Inadvertent Whistle

This past Sunday afternoon the Denver Broncos benefited from a controversial call which led to them beating the visiting San Diego Chargers in an exciting football game. With less than a minute left to play in the game, Broncos quarterback, Jay Cutler, fumbled the ball while attempting to throw a pass. However, the referee, believing Cutler’s miscue to be an incomplete pass, inadvertently blew his whistle ending the play. The Chargers had recovered the ball, but because of the whistle being blown, the play was ruled dead the moment the football hit the ground. Denver retained possession of the ball and scored a touchdown two plays later. The Broncos converted a 2-point conversion after the touchdown to take the lead and eventually win the game. The obvious uproar that has ensued over the past few days has led to people wanting the referee to be fired and for the National Football League to change the rules regarding these types of plays. After all, the Broncos would have most likely lost the game if the whistle had not been blown. The second chance the Broncos received was a rare moment in sports. It isn’t often that a team gets a chance to win a game after the mistake of a referee.

"Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." Hebrews 10: 11-18

One of the most famous quotes about football was uttered by Herm Edwards. He is now the Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. But, when he was the coach of the New York Jets, he responded to a question from a reporter with, “You play to win the game!” To a football player, the way to “win the game” is by scoring as many points as possible, preferably by scoring touchdowns. The end zone in many ways can be described as Heaven. Everybody wants to get there and is willing to do whatever it takes. However, similar to Jay Cutler’s fumble, our sin prevents us from reaching that goal and there is nothing we can do about it on our own. The Broncos used a referee’s blown call, something out of their control, in order to get a chance to score the winning points. Jay Cutler’s “sin” of fumbling the football was wiped clean, so to speak, by the referees error. The sin of mankind is keeping us from our goal of entering Heaven. There is nothing we can do in order to free ourselves from the sin that separates us from God. No matter how successful we are at performing our religious sacrifices meant to atone for our sins, God does not accept them. In fact, the only sacrifice He accepts is the once and for all propitiating sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Our sincerity towards, and dedication to, trying to keep ourselves cleansed from sin is only telling God that the death of Jesus Christ is not enough. The last words Jesus Christ spoke prior to His death were, “it is finished.” I have heard that what He said means “paid in full” in its original language. When something is paid in full that means the debt no longer remains. How would you feel if you paid your debt, but were told you still owed on it? Now, imagine how God must feel when we are, effectively, doing the same thing when it comes to our sins.

"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. " Romans 5: 17-19

If Jay Cutler’s fumble had stood, and San Diego was awarded the ball, he would have been left with no recourse. He would have been left to suffer the consequences of his mistake. If the referee had performed his duties efficiently, not only Cutler, but the entire Broncos football team would have suffered for it. When Cutler dropped that ball, the fate of his team and every Broncos fan hung in the balance. The actions of one man would have effected many lives. When Adam ate fruit from the forbidden tree, he died spiritually and, subsequently, all mankind is born into this world dead to God, in sin. Once Adam ate that fruit, and God removed His life from Adam, there was nothing Adam could do that would be able to restore that life he lost. Since all of us are born into this world spiritually dead to God in our sins, there is nothing we can do in order to get the life of God restored to us. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, is the only man who ever existed who had a life worthy enough to satisfy God as payment for our sins. Adam was created spiritually alive. Jesus, the second Adam, was born spiritually alive. Being God, and born spiritually alive, qualifies Jesus as the only man who ever had a life to give on behalf of mankind. All mankind suffered the consequences of the sin of one man. Just as, in Christ, all mankind has a chance for the life lost in Adam to be restored to them throughout eternity.

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10: 26-29

If the referee makes the correct call on Jay Cutler's fumble the Broncos lose the game. There goal of reaching the endzone would have ended and they would have deserved to lose. It is not much different when it comes to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. We deserve death for our sins. But, because of God's love for us, He sent Jesus Christ to take our place. And now, in Him, we have become children of God and citizens of Heaven. We don't deserve His love. We haven't done, aren't doing and can't do, anything that would please a God who is only pleased by the work of His Son. That referee's blown call resulted in unmerited favor being shown towards Jay Cutler and the Broncos. Jesus dying for our sins is God's unmerited favor, grace, towards a people who don't deserve His mercy. Anytime we act as though we are pleasing to God through our own efforts of trying to sacrifice for our sins we are insulting the Spirit of grace! Our efforts are no better than a fumbled football we cannot recover. It is that mentality that is deserving of punishment. But, instead of being punished for trampling the Son of God under foot we have been blessed by God's "blown whistle" which has given us a chance to win the game in Christ. Amen!