Jump Start # 533 

2 Timothy 2:5 “Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.” 

  Last night was the Super Bowl. Great game! The apostle Paul used illustrations from sports several times. He talked about running, boxing and winning. Here in this passage, Paul uses a series of three illustrations to emphasize the importance of being dedicated to the Lord. Paul mentions the good soldier (v. 3-4) who must suffer hardships; the athlete (v. 5) who plays by the rules; and the farmer (v. 6) who is the first to receive from his share of the crops.

  Playing by the rules—that’s something our mamma’s taught us when we were growing up but a lesson that it seems many have abandoned. It seems that many are looking for a edge, an advantage so they can win. Often what they find crosses the line of right and wrong. This is why there are drug tests on athletes, the equipment must be examined by impartial judges and strict rules set up to avoid cheating—this is true in Nascar, baseball, football, tennis, even horse racing. This drive to win at all costs crosses the lines of sports and is found in all areas of life. Cheating has sent Wall Street investors to jail, it has ruined business deals, it has resulted in college kids getting kicked out of schools, tainted corporations, and soured honest hard working people. We wonder if anyone is honest anymore. The number of incidents of cheating has made us not trust anyone anywhere. Handshakes aren’t good enough today. We have to sign a mountain of papers and have a line of attorneys standing behind us.

  There is one area in life that the cheaters cannot and will not prevail, and that is with God. The Galatians were told that “God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” There is no fooling God. There is no cheating God. Consider a few areas:

• There is no escaping death. Often when a person has nearly died but they didn’t, we might say that they “cheated death.” They really didn’t. God has an appointed time (Heb 9:27). If God decides your time is now, as the rich farmer found out in Luke, then that’s it. There Jesus said, in that parable, “This very night your soul is required of you…” That very night he died. There is no out running, hiding, nor escaping death. Since that is true, we need to live each day as if it were out last day. We need to express our love to our family and friends and walk hand in hand with the Lord.

• There is no pretending to be righteous when we are not, at least not in the eyes of God.  You can’t fool God. Some fool their families and some can fool a church, but you can’t do those things with God. The Pharisees thought they could. Jesus saw right through them. He described them as a dish or a cup that was clean on the outside but dirty on the inside. He said that they looked like a cemetery—beautiful, white tombstones, but underneath the ground, rotting and dead bodies. He knew. Sitting in a church building doesn’t make a person righteous—it’s following Christ that does. When I was small, we used to play church. My grandparents took care of the communion at the small country church they attended. What was left over was brought home and given to the grandkids. We lined up baby dolls, stuffed animals and anything else we could find and played church. It was a lot of fun. It didn’t do much to us on the inside—just as church services has little impact today on those adults who are playing their own version of church. God knows.

• There will be no one who cheats their way into Heaven. Stories of standing at the gate and telling the apostle Peter a great line and a whooper of a story so we can get in, may generate laughs from your friends, but it’s not that way. Peter is not standing guard at the gate. The gates opened, not closed. A person has to pass the judgment seat of Christ, where the books are opened before Heaven can be granted. Tears and sob stories and pitiful tales of hard luck doesn’t excuse a life that ignored God, was selfish and avoided what the Bible teaches. You can’t cheat your way into Heaven. Revelation 21:27 teaches, “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Names are in the book because God put them there. They belong to those who walked with the Lord in love, trust and obedience. They were righteous inside and out. They didn’t pretend. They were not fake. God knows. No one will get past God dishonestly. Won’t happen.

 If you want the prize, then you must go by the rules. That’s the point of the passage and the point of life. In the end, cheaters are caught and the dishonest lose. That’s just how it is. Honest—honest in our walk with God. Honest in our faith. Honest with our families. Honest to ourselves. No deceiving. No cheating. No planning to bend, fudge, nor break the rules. Walk hand in hand with the holy Savior. That’s the only way. That’s the sure way.

  We have to deal with cheaters down here. We won’t in Heaven. Don’t get caught up with their scheming and deceiving—it’s not right and it’s not worth it. I remember guys in college who went to extreme lengths to cheat on tests. What they came up with was unbelievable. If they spent that same energy in studying then they wouldn’t had to cheat, and more than that, they would have learned something. Cheating affects others. Would you like to have a surgeon operate on you if you knew he cheated his way through medical school? How about taking a flight with a pilot who cheated in flight school? Those are scary thoughts. Dishonest employees has forced stores to spend money on security which drives the price of products up. Cheating affects others. Even little things, like falsely identifying things on Ebay, affects others. People buy a product and it’s broken or not in the condition that it was listed as, they have been cheated and taken advantage of. The cheater laughs all the way to the bank, thinking he pulled a fast one, but he hasn’t. God knows. You can’t fool God.

