Two Arguments Against Atheism | Sharing Your Faith

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: So how do we know it's not right to kill? How do we have a sense, beloved, of right and wrong in the most general and basic ways? It's only because there is an absolute moral code that has been put within us because there is a God who is the moral lawgiver. Father God, we bless you today. We believe that your purpose is that you want the kingdom of God to be shared and that you want the gospel to be proclaimed. But I know, Father, that there are some who love you but they've never shared their faith with an unbeliever. So Father, I'm asking that through this series of broadcasts, you will ignite within your people's hearts a boldness and a quickening to share their faith. I pray that as a result of your people listening to this broadcast, they'll share their faith and others who do not know you will be brought into the kingdom as a result of their obedience. In Jesus' name, for your glory, and amen. Beloved, I remember the first time I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit verbally. I didn't hear him with my ears, but I heard him inside me. They were as clear as my own voice right now. There was no mistaking that I was hearing the voice of the Lord. I remember where I was. I was standing in a hospital. My wife's mother was struggling physically. While I was in the waiting room there, I heard the voice of God for the first time. The Spirit of God said to me, "You're an evangelist." When I heard the voice of the Lord tell me I was an evangelist, it was very disturbing to me. Number one, I was pastoring a church. So I said, "If I'm pastoring a church, what does that mean if you're telling me I'm an evangelist? Am I not supposed to be shepherding this congregation?" It disturbed me because I thought maybe my pastoring was a mistake and that I wasn't functioning in my calling. I was also concerned because when I had heard the word "evangelist" used in the past, I associated it with people that went around telling people what we used to call the four spiritual laws. I couldn't see myself for the rest of my life just walking around repeating these four spiritual laws. It seemed a little bit mundane to me. So that also disturbed me when I heard the Spirit of God say to me, "You're an evangelist." Since that time, I've come to more fully appreciate, receive, and embrace what the Father was telling me. The word "evangelist," when it's broken down to the root meaning, simply means a proclaimer of the good news. An evangelist is just somebody that proclaims the good news of the gospel. An evangelist is a preacher. Today, we call the leader of a church a "pastor," but a pastor really is one of the five spiritual gifts. We have apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. We just kind of pin all those together and call the leader of the congregation the pastor, which really isn't biblically accurate. A pastor is somebody who is a nurturer and a counselor—somebody that walks with you through life side by side. I think that the church has adopted the word "pastor" in a way that's not entirely biblical. As an evangelist, you can lead a congregation. You can lead a congregation as a prophet, an apostle, and so on. I want to talk today, though, about this theme of evangelism. I want to talk to you about sharing your faith. We are all called to be evangelists—not to stand in the office of an evangelist, but we're all called to evangelize. Yeshua said to us, "I chose you out of the world and appointed you that you would bear much fruit." Jesus said if we, his people, are ashamed of him and his words in this wicked and adulterous generation, then he'll be ashamed of us when he comes again in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Remember what Yeshua said to his disciples? He told them to go wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with the Spirit of God and received power. Then he said, "And you shall become my witnesses." That applies to you and everybody that knows the Lord that's listening to this broadcast right now. We are all called to be witnesses for Jesus. The Lord said to Israel, "You are my witnesses." We as the church are the final witnesses, Jew and Gentile alike, witnessing to the glory, person, death, resurrection, and coming return of Yeshua HaMashiach, our Messiah. So we're going to talk about sharing our faith. I want to encourage those of you who have been afraid to share your faith in the past. I believe that through paying attention to these broadcasts, God is going to bring you comfort, confidence, and strength. You're going to begin to step into obedience and share your faith more boldly than ever before. Once again, Father, I pray for those who are timid and have been afraid. You've not called us to timidity but to love and power. I pray for courage, confidence, and comfort for those who have been stagnant and passive in sharing their faith, that they would begin to step out and boldly proclaim Jesus the Messiah. I want to go to the very beginning and talk about people who deny there's a God. What do you say to somebody who says they don't believe in God? The first thing I would say is that when people tell you that they don't believe there's a God, deep down inside, they're lying. The scripture tells us that all men are without excuse because deep down inside, everybody knows that there is a God. The scripture says they are without excuse because when they look at the world and creation, when they see the sky that seems to go on forever, when they see the beauty in the universe and the order in creation, they know deep inside that an intelligent creator had to create it. They know when they look at creation that there is a God. The Bible says they are lying because they can see that there's a God clearly through what God has made. The Bible says they also are lying because the Holy Spirit bears witness with their conscience that deep inside they know. So when someone tells you they don't believe there's a God, they're not being honest with themselves or with you. Deep down inside, regardless of how much they argue and deny, they know there's a God. I do believe it's possible for somebody to suppress the truth so long that they begin to deny there's a God. Maybe they begin to deny God because they were hurt. Maybe they see things happen in the world, or they've seen a loved one taken from them at an early age. Maybe they lost a parent, or they were at war and saw atrocities committed. Maybe they saw things happen that really hurt and grieved them, and they asked, "If God is real, then how could he have let this happen?" Because they get hurt through things they experience in life, sometimes they try to get back at God by denying his existence. I do believe it's possible for someone to be hurt and to deny that there is a God for so long that pretty soon they've convinced themselves they really don't believe. But early on in life as children, they knew. Everybody is born knowing as a young child.
