Introduction to Thinking Biblically – Part 1

Part 1 – Introduction to Thinking Biblically!

The ability to think biblically places us firmly on the strong foundation as described in Matt. 7:24-27

Matt. 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ “And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ “And everyone hearing these words of Mine and not doing them, may be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Since it is vitally important to build on a strong foundation, the question to be asked and answered in what constitutes a strong foundation? The text above declares a strong foundation is built upon God’s words and doing them. So how do we proceed to lay a foundation built on the rock of His words? I was once asked “how would you teach a new believer?”. “What program do you or would you use?”.  Surprisingly my answer was I don’t know.  In the past I always tried to tailor it to the one being taught, I never had a clear format like the one I will be presenting in the following pages. I took some time and performed an internet search to see what was being used by others. After a few hours of google searches and browsing several resources I was left unsatisfied with what I found.  Not because of the lack of good programs, bible studies, scripture memory and tutorials because there were a multitude.  How critical could I be since as a new Christian I was trained using navigator materials and I will always be grateful to their discipleship process. But what I thought was missing was the ability to think biblically about the big questions of life. Sure, eternal questions have biblical clarity. But what about the other question which come our way? Questions about truth, abortion, gay marriage, etc.  I asked myself could I respond to these questions in a Biblical manner while still standing upon the firm rock of His word.  What became clear to me was I needed a Biblical Worldview. A worldview one which provided clear categories to biblically think and to address the big issues of life.  The following pages are my thoughts on how Gen chapters one to three have already provides the necessary categories.

Clearly a new Christian should be discipled to help build a strong foundation.  It was clear to me I had no definitive way of helping a new believer build such a foundation or how to help them in thinking biblically.

Secondly, the term worldview has been being thrown around quite a bit. Christian worldview and Biblical worldview have received a lot of air and ink time.  It struck me I had no clear idea of what constituted a Christian/Biblical worldview.  So, as is my routine I again turned to Google and after several hours over many days I was no closer to an answer.  Oh, to be sure there has been much written and spoken about Biblical/Christian worldview but there is no standard definition.  At least not one which seemed satisfactory.

What are the foundational elements a new believer needs?  What are the foundational elements necessary for a believer to have a worldview which will stand up under the onslaught of the current culture?  Can we get from the Bible what we need to know?

The following six items are not just elements of a Biblical worldview, but they are the basic elements of the Gospel.  Interestingly, the Gospel is perfectly described for us in the first three chapters of Genesis.  The rest of scripture then adds to and amplifies the worldview unveiled in Gen 1 to 3.

The biblical foundational principles are as follows and are taken from Genesis chapters 1 to 3 and are represented the biblical texts below:

1. God is/God created – Gen 1:1
2. Man made in His image and given a purpose – Gen 1:26-27, Gen 1:29-30,
3. God speaks to us – Gen 1: 29-30
4. God makes the rules – Gen 2:15-17
5. Man wants to be his own God and pays the price – Gen 3:1-7
6. Man hides God finds. Salvation and Reconciliation is of the Lord.  – Gen 3:8-21

Genesis Chapters 1 to 3 clearly point out the above six elements and they are clearly the basics of the gospel message.  We are told who God is, who man is and the purpose for which he was created, we understand God speaks and interacts with man, it is clear God establishes moral and ethical rules and guidelines. We are shown how man fell from the grace of God and brought on disease, death and separation from God. We are introduced to reconciliation and redemption via Gods mercy and grace. In Gen 3:15 and Gen 3:21 we have the first glimpse of the grace of God for rebellious sinners such as us.  We need a Savior, and we need to be clothed by God. Here, we have a promise of a savior who will crush the enemy and the first indication of the necessity of a blood sacrifice to be made right with God. Gloriously reconciliation with God has been fulfilled by Christ at the cross.

Therefore the premise is Genesis chapters 1 to 3 lay out for us the basic principles of a biblical worldview and they are the first full presentation of the Gospel. The rest of the bible is the history how those principles work out in time and in our individual lives. 

