A Fool Says in His Heart, “There Is No God”

If God doesn’t exist, the implications are devastating. The universe came from nothing, there’s no ultimate authority or purpose, and with no authority, there’s no accountability—no sin. Without sin, humanity becomes its own moral compass, plunging us into relativism, where “God’s image is removed from mankind,” and survival of the fittest rules.

1. Ignorance is Not Bliss (Acts 17:22–23, 30)

In Acts 17, Paul addresses the men of Athens—not arrogant atheists, but religious thinkers. Their error wasn’t disbelief but misattribution: they gave credit to everything except the One True God.

Paul declares ignorance is no longer an excuse (v30). Believing in something isn’t enough—truth matters. A false belief leads to a false life. Paul proclaims that the time of ignorance has passed. God is knowable, near, and calls everyone to account.

2. The World is an Effect (Acts 17:24–26)

Paul states that God made the world (v24). He is self-sufficient (v25); everything depends on Him. John 1:3 confirms this: “All things were made through Him…”

In contrast, Stephen Hawking claimed, “Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself out of nothing.” But this begs the question: how can laws (which presuppose order) arise from chaos?

Paul affirms in v26 that God is a God of order, setting the boundaries of nations and seasons.

Theologian Charles Hodge supports Paul’s view: the world is an effect—it had to come from something external. Nothing in creation is self-existent or eternal. If the parts are dependent, the whole cannot be independent.

So, we conclude: the universe had a cause. That cause is not nature, chaos, or man. It is the Creator—God.

3. God is a Necessary Being (Acts 17:25b, 28–29)

God is not like human parents whose children can survive their death. He is necessary for our existence. Paul says in v28: “In Him we live and move and have our being.”

If the universe and all within it are contingent—dependent on something else—then there must be one thing that is not: God.

Since man is bound by time, space, and matter, he couldn’t be the cause. The world’s ordered complexity demands a transcendent source. The Bible’s account aligns with what we observe: the Creator is timeless, spaceless, Spirit—and in Him is life.

4. The Divine Call to Action (Acts 17:27, 30–32)

God designed man to seek Him (v27). He is near to each one.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, once a prominent atheist, shared how deep depression led her through every scientific remedy. Nothing helped. A doctor finally said, “Maybe your problem is spiritual bankruptcy.” She cried out to God and found Him. Now she’s a believer in Christ.

Like Ayaan, we must recognize that the longing in our hearts is a spiritual hunger. Prayer and God’s grace should be our first remedy, not our last.

Paul urges unbelievers to treasure God’s patience and repent while they can.

5. Jesus is the Messiah and Judge (Acts 17:31–32)

You may ask: “If I accept God exists, why should I believe in Jesus?”

If God is all-powerful and necessary, then He has the ability to enter His creation. And unlike the distant god of Islam or the impersonal force of Buddhism, the God of the Bible acts in history. He came near.

The Bible tells of a holy, eternal God who made a good world. But humanity rebelled and became His enemy, deserving judgment. Yet, instead of leaving us to perish, Yahweh—out of love—entered creation as a man, Jesus Christ.

Jesus was born of a virgin, lived sinlessly, and willingly suffered and died. Why? To bear our rebellion, shame, and punishment. His death paid our debt—fully and finally.

And on the third day, He rose, conquering death. His resurrection proves He is exactly who He claimed to be—God in the flesh. Now, through Him, those who believe are reconciled, transformed, and made blameless.

John 3:16 says it best: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus, who is Savior, is also Judge. At the appointed time, every knee will bow before Him—even the world’s most brilliant skeptics.

So, to you my atheist friend: When you meet Him, will He face you as Redeemer or as Judge?

Keeping in mind that, if a righteous man like Job couldn’t make case before God, what hope is there for anyone else?