Are you an atheist? Are there any hardcore atheists out here tonight? Are you a staunch atheist? Are you a gung ho atheist tonight? If so I want to talk to you. I want to know if you say that there are no absolutes. Are there absolutes or is everything relative? No absolutes you say? Are you absolutely wrong?
You say that there are no absolutes? What about the South Korean Captain who recently was sentenced to 36 years in prison because over 300 people died when the ferry capsized that he was in charge of? Instead of staying with the ship, he was one of the first ones rescued and his crew had told the passengers to remain where they were. Over 300 people died, most of them were teenagers. Was the captain wrong for abandoning the ship and allowing over 300 people to perish?
What about ISIS? Is killing thousands of people wrong? Is it wrong to pillage, rape and murder? Is it wrong to behead people and then proudly display videos of the gruesome killings? Is it wrong to force children to be soldiers? Is it wrong to gang rape women? Is it wrong to kidnap women and sell them as sex slaves?
No matter how hardcore of an atheist you are, you have to admit that these things are wrong. They are absolutely wrong. So are there absolutes? Yes there are!
Now if you are an atheist, you obviously believe that there is no God. Is that your stand, that there is no God? (I can’t tell you how many atheists have turned red faced and stopped the ground and cussed and emphatically swore that there is no God and the ironic part is they never seem to understand that their line in the sand stance is an absolute statement, even if it is absolutely wrong). If you are out here tonight and you state that there is no God, you are wrong. You are absolutely wrong!
God is real. He is real and God’s not dead! Atheist, not only are you wrong tonight about God, but you are even wrong about yourself. You see, you really are not even an atheist. There are no atheists! The Bible is God’s Holy Word and it says that you are not an atheist. It says, Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4).
There are no atheists. Romans 1:18 states: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. There are no atheists. If you claim to be an atheist tonight, in reality you are not one. You are merely suppressing the truth.
How do we know this is true? We continue reading in Romans 1 at verse 19: Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it to them. You know God is real (even when you claim otherwise) because you can tell just by looking around at creation. Romans 1:20, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made (that’s us), even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. So not only do you know the truth tonight, you know it by looking around you and you are without an excuse!
Romans 1:21 says, Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. The more you keep running from God, the darker your heart becomes. Your imagination continues to get the best of you. The more you keep telling yourself the lie that there is no God; the more you actually believe the junk that you are selling.
Then Romans 1:22 continues, Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Atheists tend to be self assured. A lot of them think that they are smarter than everyone else. 2 Timothly 3:7 states: Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of truth. Well, all the “worldly” knowledge that you have accumulated just puffs you up and it actually makes you spiritually foolish instead of wise.
The more you run from God, the more He allows you to go. Romans 1:24 says, Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. What sin in your life do you love tonight? Do you love pornography? Are you currently in a relationship that is outside biblical marriage between a man and a woman? What sin in your life are you a slave to?
The Bible doesn’t stop here. Romans 1:25 states: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4). What are you worshiping tonight? Yourself? Someone else? Something or someone? What do you love the most in this world? What do you look up to? What has your heart?
You can stomp around and claim all up and down that there is no God, but you know better. You know that God exists. It’s always amazing to me how atheists love to say that there is no God and then in the next breath they will blame God for all the evil in the world, for all of the injustice in the world. God is God and we are not. When you foolishly claim that there is no God, you are putting yourself in place of Almighty God. You are blaspheming God. This is very serious and you know that it is serious because God has written His Law on your heart. You know right from wrong; not from some stupid theory of evolution, but you know right from wrong because you have a God given conscience.
You can look around and know that God is real. You know right from wrong because of your God given conscience. Now maybe you have lied to yourself and others for so long that your conscience barely works. Maybe that’s why you think all things are relative. But they are not relative. You know it’s wrong to murder someone. You know ISIS is just a bunch of thugs and that all of their pillaging, raping and killing is wrong.
You know what’s right, but you may have a hard time admitting it because you have run from God for so long, that He has turned you over to reprobate mind. Romans 1:28 says, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge (this sounds like an atheist doesn’t it?), God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient (or fitting).
Does this describe you tonight? Do you hate to retain God in your knowledge? Has God turned you over to your depraved mind and the wicked imaginations of your heart? Do not be deceived, if this is you tonight, you are severely under God’s judgment. He has turned you over to your own wickedness. You have been righteously judged by God! And unless in His great mercy, He opens your spiritually blind eyes and unhardens your hard heart, you will die in your sins in your unrepentant state and you will split Hell wide open immediately after you take your last breath. You will suffer God’s wrath forever. You will get your wish of being separated from the very God that you foolishly deny, but it won’t be the party in Hell with your other debaucherous friends like you think it will be. No, Hell is a place of utter and total torment; a place of absolute misery and immeasurable anguish.
If you are a professing atheist tonight, the real thing that you are fighting is Jesus Christ Himself. You are fighting against God in the flesh. You are fighting against the Living Word. You are fighting against the Redeemer. You are foolishly fighting against the One who gave His life a ransom for many. You are fighting against the One who paid your sin debt on the cross. But instead of receiving salvation, instead of repenting and putting your faith in the Savior, you are saying through gritted teeth, stay away from me. Take away your sacrifice on my behalf. I love my sins. I will keep my sins and I will not turn them over to You.
Professing atheist, you are foolishly keeping your sins and you are storing up wrath against the day of wrath. 1 Corinthians 1:23 states: But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumblingblock, and to the Greeks (or Gentiles) foolishness. Romans 2:5 says: But after your hardness and impenitent heart you treasure up to yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
It is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). If you continue rebelling against the very God that you claim doesn’t exist, then you will reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). You are working for death and this is not just physical death, but everlasting death – the second death. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The second death is eternal – it never ends.
Stop foolishly rebelling against God. Stop lying to yourself and lying to others. Submit to the Lordship of Jesus. He is Lord whether you admit it or not. But one day you will admit it, even if you do so reluctantly. You will bow your knee and confess with your tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord. But if you wait until Judgment Day to do so, you will say that Jesus is Lord, but then Jesus will have you cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where you will suffer for all of eternity because you did not accept His sacrifice on your behalf.
Don’t foolishly wait until that great and terrible day. Bow your knee and confess with your tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord. Do this tonight. Turn away from your sins and turn to Jesus. Be sure that your sin will find you out. Every wicked thought that has every crossed your mind will be flashed before everyone to see on Judgment Day. Nothing that you have ever done has been hidden from God.
Don’t suffer God’s righteous wrath over your wickedness. Jesus paid the price. He paid your sin debt that you owe. But you have to stop mocking Him and stop fighting against Him. You have to receive salvation. It is freely offered by our Lord, but you must receive it. Be saved tonight. Repent and put your faith in Jesus. Stop being absolutely wrong. Be right and do so by turning to Jesus. Be made righteous by His shed blood and be absolutely made right; be made whole again and be made right with God. Repent and believe the Gospel. Do this tonight and be saved.
(This message was lifted up in the open-air in downtown Springfield on November 21, 2014)