We are commanded as believers to go and make disciples and to be ready to make a defense for what we believe.  So, what are the foundational elements we need to build into our lives to fulfill these following commandments of our Lord?

1)  Go make disciples – Matt 28:18-20 All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

2) Be ready to make a defense – 1 Pet 3:15 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 fear,

Importance of a strong foundation.

Foundations!  Just how important are the foundations?  “A foundation is the crucial part of any structure. Whether the structure is a house, a high rise or a bridge.  The ability of the structure to withstand the forces applied to it depends fully upon the ability of the foundation to absorb those forces.  High rise foundations must provide support for the weight of the building and the strong environmental forces which will come against the structure over time. Forces such wind, rain and earthquakes. Large buildings have a foundation which are hundreds of feet below the surface to handle the expected assault from the environment.  Bridges are built with foundations which are drilled through the water until they reach bedrock.  The pillars which support the bridge must be designed to transfer the applied forces directly to the foundation.  Houses also must have a foundation which will support the daily environmental impact of the region in which they are built.  The foundations might be designed differently to withstand differing forces in differing locations.  In California, a home’s foundation needs to withstand earthquakes of certain intensities while in Florida a home’s foundation has to be built to withstand certain forces brought on by hurricanes and tornadoes.”

For the believer in Christ a biblical foundation must serve the purpose of providing the ability for a Christian to live and think Biblically. The foundation must first provide a way to build an appropriate worldview, So, one can have a strong faith. Secondly, A Biblical worldview will increase our ability to share and defend the faith.

Conclusion:

Nailing down how to ground a new believer in the faith and what makes up a Christian/Biblical worldview was a bit harder than I figured it would be. It made me wonder if there were other new and old believers looking at the bible asking where should I start? Can it provide answers to the big questions of life?  As a new believer I was given a bible for the first time and told this is the word of God.  I held it in my hand and thought about where I should start. It seemed very large and contained some confusing and daunting books and chapters.  You know, as in Leviticus.  I was blessed to have someone take me under their wing and begin discipling me on the basics of Christianity and to help me process things I read in the scriptures. However, I think it would have been beneficial to have a foundational format which would have provided a strong bedrock on which to build upon.

Here I am 48 years later after reading the bible repeatedly and putting in many hours of study, I love the book.  But I wanted to know was I part of only a small sample of believers who fell in love with the word of God who still had trouble answering the big questions of life? 

• What do new and old believers need to think Biblically?
• What is a Christian worldview and does having one impact my life in today’s world?
• Does an appropriate worldview lead to being able to answer the big questions in life, particularly the questions culture in asking?

After much thought and not a little reading and not a little google research, I have become convinced a good place to start is Gen 1-3. These chapters declare to us the foundation of the Christian faith and offers clear categories to establish a biblical worldview.

There is much to glean from these three little chapters other than how to ground a new believer in the faith and how to build a Biblical worldview.  But my goal is to demonstrate how these chapters provide the foundation of our faith and the elements of a Christian/Biblical worldview.

Gen 1-3 set the foundations and the bible story of God, man, fall and redemptions. The rest of the bible proceeds and builds on these concepts from Gen 4 To Rev 22:2.

ADDITIONAL TEXTS ON THE NEED FOR A STRONG FOUNDATION:

Luke 6:46-49   “Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who heard and did not do accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the river burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Why is a strong foundation important?  Because when we are on this foundation we will not be disturbed.

Isa 28:16 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

1 Cor. 3:10-15  According to the grace of God, which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each man’s work will become evident, for the day will indicate it because it is revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. ¹⁴ If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Eph 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being joined together, is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

1Pet. 2:4-8   And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.” ⁷ This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNER stone,” ⁸ and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE.” They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this stumbling they were also appointed.

The bible clearly teaches us a strong foundation is extremely important. It is our support in difficult times, there is only one foundation which we are to build upon, we are standing upon the foundation of Christ, the chief cornerstone, foundation stones of the apostles and prophets. To us a choice and precious foundation to those outside it is a stumbling block, a rock of offense.

Second a strong foundation provides a place to grow and built up the faith community:

Eph 4:11-16  And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.