Worldview – Page 2 – Christianity Matters
God as Our Creator | Part 2
On January 9, 2013 July 29, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment	
Chances are if you started a Bible reading program this New Year, the first verse you read was Genesis 1:1. Even if you have not, it is a familiar passage to us all.
This succinct statement is packed with application both for us individually and our worldview. In my last post in this series, I looked at how God as Our Creator applies to our worldview. You can read that post here. In this post, I will reflect on how God as Our Creator applies to us individually.
What are the individual implications of God being our Creator?
(1) If God is our Creator, we should listen to what He says to us and keep His commandments.
As our Creator God has authority over our lives. The writer of Ecclesiastes comes to this conclusion in the final chapter of his book. There the writer tells us if we want to find meaning in life, we are to fear God and keep His commandments. The reason that can be his conclusion is because God is our Creator. He is the one who made us, and He is the One we are to submit to as Lord.
(2) If God is our Creator, He is also our Sustainer.
God is the One who upholds all things. The reason the earth spins, the laws of science do not change, why we have a never ending supply of oxygen, why our crops grow, why anything happens the way it does, is because God sustains the universe. Without God holding all things together, everything would fall apart. Hebrews 1:3-4 says,
The writer of Hebrews makes is clear God upholds the world by the word of His power. Nothing more but His Word is needed to Sustain His own creation, which He also created by the Word of His mouth.
God as Sustainer means we fully depend on Him for everything in our life. To forget that means we will try to do things our own way. When we strike out on our own, leaving behind what we know about God, we act like a fool and repay God with sin instead of worship (Deut 32:4-7).
God as Sustainer also means that all creation depends on something outside of themselves. Self-help books and religious teaching that tells us to look inside ourselves to fix the problem has it wrong. Instead of looking inside ourselves, we must look outside ourselves to God. He is the only one who can provide an answer for the problems we face.
(3) If God is our Creator, True Worship begins when we see that we are but creatures and owe our Creator thanksgiving, praise, and obedience.
Worship is not solely what we do when we gather together on Sunday Morning. Rather True Worship is given with our entire lives every minute of every day. By living with the idea that God is our Creator who has authority over our lives and who is our Sustainer we set ourselves up to worship God because this understanding will lead to thankfulness, praise, and obedience. When these things characterize our daily lives, then we are truly worshipping God.
(4) If God is our Creator, He leaves us without excuse because He places His fingerprints all over creation.
Romans 1:18-32 tell us that God made Himself plain in Creation, but man did not submit to Him as God. Instead we worshipped the creation. As a result, God gave man over to the lusts of their heart, and because of our rejection of God we deserve to die.
The main thread that runs through these verses is that God has made Himself known to His creation. He has placed His fingerprint everywhere for man to see. Intelligent Design is evident in all creation, so man has no excuse for not searching out and worshipping God.
Can you think of any other ways God as our Creator applies to us individually?
If God is our Creator and King, when we sin against Him, we are doing more than just breaking the rules. What are we doing?
On January 3, 2013 July 29, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments	
This succinct statement is packed with application both for us individually and our worldview. Let’s start with worldview.
The first thing that may come to your mind when you hear the word worldview is:
A worldview is a set of ideas and beliefs through which we interpret the world and interact with it.
For example, as Christians we believe life is sacred, which means we believe abortion and murder are wrong, should not be practiced, and those who commit such acts should be punished.
Our example shows us that our belief shapes the way we interpret and interact with the world. Since it is a set of beliefs that shape the way we interpret and interact with the world, every religion, philosophy, or way of thinking has worldview implications.
How do we know which one is right?
As Christians, we believe our worldview is right because our God is the Creator of the entire world. We read that in Genesis 1:1. As the Creator, He interacts with His creation through His Word, the Bible, which necessitates the Bible be correct.
How do we know Scripture is correct?
Scripture is correct because it has proven itself to be true through both internal and external evidence. I don’t have space to go into all the evidence, so let me briefly point out that part of that evidence has to do with answering questions that every worldview must answer. Those are:
(2) How did the world get the way it is?
(3) How is it going to be fixed?
Scripture answers these questions. It tells us that God created the World, sin is the reason the world is the way it is, and Jesus is the way everything will be set right.
If Scripture could not provide these answers, then we should not allow it to operate as our dominate worldview. Scripture, however, does answer these questions, which means we can trust the claim of Genesis 1:1 that God is our Creator. As such, we should allow Him, through His Word, to shape the way we view the world.
In the next post in this series, I will look at how God as our Creator applies to us individually.
Can you think of a worldview that cannot answer one of the three questions above?