IN THE BEGINNING
THE REASON OF OUR HOPE • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Genesis 1:1, Romans 1:18-23
OVERVIEW
Whether or not they know it, every person's life is governed by what they believe about God. Our morals, opinions, and life choices reflect the beliefs of our hearts.
Sadly, many reject God and claim He is simply the pretentious hero of a fairy tale; Scripture makes it abundantly clear, however, that no one has an excuse to deny God because He has revealed Himself in multiple ways. As we see the revelation of God, we have ample evidence. Our part is to accept the proof of His existence and then turn to and trust in Him that we might have a personal relationship with Him.
GOALS
At the end of this lesson, group members should
Understand that God has shown Himself to every person through an inward revelation that testifies to His existence. Realize that all of creation points to the existence of God through His amazing design. Recognize that God has revealed Himself countless times throughout history and identify the ways in which man has repeatedly rejected Him.
OUTLINE
1. Inner Revelation
A. Innate Truth
B. Unique Intellect
2. External Revelation
Revelation of Cause
Revelation of Creation
3. Historical Revelation
In Past Cultures
In Present Cultures
Perhaps you have seen the "COEXIST" bumper sticker. The graphic represents a movement with a goal to "embrace tolerance for all belief systems."1
Each letter in the graphic "COEXIST" is comprised of a symbol representing a religion or philosophy.
C represents Islam with a crescent and star.
O represents peace with the peace symbol.
E represents the religion of Science with the relativity equation as well as gender equality.
X represents Judaism with the Star of David.
I represents paganism with the Wiccan symbol.
S represents Taoism via the Chinese yin-yang.
T represents Christianity with a cross.
In today's study, however, we want to see that God exists.
Slides Lesson Title; COEXIST
If there is a God, it makes a great difference. And if there is a God who has revealed Himself to us through the Bible, we should look there to discover what He says about Himself.
The Bible opens with a declarative statement that assumes —rather than proves-God's existence.
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
When you think of it, that's natural.
No book begins with an author trying to prove his or her own existence. It is simply understood that the author exists. This is the grand assumption of Genesis 1:1.
In Romans 1, however, God discloses a more developed defense for the existence of God, declaring how He has been manifested and revealed to all of humanity in specific ways.
Suggestion Bring a copy of one of your favorite
books or of a textbook or reference book on a technical subject. Point out that while there may be information about the author in the book, there is no place in the book that attempts to prove the author exists.
The Bible teaches us that ours is a God of both love and righteousness.
We see God's love as a prevailing theme throughout Scripture.
1 John 4:16
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
This attribute of love, glorious though it is, does not stand alone —for our loving God is also righteous. And His righteousness necessitates His wrath against all that stands in opposition to righteousness. That's what we see in our first verse of today's text.
Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
This verse tells us that God's wrath is revealed because man resists His truth. They "hold the truth" but want to deny His existence that they might not feel accountable for their actions. Perhaps they imagined that denying God would free them from accountability to Him and responsibility on judgment day. But God's existence is independent of man's rejection of Him, and all humanity will be judged, for God has revealed Himself to all. All are without excuse.
When you look at the root problem of this God-denial, you find many people who, like the humanists we saw in lesson 1, think they are "good without God."
Whether or not they recognize it, their worldview is informed by their rejection of God, leading them to shun godliness while respecting any anti-God and anti-righteousness position imaginable.
Quote: "The decline of Christian identity is particularly pronounced among younger Americans, and fully one-third of those ages thirty-five and younger report no religious affiliation." —Albert Mohler?
While there are some who outright deny the existence of God, others simply question and downplay His authority— especially His authority in their lives. They define themselves as Secularists, which refers to "the absence of any binding theistic authority or belief."? But in reality, secularism is a mild way of labeling what amounts to practical atheism.
