Subject: Existence of God
Scripture: Isaiah 1.18
Sermon: Is there a God?
Scope: This sermon should challenge every believer in their faith and confront every unbeliever in their lost-ness.
Summary: There is a God who has revealed Himself and a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ is the only way to have a right relationship with Him.
Segue: Let’s reason together today over the precepts surrounding the existence of God.
Introduction: There are certain truths we hold as basic. These basic truths are accepted universally with little or no proof. For instance, through out the world 2 + 2 = 4 is accepted as a universal truth. Apart from those who are color blind the color of the words of this sentence would be accepted universally as Red. So also, is the statement “It is wrong to kill people for fun” accepted as a basic inherent truth among all peoples.
My question is why? Why does 2 + 2 = 4? Why is red red and not orange? Who determined the standard by which we manage these truths? Most of these basic truths are believed because they were first expressed to us by our parents. We accepted them universally based upon the word of other people primarily.
There are those who hold to the same thought when it comes to belief in God. Many such as John Calvin suggest that inherent within every human being there is a basic truth that tells us there is a God. While there are others who suggest like Nietzsche who boldly proclaim that “God is dead!”
If the present continuing debate about the issue of God is any indication God must exist. However, if you grab the yellow pages and peruse the church section with its many churches and denomination you may come away with the conclusion that if God does exists either He is schizophrenic or we have no clue about who He is or what He wants.
This morning I want to tackle the question, “Is there a God.” And, if there is who He is and what He wants from us.
As St. Thomas Aquinas suggests if we don’t exist then there is no point in going on. This leads to another question; “Can the existence be proven logically or is it merely a matter of the heart and emotions?” The philosopher Pascal said it is a matter of the heart and not reason. However, St. Thomas Aquinas suggests it is an act of the intellect simply conceding to what the heart already knows.
To be intellectually honest I must admit that I come to this question with the premise that God does exist and that and He has revealed Himself to us through His Holy Word the Bible. With that said I believe God answers the heart verses logic question in His Word. I believe His answer is yes to both. I believe that God’s Word bears out that St. Thomas was right. For instance, the Bible says “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10.9-10).” This passage teaches that the heart and the mind work together in the conclusion that God is real and the He came to redeem us from our sin. God makes it even more clearly in Isaiah 1.18 when He says, “come now and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson they shall be like wool.” God is inviting every human to come and reason of His existence and His redemptive plan. He states in this text that any reasonable person who works logically through the issues of the reality of God that he will come away with a full understanding that God exist and God came to redeem him from his sin.
So, this morning I want to take you on a journey. This journey will begin with the logical reason through the concept of God’s existence and will hopefully conclude in you having a true heart felt faith in the one true and living God. This journey will take us through several points of interest. We will begin with the reality of God’s existence. Then we will see the revelation of God to man. From there we will see God’s righteous requirement and the reality of sin. And, we will conclude with God’s redemption of man. So, let us start, well, at the beginning by turning to Genesis chapter one.
I. The Reality of God’s Existence (Gen. 1.1ff).
In Genesis Chapter 1 there are 31 verses and in those 31 verses the name of God is used 32 times. It stands to reason that while Genesis one gives a synopsis of the mechanics of creation that the real heart of the text is the person of creation rather than the pattern of creation. As summarized in the first three words of Genesis 1.1 this text is about the Creator. So, it is with the question of God’s existence that we want to start today. Obviously I have come to the conclusion that He does exist and my purpose today is to challenge you to come to this same conclusion. I want to do that by reasoning with you this morning. I want to begin with the most famous logical argument ever posited for the existence of God taken from St. Thomas Aquinas Suma Theologiae. So, we begin with “The Five Ways of St. Thomas Aquinas”.
