Introduction:
Does God exist? This is possibly
the most important question in all the world. If He
does exist, what is He like and what does He desire of
me? The answers to these questions are of the utmost
importance. It is the first of these questions that we
will turn our attention to now.
Body:
I.
The Need for This Study
-
If God does exist, all people are
answerable to Him. Everyone is under His authority
and obligated to Him for his own existence.
-
Those who claim to believe in God
must prepare to defend their belief. I Peter
3:15 – provide a reason for their faith.
-
God claims to exist and that He is
the only true God. Isaiah
41:21, 44:6-8, 45:18, 20:22, 46:9-10
-
Therefore, this study is vital!
II.
Cosmological Argument
-
The universe and all that it contains
is undeniable evidence for the existence of God.
-
The universe exists; therefore, its
existence must be explained in some way. It cannot
explain its own existence. Something else must
account for it.
-
We know that when something exists,
it can’t come from nothing. Stated, differently,
every effect must have an adequate cause, something
sufficient to produce it. Hebrews 3:4 At the
beginning, there must be an initial cause, a being
with no beginning and no end, the “I Am.” Romans
1:19-20
-
The only reasonable explanation for
the existence of this world is an eternal Creator!
III.
Teleological Argument
-
Our universe, from the smallest
particle to the largest, exhibits design.
Psalms 19:1
-
Who in his right mind would ever
believe that a computer, with all of its many
intricate parts, came together by accident?
Ridiculous! But yet many believe crazier things
than that – like our human bodies came together by
chance. Psalms 139:13-16
-
Not only is design evident in our
world, but so is beauty. Where did beauty come
from? “He has made everything beautiful in its
time.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
-
Note: Christ’s words in Matthew
6:28-29
“So why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:
They neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.” NKJV
IV. Moral
Argument
-
Almost all men everywhere believe in
the existence of right and wrong. They possess a
sense of justice. Where did this come from? Could
minerals and air mix and develop a human mind over
time? Ridiculous!
-
The fact that humans possess a moral
nature is strong evidence for a holy and just God
from whom they received it. Romans
1:18-20
-
Note especially Paul’s reasoning in
Athens. Acts 17:22-29
-
He not only gave men a moral nature,
but He is also going to judge them. Acts 17:30-31
Then Paul stood in the midst of the
Areopagus and Said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in
all things you are very religious; for as I was passing
through and considering the objects of your worship, I
even found an altar with this inscription: To the
Unknown God. Therefore, The One whom you worship
without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made
the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of
heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with
hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though
He needed anything since He gives to all life, breath,
and all things. And He has made from one blood every
nation of man to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
has determined their preappointed times and the
boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek
the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and
find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for
in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some
of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His
offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of
God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is
like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art
and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God
overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to
repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will
judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has
ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by
raising Him from the dead.” NKJV
Invitation:
Ample evidence exists to convince
anyone of the existence of God, an infinite,
all-powerful Being.
We will be called into account for
what we have done with that evidence.
June 12, 2011
Prepared by
Bobby Stafford
The church
of Christ at Granby, MO
Located at
516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109
For more
lessons and Sermons, please visit
granbychurchofchrist.org/
granbychurchofchrist.com/ |