Preached:

LR
Christianity 101:
Is There a God?
(Series Introduction)

Introduction
A. First principles. Bible basics. We’ve heard them called many things.
B. These are those building blocks of faith that we must revisit from time to
time. We have to go back to our roots of faith and make sure that we are
building our faith on the correct foundation.
C. Over the next several weeks, we are going to be looking at some first
principles lessons. This is not a series, per se, but rather several lessons on
the building blocks of faith. We will probably even take a break from the
lessons every so often just to give ourselves a little break.
D. We are calling this set of lessons “Christianity 101.”
E. Today, we begin at the only place we can begin. We are going to ask the
question,“Is there a God?” If there is not, we have a serious problem and we
have nothing on which to build our faith. We must make sure we know that
there is a God!
F. This lesson will be different from some of my other lessons for a couple of
reasons:
1. First, the lesson will be a little technical. When we speak of apologetics, it
is necessary for us to think in a little more technical way.
2. Also, there will not be a ton of Bible verses. You may be thinking, “wait a
minute! We can turn to hundreds of verses in the Bible and read about
God.” That is so true,in fact, the very first verse of the Bible speaks of
God. The fourth word, in fact, in our English Bibles is “God.” Hundreds of
times we read phrases like, “The Lord God said.” We can read His name
many, many times. However, someone who does not appreciate the Bible
as we do could turn right around and say, “Well, that’s a fine book, but I
don’t think it’s divine. You can’t use something that you claim is from God
to prove there is a God.” And that person would have a good point. So,
while we will use some verses this morning, we will really have to step out
of the Bible for most of our thoughts as we seek to establish whether or
not there is a God.
G. Those who write and teach about these matters divide arguments for the
existence of God into several categories, and I would like to use those
categories as our points this morning. When we piece all these together, we
can believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God exists.

BODY

1. The first line of reasoning is known as the Ontological argument.

 a. Most of us can see that the last part of that word is “logical,” and we
recognize that the word basically means “thought” or “knowledge.” The
first part “o-n-t-o” comes from a word that means “being.”
b. Here is the basic line of reasoning for the existence of God from this
argument: People everywhere in all times have thought about a Being
superior to themselves.
c. In other words, people think about God, therefore there is a god.
d. Admittedly, this is probably the weakest of the lines of reasoning, but it is
not without merit.
e. While our minds can come up with some pretty wild things sometimes in
our imaginations, those things are based upon reality.
f. With that in mind, think of the divine. If we have some thought of the
supernatural (the divine), then it stands to reason that our minds are not
inventing God. We are basing those thoughts on something that is real.
g. It is interesting to read stories of those who are atheists or who have
questioned the existence of God for their entire lives. Then, when they
come to a struggle in life, or even when they face the end of life, so many
of them pray. Some even seek out a spiritual leader of some kind to talk
to.
h. Again, that may not be the strongest argument for God’s existence, but it
does begin our thoughts.