Dustin Roberts: You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider. He's going to be right back, but first I want to let you know that you can watch full episodes of Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku Television. We have episodes that are filmed in the Holy Land and outreach events from Nigeria and Gulu, Uganda—all sorts of places. Every episode is available to help deepen your understanding of scripture and the Jewish roots of your faith. Search for Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku today. Your support is fueling a powerful move of God through the Discovering the Jewish Jesus Israel Awakening Initiative. Right now, we're equipping and strengthening congregations throughout Israel. We're launching evangelistic outreach campaigns in the land. Lives are being changed as Israelis encounter the love of Jesus. Stand with us today and boldly proclaim the gospel in Israel, clearly and without compromise. If God is moving you to join us, go to DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. Now, back to Rabbi.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Now, what are some responses that we can have when they say there is no God? I'm going to go through three classic arguments that I want you to learn to come against the atheistic logic. The first argument—in theology school, we call it apologetics—is the argument of intelligent design. When we look at creation and when we look at man, we see that there's intelligence built into creation and built into man. For example, if we look at creation, we see that the sun is the perfect distance from our planet for our planet to be able to sustain life. If our planet were any closer to the sun, life would be burned up. There'd be no people, no plants, and no animals. On the other hand, if our planet were any farther away from the sun, we would freeze to death. There'd be no life here. How do birds know when to fly south? These are all different evidences of intelligence in creation. But the chief evidence of intelligence in creation is your life and my life. Think about the synchronicity and intelligence built into the human being. We have a mind. We can think. We're conscious. We can feel. If you begin to overheat because you're running or working, what does your body automatically do? Your body automatically responds by perspiring to cool it back down. There's this built-in engineering inside the human body. If you get an infection or a virus, your body begins to respond to that. Your body will begin to create antibodies to combat the sickness. Your body knows how to respond to sickness. There is intelligence built into the human body. Let's think of this argument. Let's say there's a bottle of ink on the corner of my pulpit and next to the pulpit on the ground is a big piece of white paper. By accident, somebody walks by and bumps my pulpit. It jolts the bottle of ink so that it falls off my pulpit. It falls onto the ground and breaks on the white piece of paper. In this hypothetical story, we then pick up the white paper and we can't believe it. When we look at the white paper, the way the ink has fallen, we see a beautiful house, trees, and a picket fence. We see mom and dad and their two children standing on the front porch together holding hands. The way that it fell, it created a beautiful picture. That would be impossible. If the bottle of ink fell on the paper, the ink would be splashed all over the place. It would be chaotic. But that's not the way life is. Life is not chaotic; it's orderly. Even as it would be impossible for that bottle of ink to fall on the ground and create a beautiful picture, so it is also impossible that life exists on planet Earth the way that it does without an intelligent designer behind it. The very fact that we can think, love, and experience all these things, and that there's order in creation, is all part of the fact that there's an intelligent designer. You don't get order out of chaos. That's impossible. Order can only come out of order. How do we explain the rainbow colors and the beautiful flowers? You only get this through a person that has order and beauty. There's an intelligent designer behind creation, which is most chiefly evidenced in man himself, God's crown of creation. So the first response we have to the atheist is that there is intelligent design in creation because there's an intelligent designer behind it. Now, let me say that if we have an atheist who is just in rebellion—a committed atheist guarding their position at any cost—all the logic in the world won't convince them because their mind is made up. But if there's an atheist who has simply lost their way and they're at a place in life where they're open, this argument will make a difference for them. They'll say, "You know what? That makes sense." It takes more faith to be an atheist than to believe in a God. Let's talk about the second response we have for the atheist. By the way, we have compassion for these atheists because they're lost. Jesus said, "Unless you believe I am he, you'll die in your sin." The second response is the argument of morality. The atheist would say that there's really no such thing as absolute morality. They say morality is not something given by a lawgiver but is culturally defined. They say different places in the world have a different code of morality. But it's simply not true because deep down inside, human beings have a sense at the most basic level of what's right and what's wrong. To illustrate this, let's say we have an atheist who says there is no such thing as right or wrong. Let's say that atheist goes to work and works hard for 40 hours. At the end of the week, he goes to receive