Don't Shipwreck Your Faith

Have you ever broken anything because you weren’t responsible? I don’t know maybe you backed your car into your other car in your driveway because you forgot to look behind you. I may have done that in the past. I’m not sure.

Actually my first experience at this was when I was about 6 years old. I was holding my prize position, a record single of Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Don’t judge, it was 1980 and I grew up in deep south MS. I know every word of that song to this day. My brother who was 2 walked in the room and bothering me. On an impulse, I threw that record at him. I missed, it hit the wall and shattered. And, with it my 6 year old heart. My parents wouldn’t even buy me another one to teach me not to throw things.

Growing up, I can remember my dad saying after my brother and I messed something of his up, “I can’t have nothing!” A phrase I have used often since I have had kids. I think just about everything in my house is broken at this point.

I bring this up because at the heart of this passage is Paul giving Timothy a warning not to “shipwreck” his faith.

1 Timothy 1:19 ESV

19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,

Not to act so irresponsibly that his actions destroys his faith. Images of the Titanic hitting an iceberg and sinking an unsinkable ship comes to mind.

At the end of last year (2019), I read that the cruise ship Celebrity Xpedition ran aground. You can mess a cruise ship up running into the land.

Paul knew as a young man that God had blessed Timothy with a number of gifts. Along with those gifts were the danger that pride would take hold and he could run his faith aground and make a mess of it. He knew this because he had seen it happen in others before that we are going to see. And, he didn’t want it to happen to his beloved son in the faith.

To keep from running aground, ships put out anchor a safe ways out in the water. With that in mind, I want us to think about three anchors that we can fasten ourselves to in order not to make shipwreck of our faith.

I. Anchor #1: God’s Election (v.18)

I. God’s Election (v.18)

Oh, I know, people get uncomfortable when I talk about election. I tell you what, I’ll stop talking about it when the Bible stops bringing it up. v.18 alludes to God’s elective purposes. Let’s get into the text, God’s elective purpose is going to come up in this first verse.

1 Timothy 1:18 ESV

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,

What is “this charge?” that Paul refers to here. Paul is referring back to the charge that he had given Timothy in v.3.

1 Timothy 1:3–4 ESV

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

1 Timothy 1:3 ESV

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,

The main point of Timothy being in Ephesus is to correct the false doctrine that some had started teaching and refocus them away from chasing rabbits that didn’t help anyone to focus on the gospel. Paul was saying that he and Timothy had been entrust by God to carry the gospel. And, to employ the gospel to save sinners and build the church.

Paul said this trust was created clearly by God’s choice of Timothy. We’ve already talking about how God’s chose Paul on the Damascus Rd and sent Jesus to confront him and bring about his conversion. Paul says that God’s choice of Timothy was just as clear, yet different.

God’s trust of the gospel came “in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you.” (v.18) This makes me want to know, what prophecies were previously made about Timothy? What does Scripture say about this? Apparently, there were some kind of prophetic utterances in the early church that pointed to God’s choice in not only saving Timothy, but also calling him into service.

gives us a bit of insight:

“Though my memory is fading, I remember two thing: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” -(John Newton)

1 Timothy 4:14 ESV

14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

This is what we would call an ordination service into an appointed calling to ministry. We do this for our deacons and elders, when the church recognizes men that we feel that God has raised up for the purpose of serving the Lord in this appointed roles. We will lay hands on these men and pray for them. Recognizing that God has appointed them to this ministry. This is a form of God’s choosing or God’s election.

The church first did this with Paul and Barnabas when it became clear that God was calling them to the first missionary journey.

Acts 13:2 ESV

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Acts 13:2–3 ESV

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13:

So what Paul is referring to in this prophecies is the call of God on Timothy’s life. One of the anchors that help us avoid making shipwreck of our faith is the chose of God to do a saving work in our lives and for some of us that extends to a calling into further ministerial service.

+Life is hard. And we are apt to make mistakes. What keeps us from chasing after every wind of doctrine. Or, every new teaching that comes along? There are times that we get so sideways and upside down in our thinking that we don’t know which way is up. It’s in those times that the anchor of God’s election is so powerful.

There are sometimes that we just have to ask, “What do I know for sure.” There is power in knowing, I know for sure that God has pursued me. I know for sure that God has convicted me of sin. I know for sure that I had nothing to do with it. I know that while I may not understand it, Christ Jesus died to save sinners and I’m trusting him to make me righteous. There is power in knowing that God has chosen you for salvation because of how he has worked in your heart that keeps you from straying as far as you might.

+That same thing is true in ministry calling. Many of you that have heard my testimony know that I didn’t want to go into ministry. God had to make me miserable before I surrendered. But my calling was on that I had absolutely no doubt that God was had made me to be a pastor. Because, if he had given me another option, I would have taken it.

