The Biblical Worldview

Lesson 12

The Biblical Worldview

(Genesis 1 & 3, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 John 3)

Copr. 2022, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: The day I wrote these words an important religious liberty case was being argued before the United States Supreme Court. My Church filed a brief supporting religious liberty in this case. Standing before the Court to argue on behalf of religious liberty was a graduate of Regent University School of Law - where I am a professor. On one side of the case is a lady who believes that she must operate her business in a way that is consistent with the teachings of the Bible. On the other side stands the State of Colorado which argues that if your religious practice conflicts with its views you should not be able to be in business. The case reflects the great division and polarization of world views: one based on the Bible and one which is not. Does this sound familiar? Does Revelation 13 warn us of a day in which we cannot do business (“no one can buy or sell”) unless we bear the mark of government approval? Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and learn more!

1. God’s First Painful Lesson
   
   1. Read Genesis 3:2-5. We seem to constantly go back to discuss this story. Why? Because it contains so many critical lessons. Let’s consider the lessons regarding world views:
      1. What is God’s worldview on religious freedom? (It has to be one of His highest values, otherwise He never would have permitted this conversation to happen.)
      2. What is God’s worldview on the importance of His law? (We know that the penalty for violating God’s law was death - and Jesus paid that penalty.)
         
         1. What alternative was available to God? (He could have made exceptions. Either to religious liberty or to His law. He could have created a new law. The fact that He died over His existing law is worth serious contemplation.)
   2. Look again at Genesis 3:5. What does this teach us about Satan’s worldview? (Good and bad are equivalent choices. Knowing everything without discrimination is the highest value.)
      1. Is that at the heart of the polarization of views today? (This is precisely the clash in this Supreme Court case. One worldview says that all ideas are equal and you cannot discriminate against any. The other (Biblical) world view is that some things are right, some things are wrong, and we should discriminate between right and wrong.
   3. The argument before the Supreme Court is political, it is about how we understand the Constitution of the United States. Read Genesis 2:15-17. Is God being political? (Yes, He is telling Adam the rules governing the garden (and the universe).)
   4. Read Matthew 4:23. Many Christians today argue that we should avoid politics and stick to preaching only the gospel. Is that a Biblical worldview? (The heart of the “gospel of the kingdom” is the rule of law. God died because He was unwilling to give up the rule of law and He loved us more than He loved His own life.)
      1. Many people who are ignorant of history attack the “West” because of errors in the past. Many feel badly because of this past (of which they had no part). Why would anyone apologize for something they did not do? (This only happens when people believe in the rule of law. Without the rule of law there is only power, and the powerful never need to apologize. Only the law stands above power.)

2. God’s Image
   
   1. Read Genesis 1:26-27. If we understand that we are created in the “image” of God, what should be our responsibility to the rule of law?
      1. Notice that God gave humans “dominion” over the animals. That sounds like raw power, it does not sound like the rule of law. What Biblical evidence is there that the relationship between humans and animals was subject to the rule of law? (Read Genesis 9:3. Humans were not allowed to eat animals until this point in time. Read Leviticus 11:2. Here we see that the authority to eat animals did not extend to all animals. The rule of law - which discriminated among animals - applied to limit human choices.)
   2. Read 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. We are made in the image of God, and our body “is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” What does this teach us about the rule of law and sexual choices? What does it say about choices that harm our body? (God asserts that His rule of law applies to our body. Sexual practices that are contrary to the teachings of the Bible are not an equal and allowable choice.)
      1. What does this text say about the current medical view that if you decide that you prefer being another gender, even if you are a child, your body should be surgically altered to confirm to your preference?
      2. What does this say about the religious liberty rights of those who refuse to accept a vaccine that they think may harm their body?
3. Viewpoint Assistance
   
   1. Read John 16:12-13. Is Jesus equating the guidance of the Holy Spirit to His own words? (Jesus says that some truth that He would otherwise have given then will be given later by the Holy Spirit. This text emphasizes that the truth taught by the Holy Spirit is from the combined Godhead.)
      1. We have all heard people who claim to speak (or actually do speak) something that the Holy Spirit has revealed to them. Should we uncritically accept those statements? (The Holy Spirit will not contradict the Bible. But see, Acts 15.)
   2. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21. What does it mean to “test” the words of a prophet? (At a minimum, it means we must test those words by the Bible. We should not uncritically accept the words of someone who claims to be a prophet of God.)
   3. Read 2 Timothy 2:15. What do you think it means to “rightly handle the word of truth?” (Even when we are dealing with the teachings of the Bible, we need to be careful how we understand and apply them.)
   4. Read Joel 2:28-29. How many prophets should a church expect to have? (Many!)
      1. When does this take place? (Read Acts 2:16-18. This proves that the time of widespread prophesy began after Jesus’ resurrection. These are the prophets which must be rigorously tested.)
      2. I captioned this section “Viewpoint Assistance.” Would it be better captioned, “Viewpoint Confusion?” (I think the caution about testing is a “signal versus noise” issue. There will be a lot of incorrect prophecies (noise), but the Holy Spirit brings an important signal to help us understand the Bible.)
      3. Can a prophet have some correct and some incorrect statements? (The instruction to test prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:20) is aimed at the specific prophecy and not the prophet. This opens the door to understanding that even a prophet of God can get something wrong.)
4. Riding the Rule of Law into the Kingdom of God
   
   1. Read 1 John 3:1-2. Will we ever be perfect this side of heaven? (Our heavenly self “has not yet appeared.” What we can know is that we will be like Jesus.)
   2. Read 1 John 3:3. What is our task now? (To try to follow God’s rule of law. Our goal is to discriminate between good and evil, and to follow what is good.)
   3. Read 1 John 3:4. What is the problem with sin? (It is lawlessness. It is in opposition to the rule of law.)
   4. Friend, God calls us to a viewpoint that honors the rule of law, God’s rule of law. Sin is a rejection of law. Sin is lawlessness. Will you choose to base your worldview on God’s law? Will you try to make everything that you do, even in your business, accord with God’s rules? Why not decide to do that right now?
5. Next week: The Judging Process.