his paycheck and the boss says, "I'm just really not feeling like I should pay you this week. I don't feel right about paying you." What is that atheist going to do? That atheist is going to become infuriated. He's going to say, "That's not right! I worked 40 hours and I deserve to be paid. That was our agreement." If there were no such thing as absolute morality, then that atheist would have no leg to stand on. If everybody determines their own morality and it's not absolutely defined, then you could never argue and force your position on anybody. But deep down inside, we as human beings do have a sense of right and wrong. If an atheist purchases a new car and then a thief breaks into that atheist's home and steals it, that atheist is going to be infuriated and he is going to want justice. He's going to want the thief apprehended and punished. He's going to want his car given back to him. He wants the wrong to be made right. But if there's no such thing as absolute morality, then you can't argue that way. The position of morality is defined because there is an absolute lawgiver that defines morality. If there were no God, there would be no absolute morality. Morality is a spiritual quality. But because there is a God, there is absolute morality. There is a moral lawgiver. Deep down inside, human beings know it's not right to kill. If they kill somebody, they're grieved. Eventually, their heart might become hardened or perverted, but initially, if someone takes another person's life, they're grieved by that. How do we know it's not right to kill or steal? How do we have a sense of right and wrong in the most general and basic ways? It's only because there is an absolute moral code that has been put within us because there is a God who is the moral lawgiver. This is what the Bible teaches in the book of Romans. Our conscience bears witness concerning these things. Our conscience teaches us that there is a God. We've covered the response to atheism: intelligent design and morality. I want you to tell a friend and even get this series to use in your Bible study group because God wants to mobilize his church to share our faith. I believe that through paying attention and studying this broadcast, God is going to equip you to be more effective at sharing your faith. The scripture says those that lead others to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. If we want more of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we need to be witnessing. The Bible tells us in Acts 1 and 2 that the Holy Spirit is given to us for power to be witnesses. One of the primary purposes that God gives us the Holy Spirit is so that we would be his witness. If we're not witnessing, the Bible says we lose even what we have. It's fundamental to following Jesus. Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters right now listening to this broadcast. I pray that you'll bless and strengthen them. I pray that you'll give them courage and confidence to break off the shackles of fear and to boldly go out and use their relationships to share Jesus. We ask for your glory, Father, in Yeshua's name. Amen. Just as Jesus came out of Jerusalem, he's going to return to the world through Jerusalem. Jesus will not return until there's a massive Jewish people living on the earth that believe in him and are calling upon him to return. This is why Paul said in the book of Romans, if the Gentiles were blessed when the Jews rejected the gospel, how much more will the Gentiles be blessed when the Jews receive the gospel? Beloved, listen to me. When Jewish people receive Jesus and begin to call upon him to return, there's going to be a critical mass of them that will usher in his return. I want to thank you for your love and for your financial support. I want to encourage you to continue to invest in me and this ministry. God has given me cutting-edge strategies to reach the nation of Israel with the gospel. Their salvation is bound to your salvation because when Jewish people once again receive Jesus as Messiah, Jesus will return and you and I will see him face to face. Remember, the Lord said, "Blessed are those that pray for the peace of Jerusalem." There will not be peace there until they know Messiah Jesus as Lord. Discovering the Jewish Jesus is a cutting-edge ministry that's reaching Israel with the gospel, and we need your financial support to do it. Thank you so much for your love. God bless you, and in Yeshua's name, shalom.
Dustin Roberts: Amen. Thank you, Rabbi. If reaching Jewish people with the gospel is a mission that you want to be part of, partner with Discovering the Jewish Jesus today. Give us a call at 800-777-7835 or give online at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. God is still fulfilling his promises to Israel, and faithful partners like you are helping share the life-changing message of Jesus the Messiah with Jewish people in Israel and around the world. That's exactly what Rabbi Schneider and this ministry are so focused on right now. Ever since God spoke Acts 2:22 to Rabbi, which says, "Hear, O Israel," and then goes on to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah, Rabbi knew that God was calling him to reach Jewish people everywhere. We have billboards in Israel and billboards in New York. It's amazing. We're believing for God to bring in a remnant of Jewish people to believe in Jesus. Without you, we couldn't do it. If you want to join in this outreach, give today at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. Join us tomorrow as Rabbi Schneider explores the historical evidence for Jesus and why believing in him changes your eternity on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.