The way we view the world truly does matter. Our view of the world around us affects the way we react to the events happening around us, effects the way we view the news, the way we treat one another, the way we treat the disadvantaged (poor, handicap, disabled), and the way we view ourselves. It affect our morals and our convictions and the way we live out those morals and convictions. Our world view very much deals with our concept of who and what God is and how we relate to Him. Determining our worldview we answer some basic questions like I mentioned last week, questions like:
Where did we come from and why are we here?
What is Truth? Is it relative or is there absolute truth?
What happens when you die?
Who determines right from wrong?
And one important question: Who or what is God?
These question and more determine who we are and how we look at the world. It also determines how we view God. Looking at some different worldviews we see around us today we can see who and what God is to them. For example, consider the following worldviews:
Humanism: man = god
Marxism: government = god
Naturalism: the cosmos = god
Postmodernism/Nihilism: “whatever”=God; whatever you want God to be to you, anything or nothing at all.
New Age/Pantheism: Everything=God
For those with a true biblical worldview, who believe in a Creator God, to whom all are answerable, who sets the moral standards, and will judge the world., will find themselves in conflict with all other worldviews. Those with conflicting worldview do not want to hear the truth. Many are tolerant of many things except the Christian, those who hold to a true biblical worldview, those who profess there is absolute Truth in the universe and profess that His name is Jesus.
No wonder the world is in a such a mess. These other worldviews opposes the Truth, and they quite frankly, opposes Jesus. How does the Scripture portray these opposing worldviews is our subject today.
2 Timothy 3:1–5
The following are excerpts from Rod Parsley, Culturally Incorrect: How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future. [1]
On Tuesday morning, April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold strolled into their Colorado high school wearing trench coats and lugging duffel bags stuffed with sawed-off shotguns, rifles, semi-automatic pistols, and pipe bombs. What they did over the next fifty-five minutes is widely known.
What is less well known is that the first victim of that tragedy, Rachel Scott, was a genuine Christian who was neither ashamed nor afraid to affirm her faith. They walked right over there where Rachel was sitting … She was eating her lunch, talking with one of her friends. They walked up to her and they asked her, ‘Do you believe in God?’” With a slight grin, she responded, "Well, yes, why?” “And one of them pulled a Hi-Point 995 carbine from underneath his trench coat . . . and Rachel became their first victim.”
The tragedy at Columbine High School stands among the deadliest high school shooting spree in U.S. history at that time. (There have many other school shootings since then, include three schoot shooting that were that were worse.[2]) What is not as widely recognized is the specific bundle of ideas, beliefs, and assumptions that made such a murder spree thinkable—much less doable. That bundle could be called Harris and Klebold’s shared “worldview.” It was the distorted lens through which they viewed themselves, their world, and the other people in it.
Let’s consider the “beliefs about life and the universe” these two young men picked up during their brief lives. Put another way, let’s ask, “How do you construct the worldview of someone who could do such things?”
First, you must relentlessly teach him that everything in the physical universe (including himself) is the product of random chance. All order . . . all beauty . . . all life is purely accidental. There is no designer who can give his life meaning or who might hold him accountable for his actions. Make sure he understands that because all life, including human life, is accidental, there is no ultimate authority who sets standards of “right” and “wrong.”
In fact, consistently reinforce that there is no such thing as absolute right and wrong—that old, repressive concepts such as morality and sin are outdated and have been scientifically “proven” to be artificial creations designed to keep people in line. Therefore, you must keep him out of Bible-teaching churches at all costs.
Declare that “truth” is whatever is “true” for you. Another person’s truth might be different from your own.
Be sure to emphasize that humans are just another species of animal —uniquely evolved animals, to be sure—but animals just the same. Declare that human life is not intrinsically more precious than that of a tree frog in the Amazon. Frequently use the language of “rights” in regard to animals. Encourage deep concern for the way chickens are housed on egg farms, but condemn those who have qualms about partial birth abortions.Even better, frequently characterizing humans as a kind of viral blight on the planet—a scourge bringing nothing but environmental catastrophe and “habitat destruction” wherever they spread.
Next, allow him to fill his soul with death metal music. Let him marinate in chaotic, angry songs that glorify mayhem, ugliness, violence, and death. For the finishing touch, cultivate an obsession with “first-person-shooter” computer games—the more graphic the better. Make sure that by the time he reaches the tender age of sixteen, he’s already killed thousands of people or creatures “virtually” with realistic splatter and gore. As you do, keep in mind that studies in neuroscience have shown that the human brain treats vividly imagined events and real ones almost identically.
Thus, when the time comes to level a real shotgun at a real schoolmate, any tendency toward remorse or conscience will have been eliminated. He will have already been “there” many times before.
To summarize, if you’re going to create the young man who will point a pistol at the head of a young Christian girl like Rachel Scott, and ask, “Do you believe in God?” then, when she answers “Yes,” will pull the trigger—you’re going to have to eliminate God, truth, judgment, eternity, and any lingering sense that human life has sacred value.