2. Now, here is where things can begin to get technical. The second line of
reasoning is called the Cosmological argument.
a. While that is a word you probably don’t use every day, don’t let it scare
you, because what the word sounds like is what it means. While the word
is spelled “c-o-s-m-o,” just think of it as “c-a-u-s-e.” In fact, the dictionary
defines the word in this way: “the branch of philosophy dealing with the
origin and general structure of the universe, with its parts, elements, and
laws, and esp. with such of its characteristics as space, time, causality,
and freedom.” (dictionary.com)
b. In other words, what we are thinking about here is this fact: there is
something, therefore, something had to cause it.
c. Now, we know this is true from so many areas of our lives.
(1) When we see a beautiful painting, we don’t just think, “Wow, that just
appeared out of thin air!” No, we know that a painting doesn’t happen
without a painter.
(2) A law does not come into existence without a law-giver.
(3) A musical score doesn’t happen without a composer.
(4) A book does not come into being without an author.
d. So, we can carry this over to something even as mind-boggling as the
universe. The universe did not just happen: there was something that
caused it.
 e. This is where we can truly begin to teach others that God exists. Notice
the following. There are only three possible explanations for the universe
and all that is in it:
(1) It has always been. Those who believe this areas rare as rare can be.
They may not want to give credit to God for the universe, but most
who do not want to give God the credit are scientific in nature. If they
teach that the universe has always existed, they are going against a
scientific law. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states, basically,
that all we know in the material world is wearing down. It may wear
down quickly, as with leaves in the fall, or extremely slowly, as with a
star, but it is, in fact wearing down. Knowing that things are wearing
down, there had to be a time when they were “wound up,” if you will.
In other words, even for something as amazingly large as the universe,
there had to be a beginning point. Matter is not eternal, so there are
extremely few who believe that the universe has always been.
(2) It was caused by something else that was material. In other words,
there was something that was and that gave rise to the something we
see now. This is, basically, the idea behind the Big Bang theory and
other similar theories. While many scientists have spent a lifetime
trying to prove these types of theories, there is still one question they
cannot get around: If something material gave rise to something
material, no matter how far back you go in time, material is not
eternal, therefore, what gave rise to the material? Have you noticed
that, over the past few years, those who teach and hold to the theory
of evolution and the Big Bang have expanded their guess as to the age
of the universe? And it has not been by just a small amount; it has
been by billions of years! Even from the time I was in high school
(which, young people, wasn’t THAT long ago!), the age of the universe
given by those who teach this has more than doubled! When I was in
high school, the common teaching was that the Big Bang occurred
somewhere around 8-10 billion years ago. Now students are being
taught that it occurred between 20-25 billion years ago! How do you
just expand the universe by 15 billion years?!? But that’s what it
needed for the fading hope of those who hold to this idea.
(3) Third, the only logical explanation is that the universe was created by
mind. In other words, something that was not material created it.
Everything that has been known, is known, or could be known can be
divided into two categories: matter and mind. If matter is not eternal
and did not create the universe, then the only logical explanation is
that it was mind; something, or Someone with intelligence.
3. The third line of reasoning is the one with which we are most familiar today
because of the news that has been brought about from it. It is called the
Teleologicalargument. This is the study of design or purpose. In other words,
as we have seen in what is called the “ID movement” (short for Intelligent
Design), there is obvious design to every part of the universe, so there had to
be Someone to design it.
a. As a side note, do you not find it interesting that those who are trying to
get Intelligent Design taught in school are simply trying to provide it as an
alternative to the teaching of evolution? They are simply saying that
teachers should be allowed to teach that there is another belief that the
universe was designed. What is amazing is that those who are against it
are saying that this is a religious, Bible-based teaching. That’s not what
ID is about! It is simply saying that mind created the universe. There is
nothing in the basic tenets of ID about the God of the Bible, yet those who
are opposed to it know that God must be taught. I think they oppose it
because they do not want to lose, and they know that young people are
smart enough to see that ID is right!
b. But here is where I want to camp for a few minutes, because this is a
great proof that God exists. When we look around in nature, we can easily
see design. Some is on a large scale and some is on the microscopic
level, but all is amazing! In fact, let’s take a few moments to go “micro to
macro.”
(1) DNA is the tiny substance found in every cell of our bodies.
Programmed into that DNA is everything about you: hair color, eye
color, skin pigment, height, and everything else about you. But DNA is
tiny, seeing as how it fits inside the nucleus of the cell. However, it is
packed with information. In fact, some have tried to get across just
how much information there is in a strand of DNA. One writer suggests
that if you were to take books and stack them on top of each other
until you had enough information to equal the amount of information
found in a pinhead’s worth of DNA, you would have a stack of
paperback books tall enough to reach the moon…492 ½ times!!!
(2) Now, let’s just say for a moment that we are in a cell in or around your
eye. Did you know that your eye moves constantly just so you can
properly see? Eyes are able to have what are called “tremors” that
simply shift the eye in tiny circles so you can see. There are 6 muscles
