Worldview

Since I was in college, I have been hearing the word Worldview. When I was a freshman in college, we had a whole class on thinking through our worldview, examining it, thinking about it, pondering it. Worldview has been a popular word in many Christian circles, and as we went through Who Stole My Church, I was surprised to find out how few in the room where familiar with it.

So what is a worldview? A worldview is a framework through which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. It’s the glasses that you look at life through. For example (and this is not original to me), a 2-year-old believes he's the center of his world, a secular humanist believes that the material world is all that exists, and a Buddhist believes he can be liberated from suffering by self-purification.

Everyone has a worldview, whether we realize it or not. We all have certain presuppositions and biases that affect the way we view all of life and reality. Where does it come from? Where do we get our worldview? Everywhere. Our parents and family, our culture, our family class, our education, the music we listen to, the books we read, the things we watch, the websites we look at, and much, much more. Most people don’t think through their worldview. It’s something we have absorbed by osmosis from the surrounding cultural influences, and they haven’t thought strategically about what they believe, and may not even be able to give a rational defense of their beliefs to others.

Why is all this important? Because a persons worldview is their personal theology of life, it is the foundation for everything they think and do and say. A persons worldview serves as their decision-making filter, enabling them to make sense of the complex and huge amount of information, experiences, relationships and opportunities they face in life. By helping to clarify what they believe to be important, true and desirable, a worldview has a dramatic influence on a person’s choices in any given situation.

Here’s the problem (or the one I will mention). Most American Christians don’t have a biblical worldview (Only one percent of Mosaics have a biblical worldview and 9 percent of all Americans have a biblical worldview). Only 20 percent of those who call themselves born again have a biblical worldview. How is a biblical worldview defined? For a survey two years ago, the Barna group asked people to answer several questions, based on claims found in the Bible: Do absolute moral truths exist? Is absolute truth defined by the Bible? Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life? Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today? Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned? Is Satan real? Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people? Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings? (http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/252-barna-survey-examines-changes-in-worldview-among-christians-over-the-past-13-years).

What they found was that less than half of the born again adults (46%) believe in absolute moral truth, and while only one-quarter of adults (28%) believe that it is impossible for someone to earn their way into Heaven through good behavior, they also found that only 47% of born again Christians strongly reject the notion of earning salvation through their deeds  (i.e. -53 percent of all born again Christians think you can earn it – for a rebuttal to this position, please read Ephesians 2).

Worse, they found some troubling patterns as well. They found that although most Americans consider themselves to be Christian and say they know the content of the Bible, less than one out of ten Americans demonstrate such knowledge through their actions. There’s a story from the White Horse Inn (a Christian radio program), that when they  started to do a series examining Galatians last year, they went to a conservative, evangelical Bible college (a place you would expect high biblical knowledge) and asked, “What is the book of Galatians about?” The result was not good, wrote the blogger who told the story, He said, “It was almost jaw dropping to hear some of these responses and how completely wrong they were.” Here’s some of the other answers they got “Community in the church. I’m not familiar with it. Strengthening others in Christ. I haven’t read it all the way through. I don’t remember.” Let me help here. Galatians is about freedom in Christ (5:1)

In addition, they found that , the generational pattern suggests that parents are not focused on guiding their children to have a biblical worldview. One of the challenges for parents, though, is that you cannot give what you do not have, and most parents do not possess such a perspective on life” (ibid). This week, a Barna pole noted two more disturbing facts. Twenty-five percent of those who claim to be born-again Christians said that “all people are eventually saved or accepted by God”. A similar proportion, 26 percent, said a person’s religion does not matter because all faiths teach the same lessons. (http://www.christianpost.com/news/many-born-again-christians-hold-universalist-views-barna-finds-49883)

Why do we care that many American Christians don’t have a biblical worldview? Because if we don’t hold a biblical worldview,, it damages our ability to glorify God with our lives, and it destroys our witness. If we don't really believe the truth of God’s word, if it doesn’t shape our thinking and our actions, then our lives will not consistently honor and glorify God. It may sometimes, but not consistently. Furthermore, our witness will be confusing and misleading. We may want to have a good witness, but we will struggle with being influenced more by the philosophy and thinking of our post-Christian culture than by scripture. Colossians warns us, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Col 2:8 NIV). Many American Christians are completely taken by the philosophy of our culture, and while we say that we believe the Bible, our words, actions, tell us that our worldviews are often being shaped by other things.

