and reason. However, even apart from the corrupting
power of sin, a human mind is unable to perceive some realities. The two
verses read contain most of the O.T. words used to describe this subject.
The writer gave diligent effort to know wisdom. Know and Wisdom are both
found throughout the O.T., although Wisdom most often is found in the
Wisdom writings. The Book of Proverbs, for example, says in Prov. 4:7,
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get Wisdom." The Preacher did
what Proverbs advised and sought wisdom. He applied himself to learning.
He wanted to know wisdom. His quest involved far more than acquiring
knowledge of facts. The word wisdom implied understanding knowledge and
comprehending how to use it properly.
The Hebrew word for "wisdom" means much more than intelligence or good
sense. In the O.T. wisdom is linked closely to godliness. The wise person
is related rightly to God. Prov. 1:7 states, "The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." In
contrast, Ps. 14:1 states, "The fool says in his heart, "There is no
God." Thus when the teacher wrote in Eccl. 8:16,"I applied my mind to
know wisdom," we should not be surprised that in the next verse he
wrote, "Then I saw all that God has done." The Bible teaches what many
people today have forgotten: A person cannot find true wisdom without
looking first for God. Yet the conclusion of the preacher is that no
matter how hard we try, we cannot discover God on our own. The results of
our attempt is distorted pictures that capture only a part of His
essential character.
The teacher asked "What is the meaning of life?" To answer this question,
the Teacher realized he must study people's lives. One method of
obtaining data about life was observation. The Teacher observed human
labor; The term Labor incorporates all kinds of activities with which
people occupy themselves.
The teacher realized that his mind was limited. Efforts to use human
wisdom to master the secret of life were doomed. If we could know what
causes success and produces happiness, we might control destiny, but this
is God's domain. Often people boast about their intelligence. Such
vanity is empty and discloses faulty thinking.
The limitations of human reason is not the result of sin; it is the
nature of our being. Perhaps a simple idea can illustrate the limitation
of the human mind. Would you ask the mechanic who tunes your car to
perform surgery on your heart? Of course not! Neither would you want the
heart surgeon to tune your auto. Both professions require skills and
knowledge, but they require different skills and knowledge. We cannot
know everything. Human reason has limitations. However, we should not
place unnecessary limits on ourselves by our ignorance. We should develop
the reasoning powers God gave us. They can help us better understand the
Word of God and the doctrines we believe. Someone pointed out this week
that we need to read fewer books about the Bible and use that time to
read the Bible more. The preacher's great discovery about the nature of
God's activity is that he does not comprehend it.
Although human wisdom, especially when enlightened by God's revelation,
gives answers to some things, it does not enable humans to understand all
the mysteries of life and of God.
A famous quote from William Shakespeare's Hamlet illustrates this truth.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. "
PLEASE TURN TO ROMANS 8.
In this chapter in Romans Paul stated that sin affects the minds of human
beings. The natural mind is controlled by natural desires, is hostile to
God, and does not submit to His law. The end result is death.
2, PLEASE READ ROMANS 8: 5-8.
The point for this lesson is that sin affects the mind. Our minds are
turned to the ways of sin. "Those who choose to live according to their
sinful nature set their mind and heart on what that nature desires." This
way of life is the opposite of being spiritually minded. It also is the
way of death because it is enmity against God and cannot please God.
When sin entered the world, it corrupted everything. Paul described in
Rom. 1: 18-32 how sin corrupted every aspect of human life .
Specifically, Paul wrote in Vs. 28 "And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate or
depraved mind ."
Sin perverted human reason so that people's worldviews are shaped by life
centered around humans rather than around God. This corruption of the
mind is part of the plight of people in sin. This fallen mind expresses
itself in many ways. The only way to escape depraved thinking is thru a
right relationship with God.
One manifestation is the worldly pride of those who think they can get
along without God. In fact, they are convinced they can find life and
fulfillment without God. The Book of Proverbs which has such a positive
attitude to wisdom based on divine revelation, uses the word "fool" to
describe those who turn from divine to human wisdom. Prov. 14: 9 says
"Fools make a mock of sin." Prov. 12: 15 says "The way of a fool is right
in his own eyes.." Add to this Ps. 14: 1 "The fool said in his heart,
There is no God."