First, we have the argument from motion. This argument speaks to the issue of creation. Most scientists today suggest that the world and universe as we know it began with a big bang at precisely 10-43 second. I don’t know who was there with their stop watch to make that calculation, but that’s the argument they begin with. At the heart of this idea is that a whole bunch of nothing that was no where began to swirl around very fast. Furthermore, this nothing that was no where began to get really hot as it spun until it exploded. At the point of this explosion this nothing that was no where suddenly became something that was some where. This is what they want us to believe as the reason for our existence. However, this pitiful argument doesn’t even make pretty good sense. Not to mention that it goes against the very laws of nature that govern the universe which these same scientists hold dear. This contradiction is revealed in St. Thomas’ argument from motion. Simply put the argument from motion states that if something is moved there must be a mover. In other words if there is an effect there must be a cause. In this case the effect is the creation of the universe and the cause is a prime mover which we understand as God. Aquinas suggests that if you take away the mover then you have no motion. His argument is validated by the laws of motion as outlined by Sir Isaac Newton which state: 1.) A body remains in motion or at rest with a constant velocity unless acted on by and outside force; 2.) The energy sum of the forces acting on the object equals the product of its mass acceleration which Einstein expresses as E=MC2; 3.) For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In short, the argument from motion states that there must be an unmovable prime mover.
Second, we have the argument from the nature of efficient cause. The concept is that every effect has an efficient cause. Therefore, since there is no know case of anything to be the efficient cause of itself there must be an ultimate efficient cause. In other words the universe could not have come into existence without an efficient cause. We understand that cause to be God. If you take away the cause there is no effect.
Third, we have the argument from possibility and necessity. This one can be a little tricky here is the logical argument from possibility and necessity: A thing or a being has the possibility to either exist or not exist. If a thing or a being has the possibility of non-existence then there must have been a time when it did not exist. If all things are possible to exist or not to exist then at one time nothing existed. If at one time nothing existed then it would be impossible for anything to exist. Therefore, in order for anything to ever exist there must be a self-sufficient necessary being which we believe to be God.
Fourth, we have the argument from gradation. This argument states that in nature there is a gradation among things and begins. Some things are hotter or less hot, more beautiful or less beautiful, more true or less true. This gradation argues for any standard to which things or beings are measured and compared. So it is for all beings there is a standard which we understand to be God.
Fifth, we have the argument from governance of the world. This argument states that creatures which lack knowledge act out of instinct towards an end. These creatures act repetitiously achieving better and better results to achieve this end. However, things that lack knowledge do not receive the end by fortune, but by designed. They are guided by a being that is endowed with knowledge as the arrow is guided by the archer. Therefore, some intelligent being must exist that guides all natural bodies to their end. This is also known as the argument from design. It is just as absurd to suggest that there is a computer with out a computer maker as it is to suggest that there is a world with out a world maker.
My friends the “fool has said in his heart there is no God.” I don’t think there are any fools in this room today. As Abe Lincoln put it, “I can understand how a man can look at the ground and be an atheist, but I do not know how a person can gaze into the heavens above and say there is no God.”
II. The Revelation of God (Heb.1.1-2).
If God is real then He must have revealed Himself to us in some way. In Hebrews one God states that He indeed has revealed Him self to man in many ways throughout history. First, we learn that God has revealed Himself to us through the spoken word. When God created Adam and Even the Bible says that He walked with them in the cool of the day. God communed with them prior to any written record of His existence or character. Either through that still small voice or and audible voice God spoke to His creation. The same is true when God call out the nation of Israel in Abraham. In history past God has spoken to men as if speaking with a friend. Whether it was with Moses at the bush or on the mountain or Balak on a donkey, God has spoken to His creation.
God has also revealed Himself through His written Word the Bible. It is apparent that there are many religious books that claim to have come from God and or the messengers of God. However, there is only one book that can hold up to the test of the logical test of authorship. That book is the Bible. In fact there are only five beings who could have written the Bible. These beings are good men, bad men, devils, angels, or God. It stands to reason that bad men and devils would not have written the Bible because through out its pages they are condemned for their sinfulness to eternal damnation. It does not make sense that these beings would have written a book that condemns them to this fate. Good men and angels could not have written the bible either because throughout the pages of the Bible is the phrase “thus saith the Lord.” Good men and angels could not have made that claim with out being liars which would make them bad men or devils. Therefore, there is only one being that could have written the bible and that is God. Therefore, I believe that we have the written Word of God in our hands to day known as the Bible. The Bible is the sole authority for life and faith. With in its pages we have the revealed character and plan of God for our lives and this world. Yet, God did not stop there. He continued to reveal Himself more clearly through the person of His Son Jesus Christ the Living Word. As stated in our text here in Hebrews God in these last days has revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ who is the express image of God. This truth is confirmed in John 1.1-3 where we learn that the living Word, Jesus Christ, was with God in the beginning and that this Word was in fact God and that The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1.14). If you want to see the character of God then simply look at the person of Jesus Christ. Finally, for those who may be skeptical concerning those who have not heard of Jesus the living Word or for those who do not have the written Word or heard the voice of God He has still revealed Himself to all of humanity. As stated in Romans 1.18-20 God has revealed Himself to the world through the natural world around us. In fact Paul states that God has revealed the power and the God head through the world around us so much so that every man stands before God with out excuse. God has made it His point that His creation knows who He is and What He wants which leads us to the next stop on our journey.