So how do we develop a biblical worldview? First, and most importantly, we get in the word. We read, read, read. I can’t begin to tell you how important this is. Time and again, the Psalms tell us the value of scripture; Psalm 119 says that Gods word “is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105 NIV). Psalm 1 tells us, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2 NIV).  “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple”. Psalm19 tells us “The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.(Psalm 19:7-11). As you read scripture, it will change you, because it proclaims the message of God’s saving work, warns us, directs us, guides us, and does more than we can ask or imagine.

Second, Be Bereans. Acts tells us “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true (Act 17:11) When you come across ideas, examine them, don’t just let them flow in and sit. This goes for everything I say too. Hold it to the light of Scripture, and see if it matches.

Third, really start to think through what you believe, and why you believe it. In Romans 12, Paul writes, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:1-2 NIV) To not conform, you have to examine what you believe, and how that shapes your life.

 Fourth, read books that help you wrestle with big questions. Read like crazy. I would recommend four books to start with: Tim Keller’s “A Reason for God” (I highly recommend “A reason for God” if you are trying to engage postmoderns), John Stott’s “Basic Christianity”, Lee Strobel’s “A Case for Christ”, and C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity”. Start with Keller, his book is worth it.

Finally and most importantly, constantly preach the gospel to yourself, remind yourself every day of all that God has done. Remind yourself that Christ died for you, He lost his life, so that you might have life in him. He died as a sinner, so that you might be righteous. He died, to make you God’s child in his image. He died a terrible death, so that you might know “the all surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”(Phil.3:8). If you seek to build a biblical worldview and live a life that glorifies God without understanding this, you will fail, because the efforts will be either based on guilt, or emotions; and both eventually both power sources run dry. But if you remember the cross, if your remember that Christ became weak, so you might be strong, it will give you the right motivation, not on your actions earning Gods grace, but based on a joyful response to all that Christ has done for you.

In Christ,
Pastor Jonathan

Osama Bin Laden

Yesterday, I was asked what I thought about Bin Laden's death.A member of the church wrote.

"I'd love to know your thoughts on Bin Laden's death.  I am struggling with it today - celebrating in my mind, but feeling guilty at the same time.  This was, after all, a man, whom God loved, and we (USA) have now taken away any possibility there might have been (slim possibility I know) that at some point in the future he might have felt remorse for his actions and turned to God.  Is there a point where the needs or interests of the many truly do outweigh the needs of the one?  Or is that just a myth?"

Wow, what a great, loaded question. Here is a short, imperfect answer.


Let me start by saying this. I think that celebrating is a natural reaction. But as I look at this, I wonder, are we celebrating his death per se, or all that is wrapped up with that? I think that from my perspective, what we are celebrating is that a major threat has been eliminated, and that justice has taken place. This is a just execution.

What makes it a just execution? Is there such a thing? I think so.

Genesis 9:3-6 teaches that if you take a life, your life is forfeit. Now the Law makes this principle more explicit, differentiating between manslaughter, and murder (Numbers 35 makes a distinctions between - malice aforethought and accidental death without hostility). The bible never condemns capital punishment. Christ never condemned capital punishment. He had ample opportunity to say something on the topic, and he didn’t. In fact, in Luke 23:41, we see that the dying thief says to the other, “we are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong”. Jesus does not say, “no, it doesn’t matter what you did, capital punishment is wrong”. He could have, but he doesn’t.

A passage that may be used by some to say that Jesus is against capital punishment is John 8:1-11. There, a woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus, and while the Law said she should be stoned, Jesus says, let the person who is without guilt cast the first stone. This whole scene is a setup. The Pharisees are trying to Get Jesus to reject the law of God. He doesn’t do it. Instead, he invites anyone who is sinless to take the first crack. This is not a rejection of capital punishment; just trap avoidance.

