245. IS THERE A GOD?

(The Abundant Life Series – Batch 2)

When it comes to the question of whether there is a God, there are three (3) points worth highlighting, as follows:-

POINT 1 – Human Beings KNOW that there is a God.

In the Bible, which is God’s book of truth, Job 12:7-10 states:

• “But ask now the BEASTS and they shall teach thee; and the FOWLS of the air and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the EARTH and it shall teach thee: and the FISHES of the sea shall declare unto thee. WHO KNOWETH NOT in all these things THAT THE HAND OF THE LORD HATH WROUGHT THIS? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10 KJV)

This tells me that deep down, mankind knows that there is a God. Some may not know who he is (because they have chosen not to pursue after him to find out, as they are responsible for doing) but they KNOW he exists.

This is why, although most people in the world live their lives unto themselves and as they see fit and do not want to hear the name ‘God’ mentioned or have anything to do with him, when they or their loved ones are in trouble or close to dying (as has happened with the Coronavirus Pandemic), they automatically know to say a prayer or to ask someone to say a prayer for them.

Yet, if deep down, mankind knows that there is a God, how do we account for atheists then? Atheists claim to not believe in the existence of any God. They claim to believe that human beings and everything we see in the Universe, came out of nothing and from nothing.

Well, since the Word of God (the Bible) is true and God, our Creator, knows each one of us better than we know ourselves, though some people say they don’t believe in God and act as if he does not exist or that they are not accountable to him, even if they seem to be sincere in their belief, the Bible seems to state definitively, that they are lying. It seems to state that deep down, they DO believe that there is a God. In their pride and rebellion however and under the control of the evil one the devil, they are refusing to acknowledge verbally that he exists but they have enough God-given intelligence to know that he does.

This has to be the case, for it will explain why, whenever a person is in trouble, he shouts out instinctively, “Oh God!” An Atheist on a plane that thinks it is about to crash, would undoubtedly shout the same thing. Deep down, he KNOWS.

It is also the reason why people, who want absolutely nothing to do with God, seem to be such experts on how Christians should live and therefore can point out readily, where they are failing, based on God’s Word.

They don’t seem to realize that in criticizing Christians and pointing out the areas where they believe they have failed God, that they themselves are admitting by this act, that they KNOW that God is real and what his standards are. That is, they reveal that deep down, they know the truth that there is a God and that human beings are accountable to him and his way of living but they have rebelliously decided not to submit to him.

They have rebelliously decided to pretend that he does not exist so that they can lord over their own lives, much like a deluded ostrich does when it buries its head in the sand, thinking that it is now hidden from view.

When those who want nothing to do with God, become authorities on where Christians have failed, in addition to this revealing that they know that God exists, what his will is, how he wants everyone (including them) to live and that they are accountable to him, they are further admitting that they are guilty before him, as they have chosen not to submit to his will and to take another path.

God’s Word (the Bible) is not just for Christians. It is for the whole world. When Jesus, the Son of God returns to judge this world and to deal with the souls of all men, it will not just be Christians that he deals with but ALL human beings, including those so-called ‘experts’. ALL human beings are therefore accountable to Him and how he has said to live, not just Christians.

Acts 17: 30-31 declares:

• And the times of this ignorance God winked at; BUT NOW COMMANDETH ALL MEN EVERY WHERE TO REPENT: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”

The use of the term ‘men’ above, means all of mankind or humanity, including women and children.

It is also because these ‘experts’ I have referred to above, know that there is a God to whom they are accountable, that they tend to get so fidgety, uncomfortable, angry, hostile, rude, defensive, dismissive and upset, whenever someone mentions the Word of God or the Lord Jesus. That is their wicked conscience stubbornly crying out to be left alone, for their conscience KNOWS the truth that God exists. They may not believe that Jesus is Lord, that he died and is alive and that he is God the Son but at the very least, they KNOW that God exists.

They also know that they were created by God with the responsibility of finding out who he is and what he would have them to do (which, if they sincerely pursued after him in humility, he would reveal to them his Son Jesus, the Saviour of the world).

Yet, they have chosen to neglect this responsibility because they love their sin, their rebellious way of living and don’t want to give it up. They understand that submitting themselves to God and getting to know about him, as they are supposed to do, means that they will have to give things up which they love but he hates, including them controlling their own lives and making their own decisions. They therefore prefer to continue on pretending that they are not accountable to the God that created them or to anybody and with the flimsy excuse (which is really inexcusable), that they don’t know who God is or what he would have them to do.

