and conclude, “this is impossible,” I have missed something bigtime. I don’t just need a Savior to get me INTO the Christian life, but I need a Savior to rescue me every second of every day of my life, from myself and my independence/confidence-I-know-what’s-best/agenda/prayerlessness/willfulness/worldliness. Sin is not something I do now and then. Sin is something I never STOP doing. There’s a dark side, sinful side, to each of my exemplary good deeds, even the most-selfless, most-loving things I’ve ever done. Only a fool/Pharisee like ShepherdDave believes he follows God, obeys God. So what does ShepherdDave do? He dumb downs the law/sin to where it’s about the outside of his cup, so he imagines himself a fairly obedient Christian who has his act together, above reproach, deserving of leadership responsibility in the Church, and kinda believes God grades on a curve, so he compares himself to other believers instead of to Jesus, who modeled the standard – perfection.
–ShepherdDave, who sometimes sees the problem, but is powerless to change himself, needs fresh conviction of the sin of independence – of being dissatisfied with Jesus and His imputed worthiness, so he might momentarily be contrite, undone, needy-for-a-SaviorShepherd, DumbSheepDave, enjoying the bliss of Jesus-dependency/humility, so the pre-believers around him might experience the other-worldly humility and other-worldly love of Jesus
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