A sinking boat and salvation

Philippians 3:8 I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage.

This is one thing that is so difficult for some to understand. It is automatic for us to put our trust where we shouldn't – in our prayers, in our knowledge, in our good deeds. Such confidence will save no-one. Who cares if you were on the cradle roll or if you went to Sunday School or Christian school or camps or conferences if you you don't trust in Jesus Christ? What good is there in being a Baptist but not a Christian, Reformed but not converted, a person who does his quiet time every day but has not come to faith? Or for that matter, being the prime minister or a king or queen, winning a Nobel prize or captaining England?

They are absolutely worthless when it comes to saving anyone. It is not that we despise such things and nothing more but we despise them as far as their being a means of salvation is concerned. Think of a man in a sinking boat. Paul himself was in one on more than one occasion. In Acts 27 we read of how they jettisoned the cargo first and then even the ship's tackle (the mechanisms for raising and lowering the sails), as important as that would normally be, in an effort to lighten the ship. When you are in a sinking boat you are willing to sacrifice everything, as long as you can get safely to shore. Everything gets thrown overboard. That is how it is if we want to be saved.