June 25, 2020 (Thursday)
The Bible never asks about God’s existence. The very first words of the Bible are, “In the beginning, God..”
Read carefully — this blog gets a little deep.
Consider these three statements:
1. Man was created in God’s image.
2. God was created in man’s image.
3. Some people believe in God; some don’t.
Let’s look at each of the three statements.
The first statment is,”1. Man was created in the image of God.” Probably most people reading this believe in God, also in the Bible, and have no difficulty in believing that God created human beings in His own image, just as the Bible says. A few people may believe that means that we have a body like that of God, but most folks believe that “image of God” means that a human being, who is the image of God, has a mind, will and emotion. That conclusion tells us much about God and ourselves.
The second statement, “2. God was created in the image of man,” is the atheist’s point of view and another way of saying that human beings have invented the idea of God. In his uninformed state, so goes the argument, early man gave significance to events he did not understand, like a thunderstorm. He began trying to appease whatever supernatural forces caused unexplainable and sometimes harmful happenings, such as fire and flood. He created the idea of a supernatural outside force that eventually took the form of gods that he learned to worship. Since human beings were scattered over the earth, each belief was unique and different from other beliefs. Eventually, this way of thinking created many gods. We may safely assume, therefore, that there really is no god, there are only man’s projection of false ideas. So goes the atheist’s argument. The Apostle Paul had a very different argument in Romans 1:18-32* The believer knows that God has been seeking man — not the other way around.
The third statement, “3. Some believe in God; some don’t,” is a statement of fact. All we have to do is look around to confirm that statement. The question is, “Why do some believe and others do not?” I believe it is a matter of choice. Some of us examine the evidence and come to the conclusion that God is real. Most of us believers go further and testify that we love God, trust Him and obey Him. We believe that human beings need faith to make their lives complete. Others examine the same evidence and believe God exists only in our imaginations. It is, therefore, a matter of faith. The Bible says that “faith is the evidence of things not seen.” Believers choose to believe in God; atheists choose unbelief. It is a matter of personal choice. Many who believe in God go a step further, believing that Jesus is the Son of God who died for us on a cruel Roman cross and rose from the dead so that He lives within our hearts, enabling us to look forward to a life beyond death in a place called Heaven.
Years ago I took a course in the seminary called “Philosophy of Religion,” during which we examined classical arguments for the existence of God. Those arguments are clearly explained by several excellent articles on the World Wide Web. If this line of thinking is of interest to you, just look it up. You will find what you are looking for.
I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED
Words: Daniel W. Whittle
Music: James McGranahan
1883
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
Chorus:
But “I know Whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”
I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart.
Chorus
I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing men of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him.
Chorus
I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.
Chorus
I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.
Chorus