The Introduction
Every person on earth has a worldview. A worldview is our mental map of reality. It is the sum total of all things we believe to be true, whether they are or not. Some things we come to believe by investigation or education, most we simply acquire by observing and experiencing life, and others we believe because that's what others who we trust, believe.
Nearly every decision we make, hundreds every day, are based on the worldview we've developed. That's why truth is so critical -- in particular, spiritual and moral truth, for if God’s account in the Bible is right, there are both temporal and eternal consequences for how we live in this life.
No one but God has a worldview that is one hundred percent accurate. Therefore, there is no hope of any of us having a reasonably accurate worldview without listening to God. This will involve a life long journey of unlearning that which we’ve come to believe is true and learning and living out a biblical worldview.
The purpose of the Meta Concepts is to challenge you to rethink your current worldview by giving you a simplified map, sixteen major truths of the Christian faith, which are an overview of the purpose and plan of God for all things – and a very brief summary of my best understanding of a Christian worldview.
This lifetime quest for a biblical, God-centered worldview is the challenge that God gives to every believer when through his servant Paul he says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
TWO “CHRISTIAN” WORLDVIEWS IN CONFLICT
The primary theme of Jesus Christ’s teaching is the reality of the present and future kingdom of God – who governs it, how one can enter it and how one is to live in it. The kingdom he describes is entered into by believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God and being born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. The evidence of this new life is a willingness to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him, or to live as he taught. When we do and if we do, we bring God both pleasure and glory, because we are advancing his kingdom or agenda on earth. At the same time, we look forward to Jesus return to earth and the final redemption of all things and the hope of living with Jesus forever. That in essence is the gospel!
In western culture, Christianity has developed a “second gospel”, or cultural Christianity, that essentially reduces life in God's kingdom to a “get out of hell free card." All that is really required is to “believe in Jesus," ascribe to a set of “correct” doctrinal beliefs, keep a lid on sin in our lives, attend church and conform to the expected behaviors of the Christian culture in which we live, often with little evidence of a passion for holy living and sacrificial, loving service.
So, why is the second gospel so widely accepted as the norm? First, Christianity is seen by the majority of people today as just one of the many important facets of their lives, like their families, careers or hobbies. Church is a place to belong, get good moral instruction and meet like minded people. The exercise of “faith” is one of the activities they do, but not the preeminent purpose of their lives.
Second, cultural Christianity does not require or expect holy living. Most Christians do not regularly study the Bible for themselves with the goal of living like Jesus. They can’t imagine that Jesus seriously expects them to live what he taught in today’s world. They’re nice ideals, good guidelines, but totally impractical!
Third, most of us see very few other Christians who are actually living radically transformed lives. From that observation, it’s very easy for us to assume, “If they are saved, why should I deny myself – take up my cross and really follow Jesus? If that level of commitment to Christ is good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.”
It’s only a short step from there to giving up on living out authentic Christian faith and substituting the religious behavior we observe around us as the new and far more realistic “normal Christian life”. Why is it that we are so easily seduced? The truth is, we want to believe the second gospel because it is so much easier to live.
Here’s the really scary part – most of you reading this probably agree that most other Christians are like this, but you are not. Most of us desperately want to believe that we are better followers of Jesus than the majority of other Christians. This study is not ultimately about information – it’s an exercise in self-examination.
Because the question before us is this: Is cultural Christianity really saving faith? If the result of being born again by the Spirit of the living God results in such a listless and casual faith, then the road that leads to life is not really narrow -- many can and will find it and almost everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will eventually enter into the kingdom. On the other hand, if salvation ought to be evidenced by a significant transformation of our character and behavior, then cultural Christianity is a deadly counterfeit, accepted unwittingly by millions who simply don’t know, what they don’t know, or refuse to take the teachings and warnings of Jesus seriously.
“Religion is the direction that human life takes as people give themselves over to the gripping power of God, or to life’s false gods.” Abraham Kuyper
DEVELOPING A USER FRIENDLY THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
Part of the challenge of truly understanding the “first gospel” is getting our arms around the vast body of biblical information and distilling it down to the most important truths and concepts we need to know, in order to “live” our faith. Therefore, my primary reason for writing The Meta Concepts is to provide just such a framework, or “workable, user friendly theology,” for understanding the story of God’s purpose and plan of for his world and kingdom. The Greek word Meta can be interpreted as “grand or transcendent”. One could say the Meta Concepts of the United States of America are the articles and amendments of our Constitution. They describe the transcendent, core principles and beliefs which shape all our laws and regulate our life in the U.S.
The premise of a Christian worldview is that God exists, he created mankind, he has communicated to us and the Bible is an accurate record of that communication. The Meta Concepts assumes this to be true and does not attempt to prove it, only organize its teachings in a more useable form, to enable us to look beyond the information and facts about God and see the grand story of his unquenchable love for his people and his world. Well, just what is this “Grand Story”?
STORIES
Have you noticed that all the great stories follow the same story line? Things were once good, then something awful happens and someone or something evil destroys the good life, a hero rises up, risk his or her life, destroys the villain, rescues the situation, sets things right again, good triumphing over evil and they all live happily ever after. Think about it! From The Shawshank Redemption, Braveheart, LeMiserables, Titanic, Star Wars, to the Gladiator and Lord of the Rings, this story line holds true. Why do you think this is?
It’s because all these stories borrow its power from the Grand Story woven into the fabric of our being. It’s part of our spiritual DNA! We were created in the image of God and every person no matter how far they’ve wandered from God knows that something is terribly wrong with this world. We’re frightened and we long for someone or something to rescue us and make things right again. We even dream of being heroes ourselves, rescuing others from injustice and evil. This is the story line which runs through the Bible from beginning to end. It is the storyline of a biblical worldview.
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., President of Calvin Theological Seminary, in his book, Engaging God’s World, has given us a simple system for remembering the story line and core elements which shape a biblical worldview. (This author has added God.)
- GOD
- CREATION
- THE FALL
- REDEMPTION
- THE KINGDOM
It’s with some frustration that each of the Meta Concepts do not fit nice and neatly under each of these elements. Then again, that’s the way of stories - places, characters, and plots and subplots spill from chapter to chapter. I’ve found God difficult to organize.
However, as you read the Meta Concepts look for each of these elements. All five elements influence each Concept. Memorize them and repeat them out loud to yourself often. They will help you in both remembering and telling God’s story.
Let me say upfront, the Meta Concepts is not a full systematic theology. Serious Bible teachers will find many important truths and doctrines missing or only touched on lightly. This was done intentionally. My goal is to help believers “connect the dots," giving them a short summary of the major teachings of Scripture, combined with “how then shall we live” counsel, quite content to let others fill in the rest of the picture. In any case, Jesus is far more interested in how we live out his teachings than in the amount of biblical information we absorb, or the number of doctrines we can accurately organize and describe.
The next section of the Introduction is The Core Elements of a Biblical Worldview. Read that summary of The Core Elements carefully before you read The Meta Narrative (The Grand Story) of the Bible. It is the view “from ten miles up” – the purpose and plan of God for all things. As you read, look for the five core elements weaving their way through the story.
Following that, click on Where To Begin, to learn how best to use this study. My prayer is that the Meta Concepts will serve as a practical guide for you and for all those who truly believe in Jesus and have entered this “earth phase” of the kingdom of God.
Clare De Graaf