Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 HCSB
If you have vision problems, you know that you need the right lens to correct them. You may need a lens for distance or up close or bifocals.
The problem many people have today is that they are looking through the wrong lens. By wrong lens, I mean they have a worldview. This is not good. Having a worldview rids us of peace and joy and hope. We must be careful that we don’t get too wrapped up with what is going on in the world.
We have recently begun studying apologetics in our Sunday School class. Now the term apologetics doesn’t mean that we are apologizing for anything. It is actually a study on how to defend our beliefs. We believe what we believe because it is found in the Bible and we believe the Bible is God’s holy word. We’ve been studying the importance of having a biblical view of the world today.
Having a world view is like wearing reading glasses when you are trying to drive or watch tv or wearing distance glasses when you are trying to thread a needle.
Those of you with perfect 20/20 vision have no idea what I’m talking about, so let me explain. Our scripture passage tells us not to be conformed to this world. As Christians, our citizenship is in heaven. We are just passing through here. Don’t suffer from anxiety or fall into a state of depression because of what you hear or see on the news. God’s got this. We are told in 2 Timothy 2:4 that no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter. When we get all tangled up in what’s going on in the world, it’s easy to be distracted from focusing on God. A Biblical view keeps us focused on God.
It’s easy to start seeing things from the world’s point of view. This is why the mega churches who are preaching love and acceptance are growing by leaps and bounds. They preach an “It’s all Good” message. They tickle the ears. For those who have a worldview, it’s easy to fall into false teaching and be led astray.
A biblical view is looking at the world through a biblical perspective. It’s studying God’s Word and finding out what He has to say about the issues that we face in the world today. There are churches that are afraid to look at things from a biblical perspective for fear of alienating members.
So I have to ask, are you looking at the world through a world lens or through a bible lens? If we look through the Bible lens, we see that we are involved in battle. We see that there is spiritual warfare going on all around us. But we know that we have no need to fear.
If we look through the world lens we may see a need for everyone to love each other, get along and accept others no matter what they do or what they believe. 2 Timothy 3:5 tells us that we should avoid people who have the appearance of godliness but deny it’s power. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to test everything and hold fast to what is good. 2 Corinthians 6:14 tells us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. We may be fearful of all that is going on around us, but the Bible tells us in many passages not to fear.
If we look through a world lens we see degradation, hopelessness, bitterness and strife. We see the fulfillment of Isaiah 5:20 which says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
If we look at the world through a biblical view we understand that we are engaged in spiritual warfare, but we know that God has equipped us for this (Ephesians 6:10-18). We understand that we must hold firm to trustworthy doctrine and be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it(Titus 1:9). We understand that we will face persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). But, we also understand that we will be victorious (Romans 8:37). We understand that as we face various trials, these are meant to strengthen us and build our endurance (James 1:2-3). We understand that when we love Him and live our lives according to His calling, He works all things out for our good (Romans 8:28).
Having vision problems? Maybe you are using the wrong lens. Turn to God today. Study His Holy Word so that you can see things from His perspective. Make the Bible your lens and your sight will be much better.
Have a great day!