Does God Exist?
Sermon Notes
today we’re starting a 6 week teaching series called Starting Point: Reasons For Faith, Not Skepticism. We want City Awakening to be a place where both skeptics and believers can seek truth and find joy in loving community together. Starting Point is a series that can help skeptics explore steps of faith, and believers to grow deeper in understanding their faith. It’s a series where we’ll address questions like: Does God exist? Why trust the bible? Why does God allow suffering and evil to exist? We’ll address all those questions giving you reasons for faith not skepticism, and today we’re talking about the existence of God. We’re talking about reasons for faith, in the existence of God. So let’s turn to Genesis 1:1 and get into it. You can find Genesis in the beginning of your bible, we’ll start in Genesis 1 then go to Romans 1 later. The title of today’s message is Does God Exist, and here’s the big idea. Our world is full of fingerprints, of God’s existence...Our world is full of fingerprints, of God’s existence.
Context:
Here’s your context...God...That’s it, that’s your context. It’s God...Genesis is the first book in the bible and it starts with God setting everything in motion, creating and establishing His covenant love for His creation. It’s a book that starts with God, so let’s check it out.
The Word:
Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning, God...” Those are the very first words in the bible, it’s in the beginning “God!” The implication is God existed before creation. God is the one who set all life and creation in motion, which is where the skeptic might disagree. A believer says creation started with God, but a skeptic might say it didn’t, and the first thing we need to realize is both claims require faith. Since neither were there in the beginning, it requires faith to believe God started it, and requires faith to believe God didn’t start it. In other words nobody can prove or disprove God’s existence. But we can look at the evidence presented in our world and make a faith decision to believe or not believe. So let me give you what I’m calling 4 Fingerprints of God. It’s 4 Fingerprints of God that can give credibility for the existence of God.
#1 The Cosmological Fingerprint = The cosmological fingerprint is that everything in our world has cause and effect, meaning something set it in motion. A ball doesn’t move itself, it takes someone to set it in motion. Genesis 1 is saying God eternally existed before creation, He’s the one who created the 1st cause, that set everything in motion. Now there’s solid evidence that the universe is expanding outward from a single point like from an explosion, and well known scientist Francis Collins states, “We have this very solid conclusion that the universe had an origin, the Big Bang...That implies there was nothing before that. I can’t imagine how nature, in this case the universe, could have created itself. And the very fact the universe had a beginning, implies someone was able to begin it.” So he believes the universe started with a big bang, but someone had to cause that big bang to happen, to set it in motion. The cosmological fingerprint forces us to ask which is the better explanation for the start of the universe? Is it that the universe created itself out of nothing, or that there’s a God who set it in motion? Which do you think requires more faith, to believe the universe can create itself, or in the beginning there was God?
#2 The Fine-Tuned Fingerprint = The fine-tuned fingerprint is that the universe is so perfectly designed for life, there must be an intelligent designer who created it. For example if there was even the slightest shift in gravity or the rate of the universe’s expansion, life wouldn’t exist. Astronomer Fred Hoyle states, “The probability of life arising on earth by purely natural means, without special divine aid, is less than the probability that a flight worthy Boeing 747, could be assembled by a hurricane roaring through a junkyard.” Our universe is so perfectly calibrated for life, that it’s statistically negligent to think it happened by random chance. Stephen Hawking says, “The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the Big Bang are enormous...It would be very difficult to explain why the universe would’ve begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.”
The statistical probability of life happening on its own has led many skeptics to accept a theory called the multiverse. It’s a theory where they think there’s multiverses, there’s infinite universes that exploded into existence at the big bang, and we happened to be on the one perfect enough for life to exist. Scientist Richard Dawkins is a strong proponent of this theory, and in his book The God Delusion he admits the probability for life to exist is staggeringly low. So out of all the multiverses, how did things line up so perfectly, for life to exist on earth? “Luck!” He says “It’s pure luck!”...So statistical probability gives you really 2 options for explaining the origin of life, it’s either an intelligent designer or luck. Which do you think requires more faith, intelligent design or luck? Both the cosmological and fine-tuned fingerprints seem more reasonable, than a universe creating itself perfectly out of luck. Even if infinite universes exist, it’d only affirm the infinite fingerprints of the intelligent designer who created it...Genesis 1 tells us in the beginning was God, but Romans 1 tells us some refuse to believe in God, despite seeing the fingerprints of God.
Romans 1:18-20 states, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” They suppress the truth because they don’t want to know the truth. Why would somebody not want to know the truth about God? For some it’s because they don’t want God telling them what to do. For others it’s intellectual pride, they don’t want to admit they were wrong about certain beliefs. But for most people I come across they suppress the truth because of past pains they’ve had. For example I remember meeting a guy who was an atheist, and at the end of our conversation I said “You’re not an atheist. I know an atheist when I meet one, because I was one. And you’re not an atheist. I think you know God exists intellectually, you just don’t care to know God personally. Why?” He said “You’re right! I do believe God exists, I just don’t care to know God because He let my child die.” I put my arm on his should and said “You’re not an atheist, you’re grieving...so let’s talk about your grief.” This is the case for a lot of people. They might know God exists, but they suppress that truth because of pain they’ve been through. It’s a legitimate struggle a lot of us have, and in weeks I’ll why God allows suffering and evil to exist, so don’t miss it.
