Embry Hills church of Christ Podcast

In Defense of the Existence of God


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Series: In Defense of Faith

Service: Gospel Meeting

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Kevin Clark

Summary In Defense of Existence of God

📘 Sermon Information

Course Title: Christian Apologetics / Fundamentals of the Christian Faith

Instructor: Kevin Clark

Date: 2025-10-03 Gospel Meeting Friday Night

Chapter/Topic: In Defense Of — Defending the Fundamentals: Existence of God, Scripture, Christ, Resurrection, and the Church (focus: Defense of the Existence of God)

🧠Key Learnings

Knowledge point 1: The necessity of examined belief (faith with reasons)

Summary:

  • Christians should move from inherited or convenient belief to personally owned, examined faith.
  • While family training and cultural influence are appropriate and commanded (Deuteronomy 6:6–9), there must come a point where the individual can articulate why they believe.
  • Knowing answers to fundamental questions (God, Scripture, Jesus, resurrection, church) affects how one lives, witnesses, and endures persecution.

Details:

  • Faith is not mere cultural conformity or emotional comfort; it should be grounded and defensible.
  • Personal conviction determines willingness to suffer, take moral stands, and evangelize.

Example:

  • The speaker contrasts cultural/team loyalty (e.g., sports allegiances) with authentic conviction about spiritual truths.

Knowledge point 2: Christians are commanded and expected to defend their hope

Summary:

  • 1 Peter 3:13–15 requires believers to "always be ready to give a defense" for their hope, with meekness and reverence.
  • This implies living visibly Christian lives that prompt questions from others and having prepared, credible answers.

Details:

  • The passage assumes others will ask why a Christian has hope; that assumption presumes Christian living draws attention.
  • Defense is for all Christians, not only clergy.

Example:

  • The speaker asks when was the last time someone asked you for the reason for your hope, illustrating the expectation that believers live in a way that invites such questions.

Knowledge point 3: Faith and evidence are complementary

Summary:

  • Biblical faith is the means by which we accept God’s existence (Hebrews 11:1–3; 11:6), but Scripture also points to evidence God has provided in creation and human experience (Romans 1:18–20).
  • God did not leave humanity without testimonies; creation, conscience, providence, and personal experience function as witnesses.

Details:

  • Faith pleases God and involves belief that God exists and rewards those who diligently seek Him.
  • Romans 1 teaches that God’s attributes are manifest in creation so people are "without excuse" for denying God.
  • The approach is not to demand a mathematical proof but to use revealed testimony plus observable evidence.

Example:

  • The speaker rejects the search for a single formula proving God and instead emphasizes the growth of faith through hearing Scripture and observing creation.

Knowledge point 4: Witnesses to God's existence — creation and providence

Summary:

  • Several spheres of testimony point to God’s existence and character: heavenly bodies, living creatures and plants, the human body, and humanity’s yearning for eternity.

Details and analysis for each:

  • Heavenly bodies (Psalm 19:1–6; Acts 14:15–18; Acts 17:22–28): the regularity and global visibility of sun, moon, stars declare God’s glory and goodness, providing universal witness and accountability.
    • Implication: people everywhere have access to this testimony; Paul used nature and providence to proclaim God in pagan contexts (Athens, Lystra).
  • Animals and plants (Job 40:15–24; Matthew 6:25–30): complexity, design, instincts, and provision for flora and fauna imply a Creator who cares and sustains life.
    • Implication: observation of ecosystems and species behavior supports belief in a designer and sustainer.
  • Human body (Psalm 139:13–16): complexity, skillful formation, healing, and consciousness argue for intentional design; medical and biological discoveries increase appreciation.
    • Implication: physiological and developmental testimony supports the claim of a purposeful Creator.
  • Yearning for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11): universal human sense of a transcendent longing indicates something "put" in humanity that points beyond mere temporal existence.
    • Implication: human desire for meaning and permanence is consistent with the existence of God.

Example/Case analysis:

  • Acts 14 Lystra: Paul and Barnabas point to God’s providential acts (rain, fruitful seasons) as evidence and are rejected by people who literalize the miracles into idol worship — illustrates both the witness and the human tendency to misinterpret or suppress the testimony.

Knowledge point 5: Personal experience and prayer as confirmatory testimony

Summary:

  • Answered prayers and personal providential experiences serve as powerful, subjective evidence for individuals.
  • The speaker emphasizes that personal answered prayers can meet civil standards of preponderant evidence for those who experienced them.

Details:

  • James 5:16 and Elijah’s example (James references) support the efficacy of prayer.
  • Personal testimony complements objective testimonies (creation, conscience) and can be persuasive in evangelism.

Example:

  • The speaker recounts experiences in practice and law where prayer seemed to bring improbable, favorable outcomes; these are given as reasons a believer can defend faith.

