When you directly show the superiority of the Bible’s worldview over and against the culture’s worldview, you are glorifying God by showing His infinite worth and superiority over every man-made philosophy.
The Bible is powerful. Every Christian who has a proper view of Scripture will agree with this. The Bible convicts, corrects, rebukes, and trains in righteousness. It is living and active, sharper than a two edged sword. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So how can a preacher or teacher in the Church clearly present this powerful Word to a congregation? The answer is worldview-confronting preaching.
There are many types of preaching and different forms of sermon structure. But regardless of the structure, preaching should help the people of God see with clarity the truth of God so their lives are changed. That last part is key. Christians are called to be doers of the word, not hearers only. In a culture that seduces with the subtle sins of self-determination, worship of money, and pride, Pastors and teachers need to clearly contrast what the word of God says with what the culture says.
In this post, I want to lay out what worldview-confronting preaching is, why it is important, and how to do it when you are preaching or teaching.
Nothing is more important in the present time than to show how the Bible specifically corrects the false beliefs our modern culture holds
It is only through exposure to the living word of God that people can see the surpassing value of Christ and have their hearts transformed through the Holy Spirit.l
Worldview-Confronting Preaching Defined
When I say “worldview-confronting preaching”, I am really talking about a form of application which is directed to the listeners. Other people have written far better definitions of “worldview” than I can in this post. For our purposes, “worldview” is a set of lived out beliefs and values. There are numerous sources which affect one’s worldview and one’s worldview affects how a person interprets reality around them.
Christians want to hold a set of lived out beliefs and values which align with Scripture. They want to interpret reality as God defines it, not how they define it. However, even the strongest Christian is influenced by sin and the culture around them.
Christians need to have their worldviews constantly corrected and conformed to the teaching of Scripture
This does not happen automatically. And that is why I say “worldview-confronting preaching is needed. This type of preaching goes right to the heart of the issue: people have wrong & sinful beliefs and values which cause them to live in opposition to God and His word. The goal of worldview-confronting preaching is to expose this; to show that everyone is influenced by wrong thoughts about God, Christ, ourselves, those around us, and the world in general.
The second aspect of worldview-confronting preaching is to then present the worldview Scripture gives. You show that God’s ways are right, are clear, are superior to the values and beliefs the world holds. It is through this contrast that your listeners can see theirwrong beliefs for what they are and to see the beauty and wisdom of how God has ordered the world.
The Importance of Worldview-Confronting Preaching
I don’t think it is a great secret that you and I live in an age of excessive information. Everyone, including Christians, is bombarded with hundreds of worldviews, values, facts, and arguments every single day. Whether through the television, the internet, social media, news, music, art, or simply hanging around other people, it can become exhausting to be constantly discerning with what you listen to.
The danger is all this information is not neutral. It has an affect on you. As you are constantly exposed to various secular worldviews, you can unconsciously start to adopt them. Here is an example: imagine you are working in an office full of people whose sole purpose in life is to advance in their career and get more money. They are all smart, and driven, but living purely for themselves.
