Have you ever thought about the fact that atheists, agnostics and skeptics speak a different language than those who profess a faith in God? A believer will look at the skies above and attribute the glories to His creator, the Almighty God of heaven. He approves the sentiment of King David, who wrote the 19th Psalm, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (1-4).
The skeptic attributes that same glory to chance and time, and denies that a divine hand is behind its existence.
A believer will consider his own existence, and the wonders of his physical body, and will declare, again with David, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:4).
The atheist considers man the product of evolution. He again claims that chance and time have combined over millions of years to bring about the serendipitous present reality. He may admit that there is an appearance of design behind the physical universe, and the flora and fauna that now exists, but insists that scientific inquiry proves otherwise.
It is not surprising that the believer has a difficult time convincing the skeptic of his need to conform himself to the teachings of the Bible. If God does not exist, then the Bible is an ancient book, and of little value in guiding modern man. So, the sticking point is an unwillingness to accept the existence of God. David wrote, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1). Until such time as the atheist accepts the reality of God’s existence, he will not consider it either necessary or important to heed a book that claims to be a record of His will for man.
What is surprising, however, is the large number of individuals who believe that God does exist, and yet despite that belief, do not seek to know His will. Some will say, “I am a spiritual person, but not religious,” and will depend upon their own feelings to validate their relationship with a Creator who is otherwise a mystery to them.
Others have the audacity to create a concept of God as they desire Him (or Her) to be. They are arrogant enough to state with authority that “their God” is a loving God, or a tolerant God, or a God who desires only happiness for His creation. They have no basis for that view other than it seems right to them, but they will state it confidently, and do not care to examine the possibilities further.
If I might be so bold to say it, this is not logical. It makes no sense at all to acknowledge the existence of a supreme being who has the ability to create a universe and the life in it, and then be unconcerned about knowing who that God is, and what He is like. And it is just as illogical to think that you can know who He is and what He is like unless He has revealed Himself to you! Surely such a Being as this is as different to you and I as we are to the lowliest amoeba or paramecium.
The Bible makes this claim clearly in Isaiah 55:8. ‘“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD.” The apostle Paul certainly agreed, and wrote to the Corinthians, “Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11). The wonderful thing about this passage is, however, the claim made by the apostle that, “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit” (10). God is not inscrutable. We can know His will because He has chosen to make it known. That is what the Bible does for man, it reveals God’s will to him.
And, it reveals that God is just. He is a God that will reward those who obey Him, and will punish the man who disobeys His will. It is only logical that if we believe that God exists, it is in our best interest to find out what He expects of us, and how we can please Him. The wise man of Ecclesiastes understood this, and wrote, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Do you believe that God exists? Well, that belief has a logical consequence. If you do, then you must seek Him out, to determine what He requires of you!