But, he also knew that was the kind of calling that I needed. Pastoring has been a great blessing to me and my family. But, it has often not been easy. There are at least three occasions that if I had not absolutely known that God had called me into the ministry and he wasn’t going to let me do anything else, I would have left the ministry. Why didn’t I leave, the anchor of God’s election on my life.

II. Anchor #2: God’s Empowerment (v.19)

1 Timothy 1:18–19 ESV

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,

What does it mean to be chose for salvation and then chosen for service? It means you live life like a soldier. Literally, you “war the good warfare.” It means you are called to relate to life like engaging in a military campaign coordinated and employed by God.

Later Paul tells Timothy that means live a life focused on pleasing God.

2 Timothy 2:4 ESV

4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

2 Timothy 2:4 ESV

4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Paul says that Timothy is to “war the good warfare” by “holding faith and a good conscience.”(v.18)

Two issues are at play here: 1)Truth, and 2) Obedience to that Truth.

Holding on to faith is not losing the gospel entrusted to us from God’s word and generations of saints before us.

Jude 3 ESV

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

In a world of political strife, normalization of sin, confusion over gender roles, the definition of marriage, racial unrest, social justice, critical race theory and the like. We must be absolutely clear on the gospel. We just understand our biggest problem is that our sin separates us from God and brings death. And, God sent Christ earn our salvation, pay the penalty of death, and give us eternal life through faith. If we lose that, nothing else matters.

But, we can know that gospel. We can have a firm grasp on all of the great doctrines of our Christian faith and still live a life in complete conflict with all of those truths. God gave us his Holy Spirit to direct us to live out the gospel in harmony with its truth. And, he gave us our conscience to tell us whether or not we are living in line with the Holy Spirit’s direction.

Paul says,

1 Timothy 1:19 ESV

19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,

So, you can shipwreck your faith in several ways:

1)You can decide to reject the truths of the faith. That usually happens because either a person never had a real conversion experience. So, they are no anchored in election. Or, because they have moved out of the word to some other form of ultimate authority in their lives.

2)Or, a believer may hold to the truths of the faith, but allow rebellion to seep into their heart. And, despite the Holy Spirit making it clear how you should live. Despite you conscience yelling at you “ICEBERG AHEAD!!!” You can plow ahead right on into sin. But, if you do, realize that you plow ahead right on into your own destruction.

Anchor Yourself Daily into God’s Empowerment through the Gospel truth and a Holy Spirit Sensitive Conscience.

III. Anchor #3: God’s Education (v.20)

Paul had known some who had followed the Lord and rejected Christ. Obviously, these false teachers that had entered the church, as well as, two men Hymenaeus and Alexander.

1 Timothy 1:20 ESV

20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

The reason I used the word education here is because Paul said that his goal for them was that they may “learn” not to blaspheme.

The obvious questions are, “Who are Hymenaeus and Alexander?” and “What does Paul mean that he has handed them over to Satan?”

Hymenaeus is one of the heretical teachers that Paul has mentioned in the letter. We know that because of Paul’s next letter to Timothy.

2 Timothy 2:16–17 ESV

16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

2 Tim.

The Alexander that Paul is talking about is probably the man referred to in .

2 Timothy 4:14 ESV

14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

What does it mean for Paul to turn these men over to Satan; men who apparently claimed to be believers at some point.

That phrase does not mean give up on people. That phrase means to employ church discipline on these men. Which simply means to seek their repentance and if they refuse to repent then remove them from rolls of the church.

Being in the church has the benefit of having the covering of Christ on us.

Believers are God’s people. We are the church. So we have the benefit of having the covering of Christ on us. Being handed over to Satan is to be placed out from under the covering into Satan’s realm of the world.

A number of places describe this realm as Satan’s realm.

Ephesians 2:2 ESV

2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

1 John 5:19 ESV

19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

So, turning them over to Satan is removing them from the church.

Let’s be clear about something, church membership doesn’t save you. It only means that the church sees enough evidence of salvation in your life to validate your confession with membership. When we no longer see enough evidence to support that, like you don’t believer the gospel. Or, your life is being lived in overt public sin with no repentance. Then, we will not validate your confession with church membership.

What’s the goal of that? The goal of that is always reconciliation.

God’s education outside of the safety of the church is to teach you a lesson. You belong with Christ, stop straying your own way.

James 5:19 ESV

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,

James 5:19–20 ESV

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

God will ensure that the truly saved person returns. And, maybe in the process, if they weren’t saved, this process will cause them to take stock of their soul and truly trust Christ.

James 519

Anchor 1 God’s Election

Anchor 2 God’s Empowerment

Anchor 3 God’s Education.

Is anything anchoring you, or are you in danger of making shipwreck of your faith?

Maybe you have made shipwreck of your faith, but you want to come home. You can come home today.