 | Dr. John Click, has been the Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church for 27 years now he is the pastor emeritus. He’s a graduate of Baylor University with a BA and Southwestern Seminary with a BD. He received his DMin at Midwestern Seminary. He has served in numerous positions in the Southern Baptist Convention, including: President of the Kansas/Nebraska Convention, Executive Committee of SBC, North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, and Houston Baptist University Board. He has traveled to preach in Europe, Central and South America and the Far East. Dr. Click is the founder and first President of Harvest Communications, which is a TV production company specializing in producing teaching materials for Para- Church organizations. You may contact him for comments or questions by e-mail at: Jcclick99@aol.com. |
Religion
2007-01-01 10:14:00
In this world of science, of what real value is religion?
With science trying to replace religion, and more and more people trying to remove God from our lives, what value does religion provide today for the world as a whole?
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I will give a few of the possibilities:
(1) To provide a purpose for living. Some wise person said: "If a man has a 'why' for his life, he can endure almost any 'how' ". For a cow, pasture is enough; people need purpose. We need to have something worth living...or...dying, for. Those who do not, often destroy their life with drink, drugs, or divorce....see the daily papers. Those who know Jesus as Lord get the reason for living.
" 'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek and find Me when you seek with all your heart.' " Jer. 29:11-13 (2) To give hope. As one gets older, the future offers nothing on its own. Only if God has given promise of life after this can one honestly look forward. Otherwise, an attempt at blindness is all that can be endured. A friend of mine said that as a Christian he looked at death as a "birth canal" to Heaven, rather than as suction into oblivion. Christ's death for our sins and His resurrection gives the solid basis for this hope "Now, if we are the children of God, what we will be has not yet seen made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is Everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as He is pure." I John 3:2-3 (3) To give a moral standard. We need a basis for "right and wrong" in order to get along with one another. All religions try to provide this, because experience shows people that certain behaviors are destructive to life. But most attempts at legislating morality are destructive to some people in the society: women, a low caste, a racial group, a competing tribe, etc. Sinful people cannot invent a fair system. Only God provided the 10 commandments, the love-based morality demonstrated by Jesus Christ, and the inner change we need to be able to live right when we come to know it."Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matt. 11:28-30 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Eph 4:32
