I Don't Need God
The whole concept of God is pointless. I do not see any evidence of God’s existence, so why should I believe in Him. Not to mention, I do not have any need for God in my life. I have a good job, a home and a family. I am a good a person. I am honest and I help those who are in need. Surely, if there is a Heaven, God will allow me into it. I deserve it.
These are arguments against God that I was recently confronted with. How does a believer answer such questions, and what could be done convert someone that has adopted such logic? I will be dealing with these issues in this hub.
Does God Exist?
Of course God exists! As a matter of fact, there is so much evidence for the existence of God that the Bible puts unbelief in the same sinful category as murder, and condemns them alike (Revelation 21:8). One of the most convincing evidences of the existence of God for me is the fact that every living thing in our world works by design. Take the human body, for instance. It is designed of many intricate systems that depend on one another in order for humans to live.
For example, take the process of eating. God has designed us with teeth to masticate our food in preparation for digestion. During chewing, glands inject saliva into the food we eat with pre-digestive enzymes to help break down our food before it reaches our stomach. In our stomach, more enzymes and acids are utilized for the further breakdown of food matter and absorption of nutrients.
After our stomach breaks the food we eat down sufficiently, it travels through the intestinal track, where the intestinal walls absorb more nutrients. The remainder of the food matter gets disposed of as waste. This is an amazing and complex process that works by design; and if it works by design that means there is a designer. The Bible identifies that designer as God.
Something else I point out to people who protest the existence of God, especially when they tell me that they have never seen God so why should they believe in Him, is that 2,000 years ago God came down to our planet to reveal Himself to us, in the person of Jesus Christ. Since Jesus is no longer with us, the New Testament was written by witnesses to testify of Him. Therefore, we have a reliable record of His existence and character.
What Do I Need God for?
True happiness and direction in life come from knowing God. A good job, a home and even a family provide only temporary satisfaction. The human soul longs for something more. The human soul longs for God. I can relate to this. I was once without God and achieving my ambitions. Although, I thought, is this all there is to life? My existence seemed so shallow.
We are designed for a relationship with God. We have a God shaped void in our heart. When we attempt to fill that void with worldly things, it does not work. This is why, oftentimes, after people achieve their ambitions they are still not satisfied with life; or, at best, only temporarily satisfied.
When we accept Jesus into our heart, we experience tremendous joy. This has been my experience. I felt like I was starving for the joy of the Lord, but I did not realize it until I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior; because after experiencing the joy of having Him in my life, the temporal joy that I had previously experienced over the course of my life seemed so shallow and unfulfilling. I saw the joy that the world had to offer in its true light because I had the joy of Jesus to compare it to, and I wanted more of the joy of Jesus.
Not only does God give us lasting joy in our life, His Word provides a basis for us in terms of morality, which in turn works to protect us. In a corrupt world with a degrading standard of morality, it is hard to know how we should live. Fortunately, for us, we have an unchangeable standard of living in the Bible to help us.
For example, drinking alcohol is looked upon as something social, fun and enjoyable. Every time I go to a Polish wedding, vodka flows like water. Toasts are customarily made with the proclamation, “To your health”—except there is nothing healthy about alcohol. It is poisonous, plain and simple.
Drinking alcohol has led to untold misery for humanity throughout history. I once read that one in seven drinkers become alcoholics. Drunk driving accidents kill numerous people every year, and drinking alcohol causes injury to the body in the form of liver damage, among other things. These are some of the reasons I believe the Bible condemns drinking liquor (Proverbs 23:29-35). In obeying God, we are safeguarded against such injurious behavior (Deuteronomy 4:40).
This applies to many other examples, with detrimental consequences, which are also accepted by the world. These include promiscuity, homosexuality, smoking cigarettes, eating unhealthy food, etc.
I Deserve Heaven
Without the Bible, it is so easy to loose sight of just how corrupt we humans really are. Our heart is so naturally deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), that we can actually fool ourselves into believing that we are noble and honorable. This is because we could always find someone else that is worse off than we are and use them as a standard of comparison. In that light, we actually look pretty good. However, when we use the Bible as a standard of morality, we quickly discern the true nature of many of our thoughts and actions and see that we need serious reform.
No one, by their good deeds, could earn salvation. This is because we have already fallen short of the requirement for entry into the Heaven, which is no less than perfect obedience to the Ten Commandment Law of God. The Bible identifies all of us as sinful (Romans 3:23). Since we all have sinned, we deserve the punishment of death (Romans 6:23). Jesus died for our sins to deliver us from that punishment (1 Corinthians 15:3); although, He did not actually sin (1 Peter 2:22). If anyone truly deserves to go to Heaven by their merits, it is Jesus.
Biblical Quiz
view quiz statisticsIn accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, not only is the justice of God fulfilled; but Christ actually imparts His holy character to us, so that we can be considered righteous and worthy of Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:21). Don’t we have such a wonderful and loving Savior?
God is real. Evidence for His existence abounds in the world around us, through the person of Jesus Christ and in the Bible. True and lasting happiness come from having a relationship with Him. His Word gives us wisdom and protection against the morally depraved world in which we live. He helps us to see ourselves in our true nature, and to reform that nature. He is loving; and salvation is found in Him.
About convincing an unbeliever about these truths: all we could do is tell them the truth and pray for them. The Holy Spirit will do the convincing (John 16:8). We only need to do the talking and plant the seed. Although, if an unbeliever rejects the workings of the Holy Spirit, sadly, there is nothing that can be done. God does not force our will.
More Christian Hubs by Greg Sereda
What will we do in Heaven? Will we be able to high dive into the River of the Water of Life? Will we discover new life in the universe? Will we be able to fly like eagles? Will we build our ultimate dream home? Will we have exotic pets? Find out by reading this hub.
A comparison of the stories of the fiery furnace in Daniel 3 and the lions den in Daniel 6 to Jesus' second coming! Find out how the deliverance of the three faithful Hebrews from the fiery furnace and the deliverance of Daniel from the lions den parallels the deliverance of God's people at Jesus' second coming by reading this hub!
