Good News for the Atheist (And Everyone Else)
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· 8 viewsThe foolishness of atheism.
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Psalm 14 (ESV)
To the choirmaster. Of David.
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?
There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.
You would shame the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge.
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Introduction: I want to share some famous quotes about fools before I get into this text today. You might recognize some of them. I’m going to see if you can guess who said it...
“Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?” - Obi Wan Kenobi
“I Pity the Fool” - Mr. T (He actually did an interview once where he said he got the inspiration for this phrase from the Bible. The idea of pity means that you show them Mercy)
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” - Everybody’s Grandma or Grandpa. Am I right?
“I am a fool for Christ...whose fool are you?” - Brother Andrew
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” - God (FILL IN NO GOD)
That is a pretty hard verse, don’t you think? Let’s take a closer look at why David wrote this and what he meant:
A Fool’s Folly (v. 1)
A Fool’s Folly (v. 1)
This Psalm is one that is virtually identical to Psalm 53 with the exception of some wording in verse 5.
Whenever God tells us something once, it’s important. Twice, it is very important.
It is important to note that when David calls the person who says there is no God a fool here, he is not referring the person’s intelligence level or intellectual understanding.
David is referring to a fool in a moral sense - a person who is impious and immoral. Godless. “They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,” David says.
It is also interesting to note that in the original language, the words “there is” are not there. (Italics in most translations) They were added by translators to clarify the reading.
So this verse literally says, “The fool has said in his heart, “No God!” In other words, “no God for me.”
Their declaration that “there is no God” does not mean they have found evidence and have become convinced that God doesn’t exist. They say that because they hope their denial of God will somehow excuse their sin.
Look at what Paul Wrote in Romans 1...
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
“By their unrighteousness they suppress the truth.” - I.E. practical atheism
By the way, I have talked with people who claim to be believers, yet they live as if there is no God because they follow the world more than the Word.
Two main witnesses against practical atheism.
Creation
Conscience
First, let’s deal with Creation:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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.
God has revealed his existence powerfully through the things that he has created.
Illus. (FILL IN BUILDING DETAILS) Every building that you have ever seen has a designer and a builder. You can’t just go out there and blow up a pile of lumber and have it assemble into a house, can you? Just as every building has a designer and builder, creation has a Designer and Creator.
Illus. (FILL IN DNA LINES) Consider your DNA. Each cell in your body has about 2 meters or 6 feet of DNA packed inside. That means that your body has about 100 trillion meters of DNA packed inside your cells. Your DNA could wrap around the Sun 22,000 times. Every strand of DNA in your body is information…like a computer program...that determines who you are, what you look like, and in many ways, how you behave. Do you think DNA happened by chance or by design? This alone should cause us to worship our great Creator!
Now let’s move on to Conscience:
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
Romans 2 teaches that the law of God is written on the heart of man - I believe all men deep down inside have a knowledge of what is right and wrong. And God put that there. We may not choose to act upon that knowledge. In fact, we rebel against it because of our sin nature.
Therefore, when man denies the existence of God, he most likely does so because he enjoys sinning. He suppresses the truth in his unrighteousness.
I also think it is significant that David said that the atheist denies God in his heart, not his mind. He wishes that God did not exist because his heart is darkened by sin. (COLOR IN HEART WITH BLACK PAINT)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
The Fallen Man (vv. 2-4)
The Fallen Man (vv. 2-4)
The human heart apart from Jesus Christ is filled with sin and iniquity. Our hearts have been darkened by sin.
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.
David says that man is corrupt…they do abominable deeds and that there is none who does good. If these words sound familiar to you, The apostle Paul references them in Romans 3.
You might object and say, “I don’t think I’m such a bad person.”
By what standard are you judging? By the standard of man?
It’s pretty easy to hold ourselves up beside others and say, “I’m better than they are.”
Illus. Perhaps you have heard the story of the infamous mob boss who died. His brother went to the pastor who was supposed to preach his funeral and promised to donate $100,000 to his church if the pastor just said something nice about his brother. The time for the funeral came and the pastor, standing by the graveside said, “Ol’ Carlos here was a rotten and despicable man who never did anything good in his life. But compared to his brother, Carlos was a saint!”
God does not judge our goodness in comparison to our fellow man, but in comparison to his perfect Son, Jesus.
You see the Law is God’s measuring stick for man. The Ten Commandments. And Jesus fulfilled the law. (FILL IN LINES ON TEN COMMANDMENTS TABLETS AND THE WORD LAW)
(Go through a few of the commandments…)
If God judged you based on your answers, would you be guilty or innocent? You would be guilty just as I would be guilty.
God, being a just and righteous Judge, has every right to condemn us for our sin.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
It is as if God is standing on the precipice of heaven looking down upon man whom he created to see if anyone is righteous. But this is what he sees instead...
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?
Our sin separates us from God. It keeps us from having a relationship with God. Things would be hopeless if that were the final word. But it is not.
The Faithful God (vv. 6-7)
The Faithful God (vv. 6-7)
Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When the Lord restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.
David looked forward to a day when God would make everything right in this broken world. “Who will come from Zion to rescue Israel?” Christians have a saying, “Maranatha!” meaning Our Lord is Coming! Verse 7 is David’s Maranatha.
I’m not sure if he realized it or not but David was looking forward to the Cross! HE WAS TALKING ABOUT JESUS! (DRAW IN THE CROSS - FILL IN JESUS)
The only hope for fallen man is to turn to God for salvation!
It was upon the cross where Jesus took the wrath that we deserved as sinners upon himself. (DRAW IN BLOOD ON CROSS)
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
The Good News for the atheist and everyone else is you can be forgiven when you put the whole weight of your faith upon what Jesus did at the cross.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Salvation begins when you TURN from your sinful ways in repentance (What is repentance?)
(WRITE WORD TURN BESIDE CROSS)
And it continues when you TRUST in Jesus wholeheartedly as your Lord and Savior. (WRITE WORD TRUST ON OTHER SIDE OF CROSS)
(FILL IN K & W TO MAKE WORD KNOW)
Acknowledge your sin to God…he already knows!
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Commit your life to Him as your Lord and Savior.
I want to end this message with a quote from a well known missionary who gave his life for the gospel…consider this as a challenge.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot