12/16/2018 We Can Believe 1

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1 "We Can Believe" Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Hello, I m Phil Sanders, and this is a Bible study In Search of the Lord s Way. Today we re going to see why believing is rational and intelligent. Stay with us. Welcome to In SEARCH of the Lord s Way! We re here to search the Scriptures for God s will. Romans 10:17 says, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The more I read the word of God, the more I know it to be true and believe what it says. John 20 verses 30 to 31 says, Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. I wish everyone were a Christian and believed in God. I wish everyone knew the love of Jesus and had life in his name. That s why we come to you each week. Thanks for taking time with us today. We want to be a part of your life. Some have suggested that faith operates in the realm where there is no evidence or reason to believe, that it s a leap in the dark. They even suggest that people who believe are irrational and blind to reality. Our culture has begun more and more to cultivate people who have stopped believing in God or are willing to obey His teaching. Six percent of adults in America say they are atheists. But according to Barna, Generation Z that was born between 1999 and 2015 and is the largest American generation yet. They number between 69 and 70 million children and teens. Sadly, teens 13 to 18 years old are twice as likely as other generations to say that they are atheist (that is 13% versus 6%). Barna reports 34% of Generation Z claim no affiliation with religion at all. Sadly, because of this, they don t know God or the truth about God. Today we want to give rational, intelligent reasons to believe. Now, we offer this study on why we believe, free. If you d like a printed copy or a CD of our study and you live in the United States, mail your request to In Search of the Lord s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK or send an to searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, you can call our toll-free telephone number. That number is We also have materials free on our website at The Edmond church will now worship in song, we ll read from Romans 1:19 to 22, and then we ll explore some reasons to believe. Our reading today comes from Romans 1 verses 19 to 22. And there Paul talks about some ungodly and unrighteous men who wanted to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And he tells the reason why. He says, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, (and) but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, And many of them, of course, became idolaters. We need God and we can believe in Him. Let s pray together. Oh Father, we re thankful that You have left marks of Yourself and signs of Your wisdom and Your power in creation. Give us strength, Father, to see those things and to believe in You. In Jesus name, Amen. 12/16/2018 We Can Believe 1

2 We can believe in God. It s not stupid, ridiculous, or naïve. Faith in God has never been a leap in the dark. Our faith in God is rational and built upon reasonable evidence. Faith in God is not some ancient myth that popped up out of someone s imagination. Oh, there are many religious myths in the world, but the Bible and the God of the Bible, is not one of them. No, the leap in the dark, the myth made up by men is that there is no God or that we have evolved from lifeless matter. It takes far more leap in the dark to believe those things than it does to believe in God. There are only two choices when it comes to this world and the existence of plants, animals, and humans. Either material things have always existed and randomly formed themselves into life; or an all-knowing, all-powerful Divine Being created us. That s the other option. Now this universe couldn t have existed forever, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, since it would have deteriorated long ago and left us with no usable energy. The laws of thermodynamics show the universe is running down. If the universe has always existed, the energy in this universe would already have disappeared. The hot sun and stars, the earth with its wealth of life, are complete evidence that the origin of the universe has occurred at a fixed point in time, and therefore the universe must have been created. Everything is an effect of some cause. Something cannot arise from nothing. As a result, there is a world, and there must be some infinite force behind it. Hebrews 3 and verse 4 says, For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. Now, it s only natural that we must agree with the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 1 and verse 20, For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. What we see in this world convinces us someone made it. We see the evidence of order, of design, of intelligence, of beauty, and of morals. We are alive in an amazing world. David wrote in Psalm 19 verse 1that, The heavens declare the glory of God; (and )the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Hebrews 11 and verse 3 says, By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. But this faith (we have to understand, this faith) in God is no leap in the dark; it is built on evidence. My friend, Jeff Miller, of Apologetics Press, wrote sometime back that: Creation is demanded by the evidence. Although God can t be directly observed or experimented on you can t see, smell, taste, or touch or hear Him still, He can be known to exist by indirect evidence. In the same way a forensic scientist can draw conclusions about an event by examining the aftermath without actually having witnessed what happened we can know a Creator exists. The universe demonstrates order, purpose, and design; well, this implies that there must be One who arranged this order, purpose and design. Beauty, form, design, and purpose in nature all imply a creative mind, an intelligent architect. It suggests that the force that brought the Universe into being is a super intelligent and all-powerful being. This design and purpose argues against the possibility that the universe just arose by mere chance or accident. There are numerous scientific laws that exist such as the Law of Biogenesis or the Laws of Thermodynamics. My friend Dr. Jeff Miller, who holds a PhD in biomechanical engineering with an emphasis in Thermodynamics and Biothermal science and Biosystems, declares that, there is absolutely no evidence from observational science that would indicate that a law could write itself. On the contrary, all evidence indicates that a law is always, without exception, the product of a law writer. So the observational evidence points to a Universal Law Writer well beyond the capabilities of humans who have no such ability to write laws that govern the Cosmos. But notice: naturalism allows 12/16/2018 We Can Believe 2

3 no Universal Law Writer, since such would be supernatural. Naturalism lacks evidence to prove that a law could write itself, so to believe in naturalism is irrational. It requires a blind faith to believe it and an unsupported rejection of God. Now naturalism is the "idea or belief that only natural (that is opposed to supernatural or spiritual) laws or forces could operate in this world." Naturalism has no place for God. But how did the laws that govern the universe come into existence? They didn t just happen! To believe all these natural laws caused themselves is a true leap in the dark. There is no evidence a law so powerful and so consistent could invent itself. There must not only be an intelligent Being behind the laws that govern the whole universe, there must also be the ability to cause it and to sustain it! The Bible describes the power of the Lord Jesus in Colossians 1:16 to 17, For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. We see consistency in nature, because God holds all things together. You might say well, To believe in God, one must have evidence for an intelligent and rational being. Well, I ask you, How did you get your intelligence and reasoning ability? Where did you get your mind? You know scientists can explain many things, but they cannot explain how people have consciousness and the ability to reason. There s no explanation for how unconscious matter by itself gave rise to consciousness and the ability to think. Rationalism doesn t come from nonliving matter. That idea is a leap in the dark! Only a conscious Being could create another conscious being. Someone says, we must have empirical evidence that God exists! We can only believe what we can discover with our five physical senses. Well, the people had empirical evidence in the first century. They saw, heard, and touched Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The apostle John was an eyewitness of Jesus Christ. And he wrote about Jesus in 1 John 1:1 to 4, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. Jesus could say in John 5 and verse 36, For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. Well, what about his works? Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews said in John 3 and verse 2, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Well, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation (John 11:47 to 48). At Pentecost the apostle Peter could say to everyone Someone says, Oh, those are just stories! Are you sure? The apostle Peter, an eyewitness said in 2 Peter 1:16, For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. The apostles proclaimed Jesus to hundreds of thousands on the day of Pentecost. They said in Acts 2:22 to 23, Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with (many) mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the 12/16/2018 We Can Believe 3

4 hands of lawless men. Now, what these men said was well known by all. In Acts 2:32 they said, This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Now, Peter cited passages from Joel and from the Psalms to show the things God predicted came to pass! Paul said more than 500 people saw Jesus alive after his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15 verse 6). These apostles spent their lives preaching these things. Are you saying that these men lied about Jesus? Persecuted, beaten, jailed, and sentenced to death, all of these eyewitnesses, who knew the truth, maintained these things were so. Would you devote your life to something that you knew was a lie? Jesus predicted His suffering, His death, and His resurrection. Matthew 20 verses 18 to 19 records His words, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up. He predicted it, but they didn t understand at first. Jesus had to convince them. Now, after Jesus died, the Pharisees asked Pilate, Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, After three days I will rise. Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, He has risen from the dead, and the last fraud will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can. So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard (Matthew 27:63 to 66). Women came to the tomb on the first day of the week and they found it empty. The angel asked in Luke 24:5 to 6, Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee. The apostles, at first, didn t believe the women and later on they began to believe. Then some apostles came to the tomb and found the 3,000 to 4000-pound stone taken away. Remember how Pilate ordered that the tomb would be secured and a guard of soldiers and then sealed the stone with his own authority. Who caused the earthquake? Who sent the angels? Who broke the seal? Who moved the stone? Who frightened the guards? They found the tomb empty. Peter and John found Jesus grave clothes left folded in the tomb. John 20 verses 5 to 7 tells what happened: And stooping to look in, he [John] saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. (And) He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Now, who would steal a body and leave the grave clothes, especially if there were strong guards present? People have come up with theories to explain the empty tomb and the faith of the disciples, but these theories fail to deal with the evidence presented by the eyewitnesses. We can believe their testimony; it s true! Let s pray together. Father we re thankful that we can believe and that You have left evidence so that we don t have to make a leap in the dark. Help us Father to have strong faith in Your Son Jesus Christ. And it s in His name that we pray, Amen. We have four accounts of the gospel, detailing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Now, these things were not done in a corner (Acts 26:26). Hundreds of witnesses saw Jesus alive after His resurrection. Men have examined Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for centuries and found them historically reliable witnesses. They meet the tests of honesty and integrity. They were in a position to know whether these things really happened. No one has found a reason to call them liars or impostors. They had no motive for preaching the resurrection, except that it was the truth. The apostles and preachers of the first century didn t become rich because of their testimony. In fact, history records 12/16/2018 We Can Believe 4

5 their numerous persecutions by the Romans, their opposition from the Jews, and their difficult lives caused by preaching Jesus Christ. Their love, their faith, their hope of eternal life, and their zeal for the truth kept them preaching Jesus Christ against all odds. You can believe in God! You can believe in Jesus Christ! You can believe in His death, His burial, and His resurrection! These are not just stories; they are historical accounts of what really happened! And if you re struggling to believe, why not read the four accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) for yourself? Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Now, if you believe in Jesus Christ, then act on your faith! We need a living faith! Turn from your sins and follow Jesus Christ; that s repentance! It shows you take God seriously. Confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God; and tell everyone that He is your Lord. And out of love, be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2 and verse 38). God will wash away your sins and add you to His church. Heaven awaits those who love, who believe, and who obey. Well, we that hope today s study about Jesus Christ, and our reason to believe in Him, has stirred you to consider the price paid that He paid for your soul and come to Him. Now, if you live in the United States and want a free printed copy or a CD of this message, mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK or send an to searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, you can call the Search office toll-free at You can also download these lessons or a newsletter online at our website: There s a schedule of our programs and a map with the churches in your area on it as well. As always we want to say to you. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In Search of the Lord s Way. 12/16/2018 We Can Believe 5