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Foundations of Faith |
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· Why Should I Have Faith When Evil And Suffering Are In The World? |
Does God Exist?
Introduction
1. Does God exist? Yes, God does exist! But not just because I believe it or say it.
2. Someday, if I ever deny His existence, He will still exist. The existence of God is not dependent on my recognition or my acceptance of Him.
3. There are many people who deny the existence of God. When they do this they end up diminishing their own existence more than they do the existence of God.
4. Sadly, faith is no longer a cultural expectation. We live in an age of skepticism, doubt, and unbelief.
5. Consider this: If God does exist, and if He created everything we see around us, then His existence is the most important thing we could contemplate.
6. Consider this also:
– If God does exist; He may expect me to believe that He exists and He may expect me to respond to Him in some particular fashion.
– And if I fail to meet this expectation, He may even hold me accountable for this failure.
Body
I. Does God exist?
I have already answered the question in the affirmative. But I understand, this doesn’t make it so.
A. The first order of business in a discussion of the existence of God is to define what we mean by “God”!
1. This is not easy to do. But I have to try. Based on the Bible, when I talk about God, I mean the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Creator revealed to us through Jesus Christ and the Bible as being:
(1) Without beginning or end
(2) Comprised of three personalities (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit)
(3) He has a great and deep love for human beings.
2. This is a vastly imperfect definition of “God”. However it is accurate as a general definition.
B. We can dispense with the ultra-extreme atheistic position. In order for a person to say (unequivocally) that there is no God, he would have to possess all knowledge (because it may be that the one thing this person does not know is that God exists). Only the most arrogant individual would take such an extreme position.
1. Most atheists are actually agnostics. They claim that a person cannot know whether God exists, and so they choose to fall on the side of unbelief (and adopt the irreligious lifestyle their unbelief demands).
2. They then claim that their anti-God stance is intellectually superior to those of us who believe in God (insisting that the burden of proof lies with us; that we have to prove God’s existence to them). I would argue that the burden of proof lies with the unbeliever: He has to prove that the physical world is all there is, which he cannot do.
C. Another point to think about: Why isn’t God’s existence so obvious as to render the efforts of unbelievers and deniers completely foolish and without merit? There are a few things to consider:
1. The Bible itself recognizes the fact that God is not always forcefully obvious (Job 23:8-9).
2. We have to consider the possibility that God is not obvious to us on purpose. He wants us to respond to Him voluntarily (by faith; not against our will).
3. God has provided just the right kind of evidence (and amount of evidence) so as to require humility and the correct learning skills so that the good and honest soul can properly interpret the evidence – without coercion.
4. Finally: It is God’s prerogative (not man’s) to determine when, where, and how He reveals Himself to us. Consider the fact that God provided evidence that is abundant and overflowing when He sent His Son, 2,000 years ago, to live and work among men. But some choose – wrongly – to deny the historical evidence and demand some kind of repeatable scientific proof from God – Examples: Luke 16:19-31 and John 20:24-29.
D. Speaking of evidence: It is sometimes said that it is impossible to prove the existence of God.
1. The truth is: We all weigh and consider evidence differently. Some people need more evidence (or persuasion) before making a commitment, others need less.
2. In one sense it is not possible to prove the existence of God.
(1) God does not have a physical body – so we can’t exactly weigh Him on a scale or measure Him with a tape measure.
(2) Nor can God be examined under a microscope or seen through a telescope.
(3) God is a spiritual being; not a physical being. His existence is beyond the scope of scientific investigation.
(4) Besides, God doesn’t have to condescend to our standards in order to “earn the right” to be believed in.
3. Another way to make a case for something is to present several lines of evidence that, although no single line of evidence is conclusive, many lines of evidence converge to make it possible to reach a reasonable conclusion. In other words, you present a kind of “legal case” based on “inferential proof”.
II. How do we know there is a God?
A. Since the Bible claims to be inspired of God (2 Tim.3:16-17), what answer does the Bible gives to this question?
1. God, the author of the Bible, makes no formal case for His existence. The Bible simply begins this way: Genesis 1:1. We shouldn’t be surprised by this. I have never picked up a book where the author begins by making a case for his own existence.
2. In the absence of any formal argumentation one has to speculate whether God is suggesting that if people are foolish enough to deny His existence, then they don’t deserve the effort it would take to persuade them otherwise.
3. Nevertheless, God has not left us without witness. There are important clues in the Bible as to how a person might go about establishing a case for the existence of God. Examples:
(1). The statement Pharoah made to Moses in Exodus 5:2. In response, at the behest of God, Moses gave overwhelming evidence (through ten plagues) that God was to be feared and obeyed!
