Developing a Biblical Worldview

“Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.” Psalms 119:133

“He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise the Lord!” Psalms 147:19-20

“Be diligent (study in KJV) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Are Christians really a people of the Book? To what extent do they orient their thinking by, take their cues from, establish their priorities on the basis of, subject the entirety of their experience to, and seek ever deepening understanding of the teachings of Scripture? To what extent can we say that Christians are people of the Book? (T.M. Moore on Breakpoint 5-23-07)

The concept of having “rose-colored glasses” generally comes with a negative connotation.  Those seeing through the glasses do not see a true picture, everything having a reddish tint from the glasses.  Despite this concept, it would be best if all Christians would look at the world through the “blood-stained glasses” of the Bible. In other words having a Christian worldview; by running every decision, action, or attitude through the filter of the Bible.

In order for us to do this, we must know what the Bible teaches on a subject.  As part of our inerrant view of the Bible, we believe that the Bible addresses every necessary subject for our Christian living.  While some topics or words are not directly mentioned in the Bible, we can take what it does say about a related subject and apply it appropriately.  For example the word abortion is not found in the Bible however child sacrifice and the destruction of life are condemned; so this is where we form our basis against the practice. 

So as we seek to develop a life directed by the Bible we must study the doctrines it teaches.  Certainly this involves lots of study in the Bible itself.  Another helpful starting place are resources such as catechisms and systematic theologies.  These are collections of teachings or statements developed by many Bible scholars in one volume.  The catechism is especially popular in the Catholic church to ground their children in solid Bible principles, having classes revolved around these teachings.  As Southern Baptist another resource we have is the Baptist Faith and Message, specifically the year 2000 revision.  Each of these resources pairs a theological statement with a listing of scriptures used to develop it.  By studying the resource and the scripture list, it will help the student heed the exhortation of 1 Peter 3:15.