What Basketball Taught Me about Salvation

READ: ROMANS 10:9-13; EPHESIANS 2:8-9

When I was in high school, I played varsity basketball. That might sound impressive, but there were no cuts on my team, so anyone who wanted to could play. I sat on the bench a lot, but I didn’t mind. I knew my playing time reflected my skill. I knew that the better I was and the harder I worked, the more I’d play. I worked hard, but my teammates worked harder.

Isn’t it easy to think about salvation this way too? The world tells us that just working hard and being a good enough person will get us into heaven. Even Christians often act like doing the right things will earn bonus points with God. Sometimes it seems like we only measure up if we go to church and youth group, volunteer, and follow all the rules.

The problem is, we can’t earn what was already freely given to us. Salvation isn’t about what we do; it’s about what Jesus did on our behalf. No matter how hard we work, we can’t access it because it’s only available by God’s grace, through faith. Good works aren’t enough.

Now, that might sound harsh, especially when we’re constantly told we’re enough the way we are. However, it’s actually the beauty of the gospel. We can’t do anything to save ourselves from sin and death. And the good news is that we don’t need to do anything to be saved but believe Jesus is our risen Savior and confess Him as Lord. This includes repenting of our sins, submitting to Him, and trusting Him for our salvation.

And isn’t it better this way? If we truly got what our own efforts earned, we wouldn’t get very far at all. But by having faith in Jesus instead of our works, we receive the redemption we don’t deserve. I’d take that over trying to earn my way onto the court of salvation any day. • Alissa Griffin

• Do you ever feel like you need to do good things in order to be saved from sin and death? Or that you need to do good things in order for God to be pleased with you? Why do you think that is?

• If having faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved, what does that mean for spreading the gospel to those who have never heard of Him?

• To learn more about why we all need salvation from sin and death, check out the "Know Jesus" page on the Unlocked app.

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (CSB)