Hostility toward God issues in opposition to God's law. The sinner
refuses to submit to it. Paul's fourth contrast between unrighteous and
righteous people concerns the law, the expression of God's will. Sinners'
hostility to God become transgression of His commands. Their hostility
shows the gravity of their refusal. Yet God's law is the standard by
which unbelievers' conduct is judged.
People of the sinful mind cannot keep God's laws. The phrase "nor can it
do so" indicates that t the lack of submission is not merely a question
of fact but of ability---moral inability. Unregenerate people lack the
power to obey God's commandments. Yet God holds them responsible. In Vs.
8 we have the true doctrine of total inability. Thus sinners have a
double inability: They cannot submit to God's laws, and they cannot
please God.
Paul named four characteristics of sinful people: hostility toward God,
insubordination to God's laws, failure to please God, and death. They
never can escape death, cannot obey God's law, and cannot please him.
Thus sin, not reason, is our major obstacle to true spiritual
understanding and righteous living. We need to ask God to change us at
the core of our beings so we can have true spiritual understanding and
can live righteously.
This might be a good place to insert J.I. Packer's definition of a
Christian. He said "true Christians are people who acknowledge and live
under the Word of God. They submit without reserve to the Word of God
written in what Daniel 10: 21 calls "The Book of Truth," believing the
truths, trusting the promises, following the commands. Their eyes are
upon the God of the Bible as their Father and the Christ of the Bible as
their Savior."
PLEASE TURN TO EPHESIANS 4.
Paul encouraged the Ephesian Christians to seek continually the renewing
of their minds and no longer to allow their minds to be controlled by
their former ways of thinking and living. He told them that the key to
renewal was to be made new in the attitudes of their minds. They were to
do this by putting off the old self and its ways and putting on a new
self that reflects God's ways.
3. PLEASE READ EPHESIANS 4: 17-18, 22-24.
Verses 17-18 reinforce the message of Rom. 8: 5-8. In Vs. 17 Paul
encouraged the Ephesians to seek continually the renewing of their minds
and no longer to allow their minds to be controlled by their former ways.
Paul argued that new life in Christ involved his readers in a radical
change from their previous lifestyles. The apostle insisted that they
were not to fall back into their old patterns of thinking and behaving.
They were to be different from the Gentile world around them.
The old life is described as "walking as the Gentiles walk or live, in
the vanity of their mind or in the futility of their thinking." Having
the understanding darkened is another way to describe this aspect of
living in the darkness of sin. Understanding is another word having to do
with the mind. It is thru the ignorance that is in them ; the word
ignorance is the opposite of understanding.
All of these aspects of reason are corrupted by sin and are to be put
off. The Ephesians former conversation refers to their entire way of
living, not just to speech. In place of these sinful aspects of reason
and all that went along with them rhem, Paul told the Ephesian believers,
"Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness." Paul also told them to "be renewed in the spirit of your
mind." This word renewed is not used here of restoring something to a
previous state but of making something new.
When does this renewing of the mind take place? Repentance means to
change your mind; therefore, the new mind is given at t conversion.
However, there is also a sense in which full renewal of the mind is an
ongoing process. there is a "once-for-all-ness" about salvation, but
there is also a "day-by-day-ness." Christians often carry into the
Christian life some of the baggage of their old sinful life. This
includes how they think and reason. Therefore, we need to keep letting
the Word of God and His Spirit create in us a renewed mind.
A great contrast exists between the old nature and the new nature. The
old was corrupt and deceitful. The new is created after God's likeness.
It is righteous and holy. Such a renewed mind will still not be able to
comprehend all the mysteries of God and His ways; but it will look at
God, self, and others in a totally different way. This renewal of the
mind is crucial in developing a biblical worldview. It is like the
gate-keeper to a biblical worldview. Without a renewed mind, a person
will continue to see things from the point of view of the old sinful
life. A renewed mind sees things as God sees them. How does God see
things? His Word reveals His worldview.
PLEASE TURN IN YOUR BIBLE TO HEBREWS 11.
In his great exposition on faith and faithfulness, the writer of Hebrews
stated that faith enables believers to have confident hope in the
unfilled promises of God and to be able to see realities hat are unseen
by the physical senses. Then he introduced a roll-call of people from
O.T. times who lived by faith.
