The Righteousness of God is Revealed Through Faith-Based on Romans 1:16-17, 3:22-28

What does baseball and the scripture have in common today? On the surface not a whole lot, but there are some deeper connections if you look real hard. Both subjects involve trades and changing lives in some form or another. Both deal with “look at me players” who are not living to the potential set forward by their managers. Also, both involve a sense of redemption. Baseball is the only sport in the world that celebrates a person who is able to hit a ball 30% of the time. In the same way, we are only able to live decent, Biblical lives about 30% of the time. Regardless of these facts, both sports are very forgiving of their players, allowing them many chances to prove themselves, despite errors committed, and a lack of production.

Our faith is something that we take seriously without really thinking about it. However, we are also seemingly bound to rules that dictate the way we live and act. There are some of us who feel the need to constantly serve others in the hopes of finding another star in our crown when we get to heaven, or another room in our mansion. Kind of like the baseball player who plays his whole career in a team sport, but only desires individual accolades, instead team goals. This is not truly faithful living and practices. To understand faith, you have to understand where you have been and where you are going in life.

Each and every one of us was born into the world as sinners. We have lived as sinners since Adam and Eve ascending into the Garden of Eden and disobeyed the commandments of God. Every human being after those two have been tempted by evil and engaged in sin. Some of us do it on a daily basis. Perfection in life has only been achieved once in life, and that was by Christ. Perfection is celebrated, especially in the world of sports, because it is a rare occasion. Perfect games in baseball, perfect seasons in football, and perfect managers for spoiled players are all a part of the game. Athletics also parallel life in the sense that we are not perfect, yet we try to boast of our many accomplishments to society. Just as baseball players are paid millions of dollars to succeed at hitting the ball 30% of the time, we have a tendency to do the same thing. We look at our personal accomplishments, or works, and compare them against others in the hopes of achieving a greater payday in the end. In the world of baseball, that is the player who spends their whole career working for individual accomplishment versus the team goals. These same players also make playing the game difficult and the team is never really successful, just look at the St. Louis Cardinals before Whitey Herzog took over and also when Tony LaRussa became manager.

To correct the world from this self centered, boasting society; Christ was sent to the earth as a part of a blockbuster trade. In exchange for his death, we are granted the proverbial “player to be named later.” I use this term, because it could mean that our lives will change when we are traded from a life of sin to a life of salvation. Our faith to a great part of this trade, is a response to knowing Christ in a different light. We are transformed by Christ’s love for us. Over time, we are granted missions of discipleship by Christ, and told to make a change for the greater team. Be the person in the clubhouse who changes the attitude and mood of the team.

It is through our faith that works come about and we are able to achieve many wonderful, heavenly things here on earth. This is where the Romans began straying away from the original intent of the gospel. They began engaging in works as a way to put another feather into their cap of Christianity, instead of expanding the glory of God for the benefit of others. In the same way, we have a tendency to engage in work here at the church in the hopes of improving our own individual place in heaven.

General managers of sports have the difficult task of supplying their team with talent in order to succeed on the field. Churches have the same task set before them, and that is to go into the world and teach people how to be a part of a successful team. A team that succeeds is a team that is happy. On the other hand, there are the teams that go out and find people just to fill the stands and profit from them in many ways. Mark McGwire was brought in to St. Louis in the middle of the 1997 season as a possible key to playoff teams of the future, but he also brought in people who were just interested in seeing moon-shot homeruns. The Cardinals never got far into the playoffs with McGwire, and his alienation of fans after retirement left a bad taste in the mouths of many. So much promise, but so little on substance.

In another similarity to sporting teams, people in churches have a tendency to use God at times of convenience. They thank God for allowing them to hit homeruns, steal bases, and pitch 100 miles per hour. I am unsure as to whether or not saying this on TV will win any converts any time soon. Jesus’ final words to his disciples were “go to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Not one time did Jesus say for his followers to stay at home and drop his name whenever it was convenient. His message is one that is to be conveyed in both public and private, but not in a boasting way. God doesn’t care about any one team in sports, but he cares for every team and all their players. Just as God loves everyone of us to offer us the opportunity of life in Christ.

To put things into context, God is in charge of our lives and there is nothing we can do about it. As much as we might not like things going on the world, we are still obligated to use our faith to respond to the ills of the world. Instead of using measuring sticks to determine the levels of faith amongst Christians and non-Christians, we must use our faith to dismantle those measuring sticks. We have the responsibility of looking at all people as children of God and being disciples to them in loving ways. Like athletes, we have to engage in learning discipleship from the best and then use those skills to share with others. What God made right for us, we have the ability to make right for someone else. No laws or church derived code will improve heaven here on earth, unless we take the time to explain to people why Christ is so important. That has to be done faithfully and courageously.

Our faith feeds off the righteousness of God. When God made the decision to send his son into the world, a new creation was made. A creation that involved improving the game of life right now, in exchange for perfect life later. We have to prepare our lives for many successful seasons and some dry spells. We need to train our faith for slumps and wonderful times, without thinking about the future perfection. Through this process, we have to maintain our modesty and humility, as we look up to Christ as the greatest player of the game.

I am thankful for the man I was traded for in life. My life has been made better with the help of Christ and the many other disciples who have encouraged me and tutored me to be successful in faith. I am able to bear fruit for once in my life (even though, statistically it is about 30% of the time) and feel fortunate enough to share it with others. Hopefully the fruit that I am able to share with others will develop and allow them to bear fruit to share with others. It is only by the grace of God that we are able to train others to make heaven here on earth. Thanks be to God for the ability to train in faith and to receive his righteousness.