The Men’s group is watching a video series called “The Truth Project” which examines the importance of developing and maintaining a Christian Worldview. To put it simply, a worldview is a lens through which a person sees the world around them and relates to it. A Christian worldview sees the world based on the fact that God is Who He says He is and does what He says He does. From this perspective, Christians believe that there is absolute truth and that God is the source of that truth.
Now, using this premise that there is absolute truth, what does that imply? –That there is also falsehood. This is the great cosmic battle – the battle between truth (Christian Worldview) and a lie (Fallen man’s worldview).
Those that do not embrace God’s truth would have you believe that man is the penultimate being and explain the rest of the universe in relation to human beings. Such “man-centered” thought is called “humanism.” Humanism in our society is a thriving business and Satan is dancing a jig. Humanists think that men are basically good and that it is only bad circumstances which cause bad behavior. They believe that if mankind is left to his own that the results will be positive and good. This was true once when God first made man but because of sin and its destructive character there is now, as Romans 3:10 tells us, “no one who is righteous – not even one.” When left to his own devices each of us becomes self-absorbed and greedy. The consequence of this self-orientation is always destructive.
The good news is that there is a way out of this destructive death spiral. When we wake up and embrace absolute truth, we see that coming home to God brings us to the salvation of our souls. It is the only path that does! In Luke 15, Jesus gives us a great example in the parable of the Prodigal son who comes home – to salvation. In this story, the son leaves home because he is self-absorbed and does not trust that his father has his best interests at heart. The son THINKS he knows what’s best for himself. The son THINKS he is missing out on “the good life.” The son THINKS money can buy happiness.
The son soon discovers that his thinking was flawed. After a short spurt of wild living, he finds himself destitute and friendless in a foreign land. Once he has hit bottom, the son realizes his flawed thinking, repents from it and humbly returns home where his father greets him with joy and reinstates him into the family. So, what changed? Not the truth – it was there all along. What changed is the son’s WORLDVIEW – how he looked at the world around him. When the son changed from a selfish, sinful worldview back to a God-centered worldview, he found peace, acceptance, love, and security.
The REALLY good news is that same deal is available to you and me today. No matter how far we have gone astray from God, He is eagerly waiting for us to return home. That is the ABSOLUTE truth – once you BELIEVE, then you will SEE.
-Pastor Dave Jones