Why Do You Believe In God?

Video (4:26).

Here’s an example from real life. I was exchanging some emails with an agnostic friend of mine and I was using a form of the moral argument to explain to him why I believe in God. Here’s what he said: “Any claim to objective morals leads to intolerance, injustice and tyranny.” What’s wrong with this statement? He makes the assumption that intolerance, injustice and tyranny are objectively wrong. If they are, then he does believe that objective morals exist. If they’re not objectively wrong, then why does he think they’re such bad things?

Have you ever heard this: “There’s too much suffering in the world for God to be real”? Many people have denied that God is real because of the cruelty, injustice and evil in the world. Ironically, when they do this, they’re making the claim that these things really are wrong, which can only be true if there is some supernatural source of moral values. That doesn’t mean that God created evil, but that he created us with a choice between good and evil, based on real moral laws. Since people have chosen evil, there are consequences. So one of the most common reasons given for not believing in God can be used as support for the Moral Argument. Do you see the opportunities here? If someone tells you they don’t believe because of how bad the world is, you can ask them why they think those things are bad. Find out where they get their notion of morality. You can show them that God is the only plausible source of objective moral values.

That’s the essence of the moral argument. Objective moral law requires a Lawgiver. Moral law exists, so there must be a supernatural source, who we know, of course, as God.

Conclusion

So let’s review what can be learned about God without even opening the Bible. The cosmological argument shows that God must be eternal and uncaused and very powerful if he created the entire universe. The teleological argument shows us that God is highly intelligent if he designed such a complicated and functional universe. It also shows us that he pays a lot of attention to details. Finally, the moral argument shows us that God is a moral being. He created morality and he himself is completely good. It also shows us that he wants us to be good.

And above all, these three arguments point to the fact that God exists, he is real. Knowing this makes us want to learn more about him, and to see if he has revealed himself more specifically at any point in history. It’s in the Bible where we find this special revelation. It’s in the Bible where we learn what the penalty is for not living within God’s moral law. And where we learn the only solution for that penalty, the death of God’s own son, which we receive through faith. Faith begins with the understanding that God exists, but then it grows into something more than abstract logic and philosophy. It becomes a relationship. We’ll talk some more next week about how that relationship affects us, but now if there’s anyone who wants to put their faith in God for the first time and begin the relationship, there’s no better time than right now. Or if you want to join this church and let everyone here know about your faith or even if you just need to ask for the prayers of the church, you can do that during our invitation.

Note: I have handouts that go along with this if anyone is interested. The video I refer to can be ordered at http://www.zondervanchurchsource.com/product.asp?ISBN=0310245796