that connect to the eye and they move it in these circles. How small
are the circles? 4/100000 of an inch. How small is that? Take a sheet
of paper and look at the thickness, thendivide that by about 65. That’s
how small the circle is. And your eyes do this around 4million times
each day. And without you knowing about it or telling your eyes to do
it!
(3) Now, let’s also remind you of the brain, which simply cannot be
explained without God. The brain is not only able to gather
information, but process it, store it, and create it. Most scientists agree
that our brains, if they were only able to store information, could hold
so much information that we could not fill it up if we lived 1million
lifetimes! (Compare THAT to the computers at Best Buy!)
(4) Let’s move out just a little bit to nature in general. When we see two
dogs and they are going to have a baby, we know what it will be…a
dog. When we see two cats and they are going to have a baby, it’s
going to be a cat. There is design in the reproduction in nature.
Animals produce after their own kind…always. Oh, and by the way, if
you want to watch an evolutionist’s head explode, try to get him or her
to explain how reproduction evolved!
(5) Now, just think of the planet on which we live. You’ve probably heard
these facts before, but listen to them again:
(a) The earth revolves around the sun at an average ofabout 93million
miles from the sun. Considering the sun’s size and power, that is
just right. If we were just 10% closer (about 85million miles away
from the sun), the earth would be completely uninhabitable. The
heat from the sun would not allow life to continue. If we were just
10% further away (about 102million miles away), everything we
know would freeze, and life would not be possible.
(b) But, while we are that far away, we are moving. To complete what
we know as a year (one revolution around the sun), the earth
moves at the rate of 65,000 miles per hour through space on her
orbit. Oh, that’s about 18 ½ miles per second. But we don’t even
feel it!
(c) And, the earth tilts on her axis at just the correct angle. It is about
23.5 degrees. (Okay, so it’s 23.44 degrees to be exact.) Why is
that important? Combine that with how we travel around the sun,
and you get the seasons. Due to our speed, distance, and tilt, we
get perfect length of seasons. If our summers were longer, food
would not survive the heat, and if our seasons were shorter, there
would not be adequate time to grow the food. All these things just
happen to be exactly right for earth to grow food.
(d) The moon, earth’s satellite, is about 400 times closer to the earth
than is the sun, and also happens to be about 400 times smaller.
While this may not be important, it is amazing, because if those
numbers were any different, solar eclipses would not occur. But it’s
the moon’s distance from the earth that is important. As you know,
the moon controls the tides in our seas and oceans. At 238,857
miles from the earth, the moon sits at the perfect distance. If it
were any closer, the gravitational pull would be too great and the
tides would destroy most of the coastal lands, including some of our
great cities. If the moon were any farther away, there would be no
tides and the seas and oceans would not wash up debris. Life in the
oceans would stagnate and die, causing a loss of the supply of over
90% of our oxygen. I just wonder why the moon sits that distance
from the earth?
 (6) One more in this line of reasoning that may be somewhat technical,
but itwill show you the great design put in place by our Lord. When a
design is good, we use it again. God did the same. As He designed
our universe, He used the same designs in many places. One of those
is what is known as the Fabonnacinumber. This is where one number is
the sum of the previous two, so the sequence is 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,
etc. forever. These numbers, scientists and mathematicians will both
agree show great design. And, guess what? They are seen in nature
at almost every level. From the number of petals on the stems of
flowers, to the width of a DNA molecule, even to the planets, the
numbers are everywhere.
(a) Just to show you one thing that brings this to our homes a little bit.
Do you remember when it was a big story that Pluto was no longer
classified as a planet? It should not have been surprising!
(b) Why? Because of these numbers!
(c) When the time is figured for each planet—and the asteroid belt,
which revolves around the sun, too—to revolve around the sun one
time, in other words to complete a year, and then divided by the
planet next to it (Earth to Venus, for example), the answer is
ALWAYS a FabonnaciNumber. Except Pluto! It was no wonder it
wasn’t a planet. It didn’t fit the design!
(7) While this may have seemed like a technical few minutes, it should
have reinforced in our minds the knowledge that there is great design
in our universe and that where there is design, there must be a
Designer!
4. The fourth line of reasoning is called the Moralargument. This is the idea that
every person has somethingthat he or she thinks is right and/or wrong. That
being true, where did that sense of morality come from? Why does he or she
think something is right? What does he or she think something is wrong?
a. It is very simply because there is a sense of right and wrong built in to us.
We have the ability to change it, or as Jeremiah said, to lose the ability to
blush, but all of us know certain things are right and certain things are
wrong.
b. From where did that come? Evolution cannot explain how conscience
came into being. But when we know that there is a God Who is all
righteous, and that the Bible says we are made in His image, it isn’t hard
to explain how we have those feelings.
5. The final line of reasoning is one we will not take the time to develop because
it is another lesson in this series, but I just want to make mention of it. It is
called the Supernaturalargument, and deals with the Bible. Since the Bible
claims to be from God, we should see certain characteristics in it, such as
harmony, fulfilled prophecy, and a complete lack of error. We DO see those in
the Bible. Again, that is another lesson in Christianity 101, but it is
something worth noting, especially if you are studying with someone who is
 beginning to lean towards the fact that God exists. Once they see the other
four arguments, then it is time to lead him or her to the Bible.

