What Does it Mean to Be "Biblical"?
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”—Phil. 2:12, 13
If you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed this adjective everywhere: biblical parenting, biblical friendship, biblical counseling. But what exactly does that mean?
According to Merriam Webster, to be biblical simply means “of, relating to, or being in accord with the Bible.” So if I desire to work out my salvation biblically, it means several things:
1. You are living in line with the Bible in your overall framework or worldview.
All of us have an overall worldview. These are the lenses through which you interpret life and the world around us. For an atheist, their belief that there is no God will frame their perspective far differently than one who is a believer.
Does your faith in God make any difference in how you see life?
2. You are living in line with the Bible in the content of what you believe.
This follows from our worldview. Because we believe in a creator God and we live under His sovereign rule, it follows that the Bible becomes the standard for our lives.
Conversely, if you embrace the worldview that there is no God, it makes sense that you function as your own God and the Bible has no authority whatsoever.
The problem is when we claim to be believers but pick and choose what we believe in God’s Word. Or worse, though we claim to follow Christ, we essentially function and live like non-believers, with no visible difference.
How much does the Bible’s teaching guide and impact how you live? Does it trickle down into your thinking and living?
3. You are living in line with the Bible in your character.
I particularly want to highlight this one because it is a personal challenge of mine. To a believer, the Bible is not merely a book of rules. It certainly serves this role, but it goes beyond that.
In my pursuit of doing what is biblical, I often get so wrapped up in finding out the truth—the content in point 2 above—that I forget that how I live is an expression of my worldview.
I can be 100% on point in my beliefs but am often guilty of expressing that truth in ungodly ways—with pride or in anger. Being biblical is not just merely getting the first two things right but getting the heart right. Character matters just as much as content.
God’s goal is that we are transformed from one degree of glory to another into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18, Rom. 8:29). That is the work He is committed to completing (Phil. 1:6).
Does how you speak and live back up what you profess to believe?
Conclusion:
If you are struggling to connect the dots, check these three things:
Are you living as if there is a sovereign God or do you live—though a believer—a functionally atheistic life?
Does God’s Word frame your thinking about reality, provide guidance for how you live, form the basis for what you say?
Have you sacrificed the heart of the Bible’s message and failed to display Christ’s character though you speak the truth?
Living biblically means living out God’s worldview as revealed in His Word, expressing it in Christlike forms. Philippians 2:12, 13 reminds us this takes work! It is a continual humbling process as God the Holy Spirit identifies these inconsistencies and shows us a different way to live. It takes faith to live out His Word. And it takes time to form the image of Christ in us. But when we do, God is delighted with the transformation, even if we are slow in the making, one degree at a time (2 Cor. 3:18).
Whatever we do, may we be biblical in how we look at life, how we think about life, and how we live our lives.
