Welcome to Shining the Light Ministries Bible Study. This week we will be studying about how that faith itself is the evidence for the existence of God.
I like math and I was playing around with a calculator the other day and put in the square root of 10. Rounded to 2 decimal places the square root of 10 is 3.16.
10 is the Biblical number for law
There are 10 commandments.
3.16 points to John 3:16
John 3:16 is often referred to as the Gospel in a nutshell.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The law points us to Jesus
Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
Just like the the number 10 points us to its root of 3.16. The law points us to Jesus.
Jesus is the end of the law
Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
Galatians 3:24-25 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”
Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”
Galatians 5:18 “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
This does not mean that we can go sin all we want too and still go to heaven!
It says if we are led by the Spirit we are not under the law.
If someone is led by the Spirit then they will fulfil the whole law by loving God and loving others.
Matthew 22:37-40 ” Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
1 Corinthians 6:10 “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Romans 1:20 “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:”
God’s hand is clearly seen through all His creation. From the complex biological components of the human eye to the various mathematical functions and scientific laws that governs the universe.
Even the word universe means “a single spoken sentence. And God said “Let there be…”
How a person can study the complex and orderly laws of math and science and believe that the sprang from disorder and chance, is beyond me.
The Bible says Atheists are willingly ignorant.
2 Peter 3:3-7 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
They know better, they just don’t want to admit it, because then they would have to submit to God.
John 3:19-20 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
The Bible says that Faith is the evidence for there being a God.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faithis the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Natural processes cannot explain the existence of faith, only God can.
Just think about it for a moment. If life originated from any kind of natural process, and not from a Supernatural act by a Supernatural Being (God), then how do you explain the existence of faith?
Why do most humans feel the need to believe in something supernatural, if everything is just natural?
What about transformed lives?
Furthermore, if there is no God, if the Bible is not true, if Jesus is not real, then why are so many people’s lives dramatically transformed, when they just simply believe in Jesus and start obeying the Bible?
How do you explain all the testimonies of people whose lives were a mess until they believed in Jesus and started obeying the Bible? They were drug addicts, drunkards, prostitutes, criminals, etc. Some of them tried everything (like counseling, discipline, even other religions) to turn over a new leaf and get their lives straitened out. Some of them had their family and the law try to straighten them out, but nothing worked!
Until they committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and started obeying His Word, then suddenly they never drank, did drugs, committed crimes, or prostituted ever again.
You can find a lot of testimonies like these by going to churches and talking to Christians, and there are a lot of them on Youtube as well.
Jesus Christ is the only explanation for these transformed lives!
These transformations are not caused by any natural process, but by a Supernatural act by a Supernatural Being (Jesus Christ).
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
If you have never had any of your own experiences with God, you can know that He is real based upon the testimonies of other people’s experiences. The truth is, you may not have your own experience with God until you do believe in Jesus.
The Bible says that faith is the evidence for the existence of God, the truth of the Bible, the reality of Jesus being God, and all other things supernatural.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the… evidence of things not seen.”
So science and history can be debated all day long, but the fact is there is a God that created everything! And the existence of faith itself, is the evidence that proves that fact! And since there is a God, you are accountable to Him!
What does God require of you?
To repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.
The Bible says:
Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus is both God and the Son of God.
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”
1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
If you do not believe in Jesus, and repent of your sins before you die then you will be tormented in flames of fire for all eternity.
Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (This death is not physical, but spiritual. It means that you will be separated from God and tormented in the Lake of fire for all eternity.)
Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Revelation 20:14-15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 14:11a “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night” (You will never burn up and stop existing in Hell, you will be tormented in flames forever.)
Mark 9:43 “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:”
Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
How to Be Saved:
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
You must believe that Jesus arose from the dead in a flesh and bone body, not just in Spirit form.
Luke 24:36-40 “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.”
To believe in Jesus does not mean to only be fully persuaded in your mind of who Jesus is and what He did.
The word “believe” in Romans 10:9 in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance roots backwards twice to a word, which means “obey” (the word believe is Strong’s # 4100 in the Greek, which comes from # 4102, which comes from # 3982, which means obey and also yield).
This shows that true faith is rooted in obedience.
Therefore, in order to fulfill the requirements of salvation in Romans 10:9 you must be fully persuaded in your mind of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done, and your heart must change from wanting to sin to wanting to obey God. This is an immediate change of your heart (meaning desire and will).
It means that you yield (submit) your will to God’s will. That is repentance of sins, and it is required for you to receive forgiveness of your sins.
All of your actions may not change immediately after you get saved, but you are going to be so convicted over your sin, when you mess up, that you are going to cry out to God to help you to change. This is the only way you can go to heaven.
If you have never done this, please do it now. Here is a prayer that you can pray word for word or use as a guide to tell God that you believe the gospel, repent of your sins and ask Him to forgive you of your sins.
The prayer does not save you.
The decision to believe in Jesus and repent of your sins is what saves you.
The prayer just helps you tell God that you have made these decisions.
Here is the prayer you can pray, if you have made the decisions written above:
“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross and bodily arose from the dead 3 days later to pay for my sins. I repent of my sins. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to obey you and live for you for now on. Please take me to heaven when my life on this earth is over. Thank you for saving me. In Christ Jesus name, Amen.”
Genesis 2:7-9 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
Then Adam saw God create more animals in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:18-20 “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
Now, God knew that there would not be a suitable mate (help meet) for Adam among the animals, but God did this so Adam could see that there was no suitable mate for him among the animals.
So then when God created the woman, Adam would love her and cherish her. God wanted Adam to know that the woman was just as unique and special to Him, as he was.
No one has ever observed an explosion create or design life.
Adam saw God do both, and then passed the record of the account down to his children.
You see, the book of Genesis was actually recorded by many different people including Adam, Noah, and Abraham. Moses just organized it.
Therefore, we do have an eyewitness account from Adam that God created things,but there is no eyewitness account anywhere that the big bang ever happened!
No one has ever seen the big bang happen even once.
No one has ever seen any kind of explosion create life either, yet people have seen God create animals more than once.
Moses and all of Egypt saw God create lice from dust!
Exodus 8:16-18 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.”
Therefore, creation has been repeated, and it has been observed by different people at different times.
The big bang is only based on blind faith, creation is based on a more informed faith.