It is heartbreaking to see the rising trend of Americans who claim either atheism or agnosticism as their belief system. A 2021 study showed that not only is there a growing trend of unchurched adults, but of those who are unchurched, one in four is a skeptic, atheist, or agnostic.4
The same study, shewed that "among young adults, Gen Z teens are much less likely to assert religious identity than generations before them; some of the rise in atheism could be attributed to Gen Z entering adulthood, and the fact that they are, thus far, significantly more likely than older generations to claim no faith. Additionally, faith-sharing is falling out of favor with younger adults, even religious ones; almost half of practicing Christian Millennials (47%) believe that evangelism is wrong."5
Belief systems—whether belief in God, or belief against God—aren't inherited; they are chosen.
Although our early years are obviously shaped by the faith (or lack of faith) of our parents, we are responsible before God to make our own choice regarding our belief or disbelief in Him.
In this study, we learn from Romans 1 that God has revealed Himself to all and has given each of us a choice to either believe or reject His revelation.
1. Inner Revelation
God, full of love for His creation and passionate for fellowship with us, placed within each person a precious gift: the revelation of Himself.
We see this inner revelation in two ways:
A. Innate Truth
There is a knowledge of God that is part of our very nature or constitution. It is something we intrinsically know, something evident to us without being told.
Romans 1:19
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
God built into man the knowledge of the existence of Himself. Something within man knows there is a God, whether or not he chooses to worship Him. This means that to deny the existence of God is a deliberate decision.
No one is born an atheist. All around the world, people know that there is some kind of God.
Those who are now atheist or agnostic had some point of life decision toward these beliefs.
Whether that choice was intellectual (they had unanswered questions about God and concluded He may not exist) or emotional (perhaps a tragedy causing them to become angry at God), they didn't start out life with those beliefs. The knowledge of God is written on their hearts.
* Discussion Before you trusted in Christ, did you question the existence of God? If so, were there times you knew He was real but you found yourself pushing that knowledge out of your mind?
B. Unique Intellect
Along with innate truth, God has given mankind unique intellect, the mechanism through which we make choices. We have the ability to think, reason, and decide things for ourselves—all of these actions require our volition.
This is part of what it means to be made in the "image of God."
Genesis 1:26
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
From the beginning, God created man with the ability to decide, to lead, and to organize. In fact, the first responsibility God gave to Adam was to name all of the animals God had created.
Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living crea-ture, that was the name thereof.
But this is more than mere intelligence. The intellect God has given mankind is unique from the rest of His creation in that it has morality attached to it—a knowledge of right and wrong.
Moral intellect
God gave us a moral sense. That you and I can reason things out and make value judgments about right or wrong is the imprint of God's image on our souls.
This intellect is also the means by which God has enabled us to accept or reject Him. Tragically, many choose to reject Him.
Romans 1:21
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
What a devastating thing, to know God and yet reject even His existence! But we are able to do so because God has created us with the ability to choose.
You can't explain man's sense of right and wrong, good and evil, without concluding that a being who is perfect gave us such knowledge. Other-wise, how is it that in every society around the world people have a sense within them of right and wrong? That sense may be molded (and in some cases twisted or silenced) by their environment, but it is there, nonetheless. Even societies or people that have no biblical law still have a moral system.
Romans 2:14-15
For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things that are contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto them-selves: 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 problem for atheists is that if they admit the existence of evil, they must also admit the existence of good. But who can objectively say what is good or what is evil? Only the reality of God can explain this.
This problem for atheists is severe enough that some actually do deny the reality of evil. For instance, Richard Dawkins, who calls belief in God a delusion, also denies the existence of evil. He wrote, "The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference."6
In giving us moral intellect, God has also given us a free will with a choice to accept or reject the knowledge of Himself. Each rejection of God and of truth leads to another, culminating in an empty, lonely existence where the only deity is self, all because man denied the innate truth that God lovingly gave us.
Moral purpose
Within this unique intellect given to us by God is also a moral purpose—a reason for living.
The first question posed in the Westminster Catechism covered an important topic: "What is the chief end of man?" The answer is, "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
Romans 1 describes how when men stop glorifying and thanking God, this eventually leads to a life without purpose. They may claim to be wise, but ultimately, they are fools.
Romans 1:22-23
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image make like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
At the time of the writing of Scripture, the ancient Greek world fashioned and worshipped numerous gods, including the likeness of animals formed out of stone. These were all evidences of the Greeks' rejection of the true God. They turned objects into gods and claimed wisdom, but God declared them "fools."
