Think Like Jesus:
Make the Right Decision Every Time
Part 1: Perspectives on the State of Worldviews
Chapter 1: What’s the Big Deal?
Biblical Worldview Defined by George Barna
“A biblical worldview is thinking like Jesus. It is a way of making our faith practical to every situation we face each day. A biblical worldview is a way of dealing with the world such that we act like Jesus twenty-four hours a day because we think like Jesus.
I offered an analogy: It’s like having a pair of special eyeglasses we wear that enable us to see things differently, to see things from God’s point of view, and to respond to those perceptions in the way He would prescribe if He were to provide us with direct and personal revelation.” (Pg. 4)
Do you agree or disagree with George Barna’s definition? Why?
What would it look life if you and I lived by a biblical world view as Barna has defined it?
Everyone Has a Worldview
“While most people never think about their worldview on a conscious level, everyone has one. Our moment-to-moment decisions are shaped by the worldview we have adopted and adapted over the course of time, often without realizing that we are dependent on such a framework for our decision making.
“Whenever we make a decision, we unconsciously run it through a mental and emotional filter that allows us to make choices consistent with what we believe to be true, significant and appropriate. That filter is the result of how we have organized information to make sense of the world in which we live.
“Without a worldview, we’d be incapable of arriving at many of the hundreds of decisions we make each day because every option would seem just as appealing as any every other. To make even minor choices we rely on our sense of right and wrong, good and bad, useful and useless, appropriate and inappropriate, to produce what we believe are the wisest choices. (Pps. 5-6)
Has Barna made a case that everyone has a worldview? Why or Why not?
A biblical worldview is a means of experiencing, interpreting and responding to reality in light of biblical perspective. This life lens provides a personal understanding of every idea, opportunity, and experience based on the identification and application of relevant biblical principles so that every choice we make may be consistent with God’s principles and commands. At the risk of seeming simplistic, it is asking the question, “What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes right now?” And applying the answer without compromising because of how we anticipate the world reacting.(Pg. 6)
What would happen if you asked, “What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes right now—and responded based on the biblical evidence, rather than a subjective guess or wish?
How Did Jesus Think Like Jesus?
The narrative of Jesus’ life gives us a sense that there were four elements working together that facilitated His worldview.
First, He had a foundation that was clear, reliable, and accessible. Second, He maintained a laser-beam focus on God’s will. Third, He evaluated all information and experiences through a filter that produced appropriate choices. Fourth, He acted in faith.
Jesus’ foundation was – God’s word.
Jesus’ focus was – Knowing and fulfilling God’s will.
Jesus’ filter was – A very different mental, emotional and spiritual grid.
Jesus’ faith – Produced action!
Jesus’ thinking would have been intriguing from a scholarly perspective but powerless without the faith to act upon His views. This insight is lost upon many Christians who know what’s right but fail to do what they know. Jesus demonstrates that a genuine biblical worldview must be backed up by action. Such action demands complete faith that doing what honors God, rather than men, is the only yardstick of success. (Pps. 6-8)
While Jesus was (and is) God, He was also human. How do the four elements working together in Jesus’ life inform how we ought to live out a biblical worldview in our lives?
In looking at the four elements that worked together to facilitate Jesus’ worldview, which is the most difficult for you to integrate into your life? Why?
Thinking Like Jesus is a Matter of Obedience
Seek God’s Wisdom (Proverbs 2:2-7) (Pg.9)
Don’t Be Fooled (Colossians 2:8) (Pg.9)
The world will actively seek to turn our minds in a different direction than that which God intends.
Commit to What’s Important (Deuteronomy 6:2-9) (Pg. 10)
God’s words to Moses and the Israelites remind us that building the capacity to think like Jesus in not a one-time, been-there-done-that experience, but an endless, winding journey of discovery, revelation, and application. Developing a biblical worldview takes time, mental energy, diligence and reliance on God’s words to us.
Be Transformed (Romans 12:2) (Pg. 10)
Fight Appropriately (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) (Pg. 11)
Rely on God’s Guidance (James 1:5-6)
Get Fit Spiritually (1 Timothy 4:1, 7, 11) (Pg. 12)
Pay Attention (Isaiah 55:8) (Pg. 12)
Fear God (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) (Pg. 13)
Trust God Alone (Proverbs 3:5-7) (Pg. 13)
What does it take to carry out each of the ten aspects of obedience to God stated by Barna?
Thinking Like Jesus Has Its Benefits
The Bible promises that this quest for truth and wholeness will provide us with an amazing parcel of riches. Of course, it is not appropriate to adopt a worldview simply because it produces positive outcomes. No, living consistently with His principles is the right thing to do. Its rightness is not because of the outcomes; the outcomes are because of its rightness. (Pg. 13)
Barna addresses the value of thinking like Jesus from a “costs-benefits” perspective. Does Jesus ever do this? Provide biblical evidence one way or the other.
…consider the range of the benefits emerging from thinking and living like Jesus. We are promised physical gain, emotional benefits, superior decision-making capacity, relational advantages, lifestyle enhancements, and spiritual health. The more we devote ourselves to emulating the thought and behavioral patterns of Jesus, the more God is able to bless us and use us for His purposes.
This seems like a can’t-lose proposition, but remember that nothing of value comes without a price. Even though it is a loving God who wants to shower these benefits upon us, He also informs us that they are not received unless we make a total-person commitment, an all-out, no-holds-barred effort to seek, know and follow God’s wisdom. (Pg. 14)
Does Barna paint an accurate picture of the benefits-costs of thinking like Jesus? Why or why not?
Review The Benefits of Thinking Like Jesus Chart on Page 14.
Have you experienced any/all of these benefits of thinking like Jesus? If you haven’t does that mean that you haven’t been thinking like Jesus?
Read the two paragraphs at the bottom of page 15, which tells us that NEW BIRTH anticipates and calls for a NEW LIFE. (The first of the two starts with, “Let’s push the envelope even further. Possessing a genuinely biblical worldview is the flipside of your decision to trust...)
How do you respond to Barna’s description of what it means to demonstrate Jesus’ new life in us?
The Cost of Thinking Like Jesus
“A life of obedience to God will not be understood or appreciated by a selfish and sinful world. Jesus warned people that obedience to God would bring on rifts with family and friends, financial struggles, public ridicule, legal hassles, death threats, imprisonment, physical attacks, unemployment, misunderstandings and serious illness. Those who commit themselves to living in full obedience to God will also be more prominently involved in the spiritual battle for their soul. (Pg 16)
In what sense can any of the above be seen as “good” news for those dedicated to thinking and living like Jesus?
The Freedom to Choose
The most important decision you will ever make is how to respond to Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection in relation to your own mortality. The second most important decision you will make relates to how you will live in light of your first decision. (Pg. 17)
What does Barna mean here?
FOR NEXT WEEK: Read Chapter 2, pages 19-43 in Think Like Jesus