Free Agents
Jesus and Satan both try to convince us to join their team. And we are the "free agents" with the right and ability to choose whose side we will join. So in this lesson we're going to discuss three topics including free agency, contracts, and rewards.
Webster defines a free agent as "a professional athlete who is free to negotiate a contract with any team." We can find several illustrations in the New Testament where the writers compare Christians to athletes, but today we are not interested in talking about sports. Today we are talking more about our freedom to choose whose "team" we will join, whose "contract" we will accept.
"Free Agency" requires three things. First, it requires that an offer be given. Second, it requires that the person receiving the offer has the ability to choose whether or not to accept the offer. Third, it requires some form of contract that states the terms of the offer and the obligations of both parties in the agreement. We see these three elements in sports today. When promising star athletes get close to graduating from college, professional sports teams call them and offer them contracts and money to come play for their team. The athletes can choose which team they join, and when they choose, they must sign a contract that allows them to play exclusively and only for that team until the contract expires or is terminated for some reason. Now that contract can be terminated for several reasons. If the player refuses to fulfill his obligations, he is said to be "in breach of contract" and the team could then release him, fire him, fine him, or whatever else. If the player doesn't live up to their expectations, the team might choose to trade him or release him. If the team doesn't meet their part of the deal by paying the athlete properly and providing for his training requirements, the player might decide to seek a way out of the contract by requesting to be traded or doing re-negotiations on his contract.
We see these three elements of an offer, a choice, and a contract, from the very beginning.
In the beginning, when God created man, He put man in the Garden of Eden, the very best place on Earth that God had made. He gave man rule over all the earth and granted man access to the tree of life, that he may eat and live forever, along with all the other trees in the garden. He gave man a woman as a helper in ruling over the earth. This was God's offer to man…a life of bliss and peace and perfection in this life.
God gave man the second part of free agency, the ability to think and reason and make to decide for himself how he would live and whom he would serve. He made man responsible for his thoughts and accountable for his actions. He did not design man as a mindless robot to be controlled and manhandled and follow a script of behavior without deviation. Nor did he design us as vegetables sitting by waiting for something to happen to us. He gave us the ability to examine and understand our environment, to consider different options and choices, to reason out which path is best, to carry out decisions, and to think back and learn from our own mistakes and the mistakes of others. When God put man in the garden of Eden, He didn't just turn them loose and walk away. He didn't just set them down and say, "Ya'll go play now and do whatever you'd like or whatever feels good." God gave Adam and Eve some instructions.
Third, God gave man a set of terms, instructions, a contract, a covenant, that man would have to follow in order to continue in their agreement. In the beginning, God gave man three specific instructions.
The first instruction God gave to Adam and Eve was to "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" (Gen. 1:28). Now Adam and Eve could have chosen to ignore that instruction. They could have decided to just keep the whole earth to themselves, rather than messing it up with babies and messy diapers and teenagers racing up and down the roads. They had the ability to decide whether or not to obey God. Likewise, every person today has the ability, the potential, to obey God, but he must decide whether or not to do it. Had they refused to obey that instruction, they would sinned, and in doing so, they would have forfeited their right to the benefits of living in the Garden of Eden and in God's presence.
The second instruction God gave was for them to subdue the earth "and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen 1:28). In fact back in chapter 1, verse 26, the text tells us that this was one of the primary reasons for which God created man, "to rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Now any person that has ever been in a position of supervision, management, leadership, or rule knows that in order to do their job effectively they must be empowered with the authority to make decisions, carry them out, and enforce them. And so when God created man to rule over the earth, He gave man this ability to make decisions, carry them out, and enforce them so that man could effectively rule. And this is one of the ways in which "God created man in His own image" (Gen. 1:27), that man was empowered with authority. If man had chosen not to rule over the earth, and not to care for the Garden, he would have violated his agreement with God, and sinned, thereby forfeiting his right to live in the Garden.
The third instruction, the one in which they first failed, was "from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17). Now this sounds like a pretty simple command to obey. We adults probably think that if we were put in that position, we would not fail. But we have to remember that Adam and Eve did not have the experiences that we have. They couldn't look back in history and see what would happen if they disobeyed. They were probably more like children in this matter, having a curiosity that outweighed their desire to do what is right. Please allow me to illustrate.
In our house, we have lots and lots of foods. We keep on hand several different kinds of cereal, partially because we all like different cereals, and partially because we like to have variety in our breakfasts. And quite frequently when we go to the grocery store, each member of the family will pick out their own box of cereal. And when we all get home, we tell the kids, "You can eat any of these cereals in this cabinet that are for ya'll to eat, but thou shalt not eat of the Fruity Pebbles in this cabinet, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die." And yet it never fails, it NEVER fails, that when I get up the next morning to eat MY Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, when I come down the stairs, the kids hear me coming, and they try to hide themselves because they know they did something they should not have done. It is like hearing my footsteps causes some kind of chemical reaction in their brain that makes them remember that they had been instructed on this matter already. I wish there was a way I could cause those footsteps to be eternally replayed throughout the house and everywhere the kids go so they will always know that Dad is coming and they are going to be disciplined if they have done something wrong. So I go into the kitchen, and the box is already open and the evidence is all over the floor. And I go to look for the culprits who have committed this act, and they have all hidden themselves because they were ashamed! And I ask Sarah, "Why did you eat my Fruity Pebbles?" And Sarah says that Clarissa opened it and gave it to her. And I ask Clarissa, "Why did you eat my Fruity Pebbles?" And since Dustin isn't old enough to be blamed yet, and since we don't own any pet snakes, her answer is always, "I don't know."