The truth is they prefer it that way. They don’t want to know WHO he is because they want to continue living life how they want to live it. They would rather bask in ignorance and want nothing to do with God or to learn about him.

However, as another piece of proof that they know there is a God, no matter how they ignored him while alive, did not even want to hear his name or that of his Son mentioned and wanted nothing to do with him or the Bible or to obey the way he said to live, when they are dying or their loved ones and friends die, they hope that the God they wanted nothing to do with and pretended did not exist, will receive them with open arms in heaven. They therefore use statements like, “He or she is with the angels in heaven now” and “God knew he needed you in heaven so he took you.”

In their pride, they believe that they can live rebelliously unto themselves while on earth but from the moment they die, God will accept them in his heaven.

Yet, the Word of God says that God is not mocked. He is not someone that can be used or manipulated to get one’s way, when one wants to. He does not exist to cater to such a person and to make sure that the soul of that person rests in peace (r.i.p.) or sleeps in peace (s.i.p.) when he or she dies.

The truth of the matter is that there is no resting or sleeping in peace if a person dies, never having submitted his or her life and heart to the Lord in surrender, through faith. If a person ignored God while alive, lived his or her life like if he did not exist and could not be bothered to find out who he was and what he wanted of him or her, then God calls that person wicked and his Word makes it clear, that there is no rest and absolutely no peace to the wicked.

As I have said before in another forum, if a person wanted nothing to do with God on this side of the fence, then he will want nothing to do with him on the other. It’s only fair.

The truth of the matter is that once these people (referred to in the Bible as the ungodly), continue along this path where they pretend that they are their own bosses, their souls will be condemned in hell.

John 3:19 explains it perfectly when it states of Jesus, who came into the world but was rejected by his very creation and killed: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

POINT 2 – Human Beings are DESIGNED TO WORSHIP

Mankind was designed to worship and created to point this worship to the true and living God.

Because God has made mankind to be a worshipper, this is innate to every one of us. There is no man that has ever yet lived, that did not live his life worshiping something.

Fortunately, some have surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ which is the Son of the true and living God and the Saviour of the world and have given their worship to him, as they were created by God to do. However, the majority of the world lies in deception because they have been blinded by the enemy and love the darkness of sin and so, they function in a dysfunctional manner, in that they worship the things that God created and not God the Creator himself.

They worship the sun, the moon, the stars, cows, wood, gold, silver and stone that they have carved out with their hands and many other false gods that are not even alive. Some worship a god generally, not knowing who he is, while others worship their bank account, some imperfect human being who once lived but is now dead, their significant other, an ex, their children, their job, their career, their political affiliation, their car, their house, their good looks, their bodies, their celebrity status or themselves.

This is quite sad and unfortunate, as only worship of the true and living God through Jesus Christ His Son, will be effective. Any other worship is outside of the purpose for which God created human beings and therefore, they are operating in a detrimentally dysfunctional manner.

In Acts 17:23-31, Paul told the Athenians who were worshiping a god they did not know and who they called ‘the unknown god’:

• “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

• Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man (Jesus) whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”

POINT 3 – Human Beings were created with THE ABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF FINDING AND GETTING TO INTIMATELY KNOW the true and living God.

It is a fact, that God has created mankind with the ability and responsibility of finding Him, the true and living God. Although born with the spiritual disease of sin in their DNA because of the sins of their ancestors, God has also equipped them with the ability and responsibility to find the path of reconciliation to Him, which is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

The question then would be, what about those who go through all of their lives and never come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, never even hear about Jesus and die in a lost state, destined for hell?

Well, first of all, such persons find themselves where they find themselves, not because of God’s fault but because their ancestors ignored God when they knew for sure that he existed and what he wanted of them. In turning their backs wilfully on him when they knew him, what happened is that with each generation, their offspring moved further and further away from God. Their wilfully rebellious actions in moving away from God are therefore responsible and it affected not just them but their future offspring, who were born into a culture that did not know God.

In any event, God, knowing how he has made man and what he has placed in man, has declared that even such offspring are without excuse if they go through all of their lives and never get to know him. For, he has placed sufficient evidence in the things that he created in the world and has designed us in such a way and with such intelligence, that we are supposed to respond to what we see and hear in nature, by pursuing after Him.

