The question that begins the discussion is, "What if I can't prove to someone that God is real?" It's a legitimate question, especially at this time when evolution is becoming the default for publicly educated persons. Many people have become convinced that either there is no God, or that He does not meddle in our affairs, and those people, more often than not, have prepared several sly and intelligent remarks to those brave Christians who dare to confront them with any mention of the Bible. So for young, inexperienced Christians, or any Christians who are not well-studied in apologetics, is sharing the gospel with these people even worth it? Thousands of people visit forums and message boards hoping to prove someone wrong, and thousands of people get no further than when they started. Where is the gospel in all of this?
In many cases, it isn't there! So many people get so caught up in trying to refute arguments and prove the virtues of Christianity that they forget that they are talking to lost people! Paul addresses the problem of this battle of the intellect in Romans.
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
Did you catch that? Since the world was created, God's ETERNAL POWER AND DIVINE NATURE has been made plain to all men. We are all made in the image of God, and by looking at ourselves, and the world around us, we instantly see how powerful God is. He has revealed Himself through creation.
But Paul's not done yet. He continues in chapters 1 and 2 to explain the inherent wickedness of man, how God has chosen to display Himself in glory, and we have denied Him. All men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Jews and the Gentiles are equally guilty. No matter how hard we try to keep the law, or how hard we try to make our own law, we fall short every time. As a result, our hearts are hardened against the creator and we are lost in darkness. So what hope is there in salvation? If we are all lost in darkness, how can we be found?
"But now a righteousness from God apart from law has been made known, to which the LAW AND THE PROPHETS testify." (Romans 3:21)
Here God has revealed Himself through His word made flesh in His son, Jesus Christ. It is in this context of Romans 1 we find John 3:16 come into place, that "God so loved the world,that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." But even then, when God sent His son "not to condemn the world, but to save the world"(John 3:17), the world rejected Him. Why?
Because "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."(John 3:19-21)
I want to pause for a moment. We have looked through Scripture to discover that since God created the world, He has continually revealed Himself, and we have continually rejected Him. Why do we fret with arguing the existence of God and the historicity of Jesus with someone who has no hope of reconciling with God unless He repents and turns to Jesus? I'm not saying we shouldn't study these things, because it's important for us to be well studied in the faith, but what should our focus be in sharing the gospel? Let's continue through Scripture to illustrate this point.
Everyone is familiar with the parable in Luke 16 of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The Rich Man lived in luxury, while Lazarus sat at his gate, where even the dogs had pity on him. The time cam for the two men to die; Lazarus went into Abraham's bosom, while the Rich Man went to Hell. The Rich Man called to Abraham, asking for Lazarus to cool his tongue with a drop of water. Abraham denied him. In desperation, the Rich Man begged for Lazarus to return to earth and warn his five brothers of this place of torment. Then Abraham responded, "They have Moses and the Prophets."
“‘No, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
From Abraham come these words that outline the foundation of presuppositionalism:
"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
If the Word of God does not pierce the heart of a man, there is no chance of convincing Him. No matter how irrefutable our arguments, how persuasive our contentions, if a man does not respond to the gospel, he will never know the truth. Imagine a room that is completely dark. You cannot know the true nature of the objects in the room until the light is on. In the same way, until Christ's light fills the darkness of our hearts, we cannot know the true nature of the things of God.
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."(1 Corinthians 2:14)
Since we know that we can point ourselves to God through inner revelation(what He has revealed to us already) and outer revelation(what He reveals through the Word of God, and through His son), but that we cannot convince someone of God's qualities without repentance, how do we answer the question, "What if I can't prove to someone that God is real?" Dear Christians, do not let this burden you; your ability to prove God's existence has nothing to do with someone's ability to repent. Share God's word to the world, and know that unless a man turns from sin, he will not inherit the kingdom of God, and unless he softens his heart, he will never understand who God is, or what He is capable of.
I hope you all were able to gain something from this, and may God give you all grace to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord,
Levi Gray
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