“The Visible Word from the Invisible God”  Psalm 19:1-7; Matthew 5:18  1/27/08

            We live in a highly critical society. We easily criticize others and rarely are critical of our own actions.  This past week the democratic candidates for president really went at each other, but so did the Republican candidates.  I didn’t hear much humility in any debate.  Maybe it is because in my generation we were taught to have self-esteem and not humility.   Too much self-esteem enables us to criticize others but not ourselves.   All presidents have been criticized, but the last two have been unmercifully criticized.  We have a problem with authority—and are critical of all authority- even of God and the Bible.  Nothing is above criticism now.   So today people are clamoring for a savior- but a political savior- but no perfect savior will be found.  We are hyper- critical of the Bible, and I want to point this out to us today.  One way I want to point this out is by comparing criticisms of the Bible to criticism of other rules.  Since it is basketball season, I’ll pick basketball.  I want us to contrast some of the way we look at these game rules with the way we look at the Bible. There are six criticisms I have heard about basketball rules that I have also heard about the Bible, I believe that thinking about these will give us some perspective.  I have heard that basketball rules and the Bible are 1) often broken, 2) many get away with breaking them, 3) some rules seem unfair or contradictory, 4) legalists add to these rules, 5) some rules are too old, and 6) the rules seem to change- therefore, people say the rules should be abolished.  Let’s briefly look at these criticisms and their merits.

            First the rules are not always obeyed.  People break the rules- a lot of people, and therefore we may think, maybe it would be better not to have any rules at all.  How many fouls are committed in basketball?  A lot of people ignore the Bible and purposefully rebel against a clear biblical morality.  But just because many break the rules does not mean that the rule book is not necessary.  People break every law of our land, but that doesn’t mean we should abolish law altogether.

            Second, the people who break the rules sometimes get away with breaking the rules.  For example (in basketball), I have always thought UNC teaches their players acting lessons about taking charges or faking fouls- now it seems everyone does it.  In life, many people think that there are no consequences to treating people mean or Machiavellian.  Some of our politicians have shown this clearly.  There is so much mean-spiritedness fueled by political lust for power.  But while people may escape human or innate punishment in this life, I believe God holds us accountable for our actions.

            Third it seems that some of the rules are unfair or are contradictory.  I have thought for years that some of the recruiting rules were arbitrary and a bit unfair- like you can only call a recruit five times.  The rules are so picky that many major colleges hire a full time staffer to make sure that the NCAA rules are kept- especially regarding recruiting.  I’ve thought that it’s not fair as bit ironic/contradictory that coaches are awarded multi-millions as a coach and the players on the court are awarded a college scholarship worth only about $35,000/year.  The disparity between the salaries of professionals and amateurs is ruining college basketball/football/ and baseball as many of the best players leave early or sometimes skip college entirely to go pro.   Some get all hung up in apparent contradictions in the Bible.  Some make up contradictions that are not there to stir up distrust in the Bible.

            Another bad thing about basketball rules are the legalists who abuse the basketball rules adding things that are not there.  Some people want to turn manners into hard and fast rules- like you have to shake the coaches hands after the game.  Or, you have to help an opposing player up when they have fallen.  Or all college players need to help the needy.  When people are consumed with rules and add rule on rule it takes away from the freedom of basketball.  There have always been legalists who make the Bible seem extra harsh by adding rule on rule- saying things the scripture does not say- like don’t drink, smoke, chew or listen to rock music.   But again, just because people abuse the rules or law does not mean that the rules or law are wrong in and of themselves. 

            Some say basketball is irrelevant because the rules are so old and static.  After all, most of the rules go back 116 years.  Yet basketball is still appealing.  Every major high school in America has a basketball team, most colleges do, the NBA had 11 million attend their games in 2007 and basketball is growing in popularity worldwide as evident by the players in the NBA today.  Steve Nash is from Canada, Kobe Bryant is an American who grew up mainly in Italy.  Yao is from China.  There are still people who say the Bible is irrelevant despite that it has been the best-selling book every year ever since the printing press was invented—that is an amazing statistic!  There are more people in church on any given Sunday than at basketball games on any given Sunday.  Ironically, going to church is one of the best kept secrets of the media.  Basketball, football, baseball are everywhere on TV and radio, but the gospel message is kept relatively obscure- the pink elephant standing in the living room that everyone knows is there but no one talks about. 

