The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Psalm 19:1
"Atheist: If God created the universe then who created God?
Me: If a baker baked a cake then who baked the baker?" - Unknown
The Sky Above
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, who voice is not heard (Psalm 19:1-3). This is one of the clearest declarations in Scripture that nature itself proves there’s a Creator. Not only that, it proclaims His greatness. God’s glory is everywhere, and He makes Himself plain and obvious to all in what has been created. Nobody can deny God’s existence. People have ample proof telling them that God exists. Scripture says, For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse (Rom 1:19-20). Nobody can stand before God on Judgment Day and claim they didn’t know there was a God. Ignorance will be no excuse. God has so clearly demonstrated His existence to the whole world since the beginning of creation that knowledge of His existence is inescapable.
Scientific Proof
Information is always understood as the product of intelligence. We always recognize the information as a work of the mind, not as blind luck or mere chance. For example, when we look at a painting, we don’t think the painting just appeared out of nowhere. We don’t even have faith there was a painter. We know for a fact there was a painter because paintings don’t paint themselves. A painting is scientific proof of a painter. We know there is intelligence behind the product. So, when we look at the breathtaking creation all around us, we see scientific proof of a Creator. Birds, butterflies, flowers, trees, clouds, rainbows, mountains, oceans, the sun, moon, and stars, kittens, puppies, you and me: these are all clear signs and scientific proof of an Intelligent Designer, who is none other than the God of Scripture.
Since God is the One who invented science, we can use His awesome tools to explore and understand the world around us. The more we discover of the world through science, the more evidence we collect that God is the One responsible for all of nature and its laws; and the more glory we give to Him. As Christians, we know that He upholds all things by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3) and we know that everything flows from His Creative Hand alone. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3).
A Peculiar Faith
Contrary to the peculiar faith of the atheist that believes nothing created everything, the Christian believes the eternal God created everything. “Atheism is a strange thing. Even the devils never fell into that vice, for the devils also believe and tremble’ (James 2:19).” – CH Spurgeon. In short, atheists deny God’s handiwork not because they don’t believe in His existence but because they don’t want to be held accountable for their sins. Atheism comes down to this: They don’t want to submit to a moral and just God so they deny His existence altogether. But Scripture says that everyone knows there’s a God, even atheists. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to Him (Rom 1:21).
What's just as bad as atheism is its close cousin: agnosticism. The agnostic doesn't flat out deny God's existence. The agnostic just says they can't be totally sure if there is a God.They believe there isn't sufficient evidence to come to any real conclusion on the matter. The agnostic often says they believe in a "higher power," but they're not quite sure what that higher power is and if we'd even assign the name "God" to it. The agnostic is not only unwilling to affirm God's existence but also blames their own unwillingness on God for not giving sufficient evidence of His existence. In that case, agnosticism is worse than atheism. To blame God for one's own sin is what Adam did in the garden. That's taking it to whole another level than the atheist.
Not Intellectual but Moral
In the end, affirming the existence of God does not come down to an intellectual problem but a moral one. According to Scripture, a fool is not one who is intellectually deficient but morally bankrupt. And the one who is morally bankrupt is the one who is unwilling to affirm God's existence. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1) Scripture goes on to say, For even though they knew God, they did not honor God or give thanks to Him but became futile in their speculations and their foolish hearts was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:21).
The basic sin of the whole human race and the sin we've all been guilty of is the sin of refusing to honor God at the very first moment we became aware of His existence. We have all refused to give the proper acknowledgement, honor, and gratitude to our Creator. This is until God Himself graciously opens the eyes of our hearts to see the light Gospel and be saved through faith in His Son, Jesus. Then the whole world looks different! The sky above is more beautiful than ever. Trees are cooler than you've ever seen. There's a whole different sparkle to everything after putting your faith in Jesus and knowing you're eternally secure in Him.
The biggest problem with the atheist and agnostic is not that they don't know God but that they refuse to acknowledge what they know to be true in their hearts, and that's deception at its root. No matter how hard anyone tries to escape the knowledge of God, all the unbelief, disinterest, or apathy in the matter has no power to destroy Him or escape the grim reality of His coming judgment. The reality of God's existence is not dependent on our finite thinking, nor our feelings or personal preferences. God exists whether the Christian believes in Him or the atheist and agnostic does not believe in Him.
Sadly, the same God atheists and agnostics reject is the One who is willing to forgive them of all their sins if only they would turn to Him. He is willing to gift them with eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and give them real purpose, significance, and peace in their lives. And even still, they don't want a loving God. They prefer their sin. They don't see the Gospel as good news but as bad news that God even exists at all. That makes me feel sad for Jesus that people hate Him that much they deny His existence altogether. They deny the One who loves them the most! If only they knew who they were rejecting.
Special Revelation
The testimony of the universe comes forth consistently and clearly, but mankind continues to reject what is plain and obvious; the fact there is a Creator. General revelation (what we perceive with our eyes) is not sufficient to save sinners, but it certainly makes us all highly accountable (Rom 1:18). General revelation is meant to point us to the Bible, where God graciously gives us His special revelation. When a person first believes the light he or she has been given through general revelation and desires to know his/her Creator more, God will grant them even more light. He will send His special revelation to that person...the Gospel Message. Salvation comes ultimately through special revelation, the Word of God, carried by the Holy Spirit. We can’t just look around the world and believe in the existence of God if we want to go to heaven. That's not true saving faith. In fact, that's not even faith at all. That's just intellectual assent to God's existence, which will only make those more culpable on Judgement Day for rejecting His special revelation.
We need personal faith in Jesus Christ in order to be saved from our sins and granted eternal life. We need to have a proper relationship with God, and that comes only by God’s grace when we repent of our sins and trust in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. It begins with general revelation and acknowledging God in His magnificent creation; the heavens, the sky above, and everything we see with our eyes, but it doesn’t end there. We must come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in our hearts, by believing in the saving Gospel message.
So faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ (Rom 10:17). (The Word of Christ means the message concerning Christ; The Gospel).
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17
And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). (The ones who are eternally rewarded are those who don't stop at general revelation but diligently seek Him through special revelation, His Word).
"You never meet an atheist who wishes God is true. It's because they don't want God to be true." RC Sproul
"The question of the existence of God can never be resolved on the basis of our psychology." RC Sproul