(2). We don’t have miraculous power at our disposal today. But we do have the handiwork of God Himself, and it is beautiful, marvelous, and sometimes terrifying (Psalm 19:1). God has displayed His power in creation. Like Pharoah, we disbelieve to our doom.
B. The Biblical case for the existence of God:
1. The Bible presents a case for the existence of God based on cosmology (the existence of the world/universe): Hebrews 3:4; Job 12:7-10; Romans 1:19-20
(1) The Cosmological Argument is based on the general experience that everything in the universe (cosmos) is actually an effect that must have had a cause. Not only that, but every effect must have an adequate cause.
– If you were walking on the beach and found a watch lying on the sand, you would naturally assume that some able-bodied person(s) had produced it, and you would recognize it as a something especially suited for the purpose of displaying time. You wouldn’t say: “What a remarkable coincidence! All the parts randomly came together to produce this watch.”
– We would know immediately that this watch was no accident. We would know that it was caused, and we would know that it wasn’t caused by a school of fish or a flock of seagulls. The existence of that watch must have an adequate cause… and the only creature we know of that can create a watch is a human being.
– Even so, the universe, and all its parts, is an effect. Something had to have caused the effect (because something doesn’t come from nothing). And that cause must be God!
(2) The Teleological Argument is based on the idea that the universe demonstrates a high degree of organization, and that such characteristics imply a designer (or architect). Of course the Designer is God. Numerous examples of design in nature could be given.
Note: None of these arguments are invincible to the point that they can persuade every unbeliever to become a believer. As I said before, God stops short in providing unequivocal evidence for His existence. He gives us room to deny Him if that is where our prejudice and disposition leads us. If this argument (pointing to creation as evidence for God’s existence) has limitations, then it’s because God Himself has put these limitations in place. I maintain that it is reasonable to observe creation, and from this observation, come to the conclusion that God made all that we see around us. This the Biblical case for the existence of God.
2. The Bible presents a case for the existence of God based on morality and conscience: Romans 2:14-15
(1) Example of the reaction of the world when the first photographs of the concentration camp at Auschwitz were released following WWII. Intuitively, people of conscience knew that what had happened was wrong!
– Where did this recognition of right and wrong (this moral compass) originate?
– None of the arguments offered by the Nazis were satisfactory.
– All efforts to justify man’s inhumanity to man fail to satisfy us because they carry with them the subtle suggestion that morality is arbitrary. If morality is arbitrary, then suddenly, our world becomes a very dangerous place. Every person becomes a law to himself; which actually translates into lawlessness.
(2) The truth is: There are general moral principles that are universally recognized. It will not do to argue against this on the basis of thousands of hypothetical moral dilemmas or “what-if” situations (real or imagined) where right and wrong are ambiguous. Just because dusk and dawn exist doesn’t mean you can’t identify daylight or dark.
(3) The great thing about the moral argument is that once you get a handle on it you discover something amazing: The moral argument is not a description of how people behave; it is a prescription of how people should behave! In other words, it is right to be kind, and generous, and honest, and courageous, and just. It is wrong to be selfish, cruel, deceptive, abusive, and ungrateful. God created moral order. Therefore, God exists.
3. The Bible presents a case for the existence of God based on His activity in history:
(1). If it can be demonstrated that the Bible is Divinely-inspired (that it cannot be the production of a man or group of men), then it can be concluded that God exists. This wonderful truth can be demonstrated by pointing to several lines of evidence.
(2). Once the Divine inspiration of the Bible is established, there are a couple of directions you can take. In my judgment, the best “road to take” is that which focuses on the personality and ministry of Jesus Christ.
(3). This argument is used by Paul in Acts 17. See especially: Acts 17:30-31. What is interesting about Paul’s words is the response that followed. Some mocked and were disinterested. No doubt they considered themselves reasonable and intellectually elite. But then the Bible focuses on the smart ones. Based on Paul’s message, some believed (Dionysius the Areopagite, Damaris, and a few others).
Conclusion
1. There are other arguments and reasons to believe in the existence of God. It has been my purpose to highlight the arguments that are found in God’s own Word.
2. We need to be assured that we do not stand on shifting sand (when we believe in God). When we say “There is a God in Heaven,” we stand on immovable bedrock.
3. Jesus once said (John 14:1): “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” It is here that we come to the “holy ground” of faith. Faith in God is rational (as the arguments for God’s existence demonstrate). But there is much more. Faith in God must be personal.
4. God invites you to know Him convincingly and personally through His Son Jesus Christ.
Content by Brian Giselbach
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