I am often astounded by those who profess Christianity but don’t seem to fully subscribe to Christianity according to the Bible. I don’t begrudge these individuals. I realize it may be a simple case of needing God’s grace and more growth in sanctification. In fact, the same could probably be said of me at some point and to some degree (assuming and accepting the idea I may have spiritual blind spots). Yet, I still lament the more glaring and obvious ways in which it seems Christians do not yield to the Scriptures and a biblical worldview. After all, being biblical is communicated in Scripture both directly and indirectly. One of the most helpful texts on biblical thinking?
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
– Romans 12:1-2 KJV 1
What’s clear from the text is that whatever we are, and are to become, requires transformation. How are Christians supposed to be transformed? After all, these are individuals who were once hostile toward God (Col. 1:21) that have now found grace and forgiveness (Rom. 8:1), and the “transformation” is in the middle/passive voice, meaning it’s something done that affects us. So, what makes us different? While there are several answers on how we are to be transformed–e.g., be a living sacrifice, trust Christ’s sacrifice, the Holy Spirit in sanctification, God Himself, etc.–we ultimately end up with God’s Word, the Scriptures, as a primary source of our transformation (Matt. 4:4; 2 Tim. 3:16).
Ultimately, the aforementioned passage in Romans deals with worldview, and Paul emphatically commands Christians not to be like the world and instead, constantly renew thought patterns so that they align with God. In this way, we are ever becoming uniquely biblical, and we should not think or go along with the thought patterns of the world.
At this point, being uniquely biblical requires a few caveats.
First, when I say, “uniquely” please don’t hear “individually unique.” I really mean Christians as a group being unique relative to the rest of the world (and relative to inauthentic Christianity), not unique as being the lone person with a “unique” brand of Christianity. We don’t need to create unnecessary divides. I know people like this. You probably know them, too. Many cults are started this way. Christian living was never meant to be as individualistic as some have made it. It’s okay (and healthy) to agree with other Christians. Pride-filled, divisive, and individualistic people claiming to be Christian are self-serving and not Christian (Rom 16:18).
Second and similarly, the text from Romans does not mean that we need to go out of our way to be the opposite of the world. If the world says, “the sky is blue” we shouldn’t automatically say, “the sky is red.” That is being a contrarian, which is not Paul’s point. Christians simply need to champion the truths expressed in Scripture and hold them consistently. Paul had already made the case in the previous chapters that true Christianity is at odds with sin and the worldview of his day. He knows that such opposing worldviews will continue because of sinful man’s nature (Rom. 3:9-23)
Finally, in order to be uniquely biblical, Christians must first subscribe to the idea that the Bible is absolute and supreme. It’s not enough to see the Bible as useful or helpful. No, it must be paramount in one’s life. It’s not merely a reference book with a bunch of good ideas, nor is it a self-help book; it’s God’s special and supernatural revelation of Himself to man. As Dr. Voddie Baucham coined it, the Bible is:
A reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report to us supernatural events in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their writings were divine rather than human in origin.
Thinking biblically will require us to go against what’s popular, even within Christendom. It will require that we look at everything through the lens of the Scripture. Being uniquely biblical should shape important areas like who we are, where we live, who we marry, what church we attend, having children (and how many), what we do with money, how we vote, how we entertain ourselves, how we dress, and much more. It can be a little disorienting to shake up these areas, but our faith calls us to so much more than conformity to the popular whims of the day. Our faith calls us to our Lord Jesus. It calls us to trust Him, and ironically, that’s through the Bible.