The book of Romans has a great amount to teach us about our Christian Worldview. It points us to how we should view the natural world, our identity as individuals, our relationships with others, our culture and much more. Romans 1-8 is a great place to start to learn more about a Christian worldview. The first portion of Romans will show our sinful nature and God’s judgment as well as His justification, sanctification and glory by faith through grace.
The Natural World
Genesis 1:1 tells us that the world was created by God. Genesis 1:26-28 tells us we are given dominion over God’s creations including the Earth and the animals. It is important to remember that this world we live in is his creation and we must care for it in a manner that reflects upon God. In Romans 1:20 Paul tells us the world was not created to be wicked but to reveal and represent the Creator. This is called general revelation (Weider & Gutierrez, 2013). General revelation is defined as God showing himself through His creation (Weider & Gutierrez, 2013). The natural world during the time that Paul wrote about in Romans was sinful and wicked. Man chose to ignore God even though they knew better. Romans 2:14 points out that even when the law isn’t known we know the difference between right and wrong because God the Creator showed it to us, in and as His creation.
Human Identity
Genesis 1:27 tells us God created mankind in His image. This means we know God is our creator and we are intelligently designed. We were built with free will. We have the ability to choose between right and wrong. Humans choose wrong as we see in Romans 6:23. Romans 7:15 further defines our sinful identity by reminding us, we know what’s right and want to do right but still do wrong. Our ...
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...eous person. Thankfully Romans 6 gives us hope for a lost culture. Here we are pointed to Christ. Christ is our salvation from that dark sin. Romans 6:12-14 points out sin doesn’t have to reign in our lives but instead the grace of God sets us free.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we see in Romans 1-8 that the world shows the creation of our God in general revelation. We come to understand that our identity is tied to sin, but we are set free through our relationship with Christ. If we chose to live a sinful nature we can become depraved and can succumb to cultural influences. The culture Paul writes about was so lost God allowed them to fall into idol worship and a great list of sins. It is only through the justification, sanctification, and glory by faith through grace that we can overcome sin. Only after Salvation through Christ can we have a true Christian worldview.
“What is sin?”(1), Dr. Hoenikker asks in the book “Cat’s Cradle.”(2) The Christian Bible describes sin as, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (3) Sin has become the creator of fear throughout history. The fear that God will punish those who sin but, that fear is a false threat to control people. Sin creates the illusion that the universe is based on morals, when in fact it is completely amoral.
Every Christian believes that in the beginning of time God created the world in his image. Creating man in his image to be pure and obedient to his word. God created his society to where it was perfect in his eyes and no one would do wrong because they would obey him. His society was perfect until Adam and Eve fell into the serphants trap and ate the forbidden fruit. This forbidden fruit is the exact same one that God told them to stay away from and if not horrible things would happen on earth. Since Adam and Eve decided to eat of the fruit and sin was welcomed into the world and it created chaos. God did not want sin to come into the world but due to the choice Adam and Eve made it did enter the world God created to be in his image. So, why am I talking about God’s image of the world it is simple because our society is damaged and not perfect like God wanted it to be. Socrates uses many different examples throughout “Allegory of the Cave” and “Apology.”
The essay, “A Christian World View,” by Mickenzie Neely seeks to address some major themes that pertain to a Christian worldview. The essay, in summary, states that “serving others, accepting and giving grace, sacrifice, and justice are all essential to living for Christ.” This essay was presented in a way in which she used facts and scriptures from the Bible to support her point. This paper will analysis Neely’s main arguments and will evaluate my opinion of her writing. The main topics that apply to my Christian worldview are love, service, grace and forgiving.
He created us in his image to live in a paradise that he created The Garden of Eden. God created all and on the seventh day he rested and made the Sabbath day holy. Now it came that all the earth was perfect and man and woman were equally as happy. In the garden, the serpent promised Adam and Eve the possibility of gaining further knowledge to make them even more like God. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:5). With the violation of the law of God by Adam, sin entered the human race. From that point forward God cursed man and Gen 3:15 said, there will be enmity between woman and the serpent which lied to her. There will also be enmity between his seed and her seed God promised that eventually the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. However, the seed of the woman would also bruise (or crush) the head of the serpent. This will be a fatal blow. In the seed of the Woman that will be Jesus crushing the head of the serpent which is the seed of the serpent which is not a child of the devil but more like his followers. God expelled them to work the world instead of rule the earth and constant chaos. As time passed and the descendants of Adam populated the earth came Noah and he had three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth. The earth was full of violence and wickedness and God regretted having made humans. But God found favor in the eyes of Noah and decided to spare him and chose ones to start the world anew. And so God destroyed the earth with the great flood that destroyed everything on earth that was not on the cedar park was dead after the forty days and nights of rain. Then Noah built an altar and made a sacrifice and God said “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though an every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will
Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, once said, “What you believe about who you are, where you came from, affects your whole worldview.” As a Christian, Ken Ham understands that believers must have a clear understanding of their origin and for what purpose they were created if they are to be unwavering in their beliefs. This foundational knowledge is provided by God in his word. While the entire Bible is important and no part should be undervalued, the first few chapters are some of the most critical in the construction of the believer’s worldview. Genesis 1-11 is essential in the construction of a biblical worldview and reveals to Christians God’s purpose for the world, humans, relationships, and civilizations.
