Lessons About God from the Laws of Science

When I look at and contemplate charts depicting the laws of thermodynamics, a profound realization hits me and stirs up awe in my heart: they were created by a God and not a mere human or angel, and they did not come about as a result of evolution or chance. A higher than human created being, such as an angel, can not create a law. Only God can do that. Angels and human beings are under laws, not the originator of laws. We are subject to laws; we are not the Law-giver. Being finite means that we have finite attributes, we exist within space and time; we are a certain number of inches high, our heart beats a certain number of times per minute. Being finite and being under scientific law go together. God is infinite, and thus is outside of and beyond scientific law. He is not under any scientific laws. It’s laws that make us what we are, laws that define our heart and how it beats, laws that enable it to function. Created beings use laws to accomplish things, but they can’t shape the very fabric of the created cosmos. Instead they interact within it. So when you see scientific law present in the world, this points directly to a Creator.

An angel or a human can use these laws, can harness fuel and create engines that propel us into space, can achieve great things by them. Each of us can contribute in some way our unique inventions and ideas for the world using the laws of science. Our world is a workable, usable world. It is an epicenter of energy sources we can use as fuel for our inventions and industries. It’s an open invitation from God to harness these things and work in partnership with Him to build up society and the world around us. The fact laws exist that makes it possible to do these things is because of God. He is the Law Giver of moral law, and the Creator scientific law. These two roles – Law Giver, and Creator – are the essence of who God is and what it means for Him to be God.

The moral law is the principles found within His own character and it has always existed because His nature and character have always existed as He is eternal. When as Law Giver He gives us His moral law, He isn’t creating something like when He made this world. He’s giving us Himself – a knowledge of His own character, and the forgiveness and righteousness of Christ slain for our sins to bring us back into rightness with Him after the sin we’ve done that separated us from Him. Unlike animals we are able to comprehend the righteousness and goodness of God, to believe in Him and serve Him, and do acts of faith and goodness that give His Name glory. This is what it means to be a human being and this is the great purpose of life.

When God gives us the laws of thermodynamics, he gives us a way to make things happen and achieve great things in the natural world and contribute to human welfare and discovery which is a joy, as well as a way to understand His character and nature through science. This is the purpose of science, understanding and communing with the Creator. Glorifying Him through the inventions and art that we create. As we study science our hearts are drawn out after God, for the whole scientific world is living pictures of what God is to us in metaphor. In science we see wonder and genius, the very handiwork of divinity. Since man is finite, man needs matter, and physical laws in order to do anything. God being infinite can create from nothing, but we cannot, thus these laws allow us to work with created things to achieve wonderful results. All of this is a gift to us. All of this declares that God is love and that His love is directed towards us.

Just as we prove the existence of scientific law when we use the right equations and it results in a moon landing, so we prove the existence of the moral law when we live a life of faith and service and the beneficial results are seen. Our lives testify to the efficacy of the cross to redeem selfish man and create in him a new heart. People are meant to be living witnesses of the love of God, proving He is who He says He is.

The glory of man is in how well we keep these laws and how far we take them, and to what extent we testify that they exist and they are good and right. The glory of God is in the nature of the laws themselves and in His ability and willingness to restore in man his own image and forgive him of his many sins, and in His impartial rewarding of those who keep His laws.

The laws work equally for every person without favoritism. If I apply them and build a rocket ship in a way that abides by them, I can get to the moon as can you. I won’t find that science favors your efforts over mine. Rather it rewards according to the extent that we understand and abide by it and it delivers punishment and failure to those who disregard it and break its laws. No one can get to the moon using his own ideas and laws. No one can challenge their authority and usurp it. There is no such thing as being a rebel against scientific law and getting to the moon using all the wrong numbers by sheer will power. In this way scientific law shows us the impartial way that God Himself relates to each of us when it comes to His moral law. Those who seek eternal life through the equation God has provided through His Son will find it. Those who seek eternal life through another equation of human origin will fail to attain or receive it. He rewards according to our faith and choices. Those who choose to believe in Christ, repent of their sins, and do good works are rewarded according to how much they seek after Him and the amount of good they do for His Name and for humanity when He comes again. In His dealings with David and Moses (etc.) we see that they were greatly esteemed because of their choice to love God and do benevolence in the world, not because God favored them over others. Had they chosen to be selfish and cling to sin they would have not have been esteemed or given high places in God’s work as they would have shown they couldn’t be trusted.

Those who live for self and refuse to repent and believe in God will be punished in the Judgment according to the wicked deeds they committed. A rebellious teenager will not get the same sentence as Hitler. That would not be just or right. All will be punished or rewarded in proportion to how immoral and wrong their actions and choices were in this life.