Enjoying sports is a treasured pastime for many Americans. Somehow or some way, we all like to engage in or watch a good sporting event. Whether it is football, basketball or baseball, (these days the list of sports to play and watch are almost too many to count or mention), it is a lot of fun.

One might ask the question, why? Without getting into any of the exact details of any one sport and why we all love to participate, I will quote a former college basketball coach, who lives here in Omaha.

He said that basketball is “a lot like driving a car” (and who does not like driving a car, especially when we first begin). His point being, playing basketball correctly and driving a car are eerily the same.

Both require a keen eye on all the moving parts and positioning oneself in the midst of all the moving players. When driving, this leads to safety and the ability to move about freely in our car. In basketball, this results in either scoring baskets or defending the basket.

It is critical for everyone on the court to see all the moving and stationary objects in the proper perspective in order to make the necessary move, offensively or defensively. A good team is able to do this with skill and purpose, and make exciting plays for the win. Properly played, sports delivers great joy and fulfillment to those who play or watch.

This proper perspective between all the players and movement can also be seen as an illustration on how Christianity, namely the gospel (the good news about Jesus Christ), demands this same vital perspective.

Perspective can be defined as “the true understanding of the relative importance of things, and/or the art of determining objects so as to give the right impression of their height, weight, depth, and position to each other when viewed from a particular point.”

This definition is so helpful, especially for Christians and how we are to see all the objects surrounding and woven into gospel of Jesus Christ as presented and delivered in Holy Scripture. 

For example, take the most familiar verse in all the Bible – John 3:16, which says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life.” Somehow, most people see this amazing offer of eternal life promised and miss the other major object in the verse, the reality that condemnation or judgment is already delivered by the loving and holy God Himself because of our sin against Him.

Only when we truly see and understand our proper standing as sinners, does the gospel make sense. God forgives His enemies, praise the Lord.

God’s precious gospel is born of the love of God that comes to the aid of the guilty and condemned! Guilt before grace. This is a proper perspective.

It even gets more clear about judgment and guilt and our God-blessed gospel in I John 2:2, which says, “...we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins...” This means that Jesus Himself is the very one who satisfies the judgment against us.

It is the apostle Paul who declares that Jesus becomes “the curse” for us. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us....so that Christ, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit.”

What both John and Paul are saying is that Christ alone, as our federal head, the last Adam, is able to carry (bear) our punishment (judgment) in our place. Or in Paul’s words, “the curse” for all the sins of those who believe in the Son.

He atones for them by accepting the just punishment due for those sins. He became the curse, forsaken by the Father. He alone as the God-man experienced the full measure of hell on the cross and was raised three days later. This guilt payment is the good news to us.

What a reality – salvation through judgment. Now there is a perspective we need to understand! There is no good news for the sinner without the death of Christ for our sins. The cross of Christ is the wisdom of God and it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.