Knowledge point 6: Practical outcome — obedience to the gospel and Christian living

Summary:

  • Defending belief culminates in obedience: hearing, believing, repentance, confession of Jesus as Son of God, and baptism (immersion) for remission of sins (Romans 6; Colossians 2).
  • Christian credibility requires consistency between doctrine and life (1 Timothy 4:12–16).

Details:

  • Baptism is presented as immersion (burial with Christ) and the means by which sins are remitted; believers emerge cleansed and are added to the church (the one true church).
  • Living out and teaching sound doctrine preserves credibility and aids evangelism; hypocrisy harms the message.

Example:

  • The speaker relays an anecdote of a nonmember challenging a moral inconsistency between a religious critic’s life and the condemnation he pronounced — demonstrating how inconsistent living undermines evangelistic credibility.
  •  

✏️ Key Concepts

Concept 1: Faith (Hebrews 11:1–3; 11:6)

Definition: Faith is trust in God that pleases Him; it includes belief that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Key Points:

  • Faith is "substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen."
  • Pleasing God requires belief that He exists and an active seeking.
  • Faith grows by hearing Scripture (Romans 10:17).

Example / Analogy:

  • The speaker compares faith to conviction in a sports fan’s certainty about a team — a confident, personal commitment rather than mere cultural habit. —— Kevin

Concept 2: General Revelation (Creation and Providence)

Definition: General revelation is God’s self-disclosure through nature, history, and human conscience — accessible to all people.

Key Points:

  • Psalm 19: the heavens declare God’s glory universally.
  • Romans 1: creation manifests God’s invisible attributes; people are "without excuse."
  • Acts 14 & 17: Paul uses providential realities (rain, seasons, common life) to testify of God to pagans.

Example / Analogy:

  • The celestial regularity (sunrise/sunset, seasons) functions like a daily global "witness stand" that testifies to a Creator. —— Kevin

Concept 3: Special Revelation (Scripture) — role in forming faith

Definition: Special revelation is God's revealed word (Scripture) that communicates God’s character, purposes, and redemptive work, and shapes Christian faith and practice.

Key Points:

  • Scripture is the means by which much of our faith is formed (Romans 10:17).
  • While evidence in nature points to God, Scripture supplies fuller knowledge of who God is and how to relate to Him.

Example / Analogy:

  • The instructor emphasizes reading God’s Word as a productive investment of time for increasing faith, rather than endlessly seeking a formal proof.

Concept 4: Testimony of Creation (Animals, Plants, Human Body)

Definition: The design, complexity, and provision observable in animals, plants, and the human body act as evidentiary testimony to an intelligent Creator.

Key Points:

  • Job’s depiction of Behemoth and Leviathan shows God’s power and design in creatures (Job 40).
  • Matthew 6: Jesus points to birds and lilies as indicators of God’s providential care.
  • Psalm 139: human formation and complexity testify to intentional design.

Example / Analogy:

  • Observing ecosystems, animal instincts, and human physiology often evokes awe and a sense of purposeful design. —— Kevin

Concept 5: Human Yearning for Eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Definition: The innate human sense of longing for permanence and transcendence is itself a testimony to something beyond temporal existence.

Key Points:

  • "He has put eternity in their hearts" signals a universal orientation beyond mere material existence.
  • Material pursuits fail to satisfy ultimately (Ecclesiastes theme).

Example / Analogy:

  • Material accumulation and pleasure cannot fulfill the innate yearning that points toward God and eternal realities. —— Kevin

Concept 6: Apologetics and Credibility in Witnessing

Definition: Apologetics involves reasoned defense of Christian truth claims; credibility of the messenger significantly affects how the message is received.

Key Points:

  • Defense of faith is required of all Christians (1 Peter 3:15).
  • Consistency between teaching and life (1 Timothy 4) builds or undermines credibility.
  • Personal testimony (answered prayer, life transformation) often persuades more than abstract arguments.

Example / Analogy:

  • Courtroom expert analogy: a witness who believes and behaves consistently will persuade; a hypocritical messenger undermines the case. —— Kevin

🔄 Q&A/Discussion

Question 1: Why should I believe God exists — isn’t that just what I was taught? Answer 1: The instructor argued that while upbringing is valid (and commanded), personal ownership of belief is required. Scripture, creation, conscience, providence, answered prayer, and personal experience provide reasons supporting belief beyond mere upbringing.

Question 2: Does God expect blind faith or is evidence available? Answer 2: God provides evidence; Romans 1 teaches that creation and providence make God's attributes known so people are "without excuse." Hebrews emphasizes faith’s role, but Scripture also invites investigation and offers testimonies.

Question 3: What should I do if I want to act on this belief? Answer 3: The speaker outlined the gospel steps: hear, believe, repent, confess Jesus as Son of God, and be baptized (immersion) for remission of sins, followed by faithful Christian living within the church (Romans 6; Colossians 2; Luke 19:10).

Question 4: How can Christians be credible witnesses? Answer 4: Live consistently with doctrine (teach and live rightly), be transparent about struggles, use prayer support, and let personal testimony and obedience corroborate verbal defense of faith.

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