Is There A God?

There are many people today who wonder whether there is a God. Maybe you are one of those people. Perhaps you have heard atheists argue against the concept of God, or you listened to lectures in college that made you wonder whether the whole idea of God is just a worn-out myth from the past. Or, maybe you have experienced things in life – like sadness and pain – that made you wonder how a good God could ever rule this world.

Not only does the Bible teach that there is a God, but it teaches that God can be known. In fact, the Bible gives us four clear evidences that demonstrate God’s existence.

Evidence #1 – Creation

Imagine that you are walking along on a fine summer day when you look down and there, on the sidewalk, is a cell phone. You have no idea how it got there.

Hold on – do you really have no idea how it got there? What if I told you that there had been a dust-storm, which blew the particles together in such a way as to form the phone. Would you believe me? Or would you call me a little crazy?

Listen to what one scientist said: “Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10-12 gms, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machinery built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.”

You wouldn’t believe me if I said the cell phone simply came out of nowhere. You know that someone had to create it. Yet do you believe that a cell – far more complicated than a cell phone – sprang out of nothing? Of course not. It was obviously created by a Being with immense wisdom and power. Creation implies a Creator.

The Bible says that God created everything, and that all of nature is evidence for God’s existence. It says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Everywhere we look, from the smallest atom to the greatest super galaxy, there is evidence of an all-wise, all-powerful Creator.

Evidence #2 – Conscience

Have you ever stolen something? Ever lusted over someone you weren’t married to? Ever cheated while playing a game? Did you feel bad afterward about these things?

You know that these things are wrong. Even if no one told you, you would feel guilty about these things. Where does this feeling of guilt come from? Guilt is a universal human feeling. Is it simply a socially-triggered response?

Of course not. You have felt bad about doing things that no one knew about. You can probably remember things right now that you did that were wrong, and you feel guilty about them, even though you were never ‘caught!’ Guilt is not just a socially-triggered response.

“But a sense of right and wrong is conditioned by our society,” you might respond. “I think that murder is bad only because I was taught to think that way.” It is true that our society teaches us many things. If you lived in a society where murder was normal, you might not think it was as bad.

Still, your conscience is not entirely learned. Surely you have been in a situation where everyone was encouraging you to do something that you knew was wrong. Your conscience told you not to do it, even though society thought it was o.k.!

The Bible teaches that God gave man a sense of right and wrong (Romans 2:14-15). Even though people try to escape from that inner judge and suppress the truth, they can’t entirely flee from it.

Evidence #3 – Culture

The world is full of hundreds of cultures, people groups, and civilizations. While all the famous civilizations of history, such as the Romans, Greeks, Hebrews, Egyptians, Chinese, and Indians have believed in some sort of religion or spirituality, so have all the lesser-known societies, from the Eskimos of Canada to the Pygmies of the Congo.

Anthropologists once thought that they had found a truly secular society in the Aborigines of Australia. As far as they could tell, the Aborigines did not have any sense of the divine. Finally, here was proof that not all humans have an inborn realization that there is some form of divinity.

Unfortunately for them, the anthropologists were wrong. While the religion of the Aborigines was considerably different than most religions, it still had a sense of the divine. “Our people, before the white man came were very spiritual people. They were connected to land and creation through the great spirit, there was a good great and a great evil spirit.” These are the words of Wadjularbinna Doomadgee, who comes from the Aboriginal tradition of Australia.

All the atheists that I have met, while denying the existence of God, have created their own god and worshipped it – whether that god was money, pleasure, family, work, or relaxation, man naturally yearns for something to worship. He may not worship it by bowing before it and lighting candles, but he worships it by giving it first priority in his life.

The Bible teaches that man was created to worship God. Because of sin (disobedience to God), men have perverted the worship of the true God, but they still have a void that they seek to fill through worship.

Evidence #4 – Care

Part of my childhood was lived in Kansas, where – before the law was changed – young people could get their driver’s permit at 14. Since I started so young, I had plenty of opportunities to drive. I also had plenty of opportunities to kill myself, and I can’t tell you how many times I came within an inch of disaster! And yet, I’m still alive today.

You have probably had the same experience. You started to change lanes, only to realize in the very nick of time that you almost got run over by a semi!

How many times, after an experience like that, did you say “I was so lucky!” You probably have used that expression hundreds of times in your life.

Think about the odds of it – statistically, what are the odds that you should be alive? Think about how many car accidents you narrowly avoided. Statistically, shouldn’t you be dead by now?

We often attribute our good circumstances to luck or fortune. The Bible teaches, however, that God rules everything. Rather than crediting the stars, the Bible says, “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man” (Psalm 107:21)!

You are alive today only because God has given you mercy. But why does he give you mercy? 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

When Jesus came to the earth, 2000 years ago, he came with a simple message: “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repentance means turning away from sin. The gospel is the good news that Jesus is the divine son of God who came to earth to rescue men from their sins.

You are a sinner – someone who habitually offends God by dishonoring him in your life. You can’t do anything that will make God be pleased with you. Your only hope is to believe in Jesus, give up your own hopes and dreams to follow him, and live a life of obedience to him.

Jesus said he will come again to judge the world. That includes you. On the Day of Judgment, Jesus will punish wickedness with eternal death. Are you ready for that day?

In light of the incredible complexity of nature, will you ever be able to say to God “you didn’t give me enough evidence to believe that you exist?”