Should Christians Care What the World Believes?
- lukegoulds92
- Jun 17, 2022
- 3 min read
Should Christians care what the world believes? The short answer is yes. However, there are issues that some people have with this answer. “Why should we care what the world believes?”, some may ask. There are three main reasons why one should care.
First, believing a lie will send someone to Hell.[1] In certain worldviews, it does not matter what one thinks as long as everyone is going in the right direction.[2] Such is not the case in reality. The truth is that everyone must think the same thing religiously in order to go to the same place.[3] The condition of one’s soul depends upon their worldview. If Christians do not care what the world is thinking, then they do not care about souls. Maybe some believers do not care because they have not experienced unbelief. Christ Himself became flesh in order that He might understand the temptation of unbelief.[4] Likewise, it is important that Christians understand the dangers of false doctrine and care about what others are thinking to save them from an eternal Hell.
Second, not everyone speaks the same language. In today’s religious world, faith is understood to contain no works on the part of the believer. Predestinated salvation is understood by some people to be unconditional on the part of the believer. How one understands and communicates Biblical terms is very important. Sadly, there are brethren who think that studying worldviews and denominational doctrines are a waste of time. What if an English-speaking person wanted to communicate to a Spanish-speaking person? The best approach is to learn Spanish. More importantly, the best approach to converting someone with a false worldview is to learn their language. Paul exemplified this approach as he spoke to the Athenians. He examined their religion before knowing how to communicate to them.[5] He did not start quoting Old Testament passages, because he knew they did not understand religion the same way that he did. Like Paul, Christians should become all things to everyone, so that they may by all means save some.[6]
Third, what the world is thinking may corrupt the church. Some brethren oppose sermons that mention and expose worldviews, including denominational doctrines. For example, one brother said, “We don’t need to preach what the denominations are doing. We just need to preach the truth.” It is true that the church needs to hear the truth, but they also need to be warned about what is false in order to abstain from it. Paul said to expose the unfruitful works of darkness.[7] Jesus warned his followers about false prophets.[8] Christians who care about what the world is thinking care for those who can be easily led away. Not only do people need to know what error is, but they need to know why it is error. One of the best examples is the book of Galatians. Paul spent roughly five chapters showing the implications and the end goals of Judaism. What the world was thinking had already affected the first-century church. Paul cared and so should others.
In conclusion, Christians should care what the world is thinking because souls are lost, because everyone communicates differently, and because what the world thinks must not corrupt the church. Every Bible believer needs the kind of passion that Christ and Paul had in order to seek and save the lost.
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