Can we know that God Exists?

There is so much that we’ve been taught in school and college that we’ve accepted without question, but does it all really add up? Everyone at some point has wondered why they’re here, what their purpose is in this life, what happens after we die, etc. Are we just glorified animals, who serve no greater purpose than to scratch out a living until our time on earth expires, or until we become victims of a stronger animal in the survival of the fittest? Are our feelings, desires and aspirations really just biological urges with no higher meaning? Is all of creation just a random accident, brought about by a “big bang?”

On closer examination, science has proved that creation is actually orderly and systematic. Sunrise and sunset and the change of the seasons are so predictable that almanacs are dedicated to them. Animals are equipped with natural instincts and defense mechanisms to ensure their survival: some have sharp teeth and claws for self defense, some are able to blend into the scenery. And evolutionists have never found an ape that became a human. Every animal mates with its own kind and reproduces its own kind. The human body is like a highly complex, finely-tuned computer. If we get sick, our white blood cells go to work to fight off an invading infection. If we get cut, our body goes to work to produce clotting. This evidence of an orderly and systematic creation proves the existence of an intelligent creator. To suggest otherwise is like believing that throwing a bunch of random parts in the air will produce a computer.

Maybe you're willing to accept the possibility that there is a God. But some people see Him as some kind of nebulous, remote Higher Power. Others consider the Universe as God and believe that God exists in all of creation. But God can’t be both the Creator and His creation at the same time. If God produced an orderly and systematic creation, that proves intentionality and purpose, which are clearly personal attributes.

God's Relationship With Man

If you’re willing to accept that God is a person, what does that have to do with us mere humans? Does He care about us? Why should he care about us? Well, a creator tends to care about their creation. A person who plants a garden has a vested interest in the well-being and outcome of that garden. So he or she selects what will go into the garden and nurtures it until it produces beautiful flowers and plants or an abundance of vegetables. A chef who plans a meal has a vested interest in how that meal will turn out. She or he selects the freshest ingredients, pairs what goes will with what, and painstakingly stirs, seasons, tastes and monitors those ingredients until it results in a delicious feast. A woman, who doesn’t create life but gives birth to a baby, has a vested interest in the life she's brought into the world. So she nourishes, protects, trains and teaches her baby in the hope that they’ll one day reciprocate her love and make the world a better place. She takes joy in her baby's first word and delights when baby takes his/her first step. She loves the thrill in her baby's eyes at his/her first birthday, or at his/her first Christmas, and celebrates all the other milestones in her child's life. Can we expect anything less from our Creator?

The bible says that God created mankind in His own image (Genesis 1:27) meaning that, unlike the animals, He created us with intelligence, a will and emotions. And that’s why we grapple with questions like why are we here and what is our purpose? This is why we have a conscience. Why we feel love, anger, compassion, etc. Why we’re creative beings.

God created us in His image in order to have a relationship with us. In fact, he has such an interest in us that the bible says that he knows the length of our days on earth (Psalm 139:16, Job 14:5) and that the very hairs on our heads are numbered (Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7). He told the prophet Jeremiah “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” And, furthermore, he ordained him from the womb to be a prophet. He predicted the reign of King Cyrus by name 150 years before he was even born. (Isaiah 44:28 and Isaiah45:1-13)

The Problem Between God and Man

So what went wrong? How did God become a stranger to us? The bible says it started with the fall of the first man and woman, when satan tempted them to disobey God in the Garden of Eden. They ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thinking they could determine right and wrong and good and evil on their own without God. In other words, satan deceived them that they could be their own gods. That monumental act of rebellion led to spiritual death that broke the intimate fellowship they enjoyed with God and caused their bodies to start to die. And the more sinful mankind became, the more estranged we became from God. By the time of Noah, the world was so overrun with violence and corruption that God had to destroy rebellious mankind with a flood and start over with just Noah and his family.

God Offers a Solution

When Adam and Eve sinned, God immediately came up with a plan for redemption. First, he gave Moses the law. No one was able to keep it perfectly, so they performed animal sacrifices to keep in good standing with God. But the purpose of the law was to show people their sinfulness and need for a savior. When the time was right, He would send His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. God sent prophet after prophet to tell His people everything they needed to know so they would recognize their Messiah when He arrived. Unfortunately, the leaders of the Israelites failed to realize there would be two comings of the Messiah: first as a humble servant who had to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins, and later as conquering king who would realize all of God's promises to Israel and bring about true peace on earth.

