This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of Dr. Wellum’s third session in his series, The Bible’s Big Picture, given on Sunday, September 27, 2009.
When wrestling with the “big picture” of the Bible, is there a helpful way of putting it all together? That is the question we wrestled with this week. One helpful way that Christians have thought through the unfolding revelation of God and have tried to get their minds around the entire canon of Scripture is by employing the categories of “creation,” “fall,” “redemption,” and “new creation.” This is a helpful way of approaching the Bible for a number of reasons. First, it allows us to begin in Genesis and move to Revelation and gain something of God’s overall plan of redemption centered in Jesus Christ. Second, and this is what we spent most of our time on, it allows Christians to use the Bible as their lens and grid by which they view the world, i.e. to become worldview Christians. Let me develop this for a moment.
Everyone person, regardless of whether they are a Christian, has a worldview. No one approaches life without having some kind of beliefs about the basic issues of life, and sadly, no one lives their life without beginning to act of these beliefs. We as Christians, as we seek to communicate the gospel to people, it is important to remember this and it is also crucial to approach non-Christian views by comparing and contrasting their views with the Christian view by the categories of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. In this sense, every worldview has to say something about these four areas. In terms of ‘creation,’ this category raises the issues of origins, where we have come from, along with the world, why there is something rather than nothing, and what people think is the ultimate explanation for this world. As Christians we have a specific view of creation tied to our overall view of God. Our Triune God alone is the eternal one and in time he chose to create this world. Everything around us, including ourselves, is due to his plan and his choosing to enact his plan. When we think of non-Christian views it is important to ask the people we talk to about what their view of origins, etc. is. In this way, we have a nice entrée point to talk about the gospel and to present the glorious God of Scripture to them. Second, in terms of the ‘fall,’ this raises the question as to what is wrong with us. Everyone admits that there is something wrong with the human race but what? Is it our lack of education, genetics, environment, and so on? Or, is it as the Bible describes: in history, in Adam, we became moral rebels against the holy, sovereign Lord of this universe? It is important to note that what we think the problem is will have direct implications of what we think the solution is. Third, in terms of ‘redemption,’ this raises the issue of what is the solution to our problem. For Christians, the only solution, given our sin, is for God to take the initiative in grace and act on our behalf by the sending of his Son as the one who pays for our sin and satisfies God’s own righteous requirements. The Triune God and the Triune God alone must deal with our sin and solve our problem in the Father’s sending, the Son’s securing work, and the Spirit’s application of that work to us. And then, finally, in terms of ‘new creation’ this raises the issue of what is there to hope for? What does the future bring? As Christians we have a unique view of the future tied to the plan and promises of God centered in Jesus Christ.
With these four categories, we not only understand the basic message of Scripture, but we have an excellent way of comparing and contrasting our view with other views and showing that without the God of the Bible and the gospel message, there is no hope for us. Next week, we will begin to develop each of these four areas and highlight crucial points to emphasize. But before we do that, you can listen to this week’s lesson.