Gummby touched on this earlier this week, but that little underlined part there is the part about faith which brings many to shipwreck on all sides because it coaxes us out of the place where we are safe -- namely, Christ.  And I'm going to add my little bit here because this is my expertise -- namely, failing my salvation, and my savior, and the purposes to which he has saved me.

You know: people always ask the question, "well, why are Calvinists so [pejorative] as opposed to loving?"  And there are a hundred reason why this is so -- from being too book-smart and life-stupid to being too introverted to being simply untested in the things they say they are given by grace through faith.  But I think there's something more to it than these excuses: I think somehow we have lost sight of our own insignificance against Christ.  We have lost sight of what Christ does for us, notwithstanding daily failings.

Christ doesn't save you because you have read all the right books, or because you like to read all the right books, or because you have a great pastor who preaches like Tom Chantry or John Piper or Ligon Duncan.  Christ doesn't save you because of the blogs you read or the blogs you abhor, or because you had the right opinion about the Elephant Room (either 1 or 2) before the "matter what" hit the fan.  Christ saves you notwithstanding your daily failings.

Or rather: Christ saves you because you have daily failings.  Once you get that right, you'll actually start to get Christ right, and then you can start dealing with your personal sinfulness, and then maybe you can get your relationship to other people right.

Labels: Christ, intercession, mediator, Prayer, salvation, sin