Men Who Made Shipwreck of their Faith

Introduction

In August of 2020, allegations began coming out about a man that I esteemed and respected and it was hard to hear these allegations. That man was Ravi Zacharias known throughout the world for his apologetics and thoughtful defence of Christianity. Thousands had been led to the Lord by Ravi and his ministry has had a great impact on many throughout the years. Ravi died May 19, 2020 and it wasn’t until he died that accusations began to be investigated about sexual misconduct specifically with women at message parlors throughout the country. With such an influence and yet such a horrible conclusion, we are left questioning what happened. Some like John MacArthur have doubted Ravi’s salvation; however, we will never know for sure if he was saved or not and that isn’t our decision to make.

In our text there is the poetic reference to men who have shipwrecked their faith. When I think of shipwrecks, I think of the story of Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe was marooned for 28 years on an island off the coast of Venezuela, but the picture of a shipwreck deals more with the ship and how it is broken up by obstacles in water and cannot be sailed anymore. As we approach men who have shipwrecked their lives we are going to look at three examples from scripture.

I. Hymaneas and Alexander

1 Timothy 1:18–20 KJV 1900

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

According to the text, the sin of Hymneas and Alexander was that they did not hold to faith and a good conscience. Faith in this passage is later referred to as the faith. They had embraced false doctrine and it was leading the to shipwreck. Other passages give us a glimpse into the deviant doctrine that these men were teaching. In 2 Tim 2:17-18, we find that Hymaneas was associated with another false teacher named Philetus and they were guilty of saying that the resurrection was already past. Some have taken this to be a reference to the gnostic doctrine that the Spirit was resurrected at salvation and there was no bodily resurrection in the future; however, whatever their teaching, it left people feeling like they had missed the resurrection and left them feeling hopeless.

2 Timothy 2:17–18 KJV 1900

And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Not only were they guilty of teaching false doctrine, they were also guilty of not holding to a good conscience. It is assumed from this that they held to a view of antinomianism or that the believer doesn’t have to live a Holy lifestyle.

The end result is that they were to be disciplined out of the church which is what Paul was referencing when he spoke of turning them over to Satan. So what is it that shipwrecked these believers from the faith: 1)license and 2) false doctrine.

II. Demas

Demas is an interesting character to look at because it seems early on that Demas was on fire and serving God. He was not like Hymaneas and Alexander who went into heresy. Demas started out well.

Philemon 24 KJV 1900

Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

Paul even concluded that he was a fellow labourer. He participated in the sweat and tears, all the other persecutions. In Col 4:14, Demas and Luke both send their greetings to the church. It even seems that Demas was with Paul during his second imprisonment in Rome and yet Demas abandoned Paul. The wording here even seems to indicate that Demas left Paul at an inconvenient time.

2 Timothy 4:10 KJV 1900

For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Demas left Paul because he loved this present world. The danger of shipwreck lies ahead of us when we start looking at all the word has to offer and wanting it. It says that he loved the world. Instead of loving God, he loved everything that the world had to offer.

III. Judas