In other words, you must construct a specific worldview. And that is precisely what happened with Klebold and Harris. That worldview could be labeled nihilism, and it’s growing in popularity! [3]
And many so-called Christians indulge in similar ideas, as illustrated by what they do and the things they put into their minds.
2 Timothy 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
The NIV has “but mark this” and the NKJV has “but know this.” The Greek word here is “ginoske” which means to know, to understand. This is the same word Jesus says to know Him, to know by experience or to know experientially. Paul is saying here that he wants us to be well aware the times, the current social and moral condition of the current age. We are well into the beginning of the end. These are indeed difficult times. And Paul writes these following verses as if he is living here today right alongside of us. Earlier Paul wrote Timothy saying similar things:
1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, …
Remember Paul is writing to the church, He is talking about those who call themselves Christian. But these falling away from the faith are embracing a godless worldview. For instance, there are those who call themselves “Progressive Christians” endorsing the doctrines of the world including such things a same-sex marriages, transgenderism, and they hold very humanist worldview. these worldly doctrines to which they hold clearly goes against the plain reading and understanding of the Scriptures. They have a relatively low opinion of Scripture, not believing it is either inherent or infallible. They downplay the deity for Jesus and they advocate that Jesus is but one of the many ways to heaven. Yet they call themselves Christians.
This is the doctrine of demons and deceitful spirits are leading people straight to hell. As such the church is supposed to be the repository and guardian of the truth. Herein the battle lines are drawn for the world rebels against the truth.
2 Timothy 4:3–4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
Satan has been in this business for a long time. Let’s go back to the garden again Satan touched a nerve when he told Eve:
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“You will be like God.” That’s the seductive line for which people have been falling for many thousands of years. People prop themselves up as God and what are the results?
2 Timothy 3:2–4 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, …
This list is very similar to the list in Romans 1:21-32. There Paul tells us that “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.” (Romans 1:28b) “God gave them over,” what a horrible thought, yet this is what we see around the world.
I do not need to go into each one of these traits. I have looked at these traits, I’ve considered them in the Greek, but I figure most people do not need me to explain to them in detail. But is this not a pretty accurate description of many in our culture today?
I could expound on how these traits represent the youth of today. But then I look around at the Baby Boomer generation (my generation), and this pretty much describes us too. These describe many of with different political persuasions as well.
And here is the sad note: Many in the church today have many of these same characteristics. People will play church, make happy sounds, say they love God, yet their lives are no different from the rest of the world. Paul says:
2 Timothy 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
These are folks who know the vocabulary, who have nice sounding words, and many of their actions are admirable, but they are completely devoid of power. Paul’s instruction are clear: “Avoid such men as these.”
These people are living a lie, and they are trying to sway many into following them by persuasive arguments. We are to avoid them. We are not to allow ourselves to be corrupted by their philosophies. They may appear to be quite knowledgeable, but Paul tells us they are:
2 Timothy 3:7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
But in today’s world, if someone says a lie, even a boldface, an outlandish lie, a lie that is clearly a lie when the very truth boldly stands against it, if you say that lie loud enough and often enough, and with the right charisma, the world will believe that lie even when the truth stares at them in the face.
Romans 1:25a For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie …
Here is the fact about many of those described in 2 Timothy 3:2-4, they like the lie they are living and they will oppose the truth and all you who stand for the truth.
2 Timothy 3:12–13 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
The people with opposing worldviews will clash against you. And in the end we clearly see it is all about Jesus. Jesus is the center of it all. Either people will be for Jesus or against Him. There is really no middle ground. There is little tolerance from the people who call for tolerance, for anything Godly and centered around the truth that is Jesus.
It has been noted that even in India, where Hindus are generally peaceful, yet they are being violent against truth of Jesus because the truth disrupts their long held traditions. They are not violent against the Muslims in the area, but they are against Christians. And we are seeing in increasing ways in this nation too.
So how are we, who possess the truth, the very truth of God, the truth that is Jesus, how are we to proceed?
2 Timothy 3:14–15 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
We have the truth in the Word. We are to live by the truth of the Word. We are to molded by the truth of the Word. Our view of the world around us is based on the word of truth (this is what we mean by a biblical worldview). We are to hold firm to the Truth, that Truth that is Jesus.
Yes indeed, difficult times will come. (2 Timothy 3:1). Paul tells us we are to be aware, to understand what is happening with the people all around us.
Yet, these are the very people we are asked to reach. No one said it would be easy, but we don’t walk this life alone. There is no such thing as a “Lone Ranger” Christian, for Jesus has given us the church for reasons such as this.
And Jesus Himself insures us that He is with us all the way:
Matthew 28:20b … and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Do you know the Jesus of the Bible? Do you know the truth that is Jesus? As I have said before and will say again, in the end it is all about Jesus.
Do you know Jesus? Do you embrace Jesus? Do you stand with Him?
[1] Rod Parsley, Culturally Incorrect: How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009). I personally recommend this book to anyone researching different worldviews.
[2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States_by_death_toll
[3] Rod Parsley, Culturally Incorrect: How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009). Some minor corrections were made based on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre
