Today we hear much of the intelligent design argument for God and possibly less of the cosmological argument for God, than in past centuries. The cosmological argument is a logical argument pointing to a Creator as the first cause of the universe. When it is used in combination with the design argument and the moral argument and most importantly the Bible, it becomes apparent that the Creator is also the Sustainer of all things and the Redeemer.
The cosmological argument can be illustrated in several ways. When an insurance claim is investigated such as a fire in a home the agent tries to determine the proximate cause to determine how the fire started. That might be a cigarette catching fire whilst someone was asleep, or a flammable item left on a heater by accident. The cause of the events is ascertained to determine what started the fire. It is sensible to consider who or what caused the universe into being. To state that the universe was formed through an explosion ignores the fact that there must have been something or someone in the first place to commence the series of events.
Another example is a set of dominoes lined up in the form of a domino rally where each domino represents a small part of a long timeline. To start the timeline, someone or something needs to push the first domino to set the tiles in motion since it cannot start itself. The same applies with the universe. It cannot create itself out of nothing and to suggest otherwise is absolutely preposterous. Some concoct elaborate theories stating otherwise though that is completely illogical and the real reason for doing so is rebellion against the Creator.
In short, when we rewind history through a series of events it points to a beginning in time that must have been created by someone independent of our universe. Another way of putting it is that everything is dependent on the Prime Mover for its existence.
In the Book of Romans, the first chapter outlines the teleological (design) argument for God since the invisible attributes of God are evident by the things that are made even His eternal power and Godhead, so we have no excuse (Romans 1:18-22). The consequence of rejecting that is that the creation is worshipped instead of the Creator and moral chaos abounds which is characteristic of a godless society (Romans 1:24-32). Ultimately good is redefined as evil and vice versa (Isaiah 5:20).
The second chapter unpacks the moral argument in that God has given us a ‘conscience’ meaning ‘with knowledge’ so we have some notion of right and wrong. Imagine for a moment what society would look like if no one had a conscience. Is it a coincidence that our law is centred around the Ten Commandments? How would we establish a legal system and what would serve as a moral framework? Our conscience, like our existence must have a proximate cause and that is God. To state that our conscience came from nothing, or that it evolved makes no sense unless there is a moral arbiter of the universe who is entirely just (Deuteronomy 32:4).
The book of Romans teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have all broken God’s law and stand condemned before a holy God. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Our only hope is in trusting the Creator who is also the Redeemer. Jesus the Messiah gave Himself as a sacrifice to atone for our sin and reconcile us to God. Therefore the just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17). The Lord Jesus is the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He is the giver of life, and He offers eternal life for those who repent and believe in Him.
Jon Taylor 23rd November 2021
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