God’s image according to christian worldview

The Christian worldview is very distinct, it generally contains the belief that God created the universe, and that sin came into the world shortly after through Adam and Eve disobeying God. That God later sent his son Jesus to die on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and that faith in him is the only way to heaven. The Bible is God’s word for us that tells us who God is, how to handle problems of this world, and the story of Jesus coming to earth, and His life, as well as the promise of His return to earth someday.

God:

According to the Christian worldview, God is all knowing, and all powerful. He is the creator of the universe and He transcends time itself, He always was and always will be. God created the universe, the Heaven and the Earth in six days. The way he created was simply by speaking it into existence. For example in Genesis 1: 3 God said, “ Let there be light, and there was light.” According to the Bible there are three different individuals that make up one God, this is called the Trinity. Each form of the Trinity is mentioned many times throughout the Bible, Matthew 28: 19 is a good example of a time the whole Trinity is mentioned, it says “ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These three forms, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all make up the one true God, the God of the Bible. This can be seen in God creating man as well, when God says “ Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness” in Genesis 1: 26. God is referring to himself in a plural form, using the words us and our, because he is a plural being, the Trinity. Even though God is three beings, he is still one God and is consistent in character in all forms. There are many characteristics that make up God, all of which he holds in their purest form. For example love, God loves unconditionally, something that we as humans cannot do. God also is characterized by mercy, and grace, Luke 6: 36 says “ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” God is dependable, He is always there watching over and protecting His creation, and He hears all prayers directed towards Him. Most importantly God is forgiving, if God did not hold this characteristic mankind would have no hope. It is through God’s forgiveness that mankind has the opportunity to spend eternity with him in paradise. God gave us this opportunity for forgiveness by sending his Son to die on the cross for our sins. In Acts 2: 38 Peter says, ““ Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This shows that it is through Jesus Christ, the Son, that mankind can be forgiven of their sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is eternal life in heaven.

Humanity:

Humans were created in God’s image, this included being sinless just as God is. However this sinless humanity did not last long, in Genesis 3: 6 Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit after being tempted and lied to by Satan, and introduce sin into the world and human nature. From this point on sin became a part of human nature, it is unescapable and something every human must deal with. This is the root cause of human problems, without sin there would be no problems, the world would be an absolute perfect place. It is because of Adam and Eve disobeying God and eating the forbidden fruit, thus bringing sin into the world this is called the fall of man. The fall of man is the reason that mankind faces the problems that it does, such as war, greed, pain, slavery, murder, poverty, and every other problem on the face of the earth. Any problem mankind faces can be traced back to sin, which can be traced back to the fall of man. However, humans still are made in the image of God and have a longing to know him, and a sense of right and wrong. Human purpose according to the Christian worldview is to live a life that is pleasing to God, this means doing their best to resist temptation to sin, and putting their faith in God that he will keep his promises, and believing Jesus died for their sins and that without him there is no hope. On top of this human purpose is to tell others of what they know and believe so that more can be saved from Satan’s deception. Human purpose also is to enjoy God’s creation and take care of it for the future when God returns to take it back.

Jesus:

Many people today have different opinions as to who Jesus is. Some say he was just a man, some don’t even believe he existed at all, some say he was a religious leader, and some believe him to be what he truly is, and that is God in human form. Jesus is the Son part of the Trinity, he is God’s Son sent to die for the sins of the world, and he is also God. Jesus came to earth and lived life as a human with all the aspects of human life including pain, emotions, and hunger, but he was perfect, he lived a life completely without sin. Jesus died on the cross, but because he was without sin death could not hold him and he rose from the dead after three days. Before he died and rose again Jesus spent his life teaching and performing miracles. Jesus traveled and spoke to large crowds, or individual people professing about who He was and is. Jesus healed people that were blind, or crippled, causing people to believe that he truly is the Son of God. Jesus identity and the works He did while here on earth are the foundation of the Christian worldview. The words Jesus spoke and the actions he did serve as a model for the Christian on how to live life according to God’s plan. Jesus time on earth also provides proof that he is the Son of God, who was prophesized about in the Old Testament many times. So if God kept his promise of sending Jesus to die for our sins we can trust him to keep his promises about the future as well.

Restoration:

There are many proposed solutions to human problems, many people push for world peace, or a coexistence between the world’s religions to solve the problems of the world. However, this simply is not possible with the sinful human nature that was mentioned above. It is not until sin is removed from humanity that human’s problems will dissolve. In the Bible God promises that he will return someday and take back the earth, after which He will establish his reign as King and his people will live in paradise on earth with him.