Vs. 19, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” There’s the cosmological and fine-tuned fingerprints. The text says we’re “without excuse” when it comes to knowing God’s existence, because His fingerprints are all over His creation. His fingerprints are in the things that’ve been made, meaning every leaf, every tree, every melodic tune a bird sings! Every waterfall, every sunset, every swirl of the northern lights! It’s all shouting the existence of an artistic creator. Even the fact that human beings have a moral law written in their hearts shouts the existence of God, which leads to our 3rd fingerprint.
#3 The Moral Law Fingerprint = The moral law fingerprint is that every human has a moral law written in their hearts. We have a moral law, a moral compass helping us sense the difference between right and wrong. Every culture in history has this. But why’s it there, and where does it come from? See today’s society teaches morality is relative, meaning it’s up to the person, you decide what’s moral and immoral. But the problem with people who believe in moral relativism is they only want it to be relative when it comes to their own morality. For example you’d probably agree that abusing a child or the Nazis exterminating the Jews is wrong. But it isn’t wrong if you believe in moral relativism, because the person abusing the child, the Nazi exterminating the Jews thinks it’s right. You seeing the issue? If all morality is relative, it means you don’t have the right to tell anyone what’s right or wrong, not even a child abuser or Nazi.
There’s a great essay by Yale Law Professor Arthur Leff. Leff states, “In the absence of God...who among us...ought to be able to declare a law that should be obeyed?... Either God exists, or He doesn’t. But if He doesn’t, nobody can take His place.” In other words if God doesn’t exist, then who gets to say what’s lawful or unlawful? Who gets to say what’s right or wrong? Who gets to say what’s moral or immoral? “Just let society vote on it.” But historically that’s led to minority groups suffering at the hands of the majority. Besides, a majority decision doesn’t always mean it’s the right decision. So if you believe in human rights and morality, then it makes much more sense to believe God exists and sets the standard of morality not us. The alternative is God doesn’t exist, all morality is relative, and nobody has the right to set a standard of morality. If you had to choose you’d much rather live in a society with moral standards over moral relativity. It’s because there’s a moral law in your heart telling you there has to be a moral standard, because moral relativity would be disastrous. Where that desire for moral standards comes from, and who should set those moral standards, is the issue a skeptic has to wrestle with.
Vs. 21, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” There’s the issue of sin, the issue we all start with. It’s that we’d rather worship the created than the Creator. We’d rather pursue things of this world, than the God who created this world, which leads to our 4th fingerprint.
#4 The Eternal Thirst Fingerprint = The eternal thirst fingerprint is where every human heart has an eternal thirst for joy. It’s an eternal thirst for joy that never seems to be satisfied in created things. If you worship money, you’ll want more. If you worship success, you’ll want more. If you worship approval, you’ll want more. The things you’re worshiping and pursing in life might satisfy you for a moment, but it’ll always leave you thirsting for more, why? Why is there an eternal thirst for joy in every human heart? Why is there even pleasure to begin with? I mean you don’t just eat food, you were given taste buds so you can enjoy your food. Why? Why is there even pleasure to begin with? King Solomon said it’s because God placed “eternity in the hearts of humanity,” meaning the pleasures we find in creation are gifts from God that’re meant to point us to God. The pleasurable aromas of food aren’t meant to satisfy your hunger, they’re meant to draw you to the food that can. The pleasurable aromas of creation aren’t meant to eternally satisfy you, they’re meant to draw you to the Creator who can.
C.S. Lewis said, “Most people, if they really look in their hearts, would know they want something that can’t be had in this world. There’s all sorts of things in this world offering to give it to you, but they never keep their promise...If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is, I was made for another world.” The other explanation is there’s no God, your life’s an accident that happened by luck, and it has no eternal purpose. So enjoy life while you can, because it’s all coming to an end. That’s the other explanation for the eternity in your heart, and that doesn’t sit right with you. There’s something inside you saying “That isn’t right! There has to be more to life than luck! There has to be more to life than being teased by pointless pleasures that’ll only be stripped away.” There’s a desire in your heart for life to have purpose and the joys of life to last. Christianity not only affirms that desire, it offers a solution to that desire. It offers a solution by giving you endless purpose and joys in Jesus. Christianity teaches in the beginning God created, we sinned by worshiping the created, but Jesus came to restore us back to harmony with our Creator. He was crucified on his creation, by his creation, for the sins of his creation. Then he rose again on the 3rd day leaving us with an eternal fingerprint of his resurrection, showing he really can reverse the sting of sin and death. He really can give us eternal purpose and joys, that’ll last even beyond the grave.
The Big Idea:
So the big idea is our world is full of fingerprints of God’s existence, and the fingerprint of Jesus’ resurrection means he’s the very God who created you, can sustain you, can give you a moral standard that’s better for you, and can satisfy the eternal thirst for purpose and joy that’s inside of you. My hope if you’re a skeptic, is that you’ll stick around for this series so you can explore some of the other reasons we believe that’s true. My hope is some of you would even consider taking a step of faith today. You’ve taken a step of faith in skepticism, but maybe it’s time for you to take a step of faith in believing. If that’s you, then click I commit my life to Jesus in the chat box. Click I commit my life to Jesus, and we’ll send a link if you want to connect with us.
My hope for the believer is that your faith is strengthened today, and that it causes you to want to pray, read your bible, draw near to the very God who created you knowing He’s real, He’s powerful, He loves you, and is always there for you. My hope is that you’ll spread the good news that God exits, that He loves us, and that Jesus came to display that love when he died for us. It’s the good news that you were created not out of pure luck, but out of God’s pure love. Let’s share that love by sharing the link to this message.