His Word states that if we draw near to him, he will draw near to us. I therefore firmly believe that if a person takes the first step, starts off with mere curiosity in seeking to find God and the TRUTH of that person’s existence and if he cries out to him from a sincere heart to reveal who he is, then he (God) will reveal himself and his truth to that person. He will find ways in his mercy to reach that person (because he is all powerful and ever resourceful as the Creator of this world) with the gospel of salvation, which is through Jesus Christ.

We actually saw this happen at least three (3) times in the past, as is recorded in the Bible.

In Acts 8 for example, an Ethiopian Eunuch who knew nothing about the true and living God or about how to receive eternal life was reading a portion of scripture that he found and desired to understand the truth about what he was reading.

God honoured that desire and curiosity. In his mercy, he acted quickly to ensure that that man knew who he was and about his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. For, there is no other way to heaven and to being reconciled to God, other than by his Son Jesus Christ.

In John 14:6, Jesus declared truthfully, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Acts 4:12 further stated of Jesus, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

To ensure that the Ethiopian Eunuch knew who he was and about his Son Jesus Christ, which was necessary for salvation, God sent an angel to Philip, who in turn sent him (Philip) in the direction of the man and then the Spirit of God told him to go and join himself to the chariot where the man was reading.

For, Philip knew the truth about who God was and that a soul could escape hell and go to heaven if a person believed on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, his Son.

Philip had no idea at the time why he was being sent in that particular direction or to that chariot but he obeyed.

Acts 8 states:

• “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

• Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

• The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

• And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, AND PREACHED UNTO HIM JESUS.

• And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”

In Acts 10:1-8, God also reached out to make himself and his truth known to a man who was merely religious but did not yet know how to have relationship with him through the forgiveness of his sins. This man, Cornelius was sincere in his religion though and desired to know the true and living God and to live for him. He therefore sought to pursue after the true and living God, by praying and fasting frequently. However, he was not saved from the wrath of God and hell because he did not know that there was salvation available through the shed blood of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

God saw to it though, that he did not remain in his ignorance. He honoured the man’s desire to know about Him and to please him.

The scripture reads:

• “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: HE SHALL TELL THEE WHAT THOU OUGHTEST TO DO. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.”

Needless to say, God orchestrated a meeting with this man and Peter, as Peter had relationship with him (God) through Jesus Christ. Peter was able to show that man the truth as to how he too could have relationship with God and therefore he preached unto him, Jesus Christ. The result was that that man believed the truth about who God was and his Son Jesus Christ, In so doing, he received the gift of salvation from God, meaning that his soul was now eternally secure as it was destined for heaven.

In Acts 18:24-38, there is yet a third example of how God found a way to reach a man, Apollos, who had a desire to pursue after Him, with the truth of the gospel about Jesus Christ, which was necessary for his soul’s salvation. This man was serious about serving God and desired to obey him but he did not know the truth about how to do so.

God therefore honoured his sincerity and desire to please him, by sending two of his servants (believers in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ), to point him in the direction of truth, so that his soul would be saved. All he had known about was the baptism of John the baptist but he did not know about God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and the good news that he had died for his sins and that he could be forgiven of them all, if he believed on Him.

In Acts 18:24-38, it reads:

• “And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him THE WAY OF GOD MORE PERFECTLY.

• And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”

It is a fact therefore, that God will draw near to us with his truth, if we draw near to him (James 4:8). That is if we sincerely pursue after Him and want to know Him and what truth is, he will find ways to get the truth about Himself and his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, to us.

However, as stated before because people love their sin and want to continue living how they want to live without having to account to anyone, they prefer to live their lives as if their heads are in a bubble or like an ostrich with its head in the sand.

They refuse to come out of that bubble, as they know that if they do, they will have to face reality and would find out who the true and living God is. They know that once they do, he will have something for them to do and rules as to how to live and they don’t want that, so they continue on with their heads in the sand, as if this makes truth go away.

Deep down, they do not want God or his Son the Lord Jesus Christ to rule over them and so they live their lives, although they KNOW that God exists, as if he does not.

Romans 1:16-32 states:

• “For I am not ashamed of THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

• For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things 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: 

• Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

• Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

• And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

(Written in March 2020, adjusted thereafter)

Dear Reader, if you found this Article interesting and want to know more or you want to find out who God is, to have relationship with Him and to know the truth about how to ensure you get to heaven when you die, you may also read:

• Note 231 – ‘Where Does Life Come From And Where Did It Begin?‘
• Note 82 – ‘Trying To Be The Best You Can Is Not Enough – Jesus Is The Answer’
• Any of the Notes under the Abundant Life Series from Notes 76-100 and 226-250.