"The heavens declare the
glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1)
We are constantly challenged by
atheists, skeptics and hecklers to prove that there is a God. It is difficult
for natural man to believe in something that he cannot see, touch or
feel. (I Corinthians 2:14).
The problem for the child of
God is solved with the first verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:1). The
Bible is not a textbook that attempts to prove the existence of God, the Bible
opens with a positive fact that God does exist.
It did not occur to any of the
writers of the Bible to prove this fact. The Bible plainly states that it is
the fool who denies the existence of God (Psalms 14:1). Anyone
with any intelligence would acknowledge the evident fact of a living God. The
greatest proof apart from Scripture of the existence of God is our daily
fellowship with Him in prayer.
The Bible never tries to prove
there is a God. It assumes that man knows that there is a God, and says, "The
fool hath said in his heart, there is no God". There are many
evidences of the existence of God.
THE ARGUMENT FROM THE
CONSCIENCE
That which is in man, sometimes
called the "first truths", that belief that knows
that there is a God without anyone revealing that fact. A child knows there is
a God. Who has told him? All races of the world know there is a God, though
they are not worshiping the One and Only and True God (Romans 2:15). The
existence of God is written in the human conscience (Acts 17:23). Conscience
told them that there was a God though they did not know Him personally.
Some atheists may claim that
their conscience does not tell them about God. It is doubtful if a genuine
atheist can be found for at best they are men who have stilled their conscience
by blatant unbelief. Some men are so blind that they may deny the existence of
the sun in the sky but that does not alter the fact that the sun exists, rises
and sets each day. None are as blind as those who refuse to see. The honest man
will find that the inner still small voice says that God exists and is alive
today.
Men deny the existence of God
not because they cannot find Him but because they are afraid to face the
responsibility of being accountable to Him after death. Atheism is one of the
devils tools to put men to sleep without accepting salvation. If there is no
God then I am not responsible to anyone and I can live and die as I please. But
in the quieter moments of reflection the conscience of every man
whispers, "There is a God" and only fools deny it.
The evidence of the existence of God is in man, born in him.
To look up and see a plane and
not see the pilot and say that the plane is pilotless is as ridiculous as
looking into the heavens and saying that there is no God simply because we
cannot see Him.
THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT (Romans
1:20)
This is the argument from cause
and effect. Here is the world, how did it come to be? There is a Cause or Power
behind everything. There must be a Maker or Creator someone must have caused it
to come into being at one time or another. It is easy to think that back of the
Creation is God, but it is impossible to think back of God.
If all the pieces of a watch
were placed in a can and the can shaken gently for a million years the watch
would not be "accidentally" put together and
running. Someone operates the universe. The only sensible answer to the problem
of the existence of the world is the existence of an intelligent Being whom we
call God.
THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
A watch not only exists but it
has a designer. It was planned for a specific purpose. It was designed by a
keen mind for the purpose of accurately telling the time. An examination of the
world and the things large and small shows that each is designed by an
intelligent mind for a specific purpose in life. There is perfect design and
order in the universe.
The snowflake is a beautiful
pattern that man could never duplicate. Why does ice rise to the top of the
water and not to the bottom when it freezes? Should this not be so, than all
water would eventually freeze, and the fish would perish! How is it possible
that spring, summer, fall and winter all come in order, and have been doing so
for millenniums? Why is it that the sun comes no closer to the earth (melting
it) nor goes further away from it (freezing it)? There must be a Designer
behind all creation, and that Designer is God!
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
Man has an intellectual and
moral nature showing that the Creator must not be merely an inanimate force but
a living, intelligent moral Being, (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalms 94:9). Conscience
teaches man right and wrong, good and bad; for the creator is a moral being
that is holy, and loves righteousness but abhors evil.
Man is a direct result of the
creation of God, as other creatures are, yet these creatures do not possess the
moral and intellectual qualities of man. Why? If man could create them, so
could animals. But man has the capacity to know, to reason. If man did not get
these qualities from some One, where did he get them?
FROM HISTORY
Truly, history is His story!
History verifies the fact that there is a God. History has proved the fact of
God against those who have repudiated His law. Thus, Christians should never
worry over world conditions. God is on His throne. Nothing can happen, but by
His will. History only fulfills what God has said would happen. History proves
there is a God!
FROM EXPERIENCE
This is one of the greatest
proofs yet for the existence of God. Men have been transformed by the power of
God. There is no explanation other than God! Prayers which have been answered
attest to the existence of God.
THE LIFE ARGUMENT
Life comes from life and the
original life must have come from a being possessing eternal life, that is,
life that existed before physical life was created. Where can such life be
found? It can only be found in God who possesses eternal life (Psalms
36:9). The apple tree gets its life from the parent tree, the lamb
from the mother sheep. But where did they get life from? We have to go back to
the original creation. All life proceeds from God (John 11:25;
14:6). The theory of spontaneous generation has been proved false and
completely unacceptable to authoritative science.
THE BIBLICAL ASSUMPTION
The Bible is the only Book that
is God inspired. The Bible is the standard for all right conduct in the world.
If the Bible is not the Word of God, then we have no God; we can never know
God. The person who accepts Scripture will readily acknowledge the existence of
God.
CRISTOLOGICAL REVELATION
In Jesus, God came down to man
to tell us what He is like. If Jesus in not God, then there is no God. God can
never be know (John 1:18). But Jesus is God manifested in
the flesh, and He and His life proves the existence of God!
PROFETICAL DECLARATION
God forecast the future. Anyone
who can do this is more than man. Man cannot always tell the past, much less
the future. When Christ was crucified there were twenty five distinct
prophecies fulfilled, prophecies written centuries before.
THE ARGUMENT FROM CONGRUITY
The theory of atheism solves no
problems but only multiplies unsolved mysteries. The acceptance of the
existence of God as Creator of the world is like a magic key that fits all the
facts of Scripture, revelation, knowledge and science. This irrefutable doctrine
is held tenaciously by multitudes of souls who are willing both to live and die
in the consolation of this assurance.
Atheism which is only doubt and
unbelief can only lead to darkness and despair for the one accepting it. The
acceptance of Genesis 1:1, leads a sincere seeker into the
path of a fuller revelation of God Himself. Let us come as children in simple
faith, based on the revelation of God in scripture and nature, believing and
trusting Him completely (Hebrews 11:6).
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