Some think “faith” means believing something that cannot be true, or that is incredible or unreasonable; to some, “faith” means believing the unbelievable.
But not so! Christian belief is based on evidence – credible, reasonable, resolute evidence. We arrive at certain determinations because we have examined the evidence and are forced to the logical conclusion. Then, when we join that conclusion with trust, we arrive at Biblical faith: conviction and commitment.
Is there evidence for God’s existence? Yes, indeed: credible, reasonable, and ultimately conclusive evidence that points to an intelligence and wisdom higher and greater than man. Consider some evidences for the existence of God:
1. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE & EFFECT (the Cosmological Argument). It is a fact that everything that begins owes its existence to some producing, beginning cause. The universe exists; how did it come to be? Of necessity, the universe owes its existence to a cause equal to its production. We all know that a building demands a builder, a design demands a designer, a watch demands a watchmaker – likewise, creation demands a Creator – an Originator – and the Bible says that Creator is God (Hebrews 3:4; 11:3). Our universe points to the existence of a Divine Maker (Psalm 19:1-4).
2. ORDER IN THE UNIVERSE (the Teleological Argument). It is a fact that order and collation pervade our universe, and they demand an intelligence and purpose as the cause of that order—an intelligence to initiate the order, and a power to purpose and sustain it. The incredible complexity of the universe and all life therein is amazing, and demands an amazing Designer. For example, one could look into the sky, see an airplane, and know there is a pilot guiding and steering the plane (though the pilot can’t be seen with the naked eye). The Bible calls the intelligence that sustains all life, God (Psalm 139:3-9).
3. MAN (the Anthropological Argument). Man’s intellectual and moral nature requires an intellectual and moral Being as its author. Man is the masterpiece of God’s creative acts (Psalm 139:14). For example, a surgeon can cut into flesh, and then stitch together the open wound; but an amazing designer, God, is behind the process which enables muscles, nerves, and skin to fuse back together. The surgeon, with all his training and skill, cannot make that happen. The Bible further teaches that a holy Lawgiver and Judge is responsible for the very conscience of man (Romans 2:14-15).
4. THE NECESSARY IDEA OF GOD (the Ontological Argument). Space and time are infinite and eternal; there must be an infinite and eternal Being to whom these attributes belong, for That which is made is a reflection of its maker. God made man, man reflects God, and has knowledge of God – his Maker. Man universally has a concept (an idea) about God; that fact demands God as the cause of that concept. Man’s instinctive hunger for the spiritual is evidence of the reality of the spiritual, and his intrinsic belief and knowledge of a Higher Power, of a Supreme Being, pervades every society and culture (unless man is persuaded otherwise). The reason man instinctively seeks God, according to the Bible, is because God placed within man this intuitive knowledge of His existence (Acts 17:22-23; Psalm 42:1). Atheism is the exception, not the rule, in any society or culture.
5. BASIC MORALITY (the Moral Argument). Man is a moral being, possessing an inner sense of right and wrong, and recognition of the responsibility to do right and avoid wrong. Unless his conscience has become seared, when man violates his conscience, he is subject to guilt, shame, remorse, and fear of punishment. Where did these feelings of right, wrong, justice, injustice, or fairness, which men (even children) possess, come from? The conscience of man points to a Designer of that conscience (Ecclesiastes 7:29).
6. BIOLOGICAL (the Life Argument). It is a scientific, biological fact that life can only come from life. All life must be traced back to a life-source. From nothing can come nothing. Life is here: what is its life-source? The answer is God (Psalm 36:9; John 1:1-5; 11:25; 14:6). The idea that life – any life – could have “evolved” from absolute nothingness is not only incredible, but also factually wrong. Frankly, it requires much more “faith” to think life was regenerated from nothingness, than to believe a Supreme Life-source originated all that exists.
7. THE BIBLE (the Scriptural Argument). Perhaps you haven’t considered this, but the existence of the Bible itself is an argument for the existence of God. The Bible is here – from where did it come? A careful, or even casual, examination of the contents of the Bible demonstrate it to be a Book beyond the ability of mere man to write; the Bible demands an intelligence and wisdom, insight and foresight, that is higher and greater than man. The Bible is a witness to the existence of God, and demands Deity as its Author (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21).
8. HISTORY (the Historical Argument). Human history points to an unseen hand, exhibiting numerous illustrations and examples that behind it exists a Higher Power moving, guiding, governing, shaping, influencing, and sometimes even controlling men and nations and events. It is the hand of God! Consider the history of Israel, or the history of the early church, or any other Biblical histories, and recognize that these argue for God’s existence and that some events cannot be rationally explained without acknowledging God’s guidance (Daniel 2:20-21).
9. JESUS CHRIST (the Christological Argument). Jesus Christ is evidence for the existence of God. Jesus never doubted His Father’s existence. He called God “my Father,” fulfilled prophecies, worked miracles, taught with words unequalled in humans, and arose literally and bodily from the dead after He was crucified. Can one explain any of that without God? All that Jesus was, said, and did attests to God’s existence (1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:18; John 14:9). How could Jesus be the “Son of God” if there is no God?
10. HARMONY OF EVIDENCE (the Congruity Argument). Congruity means “agreement, correspondence, harmony.” Any of the previously listed arguments are individually powerful. But more than just that, they are in agreement with each other, and have correspondence and harmony between them as they compliment each other. So as we examine these evidences, and see them build upon one another, we consider them in totality and realize they are overwhelmingly and positively conclusive: there is a God!
True Biblical faith is arriving at the inescapable conclusion that there is a God (Romans 10:17), and then putting our trust, which includes our love and obedience, in the one true God (Hebrews 11:1, 6).
There is a God, He is alive, in Him we live, and we survive.
From dust our God created man, There is a God, the Great I AM.
By John M. Brown
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