Today’s article marks the end of my series on the proofs of God’s existence. We have seen that there is proof that God exists from logical consideration of creation and from the existence of the Bible. I want to finish the series by answering the question that naturally arises ‘Why don’t people believe God exists’. If these proofs are so true, why don’t they work when shared with those who don’t believe in God? Are they valid?

The problem is that unbelievers either begin with invalid assumptions or do not reason correctly from the evidence – it is not because the proofs are invalid in themselves. The apostle Paul warns of this when he says that ‘The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.’ (2 Corinthians 4:4) Thus we shouldn’t be surprised if unbelievers reject these proofs and reject Scripture. They have been blinded and cannot see the truth. Instead, if we wish to see people come to acknowledge God, it has to be through the proclamation of Christ. God does not use human wisdom to bring people to acknowledge him, but instead uses the foolishness of the cross. ‘For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.’ (1 Corinthians 1:21) Paul continues by saying: ‘My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) If you want to see your unbelieving friends come to saving faith, it must be by God’s power through the preaching of the cross, not man’s wisdom. Grudem writes: ‘We are dependent upon God to remove the blindness and irrationality caused by sin and to enable us to evaluate the evidence rightly, believe what Scripture says, and come to saving faith in Christ.’

So what is the point of learning these proofs that I have provided? Firstly they are an encouragement to Christians. For me, these proofs provide further intellectual evidence for something I have already been persuaded of from the testimony of Scripture and from my own inner sense of God. Secondly the proofs are helpful for overcoming objections from unbelievers. But remember, the only thing that overcomes all their objections is the good news of Jesus’ death on the cross for their sin. Desire to share the gospel with them first and foremost as that is what saves, not man’s wisdom.

Joel Radford.