Are Science and Faith Opposed?

October 24, 2022 following Pastor Alex Hardt's sermon of October 23, 2022.

I thought Pastor Alex made a compelling argument as he sought to explain why we can believe in the miracles of science as well as the miracles of faith.  They are not exclusive from one another.  One of the key factors is to look for the goodness of God in all things.  We see God’s goodness reflected in the beauty of the world around us, the intricacy and complexity of all life forms and the vastness of the universe.  I know our ability to see the goodness of God is dimmed by sin.  Before sin entered the world, God’s creation was all good and humankind was very good.  (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 25, 31) Since sin entered the world all creation has suffered.  Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:20-21 “20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.   Man suffers along with all creation due to the effects of sin. One of those effects is doubt.  Eve doubted God’s truthfulness about the effects of eating from the tree of good and evil.  She chose to believe the serpent’s lies.  As a result we all suffer.

We can apply this to science as well.  Do you chose to believe that God created all things or in some big bang force?  Do you believe in the creation of mankind by a benevolent being or by chance or an accident of nature?  Choosing to believe in the goodness of God and His power of creation is a choice of faith.  The Bible tells us that faith is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—   

What do I do if I don’t have faith?  If you truly desire to believe in God and His Son Jesus- pray and ask God to reveal himself to you.   Open His Word and read and mediate upon it.   Open your eyes and heart to see God in the world around you.  Look at the natural beauty of creation and also the love and kindness of others.  Jesus promises if you seek him, he will be found. Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  God keeps His promises and you will find Him! Be a seeker of His truth and love!

Got Faith?  If you have faith, ask yourself do you live like you believe in God?  Are you open to His leading in your life?  Do you thirst for greater knowledge of who God is and how to serve Him?  Do you live in a way that reflects the goodness of God?  All of these are questions for serious prayer and meditation, but I would encourage you to see that goodness in our character is a result of being with God, being indwelt by His Holy Spirit and knowing Jesus as Savior.  In Christ alone we find the power to behave with goodness and reflect the quality of goodness of God in our lives. 

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  We are personally made by God, His way, to do good things and reflect His glory.   May Paul’s prayer for his fellow Roman Christians be upon our lips and in our hearts as we seek to do good and bring glory to His name.

Romans 15:5-6   “ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is good all the time!
Linda

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Why? God... | Are Science and Faith Opposed?
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Sermon series, "Why? God...." Today Alex Hardt teaches from Luke Genesis 1-2

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