The Christian World View

1 Corinthians 3:18-23 The United States Space Center was excited when the probe to Jupiter entered what scientists thought is Jupiter’s atmosphere. Perhaps by now, they have a report. They anxiously awaited the electronic transmission of whatever data the probe might find. For centuries men have pondered the universe. Centuries ago the Lord called Abraham out under the open sky and said to him, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them” (Genesis 15:5). And God said, “So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (verse 16). Perhaps Abraham might have been able to see two thousand stars with the naked eye in the Middle East clear sky at night. We now know there are multitudes of more than two thousand. King David was humbled by what he saw. We may say his worldview is expressed in Psalm 8:3-9: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the Son of man, that thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea. Oh, Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. Let’s go a little farther and see what the prophet Isaiah thought when he looked at the heavens. Isaiah 40:12-14 may express something of his worldview: Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? We ponder, Who is God? What has He done? How valuable for life is all the accumulation of knowledge like the space probe anyway? How does it all add up? The apostle Paul, in the midst of the Greek/Roman philosophies, has a strong word for the twentieth-century man regarding a worldview. Look at what he wrote in I Corinthians 3:18-23: 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. The apostle discusses several basic IDEAS as he developed THE CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW. The first idea is: THE CRAFTINESS OF PERSONAL DECEPTION 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. Paul gives us a warning. “Let no man deceive himself.” That is easily done because when one is deceiving himself, he doesn’t know it. He is not aware of what is happening. He thinks he is...