I want you to think about this question for a moment…how would you answer it? We can’t see a tangible presence, we can’t touch him, weigh him or measure him in any way with our senses but we believe in Him, why?
There are plenty of things we can’t measure this way but we still believe exist chief among them love. Tell me what love taste like, what it looks like, what it sounds like even what it feels like we know the results of love but love itself does not really exist to our senses but we believe in it.
As Christians, we know that God is Spirit (John 4:24) so we should not be surprised that unlike our dog, house, car i-phone we can not sense Him in the same way, usually because He is spiritual and all of the things I just described are not.
Personal connection
If you are like me, you have a testimony of how the Lord drew you to himself and some way a feeling came over you that all of a sudden you knew you had a relationship with the living God
You may have had a time where you “felt” his presence, “knew” his leading, understood His heart for a certain situation. All of these things are evidence to you that God exists and we pray it will be enough evidence for others but some will say, “that is just emotion or wishing, there is no proof”
Many can argue that a belief system is not correct and some will be persuaded that their belief system is wrong but for the person with a testimony no one can dissuade them from the truth they live in.
Paul used this type of argument often as we see in Acts 26:12-16
One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. 13 About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. 14 We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’ 15 “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. 16 Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.
He used this to try to convince King Agrippa to faith
Once again that is still not proof for some so let’s point to some evidence that may help.
- The Existence of the Universe In 1915 Einstein came up with the theory of general relativity this theory in summary impacts cosmology this way.
Einstein’s equations can be used to describe the universe as a whole. On the basis of general relativity, physicists, mathematicians and astronomers have developed the so-called big bang models. They describe how our universe evolved from an extremely hot and dense early phase to its present state.
A key property of these models is that the universe has to change over time. Einstein’s equation simply do not allow for a stable, eternally unchanging cosmos. (Big Bang) According to the big bang models, any universe has to either expand or collapse. Our own universe is expanding, with characteristic consequences for astronomical observation.
If this is true Science’s own Albert Einstein proves the existence of God, How you might ask?
If there was a beginning of the universe how did nothing and nothing come together to create something?
Here is the way science would put it everything with a beginning must have a cause.
The universe by definition is time, space, matter and physical energy and the cause must be outside of these elements which sounds like God.
The argument to this is OK if this is true then that everything needs a cause who caused God. The problem with this question is that the only things that need a cause are, as I mentioned earlier, things with a beginning. When Moses asked God who should I say has sent me this was God’s reply
Exodus 3:14
God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”
The Hebrew is saying God is, always was, and always will be without beginning or end.
Psalm 90:2 and 1 Timothy 1:17 verifies this
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
We can summarize the cosmological evidence this way
- Whatever begins to exist must have a cause for its existence.
- The universe began to exist.
- Therefore, the universe must have a cause for its existence.
- The attributes of the cause of the universe (being timeless, existing outside of space, and so on) are the attributes of God.
- Therefore, the cause of the universe must be God. This is precisely what Christians have always believed. The very first words of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, declare, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
2) A world exactly created for life
When we take time to look at creation and “witness” how perfectly designed it is…the flowers, the trees, the way our lungs work to pump oxygen our hearts to pump blood. The perfect mix of gases in our atmosphere to sustain life
Psalm 19:1 says this
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.
The perfect system of nature should prove God’s existence—the laws and physical constants that govern all the matter in the universe—appear to be precisely balanced and finely tuned for life to occur and flourish.
Some of the perfection and fine tuning
if the neutron were not exactly as it is—about 1.001 times the mass of the proton—then all protons would have decayed into neutrons or all neutrons would have decayed into protons, and life would not be possible.
If the force of gravity, for example, were to change by one part in ten thousand billion, billion, billion, relative to the total range of the strengths of the four forces in nature (gravity, electromagnetism, strong, and weak), conscious life would be virtually impossible anywhere in the universe.
Scientist have discovered 50 of these fine tuned parameters that if they were not exactly so, then life would not be able to be sustained. What makes it more interesting is that each of these parameters is dependent on the others to maintain what they are, that sounds like design to me.
Paul Davies, one of the leading physicists and cosmologists of our day, makes this audacious claim: “I cannot believe that our existence in this universe is a mere quirk of fate. . . . We are truly meant to be here.”* That’s quite a statement for one who doesn’t even claim to believe in a personal God! *Paul Davies “The mind of God”
3) Basic morality of the universe –
We talked last week about the evil and suffering in the world but we also talked about an objective morality
Except for some mentality disturbed people, the majority of the world has a basic understanding of good and evil
Why is murder, rape, violence toward children generally determined to be morally wrong?
There is nothing in the DNA or in the process of evolution that would cause a conscience to be developed. Morality is not based on DNA or any biological factor it is something that is felt and believed as simply being right.
No one believes that morals have developed out of a quagmire of ooze but if not, where did they come from?
I quoted part of this last week from John Steinrucken’s article “Secularisms on going debt to Christianity”
“An orderly society is dependent on a generally accepted morality. There can be no such morality without religion. Has there ever been a more perfect and concise moral code than the one Moses brought down from the mountain? Those who doubt the effect of religion on morality should seriously ask the question: just what are the immutable moral laws of secularism?”
For atheist it is called the problem of good because there is simply no way from their point of view to explain an objective morality
So where did this intrinsic morality come from…God is the answer! Goodness flows from the very nature of God and even those who do not know God, recognize the basics of right and wrong because of it. Paul puts it this way
Romans 2:15
They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
We can put this evidence in the form of a simple argument:
- If God does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist.
- But we know that objective moral values do exist.
- Therefore, God does exist.
I’m not saying that atheists cannot recognize moral values or live generally moral lives. I’m certain they can. But recognizing something and even living by it does not mean that one has a real basis for it. The “moral” atheist is simply left hanging in midair on this issue, without any solid footing
Review
– there are some things we believe in like love that we can see the effects of but not see love so we already have a basis to believe in things we can’t see, or touch
– we can know God is real and active because of our own testimony
– the universe has a beginning so therefore it has a cause and that cause most come from outside time, space, matter, and physical energy… therefore God
– our universe is fine tuned to such an exact measure that to assume it happened by chance is a greater gamble than to believe in God
– apart from an objective morality there is no good. There can be no objective morality without God yet there is objective morality so there must be a God.