Why Christians believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah

This one is easy: because He is the only one who fulfilled all of the the Old Testament prophecies. Here are just a few:

• The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, as prophesied in Micah 5:2 and fulfilled in the Gospels of Matthew 2:1–7 and Luke 2:4–7.
• The Messiah was to be born of a virgin, as stated in Isaiah 7:14 and fulfilled in Matthew 1:22–23 and Luke 1:26–31.
• The Messiah was to be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, and heir to King David’s throne, as foretold in Genesis 12:3, 17:19, Numbers 24:17, Genesis 49:10, and 2 Samuel 7:12–13, with fulfillment in Matthew 1:1–3 and Luke 3:33.
• The Messiah was to be preceded by a messenger preparing His way, as described in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, fulfilled by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1–3 and Luke 1:17.
• The Messiah was to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey, as prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 and fulfilled in Matthew 21:4–5 and Luke 19:35–38.
• The Messiah was to be betrayed by a close friend for thirty pieces of silver, as foretold in Psalm 41:9 and Zechariah 11:12–13, fulfilled in Matthew 26:14–16 and 27:3–10.
• The Messiah was to suffer and be crucified, bearing the sins of humanity, as described in Isaiah 53:5–6 and Psalm 22:16, fulfilled in Matthew 27:35 and John 20:25–27.
• The Messiah’s hands and feet were to be pierced, as stated in Psalm 22:16 and Zechariah 12:10, fulfilled in John 20:25 and John 19:34.
• The Messiah’s bones were not to be broken, as prophesied in Psalm 34:20 and Exodus 12:46, fulfilled in John 19:33–36.
• The Messiah was to be buried with the rich, as foretold in Isaiah 53:9, fulfilled in Matthew 27:57–60.
• The Messiah was to rise from the dead, as prophesied in Psalm 16:10, fulfilled in Acts 2:24–32 and Matthew 28:2–7.
• The Messiah was to ascend to heaven and sit at God’s right hand, as foretold in Psalm 110:1 and Psalm 24:7–10, fulfilled in Mark 16:19 and Acts 2:34–36.
  
  

Some Bible scholars have suggested there are more than 300 Old Testament prophetic scriptures that were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. Some aspects of His life, like his birthplace, family tree and method of execution were outside of Christs's control, so there is no way He could have accidentally or deliberately fulfilled them.

In the book Science Speaks, Peter Stoner and Robert Newman discuss the statistical improbability of one man accidentally or deliberately fulfilling even eight prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. They say that the chanceof this happening is 1 in 1017. Stoner demonstrates the magnitude of those odds in the following example:

“Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars andlay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote using their own wisdom.”

The mathematical improbability of 300, or even eight prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus is evidence of His Messiahship.

We All Have a Date With Destiny; There's No Opt-Out Clause

A day is coming when God will judge the world for its rebellion against Him and rejection of His Son. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus as their Messiah will spend eternity with Him in His kingdom. Those who reject Jesus will spend eternity in eternal torment.

But I Just Can't Believe a Loving God Would Send People to Hell

Friend, God is merciful and loving, but He also just; therefore He has to punish sin. Hell was never created for man, but for the devil and his cohort angels. But a rejection of God's offer of forgiveness is a choice to spend eternity with them.

But I'm Not That Bad

Maybe you’ve never cheated on your spouse, but the bible says if you’ve ever even looked on someone other than your spouse with lustful desires, you’ve committed adultery in your heart.

Maybe you’ve never murdered anyone – and would never do so – but Jesus said that murder originates in the heart. So if you’ve ever felt anger at or hatred for someone for no reason or verbally abused or demeaned someone you’ve committed murder in your heart.

Have you ever told a lie, even a “little white lie?” Proverbs 6:16–19 lists a lying tongue as something God hates. Psalm 5:4–6 declares that God destroys those who tell lies and is disgusted with deceitful people.

God is so pure and holy that if you’ve broken just one of His laws, you’re as guilty as if you’ve broken them all. The only record He'll accept is perfection. Only Jesus Christ was sinless and perfect; that's why God sent Him to suffer the death penalty in our place.

Why not change your destiny today and step out of spiritual death and into eternal life?