It was just a screw that needed tightening. It would just be a simple thing to snug it up, but I couldn't find a Phillips screwdriver. Have you ever tried to tighten a screw with Bic ball point pen cap? Or a pair of tweezers? Maybe you had success with a pocket knife. Nothing worked for me. I was unable to complete the job because I didn't have the right tool, and that was frustrating.
What makes a tool "right" is that it is made for the job you are trying to accomplish. A hammer has one job. A hand saw has one job, as do most other specific saws. Software is a computer tool that is designed for a specific job. Anyone who has used a computer knows the frustration of having a program that won't do what you need it to do. In every situation, the right tool makes all the difference.
Men want to be saved. But, like my handiwork efforts, some try everything but the right tool to accomplish the job. Some will create their own doctrine or adopt a tradition that they think will work. Rather than search for the right tool or going and getting the right tool, we tend to search for the shortcut and the convenience, even if it is not a right tool. The sad truth is many think they have entered a saved relationship with God, when fact they have not, because they have used a wrong tool to supposedly enter that relationship.
Only one thing will accomplish salvation, and that is obedience to Jesus Christ. God has done His part in providing a means of salvation through Jesus Christ. His grace is a gift to anyone who will obey Him. Every man can enjoy the spiritual blessings, but only if they are in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3). Baptism is the way we are placed into Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27), yet many today reject that baptism is necessary for salvation. If you reject the only means of accomplishing the task, then you have failed. So Scripture tells us, "baptism now saves you" (1 Peter 3:21). Through baptism we come into contact with the blood of Jesus, and by God's grace are forgiven of our sins (Acts 2:38).
If we believe we have been saved through any other means than through what Jesus taught, we have deceived ourselves (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2) and is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). Using the wrong tool in an attempt to be saved makes even less sense than trying to build something with a wrong tool. This is because salvation is eternal, and if we do not obey the truth we will be eternally condemned. Therefore we are instructed to "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" (2 Cor. 13:5). The only way to please God so as to be saved eternally is through obedience to all that Jesus said: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching to observe all that I commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20).
Are you using the right tool?