Standing on Two Rocks
Everything in life needs a good foundation. The Christian life is no exception. According to Hebrews 11:6, there are two beliefs every believer must have if they want to draw near to God and have a relationship with Him.
Heb 11:6 ESV And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
The foundation must be the rock that God exists and the rock that God rewards those who seek Him.
Rock #1: God exists.
Romans 1:18-21 says that God has revealed Himself through creation. Creation points to God. No one can stand before God someday and have an excuse that they did not know God existed.
Here are several arguments for God’s existence.
#1: The Building Argument (Cosmological Argument)
Every finite thing must have a cause. The fact a building exists shows that something caused it to be built. I don’t need to see the builder to know that the building was built by someone intelligent. The building is enough.
The universe had a beginning. Life had a beginning. Something had to cause this. The most logical explanation is that God, who is uncaused and has always existed, created the universe and is the first cause of everything. More details here:
http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/god-exists-faq.htm
#2: The Painting Argument (Teleological argument).
The design in a painting shows that a painter/artist made the painting. The design in creation points to an intelligent creator. A human cell is so complex that it could have only come into existence by an a intelligent being.
See this excellent video clip which shows how complex the cell is:
http://www.allaboutscience.org/intelligent-design-video.htm
#3: The Conscience argument
God has placed within every person a sense of right and wrong based on His laws. Every person has a conscience (Romans 2:15). People know internally that Hitler was wrong for slaughtering the Jews or when something is unfair. God is the one who has placed this sense of justice and right and wrong within people.
http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5283
More details here:
http://www.allabouttruth.org/does-god-exist-scientifically-aat-2dbd.htm
Rock #2: God rewards those who seek Him
If a person seeks to live God’s way and pursue a relationship with Him, God will reward that person. How? Look at Hebrews 11 and the rest of scripture. Here are some ways God will reward those who seek him.
Earthly Blessings
I am not saying that if you follow God you will have no problems. However, God’s way is best and we will save ourselves from a lot of consequences. Also, following God’s way in life puts you on the best possible chance of being successful in marriage and other areas of life. Sometimes life will be very difficult (Hebrews 11), but God’s way is still best.
Spiritual Blessings
Love, joy, peace, etc come to those who seek to follow God (Gal 5:22).
Heavenly Blessings
Eternal life is given to those who trust in Christ (John 3:16). Rewards will be given to those who faithfully serve Christ (2 Cor 5:12). If a person lives life now apart from God, they will spend eternity apart from God.
(C) Arlen Busenitz - http://www.truthapplied.com
Given at Berean Academy on January 25 of 2007.