Faith and Science?

Message Series: Q & A

Question: How can I have faith in God’s existence in light of scientific reason?

To answer this question, let's first address the common misconception that faith and reason are opposites. Many naturalists contend that they are not people of faith and some even contend those who trust in God's existence are not people of reason. Both contentions are false. All naturalists are every bit as much people of faith as people who trust in the reality of God's existence. If the following sounds harsh, please forgive me. I share it with people's best interest in heart and as someone who placed his faith in nothing for many years before coming to reasonable faith in God. With that said, naturalists are people of faith who are banking on the false hope that nothing beyond the material exists. This is an often unrecognized escape attempt that is doomed to failure, and it is usually based on false assumptions about the consequences of reckoning with the reality of God. Such avoidance has many tragic consequences, including the distortion of logic and reason about spiritual matters in the minds of those who must twist them to continue hiding from ultimate reality. To help us better understand faith, let's consider the Biblical definition of it in Hebrews.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…By faith we understand the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of visible things…Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe He exists and rewards those who seek Him.”– Hebrews 11:1- 6

In a sense faith is non-sense...that is non-sensory. It is our convictions about things that we cannot perceive through our physical senses of touch, taste, sight, sound and smell. In another sense faith is wishful thinking. By that I don't mean irrational thinking, but that what we believe about non-sensory matters is greatly influenced by our core desires. The Bible declares that "the fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" People convince themselves there is no God because they do not want there to be a God. People think life and freedom are found in independence from God and God's rule -"Free at last...Free at last...Great nothing almighty...We're free at last!" In reality, the exact opposite is true, but our natural disposition since the rebellion of our ultimate ancestors has been to run from God rather than to Him. We do not naturally seek God for the same reason criminals don't naturally seek judges. We are guilty! Though we run and hide, God keeps seeking us and stirring us to seek Him. Contrary to our fears, God is not seeking us to condemn us, but to save us! It is just as Jesus declared, "I did not come to judge the world, but to save it" - John 12:47. When we avoid God, we are unwittingly avoiding true life, freedom, peace, joy, comfort, hope and meaning. With all this in mind, please consider the following statements of faith (one in nothing and one in God) from two notable scientists, who are both men of faith and reason, and then let's examine a couple good reasons for faith in God instead of faith in nothing.

“I cannot know for certain, but I think God is very improbable. I live my life on the assumption that He is not there.”– Dr. Richard Dawkins (Oxford, The God Delusion)

“When you make a breakthrough, it is a moment of scientific exhilaration…It is also a moment when I feel close to the Creator.” – Dr. Francis Collins (Director of Human Genome Project)

Good Reason for Faith in God from Without:

The Existence and Exactness of Creation

“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness…of men who suppress the truth…because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” - Romans 1:18-22

The Bible declares that creation itself provides enough evidence to leave people without excuse for suppressing the truth about God's existence. If we think about it, we see that every effect has a cause. If we see light, we know there is a light source. If we hear a noise, we know there is a noise maker. If we apply that logic to the universe, we have good reason to expect there to be a universe source/maker. It is difficult to believe that nobody x nothing = everything. Some people ask "well, who made God?" The Bible declares that God is the alpha (first) and omega (last) - the self-existing Creator and self-sustaining Sustainer of everything else that exist. The magnificence and precision of the universe and the irreducible complexity of the life within it are also evidence of intentional design and thus a purposeful designer.

Good Reason for Faith in God from Within:
The Longing and Law in our Hearts

“God has…put eternity into man’s heart.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11

“When Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law…show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” - Romans 2:14-16

If we think about it, the things we desire actually exist, though we may be deprived of them at the moment. For example, when I hunger for food, I am longing for something that actually exists - food. This even holds true for non-material things, such as love and peace. I may lack the present experience of real love and thus long for it, but I am not longing for something that does not exists. Real love really exists. I am just deprived of it in that scenario - not in real life, thankfully. So, what if we apply this to God? People in all cultures throughout history have expressed deep desire, even extreme longing, for God. Is God the only thing people desire that does not really exists or does the universal longing for God indicate that God, though people experience alienation from Him, actually exists?

Humanity also appeals to a universal code of right and wrong. Why? If matter is all that exists, nothing really matters in any ultimate sense. There is no real right and wrong or fair and unfair. There is only your opinion and my opinion and his and hers, etc. If there is no actual objective morality, then literally everything is relative and subject to "says who?" debates that set us up to slide down into 'might makes right' morality. The Bible says that we intuitively know that there is actual right and actual wrong and that we are accountable to live accordingly. The existence of universal objective moral law, points to a universal law giver. Please take a moment to watch this interview with Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the Human Genome Project, which mapped the 3.1 billion letters in the human genetic code.

While these external and internal evidences point to God, they do not prove God's existence. As Scripture declares "he who comes to God must believe He exists and rewards those who seek Him”– Hebrews 11:6. I hope you will genuinely seek God with all your heart, and I know from His promises in the Bible and my personal experience that you will find Him when you do.