Romans 3:9, “What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.” The Jews have God’s law and think they’re righteous, however, they are actually breaking it in many ways (Hindson & Towns). In Romans 3:28-30 it is written that man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Today, Christians face the cultural challenges, which involve the laws and morals within their society. An important element of a faithful Christian is the daily practice of sanctification. Sanctification, the imputation of God’s righteousness and through the believer conform him progressively to the image of Jesus Christ (Hindson & Towns) impacts the believer in Christ from a cultural perspective. The believers Holy Spirit must be nourished daily through their faith in Jesus Christ in the world of sin that we live. I know that I have to filter through all that I am exposed with in my culture. I have to make important decisions that fall in line with my beliefs. It is especially challenging with the ever-changing secular movement in society, which degrades and drifts away from our Christian values and
In the beginning, God did not want anyone to be sinful. God created mankind in the image of himself. The purpose of humans is to maintain the Earth. He placed a man and woman into a tempt-full location. He commanded for them to not eat off the tree of forbidden fruit. However, a serpent inquired about what God had stated. After gaining that knowledge, the serpent tricked the woman, into eating the fruit, from the forbidden tree. The woman then persuaded the man, to also eat fruit, from the forbidden tree. God then checked up on the man and woman. He asked the man why he ate the fruit; the man had blamed the woman. God then asked the woman why she ate the forbidden fruit; the woman had blamed the serpent. God was angered and disappointed by Adam’s and Eve’s action that in return, He punished the serpent,
God recognizes that human beings are not specifically good the moment He creates them; for unlike His other creations, He does not pronounce them as such. But also unlike His other creations, they are the only ones created like something else, like God, in His image. If they are truly to exist and be good, they must become separate from God, as the other creations are separate and categorized. It takes some human action to get them out of the Garden of Eden--specifically, the woman and the man eating the fruit. Unfortunately, they can't do everything on their own. They need some interference from God, namely the flood, to distance themselves further from Him and to separate them individually, from each other. Though the people in the Babel story do not exercise it very well, the ability to name, to define, to separate, and to classify seems like a prodigious power, and even a privilege.
What is Christianity and why has it been able to develop into a continuously growing and evolving religion?
Let’s go back to biblical times for just a moment. Fromm explains that during the time Adam and Eve reside in the Garden of Eden, they live in innocence and harmony. This harmony is disrupted by the “Act of Disobedience,” which is labeled in biblical terms as the “original sin.” This act of disobedience describes the first moral flaw, and the consequential corruption of mankind. By disobeying God, Adam and Eve take the first steps towards independence and freedom. This helps them reach their spiritual and intellectual capacity. After Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden, they create a new harmony referred to as “the end of days” (622). To the prophets, man is right to disobey; this allows him to think for himself. In many ways, parents encourage kids to think for themselves. By simply picking out their clothes or packing their own lunch, children move away from following their parents, and towards the formation of their own identities...
A biblical worldview of the natural world is found with God’s creation. In the book of Romans, God’s divine nature and creation of the universe is revealed. Romans 1:19 states, “Since what may be known about God s plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” The faithful understand and worship God as the creator of the universe and all life. It
Dr. David Jeremiah states, “One of the main issues we must understand is humanity is in a fallen state. Unfortunately, this is due to choices made in the garden that we have no control over.” The Bible says, “It is in the heart of man to do evil.” Hence, the scriptures are given to us for guidance and instruction on morality and relationships. (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
Many people would not believe that worldview would be involved in the topic of work, but it certainly is. Worldview stretches throughout almost every facet of our lives and is even an intricate part of work. Christian and secular viewpoints differ immensely when it comes to work. Many Christians believe that work is an intricate part of God’s plan for mankind while the secular viewpoint sees it as more of a personal, everyday activity the serves no more of a purpose that that of personal success. The secular worldview has distorted the context of work and only the Christian worldview can redeem it to its original context.
The sinful nature refers to the inherited and innate drive of human beings toward sin because of the “original corruption” committed by Adam and Eve. Prior to Adam and Eve’s fall, they walked blameless and innocent in the Garden with God, without shame and without sin.
“The image of God in which humans were created is obscured and distorted by sin.” If this is true we then we are slaves to sin. In the Old Testament God delivered the Israelites from physical slavery in Egypt by Moses. In the New Testament God has made it possible for our deliverance from sin through Jesus, the second person of the trinity. Jesus is described as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. ( John 1:29 NIV) Hence, the freedom found in Christianity marks the start of a new freedom from sin’s bondage and for fellowship “with God and others. “God, led by his/her concern for our good and his/her desire for a relationship of mutual love and trust