When we look at Romans, we see that Human government is ordained by God (Romans 13:1-7). They have the power to tax (6-7), the power to enforce laws (2-3), and the power to punish evil. Romans 13:4 tells us that “If you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”. In other words, the sword is placed in the hands of the state to administer Justice. Peter adds to this, when he says “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” (1Peter 2:13-14)

Now, let’s put all that in the context of killing of Bin Laden's death. Did he take part in murder? The case is pretty clear that he masterminded 9-11, which means he was involved in committing murder. Should we celebrate the death? I don’t think so. I don’t think we should ever celebrate when someone dies. Might he have repented? Might, might, might he have felt remorse for his actions and turned to God? Maybe. I’m not going to pretend that this is not the case. And, while I don’t know that I want to say that there a point where the needs or interests of the many truly do outweigh the needs of the one (although that may well be the case), I think that at a point, the interest of justice does need to be served.

With Bin Laden’s death, justice has been served, and a major threat has been eliminated. It is fair to celebrate that reality: and I think that allot of what is going on is a celebration of the fact that justice was served. It’s like a whole nation is finally getting to celebrate outside the courthouse of justice like a family who lost a son or daughter to murder might celebrate finally feeling the relief of relief knowing that the murderer of their child met justice ten years later. A wrong is not righted, but justice has finally been served.

That’s my thoughts after chewing on them for a bit. In the end, what I feel most of all is sadness. Sadness for the loss of life that’s been caused already. Sadness that we will most likely see more violence. Many Muslims are mouning Bin Laden’s death (ironic- given that somewhere around 90 percent of all Al-Qaeda fatalities have been Muslims (stat from- http://www.congress.org/news/2011/05/02/obama_no_war_against_islam). There is no good end. Just an end. But at least, for a day, we can celebrate justice.

Serious sin, and a Serious solution

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:45-46 

This year, we suffered the never ending winter. It seemed like every time I turned around, it was grey and snowy. But as I think about the never ending winter, and the beauty of spring, I can’t help but think about the grimness of the cross, and the bright joy of the resurrection.

The day of the crucifixion seems like the grimmest of moments. On the face of it, this day is the darkest moment in history. Jesus is beaten, tried and found innocent, then condemned to die. He is forced to carry his own cross, and then he is nailed to that cross. When He is lifted up, the religious leaders and crowds stood and mocked Him, and even one of the criminals mocked Him. It was so dark and grim, that God the Father turned away, from this awful scene.

It was a grim day, a day that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, went to the cross. He went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, your sin, and my sin. All too often, we see sin as a joke, live comfortably with it, and condone it. But the reality is that sin is nothing to joke about. It is, to quote R.C. Sproul, ‘cosmic treason’. It is “treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself”, and it leads to separation from God, because God can have nothing to do with sin. In the Levitical sin-offering (which only atoned for unintentional sin, and did not cover willful disobedience or sin was punishable by death), this was symbolized by the burning of the flesh of the bull outside of the camp.

Sin is serious, it’s no laughing matter, because it offends a holy, righteous, and just God, and leads to death, both physically and spiritually. Sin required a serious solution. Jesus was that serious solution, He was, for all times, the perfect, sinless substitute. He was the perfect sin-offering for His people, the perfect sacrifice that was dealt with Sin in the only way possible, by shedding his blood. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). When Jesus was on that cross, he bore in His own body the full weight of the penalty of sin as he shed his blood. He bore it alone. He was forsaken by God, bearing our sins as the perfect sin offering, taking God’s just wrath on himself. In doing so, He provided the serious solution that we need, in His mercy and love, and as the sun darkened, as He experienced the separation from the Father that comes from sin, He paid the penalty for all time, providing a new and living way for us to enter into the presence of the Father.

As we celebrate Holy week, as we gather together in the Tilden Library on Maundy Thursday, as we gather at 6:30 on Easter morning at the Wheelock field for Sunrise Service, and as we gather for Resurrection Sunday worship in the sanctuary, think of all that happened throughout this week, think of the cross, think of how serious sin is, and how serious the solution was for our sins. At the same time, rejoice. “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27: 51). We can go before the Father with boldness. Rejoice, the sun has broken forth! Jesus rose, and His resurrection is a proof that he made a full atonement for our sins! It is proof that His sacrifice was accepted as a satisfaction to divine justice, and that His blood was the ransom for sinners! Rejoice, because the resurrection of Christ is also a pledge and an earnest of the resurrection of all believers (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:47-49; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2). As He lives, we also shall live. Rejoice! Your sins are paid for! ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’ (Isaiah 1:18). In Christ, they are washed as white as snow! Rejoice, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your sins, and the resurrection gives proof of that fact. Rejoice! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

    In Christ

A Puritan Thanksgiving Prayer

Here at thanksgiving, a puritan prayer for you to mull from The Valley of Vision

This prayer is taken from a collection Puritan prayers and devotions in a book called The Valley of Vision (highly recommended).