The Pursuit of Holiness

In our personal and corporate pursuit of holiness, God leads us to walk a narrow road with dangerous cliffs on either side. To the right of God's holy way, legalism seeks to pull us into pits of spiritual pride and to the left, lawlessness entices us to slip into depths of spiritual sloth. The same dangers have faced the church from the beginning. God inspired Paul to warn the church in Corinth about the "leaven of lawlessness" (1 Corinthians 5:1-8) and the church in Galatia about the "leaven of legalism" (Galatians 5:1-14). God warns us that allowing even a little of either will trip us up in our pursuit of holiness. So, with this in mind, let's look at God's narrow way ahead.

God's expectations for His people: Holiness and Fruitfulness

Texts: 1 Peter 1:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Matthew 23:25-26; John 15:16

What would happen if, in an effort to increase enlistment, an army lowered its standards to the point that virtually nothing was expected of soldiers? Imagine the boot camp announcement- "Good morning - We're having drill today, and you are all invited. We would love to have you, but hey, if you're not in the mood this morning, that's okay. Have a great day!" Or later perhaps..."Hey, we're going to battle, but if you want to go the beach, it is okay. It is your call in the new Army." Such a low expectation army might grow larger, particularly if paychecks came no matter what, but would an army like that be able to fulfill its mission in the world? How safe would you feel guarded by such an army?

I am all for growing the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, but I am concerned that too often, in an effort to grow the ranks, churches lower their standards. This seems more like Satan's strategy to grow the world in the church than God's strategy to grow the church in the world. Following such a course results in churches that look no different, in terms of character, than the world around them, and such churches are unfit to fulfill their mission in the world. God expects, that is requires, His people to live up to His exceptionally high standards of holiness and fruitfulness. He requires us to be without a trace of moral impurity within and without. Thankfully, He does not require us to do it in our strength.

God's provisions for His people: Holy Savior and Holy Spirit

Texts: Luke 1:68-75; Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-25

God knows that our very best falls short of His expectations. Thankfully, Jesus' very best did not. He perfectly fulfilled God's perfect expectations and then in obedience to God's will offered Himself up as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. In short, God's perfect love moved Him to satisfy the demands of His perfect justice that He might show His people perfect mercy. So, who are His people? Well, God invites everyone, no matter how relatively good or bad they have lived, to come just as they are to Christ for the forgiveness of and cleansing from all sin. He gives everyone who comes to Christ a right standing before Him. The Bible says that we are "clothed in Christ's righteousness" before God. Our sin and shame are mercifully covered by His goodness and that spiritual reality in the heavens changes our life on earth. We do not behave well enough to earn God's favor, and we never will. God gives us His favor in Christ and receiving that gift changes the way we live. We could say our standing in heaven impacts our walk on earth. It is a bit like Elvis impersonators. Here is what I mean. People who dress up like Elvis sadly begin to take on His mannerisms...thank you very much, and thankfully people who are clothed in Christ and thus indwelt by God's Holy Spirit are inspired and empowered to take on His holy characteristics. This is a patient, at times painful, process, but it is the inevitable fruit of saving grace. Those who sell heaven without holiness sell counterfeit cheap grace. Grace that actually saves lives actually transforms lives. As it has been said many times...God loves us enough to accept us right where He finds us, but He loves us too much to leave us there. So, clothed in Christ and indwelt by God's empowering Spirit, what is our role?

God's conditions for His people: Reliance and Repentance

Texts: John 15:1-8; 2 Chronicles 7:13-14; 1 Corinthians 9:25-27; Hebrews 12:1-14

We are to prayerfully rely on Christ as our Savior and humbly obey Him as our Lord. This includes praying privately, passionately and purposefully for the experiential holiness we lack. This also requires discipline from within and without. The Bible says athletes discipline their bodies for perishable wreaths and honor. We are to discipline ours, individually and corporately, for God's honor and His imperishable purposes. God works within each of us to will and work for His good pleasure, and when we humbly follow His lead the result is self-discipline. When we don't, He works within those around us to prompt them to help us move forward. When those around us follow His lead, it results in loving church-discipline that brings restoration and holiness. When none of that works, God lovingly, though often painfully, disciplines us Himself - not to harm us but to heal us and make us holy. God's love for us is perfect and continuous, even when He is "pruning" us for greater fruitfulness. We are to rely on God primarily and each other secondarily, and we are to repent (turn) from all the sin God brings to our awareness. This is a constant, lifelong process, and we will not cross some holiness finish line this side of heaven. We will never arrive at perfect sanctification (experiential character holiness) until we arrive in paradise, where there is no sin. We need to also keep in mind that this lifelong process is the fruit of God's gift of salvation - not the root (or source) of our salvation. We will always need to fully rely on Christ's finished work for our standing before God - rather than on God's ongoing work in and through our lives. As we do, God will make us increasingly holy as He is holy.