by Ron Graham

“The fool says in his heart there is no God.” Psalm 14:1.

It’s ridiculous to make such a claim as there is no God, although completely understandable of those who are deceived, “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another,” Titus 3:3. Most of us have been deceived at one time or another in our life. I myself was in that category in the not so distant past. Although I didn’t make the claim that there is no God, the way I lived my life was a declaration that God was irrelevant to my life. Although I hadn’t professed being an atheist, my lifestyle most certainly denied God, but thankfully, through the death of His only begotten Son, I’m now saved.

We can go about our lives pretending God doesn’t exist, denying that God Himself has revealed His truth to us, but the Atheist ignores the truth. Even Christians on occasion ignore God. You know what I mean. When we hear Him speaking to us about witnessing to someone who has just crossed our path, we sometimes ignore Him and walk away; we’ve all done it.

 Unbelief is a cancer that has spread to millions of families throughout America and the world. Why? Because, as a whole, this world has shunned God. Many children, as they are growing up, aren’t taught about God by their parents. In our not so distant past even if the parents didn’t teach their children who God is and what His commandments are all about, they received some insight into God’s existence in school. Of course that teaching is gone now, and, as each new generation comes along, there is less and less taught about God. In many homes, as well as in public schools, there is no mention of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

 It’s as though there’s someone trying to keep millions of people from knowing the Creator of the Universe, an opposing force as it were. Yes, that’s right!

 There is just such an entity in the world; he’s God’s adversary and the father of all lies. He hasn’t changed his tactics since his lie to Eve in the Garden. The same way he deceived Eve is the same deception he uses today. “Did God really say…,” and “You shall not surely die.” Well, we all know the outcome of that lie, and the subsequent rebellion on the part of Adam and Eve. Mankind dies, and all creatures on the earth or under the sea die. So, why do so many still listen to the father of all lies? Because he uses man to perpetuate the lie and people believe man over God. How does this happen? Men supposedly have so much knowledge and wisdom that many people choose to follow their advice instead of following Almighty God. Just take evolution for example. This terrible insidious lie has been instrumental in placing doubt in people’s minds, consequently turning them away from God since its inception, and it’s second only to the lie Satan told Eve. Of course we all know that the teaching of evolution as fact is still going strong in our public schools today, even though it is easily proven to be a falsehood.

 Since there are untold millions being led down a path that is opposed to God, which leads to destruction, obviously there is an alternative path. If we have been given two opposing views and one view must be correct and one incorrect, and since we’ve been given the knowledge by God to choose the correct view, how then are so many convinced they have chosen correctly and yet remain on a direct path to Hell? Never underestimate God’s adversary.

 Whether they know it or not, all atheist and agnostics are presently condemned to Hell. Of course they don’t believe there is a Hell, but that doesn’t negate the fact that Hell exists. Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I’ve never seen air and yet I’m able to breathe something in through my nose or mouth that keeps me from suffocating.

 Atheists and Agnostics. One says there is no God – and the other says you can’t prove God exists. Either way, God, through His word, has said they’re both foolish and condemned. “…but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18.

 You see, God isn’t interested in our excuses for denying Him; He’s interested in our faithfulness and our relationship with His Son, Jesus. He will never force anyone to believe in Him. He’s given mankind all the proof we need to come to an understanding of His presence in our lives, and has also laid out the consequences for unbelief. God doesn’t want a bunch of robots either. He wants genuine loving children, who have made a choice to follow Him and believe in Him, to love Him, and who are willing to place their faith and trust and hope in Him. And, for those millions who have given themselves to His adversary (Satan), He is still waiting for them to repent of their choice and rethink their decision to disobey Him. We all know that He won’t wait forever.

 Most of God’s children aren’t doing His will; they aren’t getting His message out to those who are still residing in that lost condition. Why have so many believers given up on witnessing? Where’s the fear of Hell? Where are the burdened hearts? Where’s the love for our fellow man? What about all those who are facing Hell as a consequence of their unbelief? If we don’t get the message of the cross to the lost, who will? May God forgive our apathy.

 There are many more reasons for unbelief in a person’s life, but they all boil down to excuses. Atheists have no desire to be accountable to God so they invent and sometimes elaborate excuses such as evolution. Even though God is the giver of life, the creator of the universe, and the Savior of man, Atheists still reject His truth.

 Adam and Eve’s rebellion resulted in all of humanity being under a curse. That curse is the sin nature we all inherited from the first man and woman on earth, and that same sin nature is in rebellion to God even today. We have been given a spirit by God, and that spirit is in direct conflict with our sin nature. Believers, those who are born again, have made the decision to deny their sin nature and to have victory over it through Jesus Christ. Yes, sometimes we fail, sometimes we sin, but we are still saved. As we repent of those shortcomings and apologize to God for our lack of will, God, in His ultimate wisdom, forgives us. The Holy Spirit who indwells us gives us the help we need to overcome the flesh. Millions of people across this globe haven’t made the correct decision so far in their lives and, as a consequence, remain in bondage.

 When someone dies while still living in rebellion to God, they have excluded themselves from eternal life with God in Heaven; they have condemned themselves to an eternity without God. Understand that God is ever present in our lives as well as in the lives of atheists. Those who have believed in and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will be in God’s presence for eternity. But, for those who have chosen Hell, God will remove His presence from them since they ignored Him while here on earth. Yes, you heard me correct. Everyone in Hell made that decision while they were alive. You might say, “I’ve never made a conscience decision to go to Hell.” Maybe not, but did you ever make a conscience decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If your answer is no then by not making the correct conscience decision you automatically chose the alternative. Making a decision to follow Christ means you’ve allowed the Holy Spirit to do the work in your life that led to that decision. If you end up in Hell it means you’ve blasphemed the Holy Spirit. That is the only sin punishable by an eternity in Hell.

 Atheists need only change their minds about God, turn away from God’s adversary, and join the rest of God’s children who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It’s not difficult but it is humbling.

 I’ve often asked myself “What keeps people from accepting the truth of the Gospel of Christ?” Then I remember my previous life before Jesus Christ took me out of that bondage. Did God send me some great revelation so I could make the ultimate decision that would change my life? No, no great revelation, no special angel, no church pastor, none of that. The simple fact is He sent me a believer, someone who was previously lost just like me. Praise God.

 Jesus Christ paid the high price for the sin of the world by dying in our place. It was our punishment that He received. He was perfect in every way with no sin in His life and yet He died being punished for all sins of all time. The only thing He asks of us is to believe in Him, believe in what He accomplished for us, and believe in His death, burial, and resurrection. That’s it. Once we cross that threshold, He’ll take care of the rest.

 What’s so amazing about grace? Grace can save that wretched atheist just like it saved wretched Ron Graham.