RGIII's Knee and the Outrage of Gospel Complacency

            Seminary is an incredible and indispensable preparation for full time ministry.  The amount of learning is amazing.  The learning of the languages, and how to actually use them, the theology, and how to think systematically about the things of God, and even a real understanding of church history equips a man for ministry to a depth that nothing else can.

            But there is something else that takes place in seminary, at least in seminaries where the professors are also pastors and elders in local churches in addition to being excellent scholars, which is invaluable.  The professors sometimes pull you aside and dole out little nuggets of wisdom about how to shepherd the flock.  And one of those nuggets that was shared with me was that you need to be aware of the local sports teams.  This was a piece of advice I bristled against.  Being from Pittsburgh I was aware I hated all teams that didn’t wear the black and gold, and that was as far as I wanted to go.

            But considering that the man who took time to tell me that has the greatest heart for the flock I have ever seen, I decided I had better listen.  So every day as I drive into the church, I listen to the local sports talk radio station. (And I hate to admit it but I have taken a little bit of an interest in the Nats and the Wizards, and have stopped actively hating the Redskins.  The Capitals, well I have stopped actively hating the Redskins.)

            I mention this for one reason, for the past few weeks one subject has dominated the airwaves here in metro D.C., the injury to Robert Griffin III’s knee.  It is a massive injury, and considering it is the second time he has torn the ACL in that knee, you would think that the discussion would center on the question of whether he can come back and ever compete at the same level.  But it doesn’t.  The key question being debated is what did coach Mike Shanahan know about the seriousness of his injury, and when did he know it?

            RGIII had injured his knee earlier in the season and during their season ending playoff game clearly aggravated it.  Yet after consultation with the team doctor and the coach he was sent back into the game, and in case you missed it, RGIII subsequently crumpled to the ground clutching his severely injured knee.

            And so the debate rages, should he have been sent back into the game?  Should Shanahan be held accountable for his quarterback’s injury?  And underneath all of the debate there is an undergirding awareness that if the coaches and doctors knew that by sending RGIII back into the game they were endangering his health, it was wrong.  It was a morally wrong act to not protect their player’s health and future.  (And truth be told most of the people who call in are a lot more concerned with the future health of the Redskins that with the health and career of Robert Griffin.)

            And this caused me to ponder a question.  If people are outraged because a coach might have known a football player's knee was in danger and refused to take action to protect him, where is the outrage that millions of professing Christians know beyond a shadow of a doubt that people all around them (including friends and relatives who they claim to love) are in imminent danger of judgment and yet fail to take any action?  Millions of professing believers refuse to share the Gospel with the lost.  And that is a lot more outrage worthy than a coach knowingly jeopardizing a player’s knee.  In fact it is unconscionable.

            Consider this quote:

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

            There is a palpable sense of outrage there isn’t there?  And it is appropriate sense of outrage isn’t it.  You can agree with everything in that statement can’t you? After all isn’t it really a hateful act to not alert someone to the perils of hell and damnation?  You might think that quote came from the pulpit of a powerful preacher of the Gospel, but it didn’t.  That indignant condemnation of evangelistic cowardice came from noted atheist and skeptic Penn Jillette (The speaking half of the illusionist duo Penn & Teller).  If an avowed atheist sees that it is outrageous to not share the Gospel, what is wrong with the church?

            I think that the only answer is that the collective conscience of the American church has been seared against the common sin of not sharing the Gospel.  And yes, I just called it sin.  Believers are commanded to make disciples, and the very purpose of the universal Church is to proclaim the excellencies of Christ.  To fail to do so is an act of disobedience, plain and simple.

            While the fear of damaging relationships is understandable, it is not an excuse to not share the Gospel.  Jesus said if anyone values their familyrelationships more than Him, they are unworthy to follow Him.  And He also clearly told his disciples that not only was following Christ not the pathway to popularity, it would result in the world hating them.  But following Christ is more than worth the cost.

            And I don’t say that idly, I didn’t come to faith until later in life, and I was a fairly popular guy.  Having worked in the corporate world, at a popular night spot and at a ski resort I had a wide and diverse circle of friends when I came to Christ.  Today virtually all of those friends are gone.  The interesting thing is that there weren’t any heated confrontations with them or tense interactions.  Once they realized that I actually believed the Gospel, that I actually desired to live under the Lordship of Christ and it wasn’t some kind of scheme, scam or dodge they quietly walked away from our friendship.  It happened with the friends I shared the Gospel with and it happened with the friends I was too cowardly to share the Gospel with.  

The social awkwardness happened simply because real and true faith is always a divisive issue.  Remember that Jesus said families would be divided because of Him, to expect anything else is to ignore the clear teaching of Scripture.  God is often merciful in preserving relationships, but it is wrong to expect it.  After all, we are the aroma of death to those who are perishing, and that is something a lot of people just don't want to be around.

Now that doesn’t mean that we should be harsh or unloving in the presentation of the Gospel, we must always do our best to limit the offense to the Gospel, remembering that if you don’t have love, anything you say will be as annoying as a clanging gong.  And always remember that the message of the Gospel is deeply offensive to unbelievers.  No one likes to hear that they are not a good person, hopelessly sinful and will justly incur eternal punishment for their transgressions against a holy God unless they repent of their sins and place their hope for salvation solely in the atoning sacrifice of Christ who bore the wrath of God against sin, poured Himself out to the point of death then arose again signifying the defeat of the power of sin and death and the Father’s acceptance of His perfect sacrifice.  (And make no mistake that is the Gospel, it is not that God has a wonderful plan for your life if you would just invite Jesus into your heart.  The Gospel must include the sinfulness of man and the holiness of God if people are to repent and believe as Jesus commanded when He preached the Gospel.)  But the truth of the Gospel must be shared in love, in a winsome manner, and with the acute awareness that apart from the sovereign grace of God you would be just as dead in your sin as the one you are sharing with. But you need to warn them, in the clearest of terms of the danger they are facing.

The issue isn’t so much that believers need to start sharing the Gospel, it is that believers need to stop NOT sharing the Gospel.  After all we know that the bus of judgment is bearing down on unrepentant sinners, and we need to warn them.  And if an atheist, who is utterly incapable of showing true love because he has never received the love of Christ recognizes it as unloving to not share the Gospel, so should we.  To not warn someone of the danger of hell is infinitely more outrageous than sending a hobbled quarterback back into a game.  It is high time that the Church in America stopped turning a blind eye toward this despicable sin.