A new coach and a new team

Today we will use an illustration from sport to explain what it means to convert and to believe the gospel.

A new coach and manager

To be converted is to come to Jesus Christ and to ask him to take our life in his hands, to take control in our life and train us and help us to be what we were originally designed to be. The coach and manager of a football team has almost unlimited power to make the necessary decisions, prescribe the necessary exercises and place players in the positions he wishes.

In the same way Jesus knows what we need to throw away, which habits we need to get rid of and which new skills we must learn if we are to win life’s game. To be a Christian implies surrendering our right to decide the daily rhythm and content of our life. It is letting Jesus be our coach and manager in recognition of the fact that we cannot manage on our own. When we repent and believe in him, Jesus takes upon himself the responsibility to train us, develop us and help us to win.

A new team

To become a Christian means changing teams and leaving the old team with team mates who just wanted us to join in with things that were bad, both for us and for them. The old team is a losing team because everyone thinks only of themselves and their own interests. The Bible calls this changing of teams to “save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (Acts. 2.40). We have grown up among a corrupt generation, a team that does not function, but through conversion and faith we have got onto a completely different team.

No one can be a Christian in isolation. It is as self-contradictory as saying that someone is playing football on his own. To be a football player one has to be part of a team. No one can play football alone - it is meaningless. It is the fact that it is a team game that creates the excitement and makes it fun to be involved.

Jesus’ winning team is called the Church. As soon as we come to Jesus he takes us onto his team and begins to train us together with the others to win The Great Game. In the next unit you will learn how Jesus trains and develops us in the new team, which is his Church.

New rules

To repent and believe is a process where we learn the rules for the new life. This implies that we must change our mind and get rid of old opinions and attitudes. Jesus does not play according to the old team’s selfish rules, but he teaches us to live according to the Rule of Love:

As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. (Matt. 7:12)

This is a really radical way to live! In Chapter 3 we shall take a closer look at what this means for us.

New direction - new goals

When we repent and believe, our life takes a new direction and we begin to aim for new goals. Jesus’ team is aiming to win a completely different game from the one we were playing in when we were on the old team. Jesus’ team plays in a higher division. We have now come into the “Premier League” where both the stakes and the reward are much greater.

When Jesus is the manager, life will take on a new meaning. We look at things with a new perspective and stretch ourselves towards new heights. Now we have our eyes on a heavenly goal and receive new strength to bear adversity and go through difficulties.

The life of faith with Jesus as the teacher

The faith way of life is to learn from Jesus and to tackle life his way. Jesus has been tested in every way, just as we are, and knows what temptations and problems we meet as people. Through faith and obedience he won over all difficulties and even triumphed over sin and death.

When Jesus is our teacher we learn not to defend ourselves or fight for our rights, but to commit our case to the righteous God. No matter what difficulties and challenges we meet in life, we can get help from Jesus to tackle these things in a godly way.

To believe is to trust in God. We show our trust by doing as he says and believing that he will do as he has promised. God has never yet forsaken anyone who put his trust in him. To believe is to say yes to God and to act according to his word. To believe is to rest on God’s promises and to do God’s works in God’s strength.

Exercise:

Do you think this illustration using a sports team is relevant to conversion and trust in Jesus Christ? Give reasons for your answer.

A new manager, a new team, new rules, new direction – what does it mean to you personally? Explain it in a practical way!

Continue to memorise all the previous Bible verses, repeating this from yesterday:

If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom.10:9)

For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. (Rom.10:10)