            One more thing is that the game of basketball seems to have changed with the rules.  Often the same people who complain that the rules are too old ironically often point out that the rules change too much.  There are some purists that deny the game has changed at all, and some who say it has changed so much we should therefore throw out the rule book.

            Here are some of the rules that have changed- in 1896 a backboard was added to the baskets.  In 1897 they limited the number of players for men to five players at a time (before that it was like a big rugby game).  In 1915 the dribbler was allowed to shoot.  In 1936 they quit the practice of having a jump ball after every basket. In 1971 women began playing five on five full court instead of three on three half court. In 1979 the NBA added the three point shot. In 1967 dunking was banned by the NCAA, and then it was reinstated in 1976.

            There are people who say the Old Testament says, “an eye for an eye” and the Jesus said, “Turn the other cheek.”  Therefore this change means we can ignore the rules altogether.  There were dietary laws in the Old Testament and we don’t care what we eat today therefore faith doesn’t make sense.  People wore hats in worship in New Testament times and we don’t wear hats in worship today- therefore we can take the scriptures with a grain of salt.  The basic gist of scriptural teaching about God and about holiness has not changed.

            I believe wise people who play the game of basketball can appreciate the rule changes, and say that while the game is different than when it started in 1891 by Dr. Naismith in a YMCA in Massachusetts, it is still basketball and still a lot of fun, and we still need rules.  In fact, rules do not take away from basketball- even though they are abused and misused.  The rules of basketball make the game more enjoyable and keep injuries away.  Scriptures are the rulebook of life.  That is not all they are, but that is certainly a part of what they are.  We affirm that these scriptures are the Word of God- that the invisible, often inaudible God has spoken, speaks, and will continue to speak through this very visible readable book.  

            We can learn a lot from both Old and New Testaments, Jesus certainly affirmed that.  In fact, listen to some things Jesus said about the scriptures.  He said, “Your Word is truth.”  “The scriptures cannot be broken.”  “Not one jot or tittle can be taken from this book of the law.”  “the scriptures testify about me.”  “I did not come to break the law but fulfill it.”  Jesus clearly believed in listening intently to the Old Testament.  When he was tempted he quoted from the scripture refuting each temptation. When he was dying on the cross he quoted from Psalm 22.  He clearly knew, respected, and memorized the scripture and as his followers we would be wise to do the same.

            Wise people recognize that scripture is the revelation of God.  The people of God have affirmed that time after time.  The scriptures are not the destination, but they are the map to the destination.  The scriptures, if you will, are the GPS device pointing and telling the way.  This is the grace of God.  In a society without direction, He has given us some direction- some hope- some purpose. 

            The Bible should be viewed sacramentally.  It is a tool from God (means of grace) that leads us to the person of God.  Much like the bread points us to remember the body and the cup reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice for us.  We say, “the body of Christ is broken for you.”  We can say the Bible is the Word of the Lord. 

            No matter what you believe about the scriptures, there are some remarkable true stories about how they have been used by God to help people.  The Gideons have story after story of people who were on the edge of committing suicide and they picked up the Bible in desperation and found hope and turned from their despair to life.  I met a man once in Asheville who told me that was his story as well.  I was speaking this week to a Gideon who told me that they had passed out Bibles at USC.  One guy took the Bible and put it in the trash.  His roommate took the Bible out of the trash and made a dramatic turnaround in his faith- accepting Christ as his lord and savior.  Then that roommate later led the other roommate who put the Bible in the trash in the first place- to Christ!  Do not trash the Bible.  Let it speak to your soul.  Have a listening ear and you will be blessed with it. 

            When I have questions about truth- and there are a lot of them raised in this political season- I turn to the book that Jesus called “the truth.”  When I have questions about the brevity of life, I find eternal hope in what Isaiah said, “The grass withers, the flowers fade but the word of the Lord endures forever” and I find perspective.  When I have questions wanting to know which direction to take- I often turn to the scriptures that guide and point me in the right direction.  When I am rejoicing and have a special event in my life- I turn to the Bible and it helps me to join my joyful voices with the Psalms of thanksgiving and praise.  This has been the experience of millions from every country over thousands of years.  We experience the living God through the living Word of God- the Bible- made alive by the Spirit.   It is the visible word from the invisible God. *