Life seems so fragmented in contemporary society. Social media has made it possible to share thoughts and ideas, even Bible quotes, in a prolific manner. Reading through diverse posts on religion, politics, identity, societal tensions and the like may at times seem overwhelming, leaving us with a sense of confusion. Being unable to process all this information could lead to a sense of despair. Many voices seem to be crying to be heard. Confronted with this overload of information, many people have removed themselves from social media platforms. Others engage in arguments and discussions, often trying to convince others of the truthfulness of their positions, sometimes outright denouncing or insulting others. How are we to navigate the maze of contemporary society? This article seeks to provide a Biblical Christian framework through which to interpret and understand the world we live in.
Every aspect of this unfolding article has a depth of theological and philosophical study that undergirds it. While these depths are not necessarily the interest of laypeople, they are very important for many fellow believers who devote themselves to provide the church with the assurance of the truthfulness of these claims. At other times these fellow believers are witnessing to the truth of these claims in the realm of academia, presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ as true in opposition to ideas that seek to overthrow the gospel of Christ.
The aim of this article is to assist laypeople in the Christian community to have a coherent frame of reference whereby to interpret life rightly, build up their families in truth and live an authentic Christian life in contemporary society. From the outset, the words of Jesus Christ will be the reference point from which this framework is constructed. The reason for starting with His claims, is that this article is intended to encourage the church. However, when presenting these claims to a non-Christian society, the words of Christ are not necessarily the initial reference point.
In Mark 10:2-9 the Pharisees test Jesus on the moral question regarding divorce. Jesus responds with truth claims, each of which can be tested against reality. His response is reordered here to lay the foundation of a Christian mind.
Watch video describing the Framework of a Biblical Christian Mind
He claims that “from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female’” (Mk. 10:8). Jesus references the claim of Genesis 1:1 that the universe was created or had a point of origin, and that it was created by God (the evidence for God’s existence will be elaborated on in later articles). He further cites from Genesis 1:27 that God made the species of man in his own image, male and female. The Genesis creation-narrative affirms that humans are created beings, significant in that they alone bear the image of God and are instructed by Him to have dominion or stewardship over His creation.
There is a dignity to human beings and their relationships. Jesus references Genesis 2:24 explaining the purpose of marriage, that God’s purpose for humankind is the intimacy of the marital bond that brings forth descendants in relation to Him. The family unit is the basis of human society on which all other institutions are built. All human beings are born through relationship into this world and live in relationship with the community into which they are born. God commanded humanity to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28).
Christ’s words tell us what is wrong with the world too. In Mark 10:5 Jesus explains moral failure being due to hardened hearts. In Mark 7:9 he indicts religious leaders for “rejecting the word of God” in order “to establish your own tradition”. His explanation of humankind’s predicament agrees with Genesis 2:16-17 where God gives humankind a command, and in Genesis 3:1-7 Moses narrates the rebellion against God’s command in the garden that He created good. Jesus explains that from the innermost part of a human being (heart) all manner of evil arises (Mk. 7:15, 21) and this inner corruption of heart is behind the actions that are sinful.
Jesus continues to explain that the devil was a murderer from the beginning (Jhn. 8:44b) and the Jews had pledged allegiance to the devil and not to God (Jhn. 8:44a).
It is this ‘fallenness’ or ‘corruption’ in our hearts that leads to the disarray that we experience in society every day. When listening to the ideas around us we hear arguments that explain evil as something external to humanity. Governments fail because governments are corrupt. However, it is not government as an institution that is corrupt but people who misuse positions of power and corrupt the institution for their own ends. Marriage and family are good institutions. We corrupt what God made good when we reject him. Hurt, pain, disappointment and family collapse results when we reject God as the originator of all things in creation and rebel against his wise guidance in how to live.
The enemies we are confronted with in this world are first of all our own self-centred desires and the pain sin has caused in our lives. There is also the affliction that we experience from others who choose to follow their self-centred desires and inflict harm on others and this world. There is the presence of sin in this world that causes much pain. And then we also have a spiritual enemy, the devil, who seeks to lead us astray and into rebellion against God.
God has not left us alone in this world we live in and abandoned us to enemies we cannot overcome. Rather he stepped into this world. Jesus is the God-man who has come to reveal what God is like. He makes what seems to be outrageous claims – “whoever has seen me has seen the Father”, Jesus said (Jhn 14:9). Jesus took on humanity and lived in this world facing all the challenges we face. When misunderstood by his family (Mk. 3:21) He responds by saying that any who do the will of God are his family (Mk. 3:35). The claims of Christ are that he is God-incarnate and the sinless (Jhn. 8:46, 58) Son of God and his purpose is to give his sinless life as an offering, the sinless for the sinful, the guiltless for the guilty (Mk. 8:45).
The first appearance of Jesus Christ is God’s revelation to humanity of His love and purpose for us.
Just as God established community and bound a community to himself (the descendants of Abraham), so through Christ God has bound a community to himself (the followers of Christ). It is through community that we experience hardships in life and it is through God’s community that we experience his presence and restoration of our being. God’s community fails but it also succeeds. Many are healed as they become part of God’s community and some who become part of God’s community, after receiving restoration, would again experience pain as a result of the same community.
But the teachings of Jesus point to a future secured hope that all evil will be removed from this world and his people will be like light in God’s kingdom (Matt. 13:41-43). The appearing of this future hope will be a day of giving account for all people. Those who follow Christ will receive eternal rewards and those who did not obey will receive recompense for their decision (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:31-46).
In summary, this framework is captured in the visual in the article (Biblical Christian Mind). The foundational questions of life find the Biblical answers in this framework – origin, meaning, morality and destiny. In contemporary society we are confronted by answers to these questions that are contrary to Biblical answers. When listening to any message that is being communicated, listen for assumptions that undergird the message. What does the speaker believe about the origin of life, what is wrong with the world, what is the nature of human beings, what is the standard of morality, why are we here, and what is the promise of salvation from what is understood as evil in the world?
When God’s existence is rejected, there is no grounding for objective moral values, meaning is determined by each individual personally and salvation is that which relieves us from what is discomfort.