  Play by the rules. Be a person of integrity and honesty. It may cost you, and you may see cheaters holding trophies above their heads, but God knows. He always knows. There is no cheating God. The honest person sleeps better at night. His conscience is good. It is the one who walks with the Lord that has the hope of Heaven.

Roger

Jump Start # 386

2 Timothy 2:5 “Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.”

  Our passage today is taken from some of the final pages of Paul’s writings. He is writing to Timothy, a young preacher in Ephesus. The older preacher talking to the younger preacher. The things he writes are for all of us.

  Paul like to talk about sports. He would have been an ESPN junkie today. His writings include illustrations about boxing, running and competing as athletes. The Romans loved sports. They filled stadiums to watch events. Paul understood that there is a parallel in the Christian walk and sports.

  The verse today is found in a series of illustrations taken from life:

• V. 4 the soldier does not entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life
• V. 5 the athlete must go by the rules to win the prize
• V. 6 the farmer is the first to enjoy his crops

  These words and illustrations have to do with our relationship with the Lord. Our verse, the middle illustration, is about honesty and obedience in what we do. This illustration is so vivid to us, “play according to the rules.” We grew up saying, “cheaters never win and winners never cheat.” Great saying. Wish athletes lived by that. Wish everyone lived by that. We know they don’t. Baseball has it’s steroid issues. College sports has it’s violation of NCAA regulations. Every Olympics has some athletes being sent home for cheating. Cheaters have been caught and exposed in nearly every sport. It ruins the spirit of the games. It makes younger ones coming on believe that the only way to survive is to cheat.

  We understand this in sports. We try to teach the kids to play fair. It’s not whether you win or lose we tell them, but it’s the adults that have the real trouble here. We are the cheaters. Paul’s words are just an example, an illustration. His point, as always is spiritual. It is about God. The prize he mentions would be Heaven, the ultimate goal for all disciples. The rules are the New Testament, the law of Christ. John said, “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God…” (2 John 9). Play by the rules.

  The Galatians were told, “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). There is no fooling God. God knows. No one can cheat God and win. It simply won’t happen. Play by the rules!

  Sounds simple, doesn’t it. We get it. Yet, we don’t. Bring up some interesting topics such as, divorce and all of a sudden people start finding ways not to go by what God said. Some will try to rewrite what the rules say. Some will claim a special exemption from the rules. Some will say that the rules won’t work today. How about baptism? How about righteousness? How about the rules on homosexuality? Capital punishment? Do you know God speaks about that in the New Testament?

  The rules of God are much deeper and greater than simply be nice and love everybody. That is the flavor of the month in religion these days. Just love, that’s all God cares about. It makes me think that most people view Jesus as the first hippie—long hair, flip flops, peace sign, make love and not war sign. Where do they get that image? Not from the Bible.

  To get the prize, we must compete according to the rules. This means, we first must know the rules. Ever get with a group of people to play some cards. There will be someone who never played before. The first thing you do is teach them how to play. You tell them the “rules.” They can’t play, unless they know the rules. We better be finding out the rules. This means more time in the Bible. Looking at what Christ and the apostles said. Studying words. Taking time to learn, think and meditate on these things.

  Next, don’t be discouraged when others don’t play by the rules. It seems everyone cheats. You don’t be one of those. Stick with what God said, the way He said it. Don’t break the rules because others are. That never helps matters.

  Stay with it. There is an end in sight. There is a prize awaiting. You must finish and you must compete according to the rules.

  It do well for some churches to remember this verse. Growth means nothing if you must break the rules to bring people in. Worship must be according to the rules or God will reject it. Remember Cain and Abel? Marriage—according to the rules. Raising kids—according to the rules.

 Now in doing this, some get agitated and proclaim “legalism.” They love that word. They don’t know what it means. It is generally stated by those who don’t keep the rules towards those who are. So if I simply do what this verse tells me to do, keep the rules, does that make me a legalist? By some people’s definition it does. Their definition is wrong. Legalism is putting the law or the rule above all things, even God. It is the worship of the law, not the giver of the law. Law biding and legalism are not twins. They don’t even live in the same house. The answer to legalism is not lawlessness. Cheating is not the answer.

  Keep the rules as God gave them. If you do this, you’ll be fine. Stay with it and you’ll receive the prize. God is good. He wants you to want Him. He wants you to follow Him. Trust Him. What He says is right and good. You’ll never be wrong by doing what the Bible says. Everyone else just needs to get with it and quit cheating.

Roger