God has given us the intellectual ability to understand that there is a greater purpose in life than living for self as a fool. We have been given an inward revelation of God inside our very beings, and we find purpose in living for Him.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
The understanding that God has placed His knowledge in the heart of every man should give those of us who know the Lord courage to speak up for Him, knowing every heart has a curiosity about God and an emptiness without HIM.
Discussion Are there particular people you feel intimidated to share the gospel with? How could this truth of each person being given knowledge of God give you courage to witness to them?
God says is evil, good, and what God says is good, evil.
Isaiah 5:20
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Redefining good and evil is what happens when people are ethically empty. We see it in our own culture as our society embraces taking the life of an unborn baby by abortion but criminalizes trying to help a child confused as to his or her gender find joy in God's design.
Western societies as a whole are being progressively and purposefully "de-Christianized." And in the process, people are losing their own identity because they have not found it in God.
2. External Revelation
Not only has God placed a knowledge of Himself within our hearts, but He has also surrounded us with evidences of His existence.
Romans 1:20
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:
From creation around us, God reveals Himself to mankind in two ways.
A. Revelation of Cause
We live in a world of cause and effect, where every effect must have an adequate cause. In this instance, the universe is an effect, so reason demands that there must be a cause greater than the universe itself.
• Slide 2A
Think about a piece of fruit—an apple, orange, or banana. That fruit could not bring itself into existence and therefore had to have a cause—the tree it grew on. But that tree also demands a cause. It had to come from a seed. The seed also had to have a cause. And the reasoning goes on.
Because there cannot logically be an infinite number of causes, you will eventually arrive at a beginning and a "first cause." Bible-believing Christians believe that first cause is God.
Concrete reality around us owes its existence to something else. Every effect must have a cause, and every object or person must have a beginning.
Tracing each effect back to its cause must eventually lead to one self-existent cause. Christians believe that self-existent cause is God.
This explanation for the existence of God is sometimes referred to as the "cosmological argument."
As one textbook states, "The term cosmological comes from the Greek word cosmos, meaning
"world." This argument is based on the fact that a cosmos, or world, exists. Because something cannot come from nothing, there must be an original cause that is the reason for the world's existence.
A man wears a Bulova wristwatch. Although he has never seen a watchmaker, the fact of the existence of the wristwatch suggests there is a watchmaker who made the watch. The cosmological argument says that every effect must have a cause."?
I Suggestion Bring a wristwatch to class as you share the example of a watch requiring a watchmaker.
Scientists speculate about the creation of the world. They theorize about evolution, a big bang, and an ancient earth. But every theory they create lacks objective support and logic. One Nobel Prize-winning physicist simply claims, "In the beginning there was an explosion,"& but the logic of that statement— that a beautifully ordered world could arise out of a destructive explosion— is completely contradictory to everything we observe and to everything we know about science.
Not to mention, it begs the question: What caused the explosion?
EXPLOSIONS DESTROY - I’ve done quite a bit of building and never - not even once - have I used a stick of dynamite to build something.
A belief in evolution rather than a wise creator makes your life purposeless. Thankfully, reality states that the ultimate cause of the world is God Himself, the uncaused cause who brought you and me into existence.
Hebrews 11:3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
This truth breathes purpose into our existence like nothing else can. Through faith we believe that the unquestionable cause for this world is our God who has revealed Himself as our maker.
Evolution says we are nothing more than molecules in motion, but God says we are to put Him at the center of a life given to honoring Him.
B. Revelation of Creation
God not only shows us through the world around us that there must be a cause greater than mere matter itself, but He also uses the world and its astounding orderliness to reveal Himself to us.
God writes His signature into every intricate blade of grass and etches it into every towering mountain.
1. Creation had order.
When we stand in awe at the beauty of creation in the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, Swiss Alps, and Pacific Ocean, we recognize that they were
formed by a power so much greater than accident, a power so much wiser than human ingenuity, and a power so much more orderly than random chance.
1 Corinthians 14:40
Let all things be done decently and in order.
