Bible-driven Christians have a responsibility to live in harmony with biblical principles and to help shape the worldview of their children in accordance with those same principles. Many adults, however, consider that challenge to be overwhelming. They often wonder where they would start the process, given all of the important life guidance contained within the Bible. Our research from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University identifies seven particular beliefs without which a person is very unlikely to develop a consistently biblical life of thought and action.
Buying Into the Basics
Our research consistently demonstrates that surprisingly few people have a pure worldview, whether their choice of worldview is Biblical Theism (the biblical worldview), Postmodernism, Marxism, Eastern Mysticism, Secular Humanism, or another. Among the tens of thousands of adults interviewed over the years, almost all have some elements of inconsistent thinking blended into their worldview of choice. The same is true even among people who possess a biblical worldview. There are typically some unbiblical perspectives that taint the philosophy of life of individuals committed to following the dictates of the Bible. So how can a person develop a biblical worldview—how can they successfully Think Like Jesus?
The research shows that very few people are able to overcome the influence of competing perspectives—unless they embrace all seven of the biblical cornerstone principles. One’s response to the seven cornerstones essentially determines one’s ability and likelihood of developing a biblical mind and lifestyle. For these principles to qualify as personal foundations of life it requires both an understanding of the principles and a passionate, thoughtful ownership of those beliefs in order to be translated into personal behavior that is consistent with those principles. What are these biblical cornerstones and how do American adults understand each one?
Cornerstone #1: An orthodox, biblical understanding of God.
A basic understanding of the existence and nature of God is a crucial building block for a biblical worldview. Many worldviews do not believe in the existence of a higher power or Supreme Being. Christianity is among the faiths that do, but there are also other perspectives about deities held by other faiths and life philosophies. What distinguishes the God of Israel from other alleged deities? The Bible identifies some of His attributes as being the creator of all things; the sustainer of humankind and the universe; omnipotent; omniscient; omnipresent; loving; just; merciful; and relational. He is a unique presence who wants us to thrive and makes provisions for that outcome. He created humanity to be in relationship with Him, and to focus our life on engaging with, serving, and ultimately answering to Him. Our eternal destiny is in His hands.
Cornerstone #2: All human beings are sinful by nature; every choice we make has moral considerations and consequences.
The biblical narrative explains that every person begins life with a sinful nature inherited from Adam (sometimes called “original sin”) and that the temptation to sin is always present in our lives. The narrative also notes that God provides people with power delivered through His Holy Spirit to give us the authority and will to deny the lure of sin in favor of righteous choices that honor God Each day we have hundreds of opportunities to demonstrate our commitment to being like Jesus through the decisions we make; each of our choices either pleases or displeases God. No human being has ever lived a sin-free life or consistently makes honorable choices. Regardless of our intentions, we are all guilty of sin and are incapable of eliminating that tendency.
Cornerstone #3: The consequences of our sin can only be forgiven and eliminated through Jesus Christ. That forgiveness is available only by our personal, sincere acknowledgment and confession of our sins and complete reliance on His grace for the forgiveness of those sins. Every human being sins and is therefore incapable of earning God’s favor based on merit. As the Apostle Paul explained the situation, every human sins and thereby falls short of God’s standards. (Romans 3:23) But, as our loving Creator, God made a way out of our sin dilemma by sending Jesus Christ to take on the sins of the human race and to die under their weight on our behalf. Through that act of penance, every person has access to forgiveness and righteous in God’s eyes. But this is not an automatic and universal provision of grace; it requires our admission of sin and prayer for Jesus’s forgiveness. Our contrition before the Savior is the only means for gaining righteousness in God’s eyes. Through Him we may receive eternal salvation, but it is a gift of grace, love, mercy, and compassion. Absent that gift we remain condemned and hopeless. Thanks to that gift we have hope and a pathway to glory.
Cornerstone #4: The entire Bible is true, reliable and relevant, making it the best moral guide for every person, in all situations. God’s desire is that we flourish on Earth. To do so, He provided us a blueprint for life: the Bible. While millions of Americans perceive the Bible to be a book describing an angry God who punishes people for their wrongdoing and is ripe with behavioral limitations and warnings, a more accurate view is seeing the Bible as a book of hope, encouragement, life principles, and practical lessons. The stories, commands, principles, warnings, and wisdom that God provides to us in the Bible point us in a right and better direction. And because God is the embodiment of love and truth, following those words lead us to a moral life in ways that human emotion and reason cannot. Those who put their faith in His words—rather than personal emotions, societal norms, or public preferences—find guidance and victory while those who resist and reject the Scriptures pay the price for such ignorance and arrogance.
Cornerstone #5: Absolute moral truth exists—and those truths are defined by God, described in the Bible, and are unchanging across time and cultures.
