Arnold's Blog: The Christian Worldview

There are over a hundred conspiracies at work in the USA and abroad, and while they have distinct (and sometimes opposing) differences, they have in common the pagan worldview, that is, the pagan concept of man and government. The pagan concept of man and government makes man (corporate man, the state) the standard of truth and the ultimate authority, which puts it in conflict with God and those who believe that God is the standard of truth and the present ruler of the earth, and sees the individual as a mere servant of the state whose value is determined by his usefulness to the state, thus making encroachments upon God-given rights inevitable (e.g., encroachments upon the right to life, liberty and property, excessive taxation, excessive legislation, gun control, etc.); socialism is not really new or modern or the new wave of the future; socialism is a modern version of ancient paganism. (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10)

The Christian worldview sees God as the present ruler of the earth and human government as ordained of God to protect the rights of the people and punish evildoers; in His special grace God saves sinners and in His common grace God uses human government to protect the good against evil. God is the authority that gave power to civil government, and the civil government must morally act within those perimeters. If the civil government does not act within the perimeters set by God, it is acting without proper authority. (Romans 13:1-4)

“All men are created equal” is a Bible teaching but don’t neglect the word “created.” All men are created equal does not mean all men are equal; men are only equal in creation and redemption. All men share the image of God and stewardship of creation and are thus created equal, but at the same time all men are unequal in abilities, talents, social station, etc.

Rights are the freedoms required to fulfill one’s duties to God. Various rights are taught in the Bible: Right to life (Exodus 20:13; Acts 17:25), liberty (II Corinthians 3:17), property/pursuit of happiness (Exodus 20:15; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Acts 5:3-4), freedom of religion (Joshua 24:15; I Kings 18:21; Acts 5:29), freedom of speech (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15; Acts 4:20), freedom of the press (Habakkuk 2:2), freedom of assembly (Hebrews 10:25), right to keep and bear arms (Luke 22:36), etc. These rights are not spelled out, they are self-evident; the Bible makes it obvious that God wants people to have these rights.

In all too many churches God has been reduced from Sovereign to little more than a pleading Saviour. Rather than seeing history as HIS story and recognising God as the present ruler of the earth Who intervenes in human history and ultimately controls everything, the Providential view of history, many Christians have adopted a worldly view of history, such as the Humanist, Cyclical, and Marxist views of history. (Romans 12:2; Colossians 2:8; consider Acts 17:6-7 & Ephesians 1:11) Many even believe that Satan rules the Earth; Satan rules in the hearts of unbelievers, "the wicked world system," but God is the present ruler of the Earth and nothing in the Bible ever indicates that God has ever abdicated His throne and turned rulership over to Satan. (I Chronicles 29:11-12) The Humanist worldview, which dominates US government, public school curriculums, and most modern scholarship, deifies man, does not recognise absolute principles or truths, sees Christian culture and Bible truths as old-fashioned, restrictive, and irrelevant, and means that the strongest men (or the government) dominate home, school, culture, and church. The view that Satan rules the earth sees Christians as isolated and Christian culture as a counterculture, makes Christian culture and Christian influence irrelevant and insists that everything must go from bad to worse, limits Christian influence and responsibility to soul winning and church activities, and supports and adopts the Humanist worldview. The Christian worldview sees God as the present ruler of the earth and the Holy Bible as the final authority in all areas of human existence, sees Satan as a defeated foe, sees Christian culture as leavening all areas of life and blessing mankind, and sees self-governing Christians as influencing and dominating home, school, culture, and church.

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16) “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” (Acts 1:6-7) Salt cleanses, purifies, preserves, and makes people thirsty, and light dispels darkness; government corruption and social maladies are signs of a lack or decline in Christian influence or an increase in exposure of corruption. Christians are supposed to be a cleansing and illuminating influence on society, but whenever a preacher reminds Christians that Christians have a duty to impact society and culture for righteousness there are always professed Christians arguing that Christians should not be doing this or be concerned about this because there is no time to accomplish anything or because this would contradict their pet theories and speculations about things they do not and cannot know. It is often difficult to convince modern Christians that God is not obligated to submit to any schedule they have set for Him.

Preoccupation with theories about the timing of the return of Christ often leads to neutrality and isolation regarding community affairs and the culture and society in which one lives. Regardless of when Christ returns Christians must occupy till He comes and when He returns the redeemed will be judged regarding what they have been doing while He is not physically present. (Luke 19:11-13; I Corinthians 3:13-15)

Prophecy preachers often predict a world where demonized and satanic people hold public offices after the rapture, but this has been a characteristic of the world for thousands of years; consider Matthew 4:8-10 and 1 John 5:19. (A careful study of history reveals that changes for the better were the result of Christian influence.) It has been normal or even typical for Christians in America to blame the displacement of the Christian worldview and the increase in various social maladies on everything but the decline in Christian influence and subsequent increase in rejection of the Bible and Christian values instead of recognising the responsibility of Christians to impact culture and community for righteousness. It has become commonplace for Christians to overemphasize pet theories about Bible prophecies and promote a neutrality or isolation that rejects or prevents interaction between Christianity and culture and encourages believers to withdraw from society and be neutral because of preoccupation with speculations about things which they obviously do not and cannot know while ignoring the implications of the teachings and arguments being used to justify the apathy being promoted: The longer you keep a sinking ship afloat the more time there is left to rescue the perishing.

The early Christians preached that Jesus Christ is the present ruler of the Earth. (Acts 17:6-7) During the American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783) the battle cry was “No king but Jesus!” But today many Christians are saying, in essence, “Let us make God in our image” and "We have no king but Caesar." (Consider Genesis 1:26 & John 19:15)

Arnold's Blog

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The Christian Worldview

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