Grace and Faith play a very big role in Christian salvation, without God’s grace we cannot have salvation. Our salvation comes primarily through faith and grace, Ephesians 2: 8 says “ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Without God’s grace in sending his Son to die for our sins we could not have the faith through which we have salvation. It is through faith that we as humans can connect with God, since we cannot physically see or touch him, but rather only his creation and his word, that we can have faith in him. Faith in God is based on holding true to the central tenets of the Christian message, these tenets would be that God created the universe and all that is within it, and that God sent his Son to die for the sins of the world, and the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. Rejecting these tenets would result in no faith in God (Vainio, 2016). Meaning one can believe that there is a God but not have faith in God. Faith is the key to having salvation from God. When a person gains faith in God, it changes the way they think and view life and the world. Christians believe that when you accept Jesus Christ as your savior God begins to work in your life, people repent of their sins and turn from their old ways to follow God. Meaning faith in God changes the way a person lives and thinks about life.

Analysis:

The Christian belief offers people hope. Life is hard, and can often leave people feeling like there is no hope or purpose for living. This is understandable for people who do not believe in God, after all if there is no God, life is just a short blip in time, and when you die it’s over and there is nothing, or possibly even worse than nothing is the uncertainty of what comes after death. But with God, there is hope, not only for an afterlife, but a perfect afterlife in paradise with him where there will be no pain or sorrow. God also gives us hope here on earth that we will get through the tough times in our lives. An article by Timothy Paul Erdel discusses how the book of Ruth gives hope in hard times. Erdel points out two interesting points as to why we have hope in the face of hardships, the first being because God knows and cares about our problems, and because God blesses those who trust him (Erdel, 2011). This is the kind of hope only Christianity has to offer, in no other religion can we find a god that not only knows about our problems but he also cares. The Christian belief offers hope through knowing that God has our best interest in mind and he will never turn his back on those who put their trust in him.

The Christian belief also offers forgiveness from past mistakes, and a way to know God personally. God offers us a clean slate, a chance to completely erase our past transgressions and follow him. In this way, Christianity also offers hope through a second chance at life so to speak.

However, Christianity is not easy by any means, it takes great faith. One thing that can be the hardest to grasp or confusing is the concept that God transcends time, he has no beginning or end. To us humans this is impossible to comprehend, everything we know has a beginning or its beginning can be traced. So the idea that God never had a beginning, that God was not made by anything or anyone, he has just been forever, is a very hard concept to grasp. On top of this perhaps the single most troubling question of this life is if God loves us than why does bad stuff happen to good or innocent people? Why would a child have cancer, or die? What good can possibly come from parents losing an infant or baby? Why do the parents of young children die in a car accident, but the drunk driver who hit them lives? These are situations that make it hard to accept that God is in control, or cause anger towards God. God has a plan and a purpose for everything, and he uses people’s pain to do great things, however we as humans often can’t see how any good can come out of a situation like this at the time of its happening.

True Christianity will influence every aspect of a person’s life. It can cause a shift in what a person sees as being right or wrong, which can in return affect the actions of that individual. Living out Christianity can change the way a person, acts, talks, thinks, and the activities they choose to or not to partake in. This shift can be described as restoration, which God desires for humanity over punishment (Merrick, ). Rather than punishing us for our sins, God would rather we repent from them and obey him.

Reflection:

Living out the beliefs of the Christian worldview is not always easy, it is a worldview that is becoming more and more controversial and unpopular. I personally live out the Christian Worldview by not giving in to the pressures of the world and standing for what I believe in, which is the word of God, the Bible. I do this by not partaking in sinful activities like gambling, stealing, doing drugs, premarital sex, partying, etc. I stand for what the Bible says primarily by the way I vote, voting to protect unborn babies, to uphold the sanctity of marriage according to the Bible as being between a man and a woman, and voting against anything else that contradicts the Bible or Ten Commandments. I also try to help others that are in need, and respect God’s beautiful creation that he has given us. I try to live in a way that is pleasing to God, but I mess up because I am human, but when I do mess up I ask God for forgiveness and anyone else that I may have wronged. I also continue to study God’s word and attend church to further grow in my faith and walk with God.

Conclusion:

In closing, the all-knowing, all-powerful God of the Bible who created the Universe and mankind ultimately wants nothing more than for us to know Him. Humanity separated itself from God in the Garden of Eden, but through Jesus Christ the Son of God we are offered a way back to God. If we put our faith in God we have hope that he will see us through the trials of this life, and that we will enjoy the paradise he has made for us for eternity when we die. That doesn’t mean life will be easy, or fair. Following God and living out the Christian Worldview today can be even harder than living a secular lifestyle. All we can do is our best, which is nowhere near being good enough to deserve God’s love but he loves us unconditionally because he is a God of grace and mercy. God is Good.