Anyone sitting here this morning ever play sports? I guess that was a silly question, there are a whole lot of hands being raised all of a sudden. O.K. So, let me ask this question of those of you who have played sports: how many of you ever had a coach? Nearly everyone who played sports. What do coaches do?
(give a few moments to allow responses)
Yes, coaches motivate us, they help us learn the different techniques on how to do things, and they push us to reach our potential. They work to craft their teams and their players into the best sportsmen and women they can possibly be. That’s the role of coaches.
So, let me ask this question of you this morning: what happens if you don’t listen to your coach?
(Give a few moments to allow responses.)
Yeah, the most obvious answer is, you get benched. You don’t play. If you are not going to listen to your coach or give effort, you won’t play. That is, unless you are a professional sports team. Then, apparently, if you don’t listen to your coach or play for him or her, you can get your coach fired and persuade the owner of the team to get a new one. Hello, Dallas Cowboys last year.
Now, I am going to pick on my ‘boys just a little bit. I wasn’t very happy with them last year when they basically laid down and refused to give very much effort for Wade Philips. You could see it in their eyes and in their faces that they were refusing to listen to or respect their coach. You could see they didn’t really care what he said or how he tried to motivate them. They just flat out refused to listen to him. And, of course, Philips couldn’t bench the entire team. Well, I guess he theoretically could have, but that would have meant forfeiting a game or two, and we all know the millions of dollars that hinge on such games. So, in this case the coach was rejected.
Many fans were calling for Wade Philips’ head, but not me. I personally was disappointed in the players. I was disappointed that as professionals who were sworn to give their best for the team and their coach, they just flat out quit. I am still a Cowboys fan, but the players’ willingness to quit on their coach and refuse to listen to him tarnished their image, at least in my mind. They tarnished the image of the entire team and organization by their refusal to listen to the coach.
Now, what in the world does this have to do with Christianity? What does this have to do with our walk with Jesus Christ? What does this have to do with how we live out this faith of ours in our daily lives?
Well, my brothers and sisters, take just a moment to look once again at our second lesson from the book of Romans. St. Paul writes these words, "12Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness."
Let’s break this down for a minute. Paul has just finished explaining to the folks in Rome that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, I know not a single person here this morning will argue with this–unless you just want to flat out argue with Scripture. Undeniably, our salvation comes from God and God alone. Salvation comes through Christ and Christ alone. We know this. As Lutherans, we breathe this as we breathe the air itself.
Ah, but what are the consequences to such belief? If there is nothing we can do to earn salvation, should we do anything? That is now the rub. If our salvation is based not upon our work but any free gift, our works do not matter be they good or bad, correct? If they are good, well, then they are good. But if they are bad, then we can simply ask for forgiveness, and all is clear. We don’t have to worry about pursuing a life filled with the work of following the law, correct?
Paul argues quite the contrary. "Look," he says, "if you say that you are obedient unto God, this means you follow God. If you say you are obedient unto Christ, this means you follow Christ. If you decide to commit sin because it’s something you choose to do, you are not being obedient to Christ. You are not following Him, you are following yourself. You are following your own wishes, your own desires. Or you are following sin itself. You aren’t listening to the one who called you. You are listening to something or someone else. Don’t be foolish. If you say you are going to be a Christian, you are no longer following yourself; you are no longer following sin; you are following Jesus Christ and all the things He teaches His followers to do." This is what Paul means when he says we are slaves to righteousness.
Let’s return to that coaching analogy which I began this sermon with. As Christians, we have acknowledged that our Coach is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have acknowledged our desire to play in the game of life with them teaching us and equipping us and leading us and guiding us in how things are done. It is with their guidance that we believe we will finally triumph, and, might I add, have the most fulfillment in playing the game. So, the question comes down to you and me, do we listen to the instructions of our Coach? Are we obedient to what our Coach teaches–to paraphrase Paul?
When Jesus tells his followers, "Go make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you," do we listen? Or do we listen to the smaller coaches of the world say that this might offend someone? When Jesus says, "Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned because when you do these things you are feeding and clothing and visiting me," do we listen? Or do we hear those lesser coaches saying, "Money is tight. Get everything for yourself. Look out for number one."? When Jesus says, "If you want to be my disciple, you must take up your cross and follow me," do we heed his words? Or do we listen to those lesser voices which say, "Just call yourself a Christian, it doesn’t mean any sort of sacrifice or pain on your part. It’s an easy life."? To whom do we listen, and what are the consequences if we don’t listen?
What happens if we don’t listen to our Coach? Well, we do know He won’t take us out of the game. Life will continue to go on, but will we find fulfillment in it? Will we find joy? Will we find peace? Will we find happiness? Will we find contentment? If we do not listen to the voice of our Coach will we be able to navigate the confusing, often treacherous courses in the race of life, or will we flounder as we seek to satisfy ourselves with stuff that only leaves us more and more hungry?
Oh, and what about the reflection we leave upon our Coach? If we refuse to listen to Him, if we refuse to play the game as He instructs, what does that say to others about how good our Coach is? Dare we reflect upon Him in this manner? Or do we go out there and bust our tail ends because we love, respect, and admire our Coach? Do we head into life knowing we may not win everything, but our Coach will indeed lead us to final victory? Do we trust our Coach enough to wager our life on His wisdom and might? Where does your obedience lie? With sin or with righteousness? The choice is yours. Amen.
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