How Can I Know If God Exists? Series

GodQuest Series

How can I know if God exists?

Romans 1:18-32

The external testimony of Creation

The universe has a Beginner (Romans 1:20; Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1)

The universe has a Designer (Romans 1:18-20; Genesis 1)

The internal testimony of our Conscience

Mankind has a knowledge of God (Acts 17:24-28) (Romans 1:28)

Mankind has a knowledge of right and wrong (Romans 2:14-15)

Slide

Good Morning. Welcome to Hickory Creek.

I am so glad you are here today as we begin a new series called GodQuest.

Series Intro

In this quest, we will be seeking to ask and answer questions that will help us know for ourselves and be able to communicate to others, answers to some of life’s most deep felt questions in regards to God that we have most likely thought at one time or another and that our society has asked and continues to ask

How can I know if God exists?

Can I trust the Bible as God’s word?

If there is a loving God, why is their evil and suffering?

What about the evidence for evolution in contrast to the creation account in the Bible?

And is Jesus really the only way? Can’t there be other ways?

We will be looking to answer all of these over the coming weeks, but this morning, we are going to begin with a place that we must start to truly answer the other questions.

Sermon Intro

How can I know God exists?

Slide

Now some people just seem to know and believe God exists, while others don’t believe there is a God at all.

Is there any evidence that we can look at to discern if there truly is a God, or is it just something you have to believe or not believe?

How can we know the truth regarding if there is a God or not?

Now this morning, we are going to look into God’s word and seek to see if what He says about knowing Him is true. Maybe, however, you say, well I don’t believe in God, so why would I trust His word?

Well, this morning, it is not as if you have to trust it, but we want to test what it tells us against what we find in Real life.

Turn with me to Romans 1:18-32

Slide

Here we are going to learn of some evidence that God tells us that points to Him and that He has given us so that men can know of his existence. Not only that we are going to see in these passages what happens when we refuse to believe the evidence He has given us.

Let’s begin.

Romans 1:18-32

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 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.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.