Do You Really Believe in God?

1. Do You Really Believe in God? A True, Living, and Eternal God?

2. Poll ResultsConcerning God • 1990 Gallup poll revealed that 94% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit • Only 81% of college graduates believe in God • 2009 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) concerning religion and belief in God: • “When it comes to religion, the USA is now a land of freelancers” • People who call themselves “Christians” dropped more than 11% in a generation

4. Poll ResultsConcerning God • Since the first ARIS survey was released in 1990, other national surveys have offered snapshots of the USA’s faith and others have commented on these findings: • 41% of people have switched their religion at some point in life (Pew survey) • “Religion has become more like a fashion statement, not a deep personal commitment for many” (Kosmin)

5. Poll ResultsConcerning God • “I’m totally disengaged from the church and the Bible, too. Sunday mornings mean playing in a park, not praying in a pew” (Mueller) • “If religion comes up, everyone at the table will start mocking it. I don’t know anyone religious and hardly anyone spiritual” (Rossi)

6. Poll ResultsConcerning God • “…I see kids today who have no vocabulary of faith, and neither do many of their parents” (Gautier) • “I am a deeply committed follower of Christ. Rather than aligning with a specific denomination, I attend a non-denominational community church where I like rock music, but Bible study is the focus of my faith. We just look to Jesus. It happens inside of people’s souls” (Haynes)

7. Poll ResultsConcerning God • Two very revealing comments stated in response to the USA Today religious survey: • “I’m so happy to see the increase in non-believers, agnostics, atheists. As people become more educated and expand their knowledge and experiences, they’re more likely to see that religion is about as valid as Mother Goose fairy tales” • and

8. Poll ResultsConcerning God • “This is good news. The sooner mankind weans himself from the tyranny of religion the better. Religion is the worst thing ever invented. More misery has been visited upon mankind in the name of religion than anything else”

9. The Bible Showsand Proves the Existence of God • Presents us a living God • Revelation 1:18 (NKJV) I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

10. God • Please consider the number of witnesses who saw Jesus, the miracles he performed, the empty tomb, and the resurrected Christ.

11. The Bible Showsand Proves the Existence of God We MUST believe in God Hebrews 11:6 God is NOT just an abstract idea or an impersonal creator – He is a “living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them” (Acts 14:15).

12. The Bible Showsand Proves the Existence of God • God’s Word teaches the absolute necessity of knowing God by study, prayer, and meditation. • There is a yearning in the soul of man for God. He will grope in darkness and ignorance searching for God and never find him without accepting the divine testimony of scripture. • -cp following

13. The Bible Showsand Proves the Existence of God • Acts 17:26-27 (NKJV) 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

14. Men are yearning for something beyond themselves! • John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, andJesus Christ whom You have sent. • Do you know Jesus?

15. Faith Is Essentialin Recognizing theTrue God • We must gain faith in Him -Romans 10:17 • Heb 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies having been washed with pure water.

16. Faith Is Essential in Recognizing the True God • Comments from a Theological conference (2000) • “God’s image is going to have to change for all faiths if religion is to survive” • “We can’t enter the 21st century with the idea of the God we learned in Sunday School” • “The God I grew up with had an image of a stern lawgiver and judge who required obedience within a system of rewards and punishments – a ‘monarchical model’ of God that has turned many people away from the Christian faith” • “I find it literally incredible that the God of the whole universe has chosen to be known by one religious tradition”

17. It Does MatterThat WeBelieve in God • Should all who claim the name of Christ be united? • YES

18. It Does MatterThat WeBelieve in God • Jesus’ message did not waver depending on His audience. • We must follow thesame standard today! • Jude 3; Matthew 15:9

19. There Really Is OnlyOne True God • With God’s Word as our perfect guide, we can believe in the one and only God • He’s the creator – man is the creature • Genesis 1:1 • Jesus is Lord of all-6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. -John 14:6 (NKJV)

20. There Really Is OnlyOne True God • The moral standard for man is not of his own personal choosing – it comes from God • John 12:48 We know the truth through His inspired Word One day, EVERYONE will KNOW the truth!