III. The Righteous Requirement of God (Gal. 3.10; James 2.10)
Just as God has revealed Himself to us He has also revealed His righteous requirement for a right relationship with Him. Simply put His requirement is perfection. We see this expressed in the picture of the law. In actuality God instituted the ten commandments or the law to reveal to us that we do not measure up. In fact Paul in Galatians and James make it very clear that because of the law we are show that we are sinners, who are incapable of living up to that standard. Paul suggest that if we want to get to God through the law then we must keep it perfectly every second of every day because if we break just one then we are guilty of breaking all of them. I don’t know about you but there is no way that I could ever measure up to that standard. There is no way that I can make it through a day with some type of sin. Left to the mercy of the law God’s Word teaches us that no man can find salvation. However, Jesus Christ the God-man fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law and gave His innocent blood so that we can find freedom from the law through the grace and mercy of God.
IV. The Reality of sin (Romans 3.19, 20, 23).
In this passage Paul clearly expresses the universal guilt of all of humanity. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve every human being born in to this world is born with a corrupted sinful nature. We do not have to live very long to realize that we do not measure up to the righteous requirement of God. We do not have to live very long to understand that we fall short of the glory of God. When face with the standard of God’s standard we all fall short. We are all lost in our sin and bound for eternal separation from God and eternal punishment in a place called hell. But, praise God "that in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5.8)." Let’s look at the Redemption of man through Jesus Christ.
V. The Redemption of man (Romans 3.21, 22; John 3.18).
In our world today every religion except one places the weight of salvation on the efforts of humanity. As we have already learned if left to our own ability we will never measure up to God’s standard. The one exception is Christianity. Christianity is not about religion but a relationship. Christianity says that we can not save ourselves, but we must be saved by another. God has revealed in His Holy Word that there is one who can save us in spite of ourselves. That one is Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God. We learn from our text that it is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we can have a right relationship with God. Salvation ins not based upon what we have done it is based solely upon what Jesus Christ has done for us and our belief in Him as Savior and Lord. Don’t take my word for it take God at His Word.
In Ephesians 2.8-9 God says "for by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God not of works lest any many should boast." Salvation is acquired when we place our faith, when we believe, in the finished work of Jesus Christ. God makes this very clear in John 3.18. In this passage God says, "He that believeth is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God". This passage clearly states who is saved and when, who is lost and when, and why the lost are lost.
Those who believe on the name of Jesus Christ are saved right now. You don’t have to wait till you get there to find out. If you have placed your faith in Jesus you are saved now. However, those who have not believed are lost. They are lost right now. They don’t have to wait to see if the good out weighs the bad. The Bible says they are "condemned already." They are condemned because they have not "believed".
IF you want to have a home in Heaven with God they you must believe on His Son. Jesus said that He is "the way, the truth, and the life. No comes to the Father but by Me (John 14.6)." So, how do you believe. You believe in your heart and confess that belief with you mouth. At least that’s how God expresses it in His Word: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10.9-10)."
Conclusion: What about you today? Do you believe in God? I have tried to reason with you logically and appeal to you emotionally today in order to convince you of the reality of God and your need for accepting His Son as your Savior. I hope today that you are a reasonable person. That’s all that God asked you to be. "Come now and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1.18)." I believe that any reasonable person who came to reason with God today will come away from this experience trusting Jesus as their Savior. What about you? Are you a reasonable person, or are you like the fool who has said in his heart their is no God?
