A Deacon from one of the local churches and a fellow company employee once addressed a large group of workers as they were gathered in the company cafeteria during their lunch break, and afterward, before he closed his talk, asked them if they had any questions or comments. One of his fellow workers stood and said, “We don’t want anything to do with religion! We have everything we want. We make good wages, the company furnishes recreation, we have food put before us for free and we don’t even have to clear away or wash any dishes. What do we need religion for?” To answer this worker’s question regarding the need for religion the Deacon simply pointed to a poster that was prominently displayed on one of the cafeteria walls. It read, “During the past month, 1000 knives and forks have been stolen from the cafeteria and from now on those using the facility must bring their own.

All over the world, thousands of people are asking this question, if not by their words, then by their deeds, their interests, their attitudes, or their neglect. Do we need religion or Christ in our lives? The answer to this question is boldly displayed in Psalm 37:21-22, “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.” This text shows the contrast between the wicked and the righteous, those who have religion in their hearts and those who don’t.

Wicked vs righteous, the contrast is obvious. We need religion to change from wicked to righteous, from lost to saved, from unsaved to Christian. The Bible recognizes only two kinds of people: the righteous or the person who is “like the chaff which the wind driveth away.”

We need religion to change our very natures. We need to be born again, to made alive in Christ, to be made new creatures in Him. How can any observant person doubt that people are sinners? Look at the vast armies of law enforcement officers, the unbroken sway of ungodly materialism, the greed, the selfishness and the self-seeking.

We need to be changed from one that “borrowth, and payeth not again,” to one that “showeth mercy and giveth.” The Spirit of Christ and the spirit of the world are at exactly opposite ends. The spirit of the world is to hate, to grab, to acquire, to possess; the Spirit of Christ is to love, to give, to suffer, to die. As Paul urges the Philippian Church, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)

The wicked and the righteous contrast not only in nature and spirit, but also in the ultimate place of their eternity. They are not going to the same place. Those dressed in their sins will be damned to hell and those clothed in righteousness of the Son of God look for their ultimate eternal home in glory.

We need religion because we need to be changed. Nothing but the blood of Christ shed for our sake can do that. We must never trifle with the serious questions of life and none is more serious or more sobering than “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22)

Life without Jesus is no life at all. “He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1 John5:11)   

                                                                                                 Elder Al Ware