Synopsis
The denial of God’s existence and thus also the denial of his word, truth and authority. It is seen in the worship of created things, in human boasting and in the decision to live a life without God which results in godlessness and brings God’s judgment.
Characteristics of atheism
Denying God’s existence
Psalm 14:1 (ESV) — 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.
Worshipping created things
Romans 1:25 (ESV) — 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Daniel 5:23 (ESV) — 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
Revelation 9:20 (ESV) — 20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,
Denying God’s truth
Isaiah 32:6 (ESV) — 6 For the fool speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity, to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
Romans 1:18 (ESV) — 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
See also Je 5:12 ; Je 5:31 ; Je 11:21 ; Je 14:14 ; Je 27:15
Jeremiah 5:12 (ESV) — 12 They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.
Jeremiah 5:31 (ESV) — 31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?
Jeremiah 11:21 (ESV) — 21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”—
Jeremiah 14:14 (ESV) — 14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
Jeremiah 27:15 (ESV) — 15 I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”
Denying God’s ability to fulfil his word
Jeremiah 17:15 (ESV) — 15 Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come!”
See also Is 5:19 ; Ac 17:18 ; 1 Th 4:8 ; 2 Pe 3:3–4 ; Re 11:7–10
Isaiah 5:19 (ESV) — 19 who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!”
Acts 17:18 (ESV) — 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
1 Thessalonians 4:8 (ESV) — 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
2 Peter 3:3–4 (ESV) — 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
Revelation 11:7–10 (ESV) — 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
Showing contempt for God’s name
Le 19:12; Je 5:2; Eze 36:20; Eze 43:8
Leviticus 19:12 (ESV) — 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
Jeremiah 5:2 (ESV) — 2 Though they say, “As the Lord lives,” yet they swear falsely.
Ezekiel 36:20 (ESV) — 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’
Ezekiel 43:8 (ESV) — 8 by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger.
Boasting against God
Psalm 10:3–5 (ESV) — 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. 4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” 5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
See also Job 15:25 ; Ps 12:3–4 ; Ps 36:1–2 ; Ps 73:11 ; Pr 30:9 ; Eze 35:13 ; Re 13:6
Job 15:25 (ESV) — 25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty,
Psalm 12:3–4 (ESV) — 3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
Psalm 36:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
Psalm 73:11 (ESV) — 11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Proverbs 30:9 (ESV) — 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
Ezekiel 35:13 (ESV) — 13 And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.
Revelation 13:6 (ESV) — 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
Not turning to God in trouble
Job 35:10 (ESV) — 10 But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
See also Job 36:13 ; Je 2:8 ; Je 17:5
Job 36:13 (ESV) — 13 “The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them.
Jeremiah 2:8 (ESV) — 8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
Jeremiah 17:5 (ESV) — 5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Living in ignorance of God
Jeremiah 5:4 (ESV) — 4 Then I said, “These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.
See also Eph 2:12
Ephesians 2:12 (ESV) — 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Denying Jesus Christ
Jude 4 (ESV) — 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
See also 1 Jn 2:22 ; 1 Jn 4:3 ; 2 Jn 7
1 John 2:22 (ESV) — 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
1 John 4:3 (ESV) — 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
2 John 7 (ESV) — 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
Atheism results in godless living
Romans 1:28–31 (ESV) — 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
See also Ge 6:5 ; 1 Sa 2:12 ; Pr 11:9 ; Is 9:17 ; Is 26:10 ; Je 5:5 ; Je 23:11 ; Mal 3:14 ; Mal 3:18 ; 1 Ti 1:9–10 ; Jud 18
Genesis 6:5 (ESV) — 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
1 Samuel 2:12 (ESV) — 12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.
Proverbs 11:9 (ESV) — 9 With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
Isaiah 9:17 (ESV) — 17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 26:10 (ESV) — 10 If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
Jeremiah 5:5 (ESV) — 5 I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.” But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds.
Jeremiah 23:11 (ESV) — 11 “Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord.
Malachi 3:14 (ESV) — 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
Malachi 3:18 (ESV) — 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
1 Timothy 1:9–10 (ESV) — 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
Jude 18 (ESV) — 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.”
Atheism brings condemnation
It cannot be excused
Job 12:7–8; Ac 14:17; Ro 1:19–20
Job 12:7–8 (ESV) — 7 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; 8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Acts 14:17 (ESV) — 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”
Romans 1:19–20 (ESV) — 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 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.
It results in lack of hope
Job 8:13; Job 15:34; Job 20:5; Job 27:8; Ps 9:17
Job 8:13 (ESV) — 13 Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish.
Job 15:34 (ESV) — 34 For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
Job 20:5 (ESV) — 5 that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
Job 27:8 (ESV) — 8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?
Psalm 9:17 (ESV) — 17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
It results in God’s judgment
Is 10:6; Is 33:14; Je 5:5–6; Je 5:9–11; Je 5:29; Ro 1:18; 1 Pe 4:17; 2 Pe 3:7; Jud 14–15
Isaiah 10:6 (ESV) — 6 Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Isaiah 33:14 (ESV) — 14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
Jeremiah 5:5–6 (ESV) — 5 I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.” But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds. 6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.
Jeremiah 5:9–11 (ESV) — 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? 10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the Lord’s. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous to me, declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 5:29 (ESV) — 29 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”
Romans 1:18 (ESV) — 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
1 Peter 4:17 (ESV) — 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
2 Peter 3:7 (ESV) — 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Jude 14–15 (ESV) — 14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
God desires to save the atheist
Acts 17:27 (ESV) — 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
See also Is 55:7 ; Je 3:12 ; Eze 18:23 ; Eze 33:11 ; Ro 5:6–8
Isaiah 55:7 (ESV) — 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Jeremiah 3:12 (ESV) — 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “ ‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever.
Ezekiel 18:23 (ESV) — 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
Ezekiel 33:11 (ESV) — 11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Romans 5:6–8 (ESV) — 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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