Psalm 119:89-90
For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 90
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
God's plan of beauty and order exists eternally, formed in His masterful mind, and revealing Him as designer.
2. Creation shows a designer.
So, the created world reveals not only a cause, but it reveals truths about the One who is the cause.
Specifically, it shows us that God is a God of order and design. He doesn't just create life; He creates it beautifully and intricately.
Slides Watch
For sake of illustration, let's say that you have all the pieces from a watch (springs, gears, hands, etc.), which reveal a cause—someone made the pieces.
But they are not assembled. So, you put them into a box and shake them together. When you open the box, would you expect to find a finely assembled and well-running watch? No, because a watch needs both a cause and a designer. And so it is with our world.
God not only created the world, but He designed it.
Or we could say, He created it well.
Creation shows us clearly and unmistakably that our world was beautifully designed by God Himself, with its chief occupation being to glorify God and point to Him as our sole designer.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, Where their voice is not heard.
The innate truth of God's existence, coupled with the ringing sound of creation's praise, leaves all of humanity without even one excuse to reject God or deny knowledge of Him. That is the argument Romans 1:20 makes as it says, "So that they are without excuse." No one has the choice to escape this amazing revelation of God.
3. Historical Revelation
God has not only revealed Himself to man upon his conscience and through creation, but He has also revealed Himself throughout history.
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
references this with the phrase, "Be-cause that, when they knew God..."
Sadly, man has often rejected God, even when they knew Him.
A. In Past Cultures
History records two distinct times when all living people knew the true The first time was in the very beginning, when Adam and Eve had personal fellowship with God. Even after their sin broke that intimate fellowship, God revealed to them His plan of redemption.
Still, even that first family experienced rebellion against and rejection of God. And this rejection and rebellion grew progressively worse with almost every generation. By the time Noah came on the scene, mankind as a whole had rejected God.
Genesis 6:5
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The second time when all living people knew the true God was when Noah and his family found grace in the eyes of the Lord and were spared from the worldwide flood that destroyed all other life on earth.
As Noah and his family got off the ark, everyone on earth knew the one true God. Once again, how-ever, the pattern of sin and rebellion repeated, almost as soon as they got off the ark.
Then, God chose the nation of Israel through which He could reveal Himself to the rest of the world. They, too, turned from God. Although they had more truth at their disposal than any other people on earth, they often ignored it or turned their back on it.
Time and again, God warned Israel about their rejection of Him, but with every warning they seemed to grow more deaf. As a result, they turned wholeheartedly to idols and were eventually judged through dispersion and captivity.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, A seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, They are gone away backward.
9 Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, We should have been as Sodom, And we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Even the Greek and Roman empires-the largest in their days—worshipped every false god imaginable, but they largely refused to worship Jesus Christ. And this was in spite of the fact that they had overwhelming evidence for Christianity shown through the first-century apostles and the rapid spread of Christianity as detailed in the book of Acts. Such rampant rejection of God led to ruthless persecution of the church. They sought night and day to destroy the truth of God they had right in front of them.
This process of a people having knowledge of God but turning from Him is called secularization.
Quote: "Secularists see belief in God as a great obstacle to human progress. For the most part the real challenge is not secularism, but secularization—a process that happens in society largely without argument or notice. The binding authority of Christian theism—the biblically grounded understanding of God and the world—just fades away, replaced with a new worldview." —Albert Mohler?
Just as God has repeatedly revealed Himself to our human race, man has repeatedly rejected Him.
Man knew God, but culture after culture spurned Him and followed their own hearts to destruction. They blocked out His voice and turned to their own ways, setting themselves up as gods.
B. In Present Cultures
But this rejection of God's revelation has not just happened in the past—it continues today as well.
Our current times are just as marked by a rejection of God as any other age.
Rejecting God is a process that always moves beyond disbelief of God into passionate belief in something else—and a hardened heart in the process.
Rejection of God is why people run to Eastern meditation, the worship of nature, or satanic cults. It is the reason they become angry at the mention of His name in public prayer and revolt at any cultural recognition of Jesus Christ.
