Elephant in the Room
The Old Man Upstairs: Does God Even Exist? Romans 1:18-25
Plato believed that our problem is that we simply need the correct information in order to
make the right choices. Therefore, if we reject God’s existence it is because the information we
have led us to the most logical conclusion that God is not the cause of our life or world. But the
Bible says that our choices are not merely based upon logic, but on a desire to be independent
from God’s design and authority. We are going to investigate how our reason is affected by
our desires.
Discussion Starter
If you struggled with the existence of God OR in the divine cause of the universe, what
was the reason(s) for your struggle?
If you know of someone else who is struggling with the idea of God or the divine cause
of the universe, do you know some of the reasons for their struggle?
I talked with a man who told me, "Tim, I could never accept that God created the universe
because I have a degree in Geology and the evidence is completely on the side of evolution." We
continued to meet over breakfast for a couple of years. 1 month after making that statement my
friend told me about his father who was a Deacon in a Baptist Church and abandoned his family
after an affair with a woman in the Church. His Dad moved and joined another Baptist Church
and was put on their Board within a couple months. If God permitted that kind of Dad then my
friend wanted nothing to do with Him. A couple months later my friend accepted Christ and was
baptized soon after. His struggles with Geology came later, but no longer as a skeptic.
What was the real reason my friend "could not" believe in a God?
How would you handle this friend's objections differently if you knew the real cause of
his rejection of God?
Everyone has a reason for defending their life as they know it, but the idea that we reject (or
accept) God’s plan and authority in our lives on purely objective logic is unreasonable
according to the Bible. Let’s explore the motives in our struggle to accept God’s existence and
authority over me.
You DON’T or You WON’T Believe God?
READ: Romans 1:18-25
Scientists claim that the facts are conclusively on the side of an Evolutionary process that
does not need God. The Bible says that the universe argues for something else in 1:18-20.
What does the universe argue about God?
As you enjoy creation, what are the messages about God that you observe? (Note that the
Bible says that God's eternal power and divine nature can be clearly seen…) How do you see
God's power and presence in creation?
"The evidence of God is open to all, but not all are open to the evidence."
It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey. -- Soren Kierkegaard
"If we have an answer for everything than we have no need for a God."
According to Romans 1:21-24, what does the Bible say is the cause for people rejecting
the existence of God in spite of the obvious message of creation?
In 1:24, what does the argument against God's existence leave a person with to worship?
How do you think that works its way out in the life of a person who denies that God
exists? OR, when you reject God's existence, what is the greatest thing to pursue in that
life?
What If I Believed in God?
According to Romans 1:21, what is the proper response to the existence of a Creator?
What are the consequences of choosing to reject the existence of a Creator and
responding appropriately to Him? (Romans 1:22-32)
If the recognition of God demands honoring Him as our God and acknowledging His
goodness to us (1:21), how should you adjust your life to your Creator?
When you struggle with an area that God says goes against His design for you, rather
than attacking God's existence, what can you do to honor God as your designer and
thanking Him for His provision of life?
Transformation into God's design for you does not happen quickly, nor does it happen through
staying under guilt, it happens by humbly repenting to God about the reality of your struggle. If
God created the universe, then He has the power to transform you into His design, but that
process begins only when you humbly acknowledge your struggles.
The same struggle that keeps the skeptic from acknowledging God's existence, keeps a Christ
follower from transformation. We must remain humble and repentant over our struggles rather
than rationalizing them or reflecting our guilt onto others.
Where do you struggle with God's plan for you and how can you begin this week by
repenting and asking God for His help.
Pray for opportunities to invite unchurched friends in your neighborhood and at work to the
Elephant in the Room message series. If you have connections to the University students
and/or Professors invite them to the Apologetics Conference in April.