Does God Exist?Sample
Does God Exist?
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Through this Bible Plan we’ve looked at four different arguments for the existence of God:
- Something from Nothing. If a thing begins to exist, there must be a cause for its existence. The scientific and philosophical evidence indicates the universe began to exist. Therefore, there must be a cause for the universe to exist. That cause must be something outside of the universe (space, time, matter, and energy).
- Order from Chaos. If the universe was the product of random chance, it would be very unlikely it would be life-permitting. However, if the universe was the product of an intelligent designer, it would be much more likely to be life-permitting. The fact that our universe is life-permitting provides evidence that our universe is more likely the product of an intelligent creator than of random chance.
- Morals from Mayhem. There seems to be an objective standard of morality and justice that exists outside of ourselves. That standard must come from somewhere. It is very unlikely that the moral law is the result of an impersonal force or random chance. It is much more likely that the moral law comes from a moral Lawgiver.
- Life from Death. Either Jesus really rose from the dead or He didn’t. If He did not come back from the dead, then Christianity is false. If He did come back from the dead, then Christianity is true. The historical evidence supports the claim that Jesus really did rise from the dead.
While these arguments on their own do not prove the existence of God, they help us to see there are good reasons to believe God is real and Christianity is true.
So, where do you go from here?
Keep wrestling. Keep seeking. Keep exploring.
This Bible Plan has just scratched the surface of these arguments and the evidence for the existence of God. There are so many other great works and teachers to learn from who have dedicated their lives and careers to showing people that faith isn’t a leap into the dark, but a leap into the light.
One of the common misconceptions is that faith is believing without evidence. Faith is believing based on the evidence.
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives us the definition of faith you read at the start of today’s reading. Unfortunately, way too many people have been so focused on the “what we do not see” part that they’ve missed what the rest of this chapter has to say. Verse two tells us, “This is what the ancients were commended for ...”
The rest of this chapter is commonly referred to as the “Hall of Faith” because it recounts the stories of many of the heroes of the Bible and the trust they placed in God based on the evidence. Over and over, the author of Hebrews tells us “By faith” one person after another trusted and followed God wherever He led them. But they didn’t do it blindly! They had faith because they had already seen God move in their lives in ways they couldn’t explain by natural causes! Their faith in God was based on the evidence!
What about you? What will you do? Will you choose to look at the evidence and put your faith in God? Or will you simply walk away? Will you keep bringing your questions to God? Are you willing to process your doubts with people you trust? Will you choose to follow Jesus?
The same God who brought something from nothing, order from chaos, morals from mayhem, and life from death is inviting you to put your trust in Him.
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About this Plan
Does God exist? This is perhaps the most important question of all. Why? Because what we believe about God shapes what we believe about everything else. This one question builds the foundation of every worldview. Throughout this plan we are going to look at some of the historical, scientific, and philosophical evidence for the existence of God.
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