Introduction: One of the biggest questions that people all over the world struggle with is God’s existence. Is God real? If God exists then why doesn’t He give us more evidence? Why doesn’t He just show Himself once and for all to everyone and be done with it? If God does exist what are the implications for my life? These are all questions we are going to be grappling with today.
A certain college student attended a philosophy class which had a discussion about God’s existence. The professor presented the following logic: “Has anyone in this class heard God?”Nobody spoke .”Has anyone in this class touched God?”Again, nobody spoke. “Has anyone in this class seen God? “When nobody spoke for the third time, he simply stated, “Then there is no God.” One student thought for a second, and then asked for permission to reply. Curious to hear this bold student’s response, the professor granted it, and the student stood up and asked the following questions of his classmates: “Has anyone in this class heard our professor’s brain?” Silence. “Has anyone in this class touched our professor’s brain?”Absolute silence. “Has anyone in this class seen our professor’s brain?”When nobody in the class dared to speak, the student concluded, “Then, according to our professor’s logic, it must be true that our professor has no brain!”
Over the past 10 years we’ve seen a rebirth of a kind of virulent atheism in the West; a neo-atheism that is intent on driving God from the public consciousness. Atheistic evangelists such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris have all written best-sellers with titles like “God is Not Great,” “The God Delusion,” and “Letters to A Christian Nation.” So how do we respond to such ferocious attacks on the existence of God? We respond with truth. Jesus said you will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). It is incumbent upon every believer to be able to offer a well reasoned defense of their faith.
“…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet.3:15).
As believers we don’t have to check our brains in at the door. There is this connotation that Christians are simple-minded, uneducated, easily duped and given to superstition. But there are some very good intellectual reasons to believe in God. In fact some of the smartest people who ever lived believed in God (i.e., Copernicus, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Kepler, Descartes, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ben Carson, Francis Collins, etc).
Transitional Sentence: Let’s examine some of the evidence for God’s existence.
1. Evidence from Natural Revelation.
“18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For 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.1:18-20).
This verse is telling us that what may be known about God has been made plain through His creation and that we have no excuse not to believe in Him. So let’s take a look at some of the natural evidence God has given us.
a. Cosmological Argument (Argument from Creation). The creation itself testifies that God exists. This world didn’t come into existence by itself. The Law of Causation states that everything that begins to exist must have a cause. Nothing exists without a cause. The universe began to exist therefore the universe must have a cause. The cause of the universe must transcend the universe and have great power. The Bible tells us that Yahweh is the Great Uncaused Cause behind the universe (Gen.1:1). Not only did He create the universe and everything in it but He sustains it by the word of His power (Heb.1:3).
b. Teleological Argument (Argument from Design). The design of the universe is so complex that it could not have possibly happened by chance. Since all design implies there is a designer then the universe must have a supremely intelligent being who designed it. The complexity of God’s creation is stunning. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork.” Think about this for a moment.
• Earth is just one small planet in a galaxy called the Milky Way. The Milky Way is just one small galaxy in a universe of billions of galaxies.
• The earth is spinning on its axis right now at over 1,000 miles per hour.
• One second of energy given off by the sun is 97 million times greater than the average electricity used each year in the U.S.
• The nearest star is 4.24 light years from the earth. That’s about 24 trillion miles.
• If the earth were located any farther from sun we would freeze. If it was any closer to the sun we would burn up.
• If the magnetic forces of the earth were weaker or stronger life wouldn’t be able to exist.
• If the earth didn’t tilt on a 23 degree angle there would be no seasons and no crops.
• The human brain is more complex than any computer ever created. It processes more than a million messages a second.
• The human eye can distinguish between 7 million colors. It has automatic focusing and can handle an astounding 1.5 million messages simultaneously.
• In every cell in our body there exists a detailed instruction code similar to a computer program that tells it how to act and what to do called DNA.
• Every minute 50 million cells die in your body and are replenished.
• Your heart will beat 3 billion times in your lifetime.
• A single yeast cell has the same number of components as a Boeing 747.
• Did you know there are 450,000 species of beetles in the world?