So God gave each person the ability to choose which "team" he would join and He gave man a set of terms, or instructions (a contract, covenant), that stated what man was obligated to do, and what God would do for man. He made man as what we call "free moral agents."
Sometime during our childhood, I suppose around the ages of puberty, as early as 9 and as late as 14 years old, we have gained sufficient knowledge, instructions, experience, and motivation, to be able to determine in most matters what is right and what is wrong, to decide which to pursue, and the ability to carry out the decision. And there is no magical or mystical feeling that tells us all of sudden that we are accountable. We don't just wake up one morning and realize that we have become free moral agents. It occurs gradually over time, and when we learn about God's will and the plan of salvation, we begin to understand that our sins have far greater consequences than just upsetting mom & dad. And when we have the ability to choose between right and wrong, it is at that point that we become accountable to God for our sins. It is at that point that we become "free moral agents."
And at that point, we must decide whether we will serve Satan or serve God. When we reach what is called "the age of accountability" it becomes our duty to seek out what God offers and what Satan offers and, as Joshua told the Israelites, "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh 24:15). We are no longer under the protection of the "innocence of youth." James said, "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). God does not come down and impose His will on you. The Holy Spirit doesn't take control of your body and make decisions for you. You have to seek it out. God said, "I am the Lord, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek Me in a waste place'; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright" (Isaiah 45:18-19). And again, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). And Moses told the Israelites, "For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not up to heaven, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it" (Deut. 30:11-14).
Those college athletes have it pretty easy. The teams that want them come to them, they knock on their door, write them letters, call them on the phone, take them on fancy vacations, and do everything else to persuade them to join the team. Well Satan uses those same tactics today. Sin is always knocking on the door, trying to get into our lives. The world is always trying to influence us to join with it in evil pursuits. We look around and see that people who cheat, lie, and steal are rich and powerful and influential, while those who are honest are often poor, forgotten, and abused by the world. Satan makes a pretty good offer, from a worldly point of view. But how many of those athletes are going to take their fame and fortunes into the next life? How many of those wealth and powerful people will continue to enjoy their position and prosperity after death? Satan's offer, his contract, is temporary. It is short term. It ends when you die.
But Jesus' offer is eternal. It won't make you wealthy in this life, nor popular, nor powerful. It won't guarantee that you live the kind of life you might want to live in prosperity. But Jesus' offer transcends this life. He offers us something that money cannot buy, that beauty cannot merit, that works cannot earn, and popularity cannot obtain. He offers us several benefits that we do not deserve.
He offers us freedom from death. When we sin, we separate ourselves from God and become deserving of death for punishment. But Isaiah 28:18 says, "And your covenant with death shall be cancelled, and your pact with Sheol shall not stand." We can be saved from death by the death of Jesus, because He paid the price of death in our place so that we might live.
He offers us guidance, direction, and meaning in life. How many people go through life without knowing why they are here, what they are supposed to do, or where they are going? Christians have answers to these questions. Jesus is the answer. Jesus will guide us through life because He has lived this life, He was walked in our footsteps by suffering temptation and pain and death. And He will bring you through this life and into the next one if you follow Him.
Jesus offers eternal life. After this life on earth is over, every man and woman will be judged. The Hebrew writer said, "Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). In comparison, Satan can only promise eternal death.
Jesus also guarantees the one thing that every athlete in the world desires: victory. Satan cannot possibly defeat God, but the servants of God will ultimately rise up in victory over Satan, over sin, and over death.
At this point I hope that you will have made your choice on whom you will serve, whose team you will join.
And so now we must discuss the third element of free agency, the contract or covenant. This contract is a record of what the team expects from the player, and what the player expects to receive in return for his efforts. Now we've just discussed what God and Satan offer, and we know that the Bible contains the instructions He has for us. Peter said that God "has granted us to us everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). Our question now turns to, how do we enter into the contract?
Well it is not like the athletes do when they sign contracts. We don't just put our name on a piece of paper and move to the city where we will be playing. Jesus said that we must believe in Him. We have to have faith that He is the Son of God, that He died and was raised up, and that He is capable of saving us from sin. Jesus said that we must confess Him before men. We have to be brave enough to admit to everyone that we are servants of God, that we are Christians, that we are better people than we were before because of what He does for us. Jesus said that we have to repent of our sins. He expects us to regret that we have sinned before, and to be willing to admit that we need help and guidance in avoiding sin in the future. And the final step into entering the contract, the point where we actually commit ourselves to it and sign our name on the dotted line, is baptism. Jesus said "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). And in baptism, the blood of Jesus seals us into this perfect covenant with God. From there we must perform our duties to God to the best of our ability.
Now as we discussed before, if one member of the contract does not fulfill his obligations, the other can seek a way out of the deal. We know that God will always fulfill His part. The only other way out of the covenant, out of God's hands, is for us to take ourselves out. Satan cannot force us out, just like an opposing team cannot kidnap a player and force him to play for them. We choose to abide by the covenant, which is a preservation of our free agency, and we continue to exercise that free agency until we die. God does not force anyone to serve Him or to do right. We must choose for ourselves. Won't you choose today? Jesus invites you to come to Him, to make your life right with Him and let Him have control of your life. Isaiah 1:18 tells us God's offer: " 'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.' Truly the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Won't you come to Him today? If you want to join Christ's team today, or be restored to Him, please contact us.
written by David F. Sims, doing my part to "turn the world upside down" (Acts 17:6)
All quotes taken from the New American Standard Bible.
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