Generally, we classify a Christian as one who has surrendered his life to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Such a one is a born again believer designated as “saved.” In contrast, the unsaved are deemed not Christian.
Being Christian is more than a saved soul. Jesus is not only truth for your soul, but for every area of life. A person can give his life to Jesus and still not be Christian even though he has become a Christian. Discipleship is required for a new Christian to become Christian in thought and praxis.
An unbeliever can be Christian in thought and action and not be born again. Just the same a born again believer, can be more Buddhist or atheist in worldview and life style than Christian.
To be Christian in life is to be living out that which is biblically sourced theology. Much of our modern cultural way of life is not biblically derived. Praxis comes from worldview and worldview has an origin point.
The Christian worldview originates from biblical theology – not simply a Bible verse – but application of sometimes centuries of applied theology based on biblical starting points.
For instance, in our Declaration of Independence Jefferson wrote “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. . .” Benjamin Franklin had edited Jefferson’s first draft which read “We hold these Truths to be sacred. . .” not Self-Evident. Equality has never been self-evident. Nature does not teach us equality. Equality, unalienable rights, these are from the Christian worldview. Even though Christians throughout history, including American history, have not always thought this way or acted according to this truth – the truth is only found from within Christian theology.
The Christian worldview encompasses and informs theology on marriage, family, gender, government, nations, justice, economics, personal finances, babies, children, education, burial practices, pets, business, agriculture, taxes, vocation, death, life, the earth, the foreigner, nations, borders, etc.
To be Christian is to think and behave within the context of a Christian worldview. To be a Christian is to be born again trusting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. However, these two should be one. The former should develop through discipleship and mentorship of a new believer. Thinking and behaving like a Christian is not returning to the law of sin and death, but what it looks like to have a new nature prone to righteousness.
Without Christian discipleship you basically have saved unbelievers thinking they are living the Christian life when they are still emerged in the way of life which is not Christian.
What we want is the whole package of truth applied to our entire life. Jesus matters not just to our souls but to our everyday living in every way conceivable.
In so doing, He made sure we had His written revelation (the Bible) and His Holy Spirit so that we could have the glory of kings to search out His truth in Word and Spirit manifesting the Kingdom of God to every area of life.
Originally posted on KarlaPerry.com
Karla Perry, worldview revitalizer, author of Back to the Future: Rebuilding America’s Stability, and her new release, The Reformation of America, is an avid writer with a penetrating and thought-provoking style. Karla helps people develop healthy worldviews through biblical Kingdom-based thinking. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University where she majored in English and minored in American History. Karla is a co-founder of The Serve Initiative; a think tank and task force organization designed to equip and empower believers for the work of reformation. Karla lives with her husband, Joseph, in Virginia Beach, VA where they pastored for eleven years.