Getting In The Game

The Key To Being Fruitful And Effective For The Kingdom

Let’s do a thought experiment.

Let’s say that you are a high school quarterback. And it has always been your dream to start one day as a D1 quarterback, playing in the SEC

And let’s say you get a phone call one day from Ryan Silverfield.

(Do you know who Ryan Silverfield is? He’s the new Head Football Coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks).

Anyway, Coach Silverfield said “son, we’ve seen you play, we’d very much like you to become a Razorback. We want to offer you a scholarship. We believe there is a good chance that you can start for us right away, in our first game your freshman year.”

“What we’re offering you is a guaranteed, four year, no cut scholarship. You sign up with us, you’re in. You’re guaranteed a place on the team and four years of tuition free college.”

This is your dream come true. You and your family are excited. You commit to the program and they have the big signing ceremony at your high school. Your friends are cheering and high fiving you. This is what you’ve always wanted.

In June, you get a call from the coaching staff. They tell you you will need to report for camp. You arrive and learn there are drills they want you to run.

It’s hot.

And you look at the coaches and say “those drills look hard. I’ll pass.”

The coaches are stunned. “I thought you wanted to be a Razorback,” they say. “I thought you wanted to play football.”

And you say “I signed up for the benefits, not the work! I’m here for the games and the NIL money. Not for all this practice stuff!”

And that becomes your pattern. You skip practices. When you do show up, you get bored with the drills.

That’s your pattern all summer long.

Now, do you think there is any chance the coaches will decide to start you in the opening game? For that matter, if you keep skipping practices, do you think you’ll ever get called into a game?

You have a spot on the team. You may keep your scholarship and earn a degree.

But when it comes to being a football player, your lack of practice will leave you ineffective and unfruitful.

This is the point the Bible is making in 2 Peter 1. Not about football. But about being on the team and in the game as a follower of Jesus.

Peter begins his second letter by reminding his readers that God has granted to them all that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called them to his own glory and excellence. He says that God has made them partakers of the divine nature. He has given them promises for this life and hope for the life to come.

Then he gives his readers a list of character qualities they should pursue and add to their faith. Virtue. Knowledge. Self-control. Steadfastness. Godliness. Brotherly affection. And love.

“If these qualities are yours and are increasing,” he says “they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Any kid who loves football does not dream of being on the sidelines. Young men who love football want to be in the game. They sign up to play, not to ride the bench. They know the work is hard, but for the prize set before them, the endure the pain.

But I have to wonder if there aren’t a lot of people in our churches today who have responded to the gospel because of the benefits, not because of a love for Jesus. When they found out following Jesus can be hard, they gave into the little voice in the back of their heads saying “I didn’t think I was signing up for work. I thought being a Christian was about grace, not works. Can’t I just coast, spiritually?”

Peter’s assumption about his readers is that they want to be fruitful and effective as followers of Jesus. He’s assuming they joined the team because they love the Lord, not simply to cash in on His promises.

To be fruitful and effective, he says, you start with the foundation of your faith. That foundation must be in place. Without it, whatever you try to build will get washed away when hard times come.

But on that foundation, Peter says, we must build our lives by seeking to cultivate godly character. Without it, we will end up being unfruitful and ineffective. We won’t make it into the game. We won’t be useful in the Master’s hands.

The promise of heaven should be a motivation for us to surrender our lives to Jesus. But it shouldn’t be our only motivation. We signed up for more than heaven. We signed up to follow Jesus, to be His disciples.

In fact, if someone asks the question “Can’t I just coast spiritually?”, my question is “Is that really what you want to do? Is your goal to do the bare minimum necessary to qualify for heaven?”

There were some classes I took in college where my only goal was to get a passing grade and check the box. I didn’t really care about what the professor was teaching. I wasn’t there to learn.

Character development, spiritual growth, sanctification, growing in holiness and godliness – these are aspects of our Christian experience that are a central part of what it means to be a follower of Christ. If we love Him, we make it our aim to pursue these things.

Peter says that if we are failing to cultivate these qualities, it is evidence that there may be deeper issues with our spiritual health.

Tom Schreiner says “If members of the church are living immoral lives, they bear witness that forgiveness of sins means little to them. Those who treasure being forgiven live in a way that pleases God.”

As you look at your life and think about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, would you say you are on the sidelines? Or in the game?

God is calling all of us to grow in godliness so that we can be effective and fruitful in His service.