Are you there, God?

As I have studied the past week for my message this Wednesday, I'm struck with the foundational belief that has come under attack in our world when it comes to recognizing the Scriptures for God's Word: one must first believe that there is, in fact, a God!

So, how do we know there is a God? I'll humor the doubters, and I won't start with Scripture...

First, we know that there is a God because our hearts confirm it! There is an inner sense within every human that there is something higher, something greater, some divine purpose to all of what is around us. Romans 1 talks about how people will deny their Creator, and "suppress the truth".

Secondly, the existence of God is confirmed in nature and in Scripture! Starting with Scripture, it never actually gives "proof" that God exists; He just does! And Scripture tells us that God has revealed himself through creation, so that we don't have to read the Bible to know that He does exist! In fact, creation itself gives us clues as to his attributes! EVERYTHING in nature screams "God made me!" From the tiniest molecule to the largest nebula, all are declaring the glory and power and sovereignty and majesty of Creator God!

But God doesn't stop there. He has even given us logical arguments as to the fact of His existence. He seeks to prove irrational the arguments that some would call rational, that He doesn't exist. In fact, Scripture calls this rational argument foolish. So what are these arguments?

Cosmological
The cosmological argument states that every known thing in the universe has a cause. Therefore, the universe itself has a cause. The cause of such a great universe can only be God.

Teleological
The teleological argument states that because the universe is in order, harmony, and design is apparent, God is the intelligent and purposeful Designer.

Ontological
This one is tricky; think about it. It begins by assuming that there is a God, and defining that God as a being "greater than which none can be imagined." The existence of this being is an attribute of that being, and because "to exist" is greater than "to not exist", God must exist. Trippy, no?

Moral
Here's another good one. Because we are moral beings, we have a sense of right and wrong. The argument is that there must be a God who is the ultimate source of this right and wrong, who will bring justice to all.


At this point, there are probably two groups of people we can classify. Some of you might be saying "How can one NOT believe in God??" You've got the idea. There are many at this point who would say "These arguments are not at all convincing, this does not prove that there is a God; I still don't believe." This is where man's sinful nature comes into play. Most of these are "manmade arguments", and as such are imperfect. God Himself actually has to make us capable of knowing Him! So, in a way, the very fact that we know that there IS a God proves that He does in fact exist!

Try Him in this! Ask Him to show you if He is there, or if He is not, and He will! You say "I don't believe, so why would I pray that..." and I say: Why would you NOT pray that?? If He's not there in the first place, you have nothing to fear, and He will not answer you. The fact that you are fearful of asking this proves your "empty faith" in nothingness, because you believe in your heart there is a God! (Point 1 proven)

The belief in God is not a "blind faith". Faith in God is a confidence through all of this overwhelming evidence!