O My God, thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow. When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil; for the body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing sense to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding; for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness, for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures. Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

Our identity redefined

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). John 1:41-42

I was reading in John today, and looking at Jesus encounter with the first disciples. One thing stuck me anew as I looked at this story. Jesus redefines who Simon. Simon is a fisherman. an angry man, a troubled man. A man adrift.

Jesus gives him a new identity. He says, Simon, you will be called Cephas... Peter. When Jesus calls Peter, He redefines who Peter is. Peter will go through a process to learn what this means, but at this point, God has begun a process of making him a new man. One who will follow Christ, and one on whom the church will be built. One who is completely God's, and will die as his Lord died.

As I think about this statement in my own life, the reminder that I see is this. Christ’s call redefines who I am. I am no longer a free agent, alone and adrift in the world. I have an identity and a place in this world. I am now God’s child. I am His son, and that means that like Peter, I have entered the process of being transformed into the image of Christ, the image of God. Will it be hard? It was for Peter. But the fruit of that process is that our lives, and my life, is brought towards its chief, most important, end- glorifying God and enjoying Him forever, and that, I want more than anything else.

Giving Thanks In Both Good and Bad

It is finished! The thanksgiving letter is done. If you do not get the First Baptist church mailings, I hope you enjoy.

As I look back on this year, I find myself amazed by God’s provision in my life. Since I last wrote a thanksgiving letter, my family and I have moved from our small apartment in Wilkins Glen, to the Parsonage (with the help of many of you). Veronique and I have watched Joseph go from a baby that was still crawling, to a boy that is running, and as a family, we have experienced God’s amazing care, from providing for us in amazing ways financially, to getting me through the ordination process (!), to giving us a great group of friends and wonderful church family. We truly have a great God who shows His goodness in wonderful ways.

But, as we approach thanksgiving, I have found myself thinking that it’s easy to stop and be thankful when you can point to many blessings, but what about the tough years? What about those years of loss, when everything goes wrong? In 1607, German pastor named Martin Reinkardht wrote..."Now Thank We All Our God". “Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, in whom His world rejoices, Who, from our mother's arms has blest us on our way, With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today”…. “All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given…All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given, The Son, and Him who reigns with them in highest heaven, The one eternal God whom earth and heav'n adore, For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.” It is an incredible hymn of thanksgiving, one of the greatest hymns of thanksgiving ever written. What is amazing about this hymn is the story behind it. In the year that Reinkardht wrote it, over 6000 people in his village died. Among the dead were his wife and children. If anyone had reason to say, “I can’t give thanks God”, it was Reinkardht. And yet, in the midst of that great catastrophic social and personal loss, Reinkardht wrote one of the most powerful hymns of thanksgiving.

How do we praise God in those kinds of years? How do we give thanks when things have gone terribly wrong, and we feel like going, where are you God? By holding fast in faith like Job, who declared, “though He slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15), and by remembering God’s character, He is good; His love endures forever. Even in the worst of years, this is reason to give thanks. He is good, His love endures forever; He is at work on the behalf of those who love him and have been called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28), and He plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Even when you can’t believe that this is true, it is, and you can rejoice in this truth.

If you look at Psalm 106, you see a painful, sad situation. The Psalmist is recounting the sins of Israel from Babylon. Israel is in exile, and the Psalmists world had been turned upside down. It would have been easy for him to have thrown up his hands in this situation and said, God I can’t worship you. But what does he do? He finds solace in the fact that God is still good and loving, and so he writes, Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; His love endures forever (106:1), and praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, let the people say amen, Praise the Lord (106:46).

As we come to thanksgiving, my encouragement to you is, give thanks to the LORD. Give thanks, if this has been a wonderful year of blessing, and give thanks, if this has been a year you would like to forget, give thanks because in good times and bad, in moments of triumphs, and moments of agony, he is still God, and He is still good, and His love endures…forever.
In Christ,
Pastor Chechile