The Way: 27

I love sports. They are my favorite thing to do, to watch, and to talk about. Hands down. I especially love football. It's my favorite sport. And nothing else is even close. But I also love baseball, basketball, and soccer (hockey not so much, or at all for that matter). With all that said, last night, the New York Yankees won their 27th World Series, seventeen more than the team with the second most World Series victories. Since I love all these sports, I have teams I root for and teams that I dislike very strongly (since Christians are not supposed to hate anybody). And there is no team in baseball that I dislike more than the Yankees; however, there is no player I like more than Alex Rodriguez, their third baseman. For my money, he is the greatest player of his generation, if not ever. Yet, that does not mean that it is always sunshine and roses for A-Rod. Throughout his entire career, he has been scrutinized, but never more intensely than this year. As A-Rod said last night, "2009 has been a year of ups and downs." The season started for him by a news story being leaked that he had used steroids during the 2003 season, which caused a huge scandal. Then, within the first couple weeks, he injured his hip to the point that he needed surgery and missed 1/5 of the season. This was followed by the Yankees going 90-44 when he was in the lineup. He capped off his season with winning his first World Series and putting up ridiculous numbers. This was a season of redemption for A-Rod. This was a season of condemnation for A-Rod. Condemnation from media. Condemnation from baseball purists. Condemnation from Yankee haters and A-Rod haters. This was a season filled with grace for A-Rod. Grace from Yankee fans. Grace from A-Rod fans. Grace from some baseball fans.

Humanity is much like A-Rod. We started off with so much potential. So much promise. So much greatness (after all, what else was created in God's own image?). Then, we fell. The innocence was lost. That potential ruptured. That greatness was wrested from us. We were stained by sin. We were under condemnation. Romans 5:16b, 18a: "For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation....Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men." We were slaves to sin, ruled by Satan. As Augustine said, we were "non posse non peccare" (which means, not able not to sin). We "were dead in our trespasses" (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13).

But....

Romans 5:6-11: "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (bold added).

At just the right moment, God sent Christ to rescue humanity. And we have been. We have a new relationship with God. Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." This gives us cause to celebrate, because we are reconciled back to God. That original relationship is being restored. The "old self," which was not able not to sin, is gone. It is replaced by the new. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). The slavery to sin was broken through the cross, and now, we are slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:16-18:

"Do 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? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness."

Now, we are in the stage that Augustine called "posse non peccare" (which means able to not sin) thanks to the Holy Spirit "who guides us into all truth" (John 16:13), whose fruit there is no law against (Gal. 5:23). Now, we are alive in Christ. And Christ is alive in us. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20)

Just like A-Rod, we have gone through our own season of redemption. "And [all] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7). "He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:12).

But also like A-Rod, we still face criticism. Persecution. Hatred. Accusation. Revelation 12:10 speaks of Satan as "the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night." Satan continually reminds us of our sins, both past and present. Satan, our adversary, "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to keep us wallowing in our sin. He wants us to keep our mind on the sin we have committed. He even wants us to keep our mind on using our own willpower to overcome our sin. He wants us to keep our mind on anything but Jesus Christ, because it is then that we achieve victory and overcome sin. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).

My prayer is that we would be like Paul. "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Paul knew that he was not perfect. He knew that he had not reached the point of full maturity in Christ. He knew that he still struggled with sin (check out Romans 7). But, he pressed on anyway. I pray that we would not fall prey to the schemes of the devil. I pray that we will embrace our forgiveness, which covers all our sins for all time and was given to us, not dependent on any merit of our own. I pray that we would truly walk as new creations, step in step with the Holy Spirit. And when we fail and fall and mess up because we are human, I pray that we would trust in that beautiful grace and mercy, which came to us on the cross, securing our salvation, our redemption, and our reconciliation. I pray that "when shadows fall on us, we will not fear, we will remember. When darkness falls on us, we will not fear, we will remember. When all seems lost and we're thrown and we're tossed, we remember the cost, we're resting in the shadow of the cross" (Shadows by David Crowder Band).

"Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible" (Eph. 6:23-24).

-Trace