Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Depart From Me

In Matthew 7:20-28 Jesus said these words below:

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

In his book "Family Driven Faith" Voddie Baucham jr. quotes a George Barna research which shows that less than 10% of self professed born again evangelicals have a biblical worldview. As if this is not bad enough, the same research also found out that only 51% of evangelical pastors have a biblical worldview. I read somewhere that the actual number of self proclaimed born again evangelicals with a Biblical world view is actually 7%!

Your worldview is the prism or the "glasses" through which you view life. When we say that a person has a Biblical worldview, we mean that the person uses the Bible as the yardstick against which everything is measured. This means that all of life's actions and decisions are based on the Bible, not what we think is right, not what society tells us is right, not what our culture say is right, but on what the Bible says. What this means is that my life is set apart for God and as such, every decision I make, every action I take, every counsel I give or receive, must line up with the Word of God - the Bible.

The term "Biblical Worldview" is the fancy modern day description of what the Bible calls Holiness. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, the Bible tells us " but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” The Bible calls us to a life of holiness. God is a Holy God and we cannot serve Him on our terms, but on His terms.
Also, in Hebrews 12:14, the Bible tells us "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord".

In light of the scriptures we just read above, George Barna in his research found out that 93% of self proclaimed born again evangelicals and 49% of pastors do not have a Biblical worldview. This means, they are not living a life that is separated unto the Lord. They are living unto themselves. Can they call themselves followers of Christ if they living for themselves and not for God? Jesus Himself said “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23).

What kind of opinion do you think the 93% of self proclaimed born again evangelicals who do not have Biblical worldview will have of the 7% who do? I am open to your comments.

My God have mercy on the Church.

1 Comments:

At 1:51 PM , Blogger Mrs. Carrington said...

Unfortunately, I fear that evangelicals who do disagree with the idea of a biblical worldview and instead compartmentalize life into "religious vs. non-religious" segments may think those who attempt, by the grace of God, to have a biblical worldview are extreme or radical. I believe trying times are ahead for the church of Jesus Christ but all who believe must persevere and stay strong in the faith and pray for more faith and strength daily.

Thanks for the great post!

 

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