Introduction.
Christianity is one of the leading religions globally. Its teachings and doctrines are founded on universal beliefs that have been in existence since ancient times (Pasely, 2021). A report published on the Pew Research Centre website reveals that by 2015, Christians remained the largest religious group accounting for approximately 31 percent of the Earth’s 7.3 billion people (Hackett & McClendon, 2020). With Christianity being one of the largest religions globally, their gospel essentials have become an important topic of discussion in most gospel books. The Gospel essentials mainly constitute themes such as forgiveness of sin, redemption, and qualification by Jesus’ atonement. One important component of Christianity is the Christian worldview. The Christian worldview constitutes structures and ideas that most Christians elucidate and interrelate with the world (Hackett & McClendon, 2020). The worldview also primarily consists of God, humanity, Jesus, and restoration. Thus, all Christians choose to commit and live their lives based on their belief in this worldview. Despite the significance of Christian worldviews, different Christians have contrasting perspectives on Biblical clarification and how they relate to the world. One important aspect of the Christian worldview is that it holds that God is Almighty because he solely created everything in the universe from scratch (Pasely, 2021). Using this concept offers insights into the plan and purpose that God had for us and this world. This paper, therefore, seeks to expound on key Gospel essentials, including the nature of God, humanity, Jesus, restoration, and the implications of the Christian worldviews.
Nature of God.
Reading through the creation story reveals important attributes relating to the nature of God. From a Christian perspective, God is supreme, and He has power over all the human and natural forces that exist in this world (Hiles & Smith, 2021). God is known to be the creator of the universe and everything in it, including heaven, hell, the waters, land, and all forms of life. Genesis 1:1-31 reveals the different steps that God followed when creating the universe. Verse one states that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth now that the Earth was dark and void with no shape (Bible, 1989).
God is also a loving God; He is omnipresent, perfect, and omnipotent. When reading the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after creation, God allowed them to eat all the fruits apart from the ones of the forbidden tree. However, due to temptations and disobedience, the serpent tricked Eve, and together with Adam, they ate from the forbidden tree. This disobedience angered God, prompting them to be driven out of the garden. (Genesis 3:16-19). Despite Adam and Eve disobeying God, he still proved to be loving because He did not kill them instantly; instead, he gave them a second chance to live (Hiles & Smith, 2021). However, disobedience was associated with certain consequences, including man having to toil to provide for his family, women having to endure painful labor pains, and humankind having a reduced life span. When analyzing this example, it is evident that God is omnipresent and is always watching over us. Thus His nature is always present and ready to guide us in areas that we may be experiencing challenges.
Nature of Humanity.
Humanity is what makes us who we are. It consists of all those things and qualities that can only be found in humans and not on any other living organisms, including animals. Human nature is unique since it entails how we think and act. As humans, we have various strengths and weaknesses, with some of the common strengths being contentment, honesty, and integrity (Hiles & Smith, 2021). On the other hand, one weakness is the imperfections that we have as human beings, with one of the common ones being sinful. In Romans 8:8, the Bible notes that “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” When analyzing Adam and Eve’s scenario, their sin came immediately after they lost awareness of God. Although God was not around at the time, He was able to know that something wrong happened in the Garden. Due to the sinful nature of humanity, Adam and Eve’s fall still affects humanity since sin was pronounced to poison the entire human race.
Genesis 1:26-28 affirms that God created humankind in His image and gave him authority to rule over the other creatures in the universe. Verse 26 notes, ” God said, Let us make humankind according to our image and likeness so that they can rule over the other creatures including birds of the air, fish of the sea, cattle and all other creatures in the universe” (Bible, 1989). This verse reveals that humankind was created with key features that are bot on other creatures such as intellect and emotions. Man is generally considered sinful in nature; however, one question lies on how they can stay truthful to their creator and effectively balance between the earthly desires and fulfill God’s requirements of them. Earthly desires have also contributed to man not reflecting God’s image effectively. Subsequently, creating man in God’s likeliness has also made man feel they can revolt against God hence committing different mistakes (Hiles & Smith, 2021). Sin is part of the routine lives of humans. However, as human beings, we need to be remorseful for our mistakes and show God that we deserve a second chance and the everlasting life that was pronounced on us.
Nature of Jesus.
Jesus is regarded as the chosen one and is the son of the living God (DiVincenzo, 2014). In Mathew 16:13-16, when Jesus visited the areas of Caesarea Philippi, he paused a question to his disciples “Who do people say the son on man is? Simon Peter answered, “You are Christ, the son of the living God.” The description of who Jesus reveals his true identity and shows that he has two natures: The divine and human nature. The Holy trinity shows that Jesus is the second person after God. This argument is backed by a verse in Mathew 16: 15-17. Jesus is also believed to have existed as God but later became human. John 8: 58-59 states, “Jesus said, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham, I came into existence” (Bible, 1989). Therefore, Jesus has the power to forgive humans and save them. When analyzing the identity of Jesus, He can be grouped in three broad categories: Jesus the priest, Jesus the prophet, and Jesus the King. Jesus fulfilled his priestly duties by acting on behalf of God in different instances. On the other hand, Jesus fulfilled his prophet duties by delivering God’s messages to human beings. Lastly, He was a king whereby he was in charge of the church. Despite the numerous roles and identities that Jesus had, He was crucified at the end of his life for telling the truth. Jesus was beaten and crucified on the cross, although He did not by any means curse humanity (DiVincenzo, 2014). In Luke 23:24, Jesus states, “God, forgive them, for they do not realize what they are doing” (Bible, 1989). Using the different identities and works of Jesus Christ reveals that as Christians, we should always learn to respond with kindness even if we are being treated with cruelty.
