By Staff Writer, Matt Osborne One of the major storylines emerging out of every NFL Training Camp is the occurrence of roster battles. Teams are only allowed to keep 53 players for their active roster at the start of the regular season. This translates into many of the players invited to training camp eventually receiving the news they're being let go. A large percentage of NFL players and prospects have very little job security and are fighting tooth and nail to earn one of those exclusive roster spots. The competition is fierce, and the line between making the team and getting cut is frequently paper thin. Michael Schottey, of Bleacher Report, recently wrote about the realities of training camp: “These are the days that, as the idiom goes, separate the men from the boys—the wheat from the chaff. One mistake can be the end of a football career.” It's hard to fathom the type of pressure countless players feel when taking the field for a preseason contest. Knowing that a single mistake in their relatively limited action might be enough to derail their professional dreams must cause tremendous stress and anxiety. As people living in a fallen world, the reality is that we are all born facing a standard even less forgiving than the one faced by NFL hopefuls. In Leviticus 18:5 (CSB), the Lord tells His people, “'Keep My statutes and ordinances; a person will live if he does them. I am the LORD.'” The point being made is quite simple: if you want to live, you have to keep God’s commandments. But that could lead us to ask these follow-up questions: What does this standard of keeping God’s commandments look like? How many times can I sin and still be okay with God? The answers to those questions are given in the Bible, but it doesn't sound good to fallen people like us. (But keep reading!) In Leviticus 19:2 (ESV), the Lord says to Moses, “'Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’” Jesus further clarified the standard in Matthew 5:48 (ESV), when He says, “'You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.'“ Be perfect as God is perfect? That seems like an impossible standard! It is an impossible standard for fallen sinners. Just like one mistake is enough for many NFL prospects to get cut, one sin is enough for us to earn eternal separation from God. So there is another natural question to ask: If we aren’t able to keep the law perfectly, as God requires, why would He give us the law in the first place? Galatians 3:19 (AMP) begins to answer that question, saying, "Why, then, the Law ? It was added because of transgressions , and was ordained through angels and delivered to Israel by the hand of a mediator until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made." When that verse speaks of the law being added because of transgressions, it is simply saying that the law was given so that all people might truly see how badly they sin and violate God’s commandments. It might seem like a harsh reason for God to give the law, but Paul continues his argument in Galatians 3:24 (NIV): “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.” In other words, the law was given to show us our need for saving and point us to Jesus, the One who perfectly obeyed all of God’s commands and offered Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for those who would believe in Him. This is the good news of the Gospel! Though we were unable to live up to God’s standard of perfection, God graciously made a way for us to be right with Him through faith in His Son. Some theologians describe the dynamics examined above as “Guilt, Grace, Gratitude.” God’s law exposes our sins and brings guilt. God sends His Son in an amazing act of grace to save guilty sinners. We, in turn, have profound gratitude and are motivated to keep His laws…not because it will earn us salvation, but because we are so thankful for what God has done for us. Today, let’s be reminded of the fact that we have fallen exceedingly short of God’s standard of perfection. But, let’s also be reminded of God’s amazing grace in giving us Jesus, and live lives of holiness and obedience out of gratitude for Him...knowing we "aren't going to be cut from the team"! I’m Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I fall short of Your standard. Please forgive me for my sins and thank you for sending Your Son to die on the cross for them. Please help me to have thankfulness for Christ’s sacrifice, and to respond by living a life of obedience to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR PACKS:
1. How has reading God's law helped to expose the sin in your own heart and life? 2. In what ways have your thoughts about your sinfulness, and the grace of God demonstrated on the cross, helped you live more obediently?
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