1 Peter 3:15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect
New Series: Who, What and Why? What we Believe about God and Why we believe it to be true.
Our faith in God forms the complex and vital center of our lives as Christians. But what exactly to we believe about the nature of God, and why should we believe it to be true?
In constructing a forensic case, investigators often ask the questions: who, what and why? In this series we will attempt to answer these same three questions in the following three ways.
Who: We will spend one week discussing each of the three persons of the Trinity.
What: Each week we will consider the portion of the Apostle’s Creed that speaks about that aspect of God’s nature.
Why: We will discuss why we believe what we believe.
This week we will discuss:
Who: is God the Father?
Gallup’s May 2022 Values and Beliefs poll finds the vast majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81% who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup’s trend.17% of Americans now say they do not believe in God.
These are startling numbers and are trending in a downward direction. How do we answer people’s unbelief? How do we make an apologetic?
What: Do we believe about Him?
Apostles Creed states: I Believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth…
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Why: Do we believe that He exists?
“Faith is placing your trust in that which you have good reason to think it true” William Lane Craig
Will explore this question today arguing for the fact that there is a Creator of the heavens and the earth, using what theology calls General Revelation.
General revelation is God’s communication of himself to all persons at all times and in all places.
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Special revelation, on the other hand, involves God’s particular communications and manifestations of himself to particular persons at particular times, which are available now only by consulting certain sacred writings.
Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech,and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun
Two Classical Arguments for the Existence of God
A Look at God as our Father
God is not a distant, universe creating, uninvolved God. He is personal, loving, gracious and faithful.
Hosea 11:1-4
Luke 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Matthew 6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”