Many today believe that nature determines everything. Let's call this world view Naturalism. Naturalism claims that science is the only explanation for all of reality. On the surface, that sounds unbiased, objective, and logical. In reality, Naturalism is a poison pill that will destroy you, but the truth of the Bible, God's Word, will save you.
Taken to the extreme naturalism has three profound implications:
- There is no God.
- There is no purpose.
- There is no free will.
Free Will
Free will in the context of naturalism is a will (intent, purpose, desire, want) that is free from the dictates of nature. Naturalism argues that we are mere machines and thus have no free will.
The Bible says that we indeed have a free will so we are responsible for our will and the resulting thoughts and actions. Free will is an attribute of our mind. Having a mind is part of being made in the image of God, who also has a mind. Each of us has a supernatural (non material) part. God breathed into Adam the breath of life and he became a living soul. A soul is no mere machine, but rather has its own identity and mind.
Purpose
Purpose is the product of a mind. By definition, nature yields no purpose because nature is not a mind. Actions of nature are arbitrary and amoral.
All around us we see purposeful things in nature. A mind is what put that purpose there. A great mind, none other than the mind of God. God's creation declares God's glory and we do well to behold that glory.
Mankind is chief in the purposes of Gods creation (Prov 8...). We were created to glory God and have a personal relationship with God.
Mankind has his own purposes too. Unfortunately, many of those purposes are against God. That is called sin. Sin, by definition, is our fault. We cannot blame God or the nature of His creation. God is perfectly holy and just and is angry at sin. God punishes sin, and the ultimate punishment is death. There is physical death that we all experience, and there is eternal death in a place called hell where we experience punishment for sin forever. God is also loving and merciful, so he provided a way that we might escape the flames of hell and enjoy everlasting life in fellowship with Him. God sent his Son Jesus to die for our sins and take the punishment for us so that we don't have to. Those who repent from (change their mind about) their sin and believe in Jesus will receive the free gift of salvation from sin. The moment you repent and believe, God takes all your sin and puts it on Jesus' account and takes Jesus' righteousness and puts it on your account. That moment God also changes your heart so that you love Him and want to server Him. At that moment you have a new purpose in life, to server your loving master, God Himself.
God
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The fool has said in his heart "There is no God". We can pretend God does not exist and face a horrible judgement some day at God's judgement seat, or we can fear and tremble as sinners before a holy, almighty God and ask for forgiveness of our sins. The latter will not only save you from sin, it will put in your heart great wisdom.
God exists, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Willfully ignoring God may seem like a means of enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season, but the reward of seeking God is infinitely greater than any temporary, miserable pleasure that sin may provide.