A Biblical Worldview Is a Christian’s North Star

Navigating the sea of life can be tricky sometimes. Sailors in the old days used the North Star as a guide. Unlike the sun and moon which travel back and forth across the sky, the North Star stays pretty much where it is. In fact, Shakespeare in his Sonnet 116 indirectly called it (and love as the poem goes) an “ever-fixed mark.” Ships could use the steady position of the star to determine not only their own location but how to get to where they wanted to go from there. This week it occurred to me that Christians who are attempting to find direction in the end times need our own North Star. While politics and public sentiment are always on the move, the Bible’s direction never changes. A biblical worldview is imperative in these last days.

The North Star as a Guide

With no GPS, few reliable maps, and miles and miles of water all around, sailors in the old times had to look up instead of out. They relied on the sun, the moon, stars, and even planets to guide their way across the waves. But that could be quite a challenge since the earth rotates on its axis. That means everything in the sky is doing its own moving based on the time of day and even the time of year. Everything except Polaris, that is, also called the North Star. It stays where it is because it’s located directly above the North Pole where the axis meets the surface. All the other stars appear to slowly revolve around it.

That means sailors could tell which way they were moving just by keeping their eyes on the North Star. If it was increasing in height, the sailor would know he was headed north. If it was decreasing in height, he was headed south. Eventually, sailors learned to measure the angle of the North Star in the sky to find their approximate latitude. To find longitude, sailors used “star charts,” which showed the positions of celestial bodies relative to Polaris at different times. By focusing on this one stationary point, sailors knew where they were and how to get where they wanted to be.

A Biblical Worldview is a Christian’s North Star

A worldview is a collection of beliefs, values, expectations, and assumptions about the world. A biblical worldview means that everything we believe, value, expect, and assume aligns with the Bible. It’s like a pair of glasses we put on to see ourselves and the world as the Bible tells us we are and should be. It’s a Book that never changes written by God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Bible is that “ever fixed mark” we can rely on to show us the truth of where we are, the direction we’re going, and the way to get where we want to be. Even when the ground under us seems to spin and everything around us is in a constant state of flux, the Bible shines brightly to show us the way. 

The Bible

• Is a lamp to guide our path (Psalm 119:105)
• Stands (Isaiah 40:8)
• Endures (Psalm 119:160)
• Remains forever (1 Peter 1:25)
• Will not pass away (Matthew 24:35 and Mark 13:31)
• Sanctifies us (John 17:17)
• Blesses us (Luke 11:28)
• Dwells in us (Colossians 3:16)
• Is true (Proverbs 30:5)
• Will not return void (Isaiah 55:11)
• Is our sword (Ephesians 6:17)
• Gives light and understanding (Psalm 119:130)
• Guards our way (Psalm 119:9)
• Sets us free (John 8:31-32)
• Gives us faith (Romans 10:17)
• Gives us hope (Romans 15:4, Psalm 119:114, and Psalm 130:5)
• Revives the soul (Psalm 19:7)
• Is pure (Psalm 12:6)
• Makes our way prosperous (Joshua 1:8)
• Brings life (Proverbs 4:4)
• Cannot be broken (John 10:35)
• Is a joy and the delight of our hearts (Jeremiah 15:16)
• Bears witness of Jesus (John 5:39)
• Cleanses us (Ephesians 5:26-27)
• Renews our minds (Romans 12:2).
• Is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• Is alive (Hebrews 4:12)
• Provides daily spiritual nourishment (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4, and 1 Peter 2:2)

The Danger of Choosing Another Worldview

The two other prevailing worldviews these days are the secular worldview and the postmodern worldview.

Secular Worldview

The secular worldview comes from “reason” and science. It says humans can be moral and ethical apart from a belief in God. It also says beliefs are all a matter of personal preference. Therefore no one belief is better than another, so all should be respected as equal. 

In Proverbs 14:12, however, the Bible warns of the dangers of personal preference. It says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” People’s feelings change. People’s desires, fears, and motives change. Without an objective and predetermined bar for what is “moral” and “ethical,” people are in danger of choosing something that SEEMS right but is actually very wrong. Not only that, but the Bible clearly teaches that all ways are NOT equal. Most importantly, there is only one way that leads to God and eternal life. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” To believe anything else makes Jesus a liar (God forbid!)

Postmodern Worldview

The postmodern worldview rejects absolute truth altogether. It says there is only relativism and people’s personal truth determined by culture and upbringing. That means things can be “true for you but not for me.” 

But the Bible says Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), and those who will be saved must love it — because the alternative to truth is deception. That is how the Antichrist will come: with power, signs, and wonders “and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Not only that, but John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” But whose truth is it talking about? Why, God’s truth, of course! In John 17:17, Jesus prays to His Father. He says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.”

Beware of “Another Jesus”

One final worldview deserves a moment of discussion. A “Christian worldview” is sometimes used as a synonym for a biblical worldview. Unfortunately, though, sometimes the term can be blurred to describe a system that follows someone’s subjective idea of Christianity instead of the objective truth of the Bible. So-called “progressive Christianity,” for example, is blatantly anti-biblical in many key areas. 

The 8 Points of Progressive Christianity reveal a “Jesus” that touts the same goal of “oneness” as the New Agers, says Jesus is but “one of many ways,” contradicts the Bible’s view of gender and sexuality, rejects absolutes, and replaces worship of the one true God with philanthropy and environmentalism. The “Jesus” they follow is not the Jesus of the Bible at all. It’s “another Jesus” exactly as 2 Corinthians 11:4 warns us about. They also preach “another gospel” (of social justice), and those involved, according to Galatians 1:8, will “…be accursed.”

Christians Must Have a Biblical Worldview

Matthew 7:24 and 7:26 reveal the difference between those who build their worldview on the Bible versus those who ignore the Word of God. “Therefore, whoever hears these saying of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24)” But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:26)

A solid rock or sinking sand? A fixed star in the sky or any number of constellations that shift by day and night? The Bible is as clear as a cloudless night. We must fix our eyes on the unmovable, unchangeable truth of God that He gave us in His Word and orient everything else in our lives from there. It’s the only way we won’t be lost and adrift on the sea of life. It’s the only way to reach our heavenly destination.

If you like analogies, try It’s Not the Machine That Makes Us Clean. It compares aspects of the Christian life to a dishwasher. Or, try 5 Lessons About Spiritual Warfare from Boxing.  Please sign up to receive my blog in your email. Also, check out my YouTube Channel where I read the blogs out loud. I also have a playlist of hymns from my church.