Mentoring Men for the Master

WHAT IS YOUR WORLD VIEW?

What is your world view?  Whether you realize it or not, you have a world view.  What does this mean?  You have certain presuppositions and biases that affect the way you view all of life and respond to it.  We could liken a worldview to a set of lenses through which we perceive the world around us.  What forms our world view?  Our parents, teachers, education, upbringing, culture, books we read, mentors, cogent professors, pastor, the media, movies and music we absorb.  The worldview for many, perhaps all of us, is acquired through osmosis.  As Tennyson wrote, “We are a part of all we have met,” in his famous poem Odysseus.   As to myself, I can see that my world view has been rooted in most of these things (very little from movies which I rarely attend because of their promotion of immorality and even blasphemy against God and the Holy Scriptures).  Several powerful personalities have been powerful forces in the formation of my world view, beginning with my godly mother and insightful father (a farmer preacher), then Dr. Stephen Olford (1969- 2003), Vance Havner (1963-1983), R. G. Lee (1963-1978), Dr. Leo Eddleman (1960-1980), Professor Forest Clontz (1944-1948), Billy Graham (1969-present), Dr. James Kennedy (1969-2005).

Why do we need a world view?  We need a framework that ties everything together, that allows us to understand ourselves, society, the world, others and our place in it.  And why do we need this perspective?  To help us make the critical decisions which determine our present and certainly our future for all eternity.  In a word, we need a mind set which will enable us to cope with complexity and change which in themselves are most unsettling but with the right world view are settling and productive of stability, peace, and wonderful purpose.

Having set forth the generic meaning of “world view,” let us move on to consider the specific components of a “Christian World View.”  What is a “Christian World View?”  It is a consistent and cohesive view of the world from a Biblical perspective, that is, from looking at our world through the lens of revealed truth in the Holy Scriptures.

  1. I believe in the existence of One True and Living God (Hebrews 11:6).
  2. I believe that this God is the standard by which I measure everything else (Romans 11:36).
  3. I believe that God created everything, including man in His “own image” at a point in time (not evolution) (Genesis 1:1, 28) and that everything is held together by Him, not the atom (Col. 1:17).
  4. I believe that the Bible is “God breathed out “Word” to human kind and reveals all that is necessary for human kind  to live the abundant life in a crazy confused world (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
  5. I believe that God came to this earth in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth 2000 years ago, through the miracle of the Virgin Birth, to reveal and demonstrate the way God expects us to live and then bore our sins on the cross, was buried, rose from the dead, ascended into glory, and sent the Holy Spirit to make Himself known to human kind (1 Cor. 15:1-3; Acts 2:33; John 14:12; Matthew 5-7; etc.
  6. I believe human kind, though created perfect, chose to rebel against God in the Garden of Eden and because of that rebellion sin and death entered into the world (Romans 5:12-14) and all the evil in our world has resulted because of man’s sin.
  7. I believe that while God created a perfect world (Genesis 1:31) that when man fell from his perfect estate that all creation fell with him, but one day will be re-created and resurrected into a perfect world (Romans 8:21ff). A Paradise lost, Paradise
  8. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and Eternal life (John 14:6; 3:36; 1 John 5:13, etc) and that He becomes our Lord and Savior through repentance and faith resulting in the new birth.
  9. I believe that history is moving toward one goal: The Kingdom of God consisting of the “New Heaven and New Earth” wherein God will dwell with His redeemed family   and they with Him for all eternity (Revelation 21:1-7).
  10. I believe that truth is absolute, not relativistic, and can be understood and obeyed by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (John 8:31-32; Phil. 2:5-11; Rev. 11:15; etc.).
  11. While Christianity is believed and lived by faith, I believe it is also reasonable and rationalistic to the believing mind.
  12. I believe all the things of this life – money, education, health – are temporal and can change, but God can be depended on through it all, never leaving or forsaking those who belong to Him (Heb. 13:5b) and Deo Soli Gloria!
  13. Because of all these assurances, I am “bubbling up with hope” through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13) even while the world lives under a cloud of despair and darkness.
  14. I believe I am here myself on this earth to experience Jesus in my own life and to give myself totally to Him and to “pour my life into others” (especially guys) that they might live out the abundant life by being godly husbands, fathers, citizens, etc. all to the glory of Jesus Christ.
  15. I believe that while the world is reeling and reveling in a climate of nihilism, anxiety, and despair, I can live a holy life in the power of the resurrection through surrendering daily to the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18 – 6:1-4).
  16. In the meantime I believe that everything which occurs in my life, both good and bad, is permitted or ordained by my Sovereign and loving God and He will use it to bring ultimate good to me (Romans 8:28-29).

FINAL NOTE:  THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF MMM IS TO ENCOURAGE GUYS AND HOLD THEM  RESPONSIBLE TO LIVE BY THE CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW WHICH TRANSLATES INTO CONFORMING INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST.