“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24

In Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was brought in to preserve the lead against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the ninth inning, his errant throw opened the gates to a 2-run rally. The Yankees lost the game and the World Series.

In the 2009 Super Bowl, just seconds before halftime, Kurt Warner threw an interception that was returned 100 yards for a Steelers touchdown. The Cardinals lost the game by four points.

Both Rivera and Warner are strong Christians. Both would tell us that those physical miscues, though costly, will have nothing to do with their eternal destiny.

What about spiritual miscues, that is, our sins? What do they have to do with our eternal destiny?

Rom. 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, not even one.” Rom. 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” Psalm 5:4-5 indicates that sin, in any form, cannot dwell in the presence of God.

So we’re in trouble, unless somehow our sins can be deleted. I Tim. 1:15 says the very reason God sent Jesus to earth was to save sinners! Praise God above!

Jude 24 basically says that if we trust Jesus as our Sin-bearer, He will “present us faultless” before the presence of God. We’ll be faultless in the presence of a holy God. What a humbling thought. What a reason to worship Him.

This devotional was taken from our quarterly Training Table, a 13-week devotional in each of our print issues. To access our most recent Training Table, click HERE. To subscribe to Sports Spectrum, click HERE.