Quarterback Commandment No. 4

April 15, 2009 at 11:43 am | Posted in I Corinthians, II Timothy, Quarterback Commandments | 7 Comments
Tags: 1 Corinthians 10, 1 John 1, 2 Timothy 2, Bible study, Bill Parcells, Christian quarterbacks, Dallas Cowboys, quarterbacks, Tony Romo

The Quarterback Commandments given by Bill Parcells to Tony Romo have Biblical corollaries.

Commandment No. 1 had to do with ignoring worthless opinions.

Commandment No. 2 addressed being serious.

Commandment No. 3 was about conditioning.

Today, we look at preparation.

Quarterback Commandment No. 4: Know your job cold. This is not a game without errors: Keep yours to a minimum. Study.

Spiritual Application: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15

A quarterback studies his gameplan. He studies his opponents. He studies his own past tendencies. He studies the field conditions, and the game clock. A successful quarterback knows that mistakes will inevitably happen. They can not be completely avoided – but they can be minimized.

A Christian studies his Bible (what my wife likes to call “your copy of God’s Word”). He does not study for the purpose of idle amusement, nor for the purpose of showing off intellectual knowledge.

Just as a quarterback studies to win games, the Christian studies to win the approval of his Lord. He studies so that he won’t bring shame to the name of God. He studies because the Bible is both understandable and complex, and it must be “rightly divided.”

Just as mistakes will inevitably occur during the heat of battle on the gridiron, so a Christian will, more often than he likes, fall into sin (I John 1:10). Realizing this fact should not make a Christian complacent about the inevitability of sin. It should make him more determined than ever to know his job cold – to know where temptation lies, and to know the escape routes that God has made to avoid it.

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I Corinthians 10:11-13

Let us who aspire to be successful Christian “quarterbacks” study our gameplan, study our opponent, study the playing field, study our own tendencies and weaknesses, and remember that the game clock is ever running. Let us also remember that our victory is already promised.