"How Do I Know That God Exists?" Series

The psalmist says, "The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God,’" (Ps. 14:1a). According to the Bible, belief in God is a matter of common sense. Why? Because of the evidence that exists.

The atheist is not convinced there is any evidence that God exists. To be sure, it is difficult for anyone to provide direct evidence. The Bible acknowledges this: "No one has ever seen God," (Jn. 1:18). However, there is ample indirect evidence which is very compelling.

We need to be reminded, however, that no figure of history can be experienced through sight, sound, or touch. The existence of any historical figure has to be authenticated indirectly, not directly. Yet hardly anyone doubts, say, that Abraham Lincoln once lived. In fact, we would think the person who had doubts to be a fool. Well, on the same type of evidence that convinces us that Abraham Lincoln once lived, we can be convinced that God exists.

Why you should believe in God -

There are five basic arguments referred to in Scripture that provide evidence for the existence of God.

A. The Cosmological argument - How could there be anything if there wasn’t a Cause (God) who was Uncaused?

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." ~ Rom. 1:20

You see, every effect must have a cause. Each of those causes must itself have a prior cause. If we follow this line of logic back far enough, we reach a point where we have two choices. Either there is an unending chain of causes that goes back forever, or there must have been a "first cause" that was not caused by something prior. It is more reasonable to say there was a first cause (God) who started the whole chain of cause and effect.

Skeptics ask, "Who caused God?" The answer must be "No one." Why? Because if God had a cause, He would not be the "first cause," but would be at least second in line. This means He wouldn’t then be God, for by definition, God is the SUPREME BEING! He wouldn’t be very supreme if He wasn’t the first cause.

B. The Teleological argument - How could there be design in the world if there was no Designer (God)?

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." ~ Ps. 19:1-4

Suppose I show you a car. Four tires made of rubber, nylon, and steel cords connected to two axles and a steering column. It has a steel body with four doors, glass windows, and comfortable seats. There’s a heater, an air conditioner and an AM/FM radio. Under the hood, there’s a six cylinder engine. It has a beautiful paint job and chrome trim..

You ask me where it came from and I tell you, "People say the Ford Motor Company built it, but I have my own idea. It came out of the garbage dump. One night during an electrical storm, pieces of metal, plastic, rubber and glass were hit by lightning. The molecules were changed and molded together, and in a billion to one chance, when the storm was over, this car was just sitting there."

I would make as much sense as those who say, "The universe happened by chance."

C. The Ontological argument - Where would people get the idea of a Perfect Being (God) except from God Himself?

"God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ’We are his offspring.’" ~ Acts 17:27-28

Paul said the Athenians had an innate concept of God. This is the ontological argument. Anselm, the archbishop of Canterbury (1033-1109) put it this way:

1. The idea of a perfect being exists.

2. To be "perfect," God must be greater than any other being we could conceive.

3. A real God would be greater than an imaginary one.

4. God cannot exist only in imagination, for then He would not be a perfect being.

5. Therefore, God must exist in reality.

To believe that God exists only in our imagination is a logical contradiction.

Mankind has always had the desire to worship something higher than himself. Every culture has some innate desire to connect with the Divine. Why? Could it be that a higher being exists in reality? Think about it. All our physical needs are met by things that exist in reality. For example, we get hungry - there is food. We get thirsty - there is water. We need oxygen to breathe - oxygen exists in the air. The contention is that since this is true in the physical, it is also true in the spiritual.