In response to the complexity of creation Sir Fredrick Hoyle stated, “The universe arising from nothing is like a tornado sweeping through a junkyard and forming a 747.”
c. The Axiological Argument (Moral Argument). Since all men are aware of an objective moral law, then there must be a supreme moral Law giver. This is evidenced by the fact the humans tend to hold the same things to be morally abhorrent (i.e., rape, murder, molestation, torture, etc). Every human being has a conscience that tells them what is morally right and wrong. The existence of the conscience proves there is a God.
d. The Argument from Human Experience. This argument states that the things we experience as humans proves there is a God. Things like love, sacrifice and beauty. How do we have any concept of beauty if there is no God? Personally, I believe that this is one of the most powerful evidences. Naturalism teaches the survival of the fittest. So if Naturalism is true how do we account for love and sacrifice? How do we account for people who risk their lives to save others? Love and sacrifice exists because God exists. What about all of those whose lives have been changed? The apostle Paul was a radical terrorist. He killed other Christians. Yet his life was completely and totally changed. How do we explain that except for God? How do we explain that people are drug addicts, alcoholics, and the like and their lives are transformed? God must be real because He changes lives. How do we explain the existence and growth of the church if God doesn’t exist? For 2,000 years the church has been attacked and assaulted and many have tried to destroy it, but it is alive and well and growing. How do you explain that if there is no God?
2. Evidence from Special Revelation.
God has not just left His fingerprint upon nature He has given us special revelation concerning His existence in the Bible. The Bible never tries to prove God’s existence it simply states that He is. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen.1:1). To the skeptic God says, “The fool has said in his heart there is no God” (Ps.14:1). According to the Bible God has always existed. There has never been a time when God did not exist. The Scripture tells us that He is from everlasting to everlasting (Ps.90:2). He is the Ancient of Days (Dan.7:22). No one created Him He and He is not reliant on anyone else for life and breath. He is self-existent. The Bible is His story. It’s God revealing to us who He is and what He wants from us. It’s a story of God’s power being wrought through miracles and signs and wonders. But God’s greatest revelation was through Jesus Christ.
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being…” (Heb.1-3).
God became man and dwelt among us (Jn.1:14). He lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose from the dead. He came to save us from our sins and our rebellion. He came to redeem us from our wandering. Through His Holy Spirit He pursues us and woos us as a lover woos his beloved.
Transitional Sentence: In light of all of this evidence there will still be people that say “It’s not enough.” Why doesn’t God just appear to everyone leaving no doubt and be done with it?
In the Old Testament God did just that very thing. He appeared to the Israelites in Egypt delivering them from slavery. He struck Egypt with 10 plagues. He parted the sea and they went across on dry land and He drowned Pharaoh’s army in the midst of the sea. He provided manna everyday for them. He gave them water from the rock. He made sure their clothes and shoes never wore out. He lived with them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Nobody had to wonder if God existed back in that time. All they had to do was to look up and there they would see God. But did it make them believe? God was right there and yet they still wanted to go back to Egypt. Did it make them holier? No! It’s remarkable that the only generation that God actually appeared to and lived with all died in the wilderness. So obviously seeing God doesn’t equate into holy or obedient living. If it did all of the Israelites would have crossed over in the Promised Land. God wants us to trust Him, love Him and be obedient to Him from a willing heart. Forced love is no love at all.
God gives us enough evidence to believe yet leaves enough doubt to give us the opportunity to reject Him. God stays hidden so as not to destroy our free will. He gives us space to respond to Him or reject Him. For Him to outright prove His existence and remove all doubt would require people to serve Him out of obligation for fear of being punished rather than love. When we serve Him out of obligation it is mere religion. It does not come from a willing or loving heart. So God hides so that those who are really seeking Him will find Him. That’s why Jeremiah 29:13 says that we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart. So if you’re looking there is more than enough evidence. If your heart is shut then there will never be enough evidence. One of these days the Bible tells us that every eye will see Him (Rev.1:7), but until then we have to walk by faith. For those who walk by faith there is a special blessing. Jesus told Thomas that blessed are those who have not seen and believed (John 20:29).
Conclusion: So if God is real; if He really does exist then what are the implications for my life? If God is real that means that He created us and that Jesus died for us. It means that we are not accidents waiting to happen. It means that God has a purpose for our life.
So what do we do?
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Ps.34:8).
God invites us to taste of Him and see that He is good. He invites us to come to Him and drink the water of life (Isa.55:1). When we drink of that water we will never be thirsty again. God does exist; He is real and He wants you to come to know Him. So taste and see!
