REASONS TO BELIEVE IN GOD
In any course of a religious nature we must begin with a study of God. Why believe in God? It is a question that all people must come to grips with as they want to get themselves straightened out.
1. We need to believe in God because without faith it is impossible to please him. (Hebrews 11:6). To come to God we must believe that he is and that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So let us look at some practical reasons that He really exists.
2. We also want to have hope of a life beyond this life. This is the hope of the resurrection of the dead and a home in another world than this world. Job believed that though the grave worms ate his old body that he would be resurrected and would see his redeemer. (Job 19: 25-27) Jesus Christ, our Savior, said, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28, 29) Since there is a life beyond this life we should believe in God and seek to serve him so we can have a good life in the beyond instead of damnation in the beyond.
3. Is God going to give me a special sign of His existence? No, God will not give a sign to the curious but everything He has made is a sign of his existence. Romans 1:19, 20 states, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible thing 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."
4. The world shows us there is a God. It exists so where does it come from? From nothing comes nothing. The world shows us that there had to be a creator. The only logical conclusion is "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) The very order of the universe shows us the eternal power of God. IT is nothing short of marvelous that things just keep going. Psalms 10:1-3 states that the heavens declare the glory of God.
5. The Earth shows us there is a God. It is just the right size for life to exist on it. Scientists tell us that if it was ten feet thicker that it is life here wouldn’t be possible. The rotation of the earth gives us night and day and it doesn’t run down. People can predict just how long the night will be and the day will be at any given time of the year. It varies in a set pattern. The slant of the earth is just right, the revolution around the sun in three hundred sixty five and one quarter days is just right to give us the seasons and for life on earth to go on.
6. The minerals that the earth is made of are just right for all living things to survive, to be nourished, and to propagate. There is much interest now in being good stewards of these minerals lest we be impoverished. How did these things get to be here on this earth? Because it was created that way by Almighty God.
7. Plant life shows the handiwork of God. Not only are they there for nourishment for animals and man but they are essential so we all have good air to breathe. Photosynthesis process by which the green leaves take carbon dioxide out of the air to nourish the plants while at the same time putting off oxygen into the atmosphere so we can breathe well is nothing short of ingenious. Only an Almighty God could have fixed it the way it is.
8. The weather cycle is another stroke of the genius of God. The water runs to the sea and yet the sea is never full. Why? Because there is evaporation of the water into vapors and then it is blown by the winds back over the land and when cold air and hot air collide it condenses into rain to water the earth giving us food and gladness. It not only rains but the water, the hail, the sleet, and the snow takes the nourishing chemicals out of the air and deposits them on earth as fertilizer for the plant life. THIS IS AWESOME!!!
9. The fish and other sea creatures that have gills that can filter the oxygen out of the water in which they live to continue their life. How did they get that way? God made them that way. How great God is!!!
10. The migratory birds that store up just the right amount of energy in their bodies to fly non stop as far as three thousand five hundred miles to their winter quarters show they were designed by God. We sing with children a wonderful song, "God made the birds that fly, fly, fly, and God made me."
11. The human body. The digestive system is marvelous. Food taken into the mouth begins to be digested there and this process continues in the stomach and intestines. This nourishment enters the blood stream and is pumped by the heart through the arteries to the capillaries to nourish our body cells. This same blood picks up the impurities that need to be eliminated and the heart pumps it back through the veins to the lungs to give off carbon dioxide and to other parts of the body designed for elimination. "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." (Psalm 139:14) This is just one part of man’s body. The circulatory system, the nervous system, the muscular system, the bones and joints, and all the internal organs. Think of the marvels of the eyes and ears of men. As we contemplate these things we must realize that God did indeed create man and all things that surround him.
12. The mind of man. Concerning this the psalmist said, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. (Psalm 8) Man is rational; he can think, plan, invent, discover, challenge, logically think things through, and do many more things because he is made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26, 27) It is stupendous how life has improved through the years as the minds and bodies of men have invented al these machines we use every day. "So God created man in his own image, in the image God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:27)
13. God left not Himself without a witness. He gave us the Bible through forty men over a period of sixteen hundred years so we would have directions as to how we should live. Then He sees to it that this word will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35) He wants men to seek Him.
(Acts 17:27)