Friday, January 31, 2020

Why Believe in a God that You can't See

The Bible encourages us to seek God and promises us that if we do, he will let us find him (1 Chron 28:9, Jer 29:13, Proverbs 8:17, Acts 17:26–27, Heb 11:6).

Here are some common but incorrect statements:

There is no objective truth.

Truth is what is consistent with reality, that is, with facts. We have laws of nature that are valid at all times throughout the universe. 

 The Bible declares that its God who is the only true God (Psalm 117:2, 119:30, 43, 160). Jesus proclaims that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that he is the only way to the Father (John 14:6), see Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
This means that if Christianity is correct, all other religions must be wrong.
The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13,
1 John 4:6, Eph 1:13). What truth is, affects our eternal life.

God doesn't exist.

Monotheism means that there is one eternal God (see The Trinity) who has created the entire universe. Life including humans is created by God. God is still active in creation. We can ask him for help and guidance. God isn't a human, and the humans aren't part of the essence of God. We aren't God, and we never will be.
  1. The universe has a beginning according to science. That means someone must have initiated it, see The Kalam Cosmological Argument (animated).
  2. There is much scientific evidence that the universe is carefully designed for life on Earth. That means someone must have done it, see
    The Fine-Tuning of the Universe (animated).
  3. There is evidence for universal moral laws. The same basic moral rules exist in all cultures. They are imprinted in our conscience. See:
The laws of nature require a law maker. These laws contain information, that is, evidence of intelligence, see What is Information?

If God exist, he doesn't have to be the God of the Bible.

God in the Bible fulfills the following:
  • God can't have a cause, because he is eternal (Gen (1 Mos) 21:33,
    Psalm 90:2, 93:2, Isaiah 26:4, Jer 10:10, 1 Cor 2:7). 
  • God is the source behind all living things (Acts 17:25, Rom 11:36,
    Col 1:16). 
  • God must know and understand all things (omniscient) because he designed all things (Psalm 44:21b (22b in some translations), 147:5,
    Mat 6:8, Acts 1:24a, Rom 11:33, Heb 4:13, 1 John 3:20b), 
    see God is omniscient in God's Attributes.
  • God must be all powerful (omnipotent) to be able to create the entire universe (Isaiah 40:26, Jer 27:5, 32:17, 27, Mat 19:26),
    see God is omnipotent in God's Attributes.
  • Universal moral laws must have a judge. God is such judge 
    (Psalm 7:12, 9:9, Rom 2:16) because he is holy and can't accept sin,
    see God is holy in God's Attributes. God will punish law breakers 
    (Exo (2 Mos) 32:34, Isaiah 13:11, Hos 9:9, 2 Pet 2:9), see
    Jesus and the Law. Jesus     will judge all men (John 5:22–29, Acts 10:42,
    2 Tim 4:1), see The Sheep and the Goats and The Great White Throne Judgement. God rewards people who follow his laws
    (Psalm 62:12 (13 in some translations), Jer 17:10, Mat 6:4,     Rev 22:12). 
  • Because God is love, he has prepared a way for us to be reconciled to him and to be forgiven, see The Atonement.

Miracles don't happen.

Jesus performed several miracles, see Miracles of Jesus, where the last chapter 
"Why Miracles" describes why Jesus performed them. The main reason was to
get people to believe in him (John 20:30–31). 

The miracles that Moses performed were signs that he was sent by God 
(Exo (2 Mos) 4:1–9), see Moses; Part 4: God Calling Moses. 

Paul had been given the power to perform miracles as proof that he was
an apostle from God (2 Cor 12:12). 

When Peter raised a woman from the dead, many came to believe in Jesus
(Acts 9:40–42).

Jesus didn't claim to be God.

Watch the animated video: Who did Jesus think he was?

 Jesus claimed to be God, see Jesus is God.

Only God has the authority to forgive sins, judge people, and determine
a person's final destiny. Jesus claimed that he has that authority:
  • Forgive sins: Mark 2:3–12, Mat 9:2–8, Luk 5:18–26.
  • Judge: Mat 25:31–32.
  • Save persons: John 5:24. 
By doing this he claimed to be God. 

 Jesus fulfilled all the prophesies in the Old Testament about the first coming
of Messiah, see Prophecies that Jesus Fulfilled.

Jesus did not rise from the dead.

See the following animated videos:
Jesus foresaw his own death and resurrection on numerous occasions 
(Mat 17:22–23, 12:40, John 2:19–21).

There are many ways to God besides Jesus.

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the only way to God the Father 
(John 14:6, 10:1, 9, Acts 4:12, 1 John 5:12, 1 Tim 2:5).

Jesus lived a life on Earth without sin, and was born without sin, see The Virgin Birth.
He took the penalty for our sin and physically died for us on the cross
(John 1:29, 10:11, Rom 5:8, 1 Cor 15:3–5, 1 John 2:2, 1 Pet 2:24). 

Jesus is the only one who can save us (Rom 3:23–25, Eph 2:8–9, Tit 3:4–7). He is the only one who can give us eternal life with God (John 3:16, 6:40, Rom 6:23).

Jesus wants us to put all our trust and hope in him (John 3:36, 8:24).

We can perceive his invisible qualities through his creation of the world
(Rom 1:20, Psalm 19:1–6, 50:6, 89:6, Isaiah 40:26, Jer 32:17, Heb 1:10).

Summary.

It's logical to be a Christian. You make an intellectual decision to believe this,
to base your faith on the Bible. The next step is to invite Jesus into your heart,
to be your Lord and Savior, see Salvation.

 It's important not to base faith on feelings, but instead base them on the word of God, the Bible. Emotions may go up and down, but not to base faith on feelings remains.

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