Restoration.
According to the Christian worldviews, the main solution to the vast challenges and issues that Christians are facing is by having faith in the mind of Jesus Christ. The Bible notes that Jesus Christ came to Earth to deliver God’s message to humankind. However, in the process of delivering God’s message, He was persecuted and crucified on the cross and later died on the cross for our sins (Cooling, 2010). Jesus dying on the cross for the sake of humanity is one of the first steps that prompts Christians to have solid faith in Him. The Christian doctrine affirms that salvation is important if one wants to be acknowledged as a follower of Jesus Christ. Christians need to believe and have faith that Jesus dies on the cross for their sins. Christians also need to have grace since it plays an integral role in salvation, redemption, and acceptance (Cooling, 2010). Oliver (2019) reveals that repentance is an important aspect in receiving forgiveness for our sins. Therefore, all of us need to be rescued from sin, and this can only be achieved if every human being accepts Jesus Christ as their savior. Doing so provides room for the Holy Spirit to enter and transform our lives (Oliver, 2019). Putting Jesus Christ first in our lives allows us to fear death and await the eternal life that was promised to us.
Christian Foundations.
The concepts in the gospel essentials serve as the backbone of Christian worldviews since they guide Christians on how to act and what they should do in different situations. Using God’s nature, it is evident that God is omnipresent and a forgiving God (Pasely, 2021). Thus, humankind can get forgiveness for their sins hence reconciling their differences and being on the right path of righteousness (Pasely, 2021). Additionally, the existence of God reveals that humankind has an ally who is always present. Thus they should always reach out to Him in times of happiness and turmoil. Doing so will help them experience a sense of peace since they will be assured that God is in control of everything that they are undergoing. The other important gospel essential is the nature of humanity. Since humanity consists of everything that makes us distinct from other organisms, as Christians, we can use the powers bestowed on us to guide future generations into doing what is right. Christians can use the nature of Jesus if they believe he is the son of God and dies on the cross for our sins. Lastly, restoration entails being free from sin and living a holy life. Christians can use faith and grace to receive salvation and live as per God’s wishes. Christians can receive God’s forgiveness and everlasting love by following the gospel essentials.
Analysis of the Implications of Christian Worldview.
The Christian worldview has numerous benefits, including practical solutions to our everyday problems and providing hope to people to achieve anything they want in the future. Reconciliation and forgiveness are also some of the benefits of following the Christian worldviews. Christianity provides a path whereby humankind can seek forgiveness and be reconciled back to the righteous paths (Pasely, 2021). Subsequently, the Christian worldviews provide humankind with knowledge and wisdom about the truth, purpose, and destiny of life. The Christian worldview is also beneficial since it gives one a platform to experience control through their faith in God. The Christian concept of salvation compares with other worldview perspectives since they both acknowledge that salvation comes by repenting their sins and accepting the Holy Spirit to take control of their lives. The Christian Worldview can influence one’s thinking and behavior by encouraging them to follow God’s footsteps. This can include showing acts of kindness, love, and compassion to every person who is in need. The behavior and thinking of a person can also be affected by making them have the desire to separate themselves from sin and do what their faith dictates them to. There are different conflicting factors about Christianity. One of the main confusions arises from Biblical defects, including unfulfilled prophecies, self-contradictions, and atrocities by God. Additionally, different bible versions have conflicting writings, yet it is known that all of the writers received inspiration from God.
Conclusion.
In conclusion, the Christian worldview constitutes a comprehensive belief system whose primary aim is to guide Christians regarding how they should interpret the world and relate to it. The main guiding principles of the gospel essentials consist of God the supreme ruler, Jesus, humanity, and restoration of humankind from sin. Based on the Christianity beliefs, individuals are influenced to act based on the teachings by Jesus Christ demonstrate attributes such as love, patience, self-control, and obedience, among other vital virtues. Therefore, Christians need to embrace all the stipulated worldviews since it serves as a handbook that guides the different aspects of their lives.
References.
Bible, H. (1989). New Revised Standard Version Bible.
Cooling, T. (2010). Transforming Faith: Teaching as a Christian vocation in a secular, worldview- diverse culture. Journal of Education & Christian Belief, 14(1), 19-32. Web.
DiVincenzo, A. (2014). The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life. Phoenix, AZ: Grand Canyon University. Web.
Hackett, C., C & McClendon, D. (2020). The World’s largest religion by population is still Christianity. Pew Research Centre.
Hiles, J. & Smith, A. F. (2021). Evaluating Wisely. GCU, The Beginning of Wisdom: An Introduction to Christian Thought and Life.
Oliver. R. C. (2019, Sept. 27). Repentance, a Condition of Salvation. Clinton.
Pasely, M. (2021). Practical Wisdom. GCU, The Beginning of Wisdom: An Introduction to Christian Thought and Life.
