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Lesson
One:
The Existence of God
by
Dr. Alban Douglas
|
The
first lesson of 100 lessons from the 304 page book, "100 Bible
Lessons: God's Answers to Man's Questions" by Dr. Alban Douglas.
To view another excerpt from this book, "150 Questions Scripturally
Answered," click
here.
This book is an
excellent resource that can be used for personal Bible study, Sunday
school classes, sermon preperation, discipleship of new Christians,
and as a witnessing tool. This handy volume contains comprehensive
outlines of major Christian doctrines and key themes relevant to
the Christian life. Each lesson ends with a list of helpful review
questions ideal for group Bible study. There are more than 350,000
copies in print in 16 languages. Also, it was
used
as
the
basis for
the
popular
radio
program, "Theological Seminar of the Air." Click
here to view a list of the 100 Bible Lessons
|
INTRODUCTION
To begin our study in Bible
doctrine, we ought to begin with God.
We are constantly challenged
by atheists, skeptics and hecklers to prove that there is a God.
It is difficult for natural
man to believe in something that he cannot see, touch or feel (I Cor.
2:14).
The problem for the Christian
is solved with the first verse of the Bible, "In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).
The Bible is not a textbook
that attempts to prove the existence of God - the Bible opens with a positive
fact that God does exist.
It did not occur to any
other writer of the Bible to prove this fact.
The Bible plainly states
that it is the fool who denies the existence of God.
Psa. 14:1, "The
fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
Anyone with any intelligence
would acknowledge the evident fact of a living God.
The greatest proof apart
from Scripture of the existence of God is our daily fellowship with Him
in prayer.
I know that there is a
God because I talked to Him today and He heard and answered the prayer of my
heart though it was only whispered silently.
I. PROOF FROM SCRIPTURE
Psa.
19:1, 'The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth
His handywork." The beauty
and glory of the heavens speak loudly saying, "God exists."
Rom. 1:20 goes farther
and suggests that creation even teaches about the eternal power
of the Godhead, "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are
without excuse."
The man who accepts Scripture
will readily acknowledge the existence of God.
Let us study some other
less convincing but nevertheless powerful arguments.
II. PROOF FROM CONSCIENCE
Man is born
with a universal belief in a supreme Being; no tribe has yet been discovered
that lacks this.
They know that some Being creates and controls.
Rom. 2:15, "Which shew
the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,
and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another." The
existence of God is written in the human conscience.
Acts 17:23, "For as I passed
by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the
Unknown God." Conscience told them that there was a God though they did
not know Him personally.
Some atheists may claim
that their conscience does not tell them about God.
It is doubtful if a genuine
atheist can be found for at best they are men who have stilled conscience by
blatant unbelief.
Some men are so blind that
they may deny the existence of the sun in the sky but that does not alter the
fact that the sun exists, rises and sets each day.
None are so blind as those
who refuse to see. The honest man will find that the inner still small voice
says that God exists and is alive today.
Men deny the existence
of God not because they cannot find Him but because they are afraid to face the
responsibility of being accountable to Him alter death.
Atheism is one of the devil's
tools to put men to sleep without accepting salvation.
If there is no God then
I am not responsible to anyone and I can live and die as I please. but
in the quieter moments of reflection the conscience of every man whispers,
There is a God" and
only fools deny it.
To look up and see a plane
and not see the pilot and say that the plane is pilotless is as ridiculous as
looking into the heavens and saying that there is no God simply because we cannot
see Him.
Few of us have ever seen
our brains, yet we believe that we possess them because of a centralized control
system in the body. Because we see creation, we believe in God.
III. THE ARGUMENT FROM CAUSE
(Cosmological)
The world is here. It must
have come from somewhere. Somebody or something must have caused it to come
into being at one time or another.
Here is a book. Someone
must have written it. No printing press can of itself produce a book, be it ever
so modern a press with the latest electrical gadgets.
Someone built the building.
Someone created the trees. Someone operates the universe.
If all the pieces of a
watch were placed in a can and the can shaken gently for a million years
the watch would not be "accidentally" put together and running.
The only sensible answer
to the problem of the existence of the world is the existence of an intelligent
Being whom we call God.
IV. THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN
(Teleological)
A watch not only exists
but it has a designer. It was planned for a specific purpose.
A watch was not designed
for mosquitoes to live in. It was designed by a keen mind for the purpose of
accurately telling the time.
An examination of the world
and the things large and small shows that each is designed by an intelligent
mind for a specific purpose in life.
The colors of the bird
and means of defence of the animals are not accidents. They are the result of
a plan of a superior planning mind of the originator.
V. THE MORAL ARGUMENT (Anthropological)
Man has an intellectual
and moral nature showing that the Creator must not be merely an inanimate
force but a living, intelligent moral Being.
Gen. 1:26, "Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness."
Gen. 1:27, God created
man in the image and likeness of God, that is, patterned after Him.
Pea. 94:9, "He that planted
the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He not see?" God
has given to man ears, eyes, knowledge, intelligence, and will power for
these are
the things
that He possesses.
Conscience teaches man
right and wrong, good and bad; for the Creator is a moral Being that is holy,
and loves righteousness but abhors evil.
VI. THE LIFE ARGUMENT
Life comes from life and
the original life must have come from a Being possessing eternal life, that
is, life that existed before physical life was created.
Where can such life be
found? It can only be found in God who possesses eternal life. Psa. 36:9, "For
with Thee is the fountain (source) of life."
The apple tree gets its
life from the parent tree, the lamb from the mother sheep. But where did they
get life from? We go back to the original creation.
Jesus said in John 11:25, "I
am... life," also in John 14:6, "I am ... life," and in John 10:28, "And
I give unto them eternal life."
All life proceeds from
God. The theory of spontaneous generation has been proved false and completely
unacceptable to authoritative science.
Life must have a beginning.
The only logical answer is that beginning was with God.
VII. THE ARGUMENT FROM
CONGRUITY
The theory of atheism solves
no problems but only multiplies unsolved mysteries.
The acceptance of the existence
of God as Creator of the world is like a magic key that fits all the facts of
Scripture, revelation, knowledge and science.
This irrefutable doctrine
is held tenaciously by multitudes of souls who are willing both to live and die
in the consolation of this assurance.
CONCLUSION
Atheism which is only giant
doubt and unbelief can only lead to darkness and despair for the
one accepting it.
Acceptance of Gen. 1:1, "In
the beginning God," leads a sincere seeker into the path of a
fuller revelation of God Himself.
Heb. 11:6, "He that cometh
to God must believe that He Is [exists)."
Let us come as children
in simple faith, based on the revelation of God in Scripture and nature, believing
and trusting Him completely.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- Did God
write the Bible as a textbook to prove His existence? Explain.
- What
is an atheist in the eyes of the Lord?
- Give
two Scriptures to prove the existence of God.
- Why in
Acts 17:23 had the people of Athens built an altar to the unknown God?
- What is
the atheist's real purpose in denying the existence of God?
- What is
the argument from cause to prove the existence of God?
- What is
the argument from design to prove God's existence?
- How do
we know that God is not an inanimate force?
- What is
the life argument that proves God's existence?
- What is
a prerequisite for faith in God?
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