Christ Alive

 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.

—Psalm 33:15 (NKJV)

 

What is a worldview? James Sire wrote in his book, The Universe Next Door, that it is a set of assumptions about the basic makeup of the world. It is the way we see reality. 

 

A Christian worldview is a positive and beneficial force in a culture. It even benefits a culture where there are those that don’t hold to its unchanging moral standard. Those with a secular or relativistic worldview have ethics that change in response to situations. Those with a Christian worldview believe there is an unchanging moral standard with which we measure our lives. And the unchanging standard of the Christian worldview is the Word of God. A Christian worldview believes a man’s effort profits him nothing—but that the truth of God’s Word is spirit and gives life (John 6:63). 

 

A relativistic worldview says we make our own truth. According to moral relativism, we decide what is right or wrong. In other words, moral relativism says a decision about what is right or wrong is not based on a standard but is subject to our feelings. A Christian worldview says that the only way we can say if something is good or bad is when it is measured by an objective standard and not subject to what we feel. Without a standard to measure something, we have no way to determine if something is good or bad. God, who created us, did not leave His creation without guidance. He has given us His moral standard and His Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding. We have the truth of His Word. We don’t make our own truth which is subject to our feelings. Without God’s truth, we have no objective moral guidance. 

 

Do we really want a world where a Hitler is the same as a Mother Theresa? When there is no moral standard, there is nothing to define good and evil. Apart from God, the human heart is capable of the greatest evil (Jeremiah 17:9). When cut loose from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the heart will gravitate toward what is dark, sinful, and destructive. But with Christ alive in us, the human heart is capable of the greatest compassion and grace. Faith in Christ is the only way to experience the heart change that brings the redeeming love of God to a world starving for acceptance and love. 

 

“The Lord looks from heaven; he sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; he fashions their hearts individually; he considers all their works” (Psalm 33:12-14).

 

God created a pure world until sin entered. He looked at this fallen world and had compassion for all the sons of men. God believed that this world ought not to be fallen. He wanted a restored relationship with His creation. So He sent His Son to restore it by changing the human heart. The Good News of the Gospel is that the human heart can be redeemed! God, who brings us His new life, fashions each one of us individually. He has a standard, but that standard can only be met by the grace of Jesus. When we intentionally allow God’s Word to grow us spiritually, we reap the benefits of its truth. We have access by faith to the grace of Jesus. We stand in its promise. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2).

 

Christianity is not a stagnant faith. It is a relationship with Jesus, and it is alive. But it is only alive when we allow Christ to live in us. In our personal relationship with Christ we should live in the perpetual grace of revelation and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Our Christian worldview—the grace of Jesus—will only bring restoration and healing in the lives of others when it has brought restoration and healing in us. With the grace of Jesus alive and making a difference in us, it has the power to change the world. 

 

Do we want revival? Revelation and renewal begin in us. Christ is alive in us, and He is the hope of glory.

 

 © 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/07/christ-alive.html