Quote: "When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing. They then become capable of believing in anything." —
G. K. Chesterton
Generally, people who reject God consider themselves to be wise. They feel their life experiences and deep intellectualism has given them rise to a level of wisdom and knowledge above the masses groveling in outdated religious ideas—but in actuality, they have chosen a path of folly.
Romans 1:22
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
In contrast, Scripture reveals that true wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
A man will only have true wisdom when he receives his knowledge from God. Other ideas may sound good or feel good to build his ego, but all wisdom beside God's is pure foolishness.
Generally, people who reject God consider themselves to be wise. They feel their life experiences and deep intellectualism has given them rise to a level of wisdom and knowledge above the masses groveling in outdated religious ideas—but in ac-tuality, they have chosen a path of folly.
Romans 1:22
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
In contrast, Scripture reveals that true wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
A man will only have true wisdom when he receives his knowledge from God. Other ideas may sound good or feel good to build his ego, but all wisdom beside God's is pure foolishness.
As our society is actively distancing itself from godliness and a Christian worldview, its moral structure is declining at a shocking rate. Modern-day anarchists burn the Bible, destroy public or private property, loot stores, burn cities—and call all of that "good."
Ultimately, when people turn their backs on God, they turn to unimaginable and unnatural sins. Eventually, God gives those people over to a reprobate mind, allowing them to continue in the choice that becomes their own destruction.
Discussion What are some recent cultural norms that have risen from foolish thinking that is blinded to the truth? What does God's Word say about these specific philosophies?
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
The Bible doesn't tell us at what point God turns someone over to a reprobate mind, but we can assume it is at whatever point they have made what God knows to be their final rejection of Him.
The Bible describes that in the process of this rejection of God, people choose to flip even the simplest definitions of good and evil, calling what God says is evil, good, and what God says is good, evil.
Isaiah 5:20
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Redefining good and evil is what happens when people are ethically empty. We see it in our own culture as our society embraces taking the life of an unborn baby by abortion but criminalizes trying to help a child confused as to his or her gender find joy in God's design.
Western societies as a whole are being progressively and purposefully "de-Christianized." And in the process, people are losing their own identity because they have not found it in God.
Conclusion
One of the saddest parts of a rejection of God, by a culture or by a person, is that there is no hope in atheism-—not in this world and not in the next.
God will not allow men to reject Him forever.
Eventually, there will be a day of judgment where all of the excuses for avoiding God's existence look empty indeed. In that day, there will be no more excuses—no more ability to ignore the inner rev-elation, outer revelation, and historical revelation that God has given to all.
Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
There is a God, and that truth remains whether or not a person accepts it. Though millions reject Him, you don't have to. And though millions turn away from Jesus—the way, the truth, and the life
—you can place your trust in Him through simple faith.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
There is a God, and His heart is full of love for you.
There is a God, and He is so great that His voice alone can command the world into existence.
There is a God, and He wants you to know Him— so much so that He placed the knowledge of Himself into the heart of every soul He creates.
There is a God full of power, yet He knows you individually because He created you.
We noted at the beginning of this lesson that, although God is a God of love, He is also a God of wrath against all that is unrighteous. The amazing mercy and justice of God is summed up in the reality that, although we deserve His wrath for our sins, He Himself paid for our sins and offers us forgiveness as a gift.
God will judge those who do not believe on the Son, Jesus Christ. But this same God also made the ultimate sacrifice for men to know Him.
Suggestion Offer to answer questions personally with anyone who doesn't know for sure they are saved.
John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Do you know Him? It's not enough to simply believe that God exists. He wants us to know Him as our personal Savior.
If you do already know Him, do you know anyone who doesn't? Would you share the reality of God's existence with them? And would you share with them the way that God made for them to know Him through Christ?
Our society is turning its back on the knowledge of God. Rather than allowing their calls to pull you away from Him and toward "coexisting" with every belief except an exclusive belief in God, turn to the revelation God has already given you of Himself. Seek out His truth, and see confirmation of His existence through the reality of His knowledge on every heart, the creation around you, and the unbroken belief in Him down through the millennia.
There is a God. He has revealed Himself. And He wants you to know Him personally through His Son, Jesus Christ.