The Bible says:
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” — 2 Corinthians 13: 5
Sports have become a multimillion dollar business.
There are risks involved in playing sports and many are willing to take those risks to hopefully experience that short lived rush that we call “the thrill of victory.”
But of all the dangerous games being played, there is one game far more dangerous and with greater risks than them all. This game has far more participants than any other game. This game is popular worldwide, but is most popular in America.
This game of which I speak is called the “religious game” or more often referred to as “playing church.” To play this game you get your name on the church roll under the assumptions that church membership saves because you’re under the assumption that the church roll is synonymous with the “Lambs book of life.” But it isn’t.
This idea defies God’s Word that says we must be “born again” in order to actually be saved and become a member of the Bride of Christ and on our way to Heaven.
We’re all sinners born into a crime family, but many instead of actually getting saved will toy with their soul and play with their eternal destiny until the whistle or trumpet blows and it’s too late to be saved.
Like most sports the “religious game” is played on Sunday. Like the players of other games, we suit-up Sunday, play the game and then go back to being what we really are the rest of the week.
It’s actually a game of pretension or show business. The reason there is so much show business in the church is you have so many lost people trying to act like Christians.
But God doesn’t play games, only the devil does, and he will play us to the very end. He tells us that “playing church” and having religion is all we need to escape Hell and gain Heaven.
And the devil’s game is to keep us believing this lie until it’s to late, and we slip off a comfortable padded church pew into the eternal flames of hell.
This “religious game” is the most dangerous game because once you’re called out of the game you must face the awful reality of the penalty for not being real with yourself and God. (Revelation 20: 11-15)
James H. Cagle is a Ray City resident who pastored several churches for a total of 11 years. Email him at pastorjameshcagle@ yahoo.com