4. PLEASE READ HEBREWS 11: 1-2.
Hebrews 11 is another of the Bible's most familiar chapters., It is
called the faith chapter for faith is one of the key words in Hebrews as
it is used 32 times, 24 times in Chapter 11. Two characteristics of faith
are highlighted in Heb. 11: "the substance of things hoped for" and the
"evidence of things not seen." Faith is the means of knowing certain
realities that are beyond proof by observation or experiment. Faith is a
means of knowing and understanding God's truth. Faith makes believers
certain of what they cannot see. Everyone exercises a kind of faith in
every area of life.
Hershel Hobbs noted that Hebrews 11:1 is not a definition of faith; it is
the characteristics of faith. The absence of the article with the noun
faith indicates that the reference was to faith as an abstract
conception. Vs. 1 contains two parallel statements: faith is being sure
of what we hope for and faith is being certain of what we do not see. We
could describe the first statement as assurance and the second as
conviction. The concept of assurance referred to something put under an
object to give it firmness; for example, a foundation that was placed
under a building not yet built. A Christians' faith provides them with
the certainty that an inspection of the foundation gives an architect.
The architect can view the completed foundation and be confident that it
will support the building .
The reality of what we hope for and what we do not see cannot be proved
in a laboratory, but evidences of their reality do exist. The ancients,
the great heroes of faith, are examples of the transformed lives of a
host of people throughout biblical history. In the remainder of Ch. 11,
the writer of Hebrews paraded selected examples of these men and women
before the reader to validate the writer's claims. The statement that
they were commended for faith communicates that on the basis of faith
they received divine approval. This means that faith is the key that
unlocks the door of biblical truth and victorious living.
Faith gives confidence regarding spiritual realities taught in the Bible.
In matters of biblical truth and claims, faith brings spiritual
certainty, not rational certainty. Faith provides understanding of
realities that are inaccessible to the five senses. Faith does not rest
on the conclusions of the intellect. However, faith is not opposed to
knowledge. Biblical faith brings certainty to the heart as well as to the
intellect.
We should seek to strengthen our faith so we can discover and incorporate
biblical truths in our lives. We need to remember that faith in an idea
is valid only if the idea is true. The ideas of Scripture are true
because God has revealed them. Points of faith must be in keeping with
biblical claims and statements. Sadly, many people place faith in things
that are not true. They merely are somebody's ill-founded ideas. The
object of a person's faith is more important; it is decisive.
It is important to exercise our reasoning powers to the glory of God. He
created our minds and intended that we use them to enhance our faith, not
repudiate it. In the words of a popular proverb, "A mind is a terrible
thing to waste." What are you doing with yours?
In this lesson, we have focused on the relationship between knowing and
believing. We have noted that reason and faith are valid ways of knowing
reality. And to add to the problem, human reason has been distorted by
sin. One of the fruits of faith in Christ is a continuing renewal of our
mind. In this sense, it becomes an ally of faith, which is the only way
to k now the unseen areas of reality about God and His promises.
An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers
across a loch in the Scottish highlands. One day a passenger noticed that
the old man had carved on one oar the word Faith and on the other oar
the word Reason. Curiosity led the passenger to ask the meaning of this.
The old Scot, being a Christian, said, "I will show you."
So saying, he dropped one oar and plied the oar called Reason, at which
they just went around in circles. Then the old man dropped that oar and
began to ply the oar called Faith, and the little boat just went around
in circles again--this time the other way around, but still in circles.
After this the old Scot picked up both Faith and Reason, and plying both
oars together, sped swiftly over the water, explaining to the passenger,
"You see, that's the way it is in the Christian life and worldview.
Reason without faith is cold and sterile and leads to folly, getting you
nowhere. Faith without reason is subjective and superstitious and leads
to uncontrolled emotionalism, also getting you nowhere. But faith and
reason pulling together make for balance in the crossing, progress toward
the goal, and blessing on arrival."
NEXT SUNDAY FROM ISAIAH 40 LET'S SEE "WHAT OUR GOD IS LIKE."
A.V. DAUGHERTY 6-11-00.