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Many people claim to know God today. Indeed, outrageous acts are
performed by men and women "in the name of God". Countries rage in war,
ethnic groups get "cleansed" (another word for annihilated) in religious
conflicts, and even political groups form based on God-given "family values".
One religious group separates itself from society, another evangelizes
its community, and still others appear to be quite indistinct from the
secular world.
All claim to know God and have the "truth". Certainly, they must be
serving different "gods".
But what is the truth -- Is there
one God
and can anyone really know God?
Is
it logical?
Since in most religious systems, God is the Creator of the universe, let
us examine the possibilities for the origin of the universe. When you examine
all the philosophical arguments (since science can never prove
the
origin of the universe), the answer really boils down to one of four possibilities:
| 1. The universe does not really exist. |
The fact that you can carry on an intelligent
conversation with another human obviously means you and the other person
exist (otherwise you'd be talking to yourself...). Seriously, the ability
of many different people to precisely predict things such as the motion
of the stars, planets, and moon offers sound refutation of this premise. |
| 2. The universe has always existed. |
Science rests on a number of physical
laws in the universe which have been proven repeatedly such as the law
of gravity, entropy, and inertia. The 2nd law of thermodynamics has shown
that the universe is running down -- suffering from heat-loss. If the energy
source for the universe is not eternal, then the universe itself cannot
be eternal. It must have had a beginning. |
| 3. The universe spontaneously sprang into existence. |
This premise says that from nothing came
the grandeur and the immensity of the universe we see. But science would
certainly say that "from nothing comes nothing." When you consider the
wondrous bodies of stars and planets suddenly appearing out of nothingness
for no reason, this premise appears quite absurd. |
| 4. The universe was designed and created by an intelligent
being (God). |
As stated earlier, there are really only
4 possibilities. When you consider that laws do exist in our universe,
when you see the design given to various forms of life on this earth, when
you see precise placement of the earth itself to allow for life to exist,
when you see an environment containing precisely the right amounts of oxygen,
water, food, and a self-recovering environment, one can only conclude that
it was created by an all-powerful, intelligent designer -- God. |
So God is the all-wise, all-powerful Creator of the universe!
What Evidence Do
We Have That God Exists?God is our Creator -- this is the only rational conclusion. This raises
several legitimate questions about Him:
- So, how do we know who He is? By what He reveals to us.
- Has He revealed Himself to us? We have this revelation in the Bible.
- How do we know the Bible is the Word of God? This obviously bears close
scrutiny since it bears witness to God and His creation.
Of all the books in the world, the Holy Bible is by far the most
widely published.
The Bible is actually a collection of 66 books written on 3 continents
by some 40 writers over a period of 1,600 years.
Each of these books speaks of an encounter or a revelation from this
same Creator God. It offers as proof the predictive prophecies given to
those who wrote the Bible to confirm the accuracy of its message. Hundreds
of prophecies given decades, centuries, and even millennia ahead of time
were perfectly fulfilled. These were specific prophecies -- they named
people, places, and events ahead of time which happened just as the writers
said.
Only God could have perfect foreknowledge. Only God could be right 100%
of the time.
The Bible rightly claims to be the Word of God.
Do you know the greatest of these prophecies?
It is the foretelling of the Messiah or Christ -- the Savior sent by
God to redeem mankind from its sinful condition. That mankind is sinful
is obvious -- read the newspapers. So God predicted a time when He would
send a Redeemer. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who fulfilled perfectly
some 300 prophecies about His birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection
from the dead.
That He fulfilled all these prophecies is beyond all probability of
chance -- God wanted us to be sure about Himself, about the Bible, and
about His Son, Jesus Christ.
How Do I Know God
Cares About Me?The Bible says God loves you greatly:
For God so loved the world, He sent
His one and only Son
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV) The Son of God took on human flesh as Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ predicted
in the older books of the Bible. Jesus Christ lived the perfect life we
could never live because of our sin. The Bible says: "There
is no difference -- for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
God" (Romans 3:22b-23, NIV). Sin separates
us from fellowship with God. Though we have each gone our own selfish way,
God reached out to us through His Son so that we could enter into a personal
relationship with Him. God wants us
to know Him.
The wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23, NIV) Jesus Christ, the Son of God, laid down His life for us on a cross so that
He could suffer the penalty of sin for us. God raised Jesus from the dead
on the third day proving His authority to be our sin offering and His power
to give us life. God went to these great lengths just so you
could know Him and be assured of an eternal life with Him in heaven. Jesus
said:
Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from
me for I am gentle and humble in heart. And you will find rest for your
souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-39, NIV)
How Do I Get To
Know God?Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, NIV). Jesus
by His own words is THE way, the only way to know God. We know this is
true because of the confidence we have that the Bible is God's word. We
also have the testimony of His disciples, hundreds of eyewitnesses, who
gave their lives testifying that: "there is no other
name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12, NIV).
No one would give their life for what they knew to be a lie -- Jesus proved
He was alive to His disciples. This fact turned them from cowards into
conquerors. They turned the world upside down with the message that Jesus
is alive and is our Savior.
He can do the same for you, friend. Bow before the living God and pray
in your own words to the your Maker:
- Admit to God your Creator that you have sinned against Him.
- Thank God for sending Jesus so that you can have a personal relationship
with Him.
- Turn from going your own way and accept the LORD Jesus Christ as your Savior
-- believe that His death on the cross paid the just penalty to God for
your sins.
- Confess to Him your faith in the risen Lord Jesus -- ask Him to send His
Spirit to live in your heart, to guide you and empower you to live the
righteous life God wants you to live.
- Then be sure to thank God for saving you.
You may or may not "feel" any different; but if this was your heartfelt
prayer to God then be assured by the words of Jesus Christ:
"He
who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will
not be condemned. He has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24, NIV).
Based on God's promise and His faithfulness, your
sins have been forgiven and you now have eternal life!
What Are My Next Steps?If you have believed in Jesus Christ and trusted Him alone as your Savior,
then you are now a child of God! It is because of God's grace -- His love
for you though you can do nothing to deserve it or earn it -- that you
are saved. The Bible says, "For by
grace you are saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves -- it
is the gift of God. And not by works so that no one can boast" (Ephesians
2:8, NIV). And when you believed in
Jesus Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit of God to live in your heart and
guide you through your new life in Christ. "...Having
also believed, you were sealed in [Christ] with the Holy Spirit..." (Ephesians
1:13b, NIV).Can you know God? YES! Now you will spend the rest of time and all of
eternity as a child of God (1 John 3:1). So get to know Him better -- these
three steps will have a tremendous impact on your life:
- Study the Bible to get to know your Lord and Savior better. The Bible is
the only objective truth you will find in this world because it is not
a product of any man but a product of God.
"All Scripture
is inspired by God and is useful..." (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV).
Study God's Word and "...do what it says" (James
1:22, NIV).
- Also pray to God regularly about anything that is going on in your life.
He likes to hear from His children and will provide for your needs as you
seek His will for your life. The Holy Spirit who now lives in you enables
your prayer to reach God.
- Last, but not least, share what has happened to you with others. Your friends
and family would love to know how their sins can be forgiven too and how
they can find eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ.
May your new life bring glory to God and joy to your
heart. Grace and peace to you in Christ!
| © 2000, Randy Lariscy. |
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