Moral truth is the delineation of right and wrong. Absolute moral truth says that there are determinations of right and wrong that are independent of the individual’s emotions, circumstances, or preferences. Moral truths exist whether or not we acknowledge them, like them, understand them, or apply them. The consequences of obeying or disobeying those absolutes vary, but the absolutes themselves do not change. In a world characterized by chaos, absolute moral truths are an aberration because they are completely predictable. However, that predictability does not mean they are always obvious. The only sure way of identifying moral absolutes is by consulting the inerrant source of truth, and the ultimate source of inerrant truth is the God of Israel. He is truth. He cannot lie or deceive because that is against His nature and purposes. And because truth is central to His prized creation (human beings) experiencing a good life on Earth, He has provided an explanation of truth for us, words designed to enable us to thrive. Those words are the Bible. Those moral absolutes are made accessible to us through descriptions provided in various forms—principles, stories, warnings, and commands. Truth, when properly understood and fully applied, leads to righteousness, which pleases God and empowers us to know, love, and serve Him better. Circumstances, emotions, norms, desires, and preferences change over time; truth does not. It is a fixed, reliable standard that is the same in all ages, in all places, for all people. You cannot know absolute truth by following the culture or your feelings; it is only available through the scriptures.
Cornerstone #6: The ultimate purpose of human life is to know, love, and serve God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul.
Jesus was clear in telling people that the most important of the commandments is that we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:29-30) In His mind, there is nothing more important than that commitment. To genuinely love Him we must know Him—and knowing everything we can about God produces a humbling, profound love for Him. That love, in turn, generates a deep desire to pursue everything we are capable of doing, in service to Him and His purposes. Satan works hard to distract or prevent us from investing in that relationship. But human fulfillment and joy cannot be experienced until we clarify our true life’s purpose and wholeheartedly devote ourselves to fulfilling that commitment.
Cornerstone #7: Success on Earth is best understood as consistent obedience to God—in thoughts, words, and actions.
If the purpose of a person’s life is to love God in every conceivable way, focusing on His truths, applying those principles every moment and in every situation, effectively worshiping and serving Him at all times, then obedience to His principles makes us “successful” here on Earth. This is a difficult truth for many to adopt because it renders the pursuits and outcomes that the world promotes—wealth, fame, achievement, power, sexual fulfillment, knowledge, prestige, happiness, comfort—to be unrelated to real success. The Creator alone determines the criteria for the success of those whom He creates. Jesus plainly stated that we will be His disciples when we obey His teachings. (John 8:31) That succinctly defines the parameters of human success.
Picking and Choosing
Most people (80%) embrace one or more of the seven cornerstones, and 20% reject all seven. On the other hand, only 3% of adults currently adopt all seven cornerstones for their life. The younger an adult is, the less likely they are to embrace all seven or even a majority of the cornerstones.
Important Shifts in the Seven Cornerstones
Worldview beliefs are not static and it is possible to increase the incidence of biblical worldview. While most people settle into a comfort zone with the beliefs they adopted during their first twelve years of life, my research points to times of personal crisis and pain as periods of vulnerability to change. Among the types of worldview-altering suffering and instability we found were personal bankruptcy, the death of a loved one, sustaining a debilitating injury, imprisonment, job loss, an acrimonious divorce or disrupted relationship, and the loss of material goods due to a natural disaster.
Perspective on the Cornerstones
These rules for life were provided to us by a Creator who loves us and wants us to succeed even more than we do. What’s so shocking about these beliefs is how basic and simple they are—almost like an outline of what used to be the Sunday school lessons shared with elementary school children. These are not advanced theological principles; they’re straightforward principles of how to make the most of the gift of life.
These principles, although simple, serve as a foundation on which you can build a more satisfying and influential life, and one that brings glory to God. Statistically, we see that if this base is not solid, a person’s worldview will be an inconsistent and unpredictable mess. Since worldview is our decision-making filter, a person who has a weak foundation will be characterized by a life that is a constant struggle. For people who put these seven commitments together as a foundation for their decision-making, these guidelines are both powerful and transformative. Rather than experiencing life as a continual surprise and a daunting challenge, they give us the strength and confidence to make solid decisions each time. Embracing the seven cornerstones is not just about developing a biblical worldview for its own sake. A biblical worldview is imperative because it is the only pathway to being able to consistently Think Like Jesus so that we can then live like Him.
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This article is excerpted from a more detailed Research Article which you can READ HERE
Read another worldview Article…
What Is Worldview and Why Does It Matter? by Katherine Gallagher
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Dr. George Barna is the leading researcher into worldview and culture. He is a Professor at Arizona Christian University and Director of Research at its Cultural Research Center, focusing on worldview assessment and development, and cultural transformation.
Learn more about the Worldview Assessment, CLICK HERE
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