6. Now, as we begin to tie this first lesson in Christianity 101 up, let me say
again that this might have seemed like a strange lesson for a sermon.
Almost no Scripture,and some of this information has been scientific and
philosophical. So why study it, especially in this setting, as we come together
to praise God? Let me offer these reasons:

a. First, if we are going to think about the basics of our faith, there is no fact
that must be ingrained in our mind more than the fact that God IS. If
there is no God, then what we are doing here today is a hoax.
b. Second, when we consider, as David said, “The wonders” that God has put
into the universe, both the microscopic world and the great vast universe
in which we live, we are led to deeper faith in His power, His knowledge,
His wisdom and even His love.
c. Finally, when I know that there is a God Who is like that, I will want to
serve Him. I will want to know more about Him.

Conclusion (adapted from Apologetics Press website)

He was born on May 30, 1888 in Festus, Missouri. When he was just a small child, his family moved to
Swayzee, Indiana, where he was reared and later graduated from high school. In that same small,
north central Indiana town, he met and married his first wife, Bertha Jane, in 1908—the same year he
was baptized. It was that year, on the occasion of his baptism, that he made a vow: “If the Lord will
allow me to get an education,” he said, “I will use it in service to Him.” The Lord would indeed allow
him to obtain an education. And he would spend the rest of his life remaining true to that vow.
In fact, it was shortly after his baptism that he began to prepare himself to preach and to obtain the
education he wanted so badly. He started his teaching career in a one-room rural schoolhouse, but left
that position to become an inventor. In fact, while he is not in the textbooks often, he gave us a great
invention: the automobile turn signal!
He began preaching full time for the church in Bloomington, Indiana, and around 1925 was offered a
student instructor scholarship at the University of Indiana, which helped pay for some of his school
expenses. He continued to preach whenever possible, in order to help pay for things the scholarship
did not cover. Eventually, even though he had to drop out of college on more than one occasion to
earn money to continue his schooling, he graduated with B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. In 1929, he
was offered the job of chairman of the department of physics at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville,
Tennessee—a position he held for a number of years. In the mid-1940s, he became heavily involved in
training graduates for nuclear studies in connection with the Oak Ridge National Laboratories.
Even though he could have stayed on for many more years at Tennessee Tech, he chose to leave his
prestigious position at the University and move to Temple Terrace, Florida, to become academic dean
of Florida College, where he worked until his retirement in 1954. Due in large part to his reputation
and untiring efforts, Florida College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools.
During his retirement, he remained active in the Lord’s work, preaching full time for congregations in
Winter Haven and Miami, Florida. He also wrote three books: Sermon Outlines, A Commentary on
Hebrews and Romans, and Church Leadership. In addition, he wrote more than thirty-five songs.
But this man, an educator and scientist, was a brother in Christ who gave us the song that has been
called the National Anthem of the Church of Christ. For several years, it was humorously known as
“728b” due to its placement with that number in the songbook Songs of the Church.
But it is worth remembering that a scientist was the one who gave us the words with which we often
affirm our undying belief:
There is, beyond the azure blue,
A God, concealed from human sight;
He tinted skies with heavenly hue,
And framed the worlds with His great might.

There is a God, He is alive

In Him we live and we survive.
From dust our God created man.
He is our God, the great I AM.