1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope, 2to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine, 4and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith. 5But the goal of this command is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith, 6from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking, 7desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say nor about what they strongly affirm.
8But we know that the law is good if a person uses it lawfully, 9as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine, 11according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
12I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service, 13although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
18I commit this instruction to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which were given to you before, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19holding faith and a good conscience, which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith, 20of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
A Shipwrecked Faith
18 I commit this instruction to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which were given to you before, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience, which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith, 20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
Paul’s words are haunting. Some have made a shipwreck of the faith. We use the word “wreck” in many different ways. We’ve all heard,”Boy, they sure made a wreck out of this”, or “her life is such a wreck”. It’s interesting because the word's ancient roots mean “to drive, compel, or push.” These characters, Hymenaeus and Alexander, let their faith be driven onto the rocks. The editor of my sermons each week works in the shipping industry. In preparation for my sermon on this chapter, I asked her to explain how shipwrecks occur. I ended up letting her write the end of my sermon because she is so knowledgeable in the field, and she readily saw the parallels to the Christian life. Here are some ways, dear friend, to avoid having your faith become shipwrecked. It’s how you can prevent what you believe from being driven onto the rocks, pushing you into doubt and disbelief. Here is the list with the parallels in our spiritual lives.
Factors contributing to a shipwreck might include:
- Lacking good intel about the conditions at sea, a believer who has no real knowledge of what the Bible says and what the promises of God are.
- The captain who has the knowledge but chooses to ignore it. That’s the believer who knows the Word but chooses to live by other standards.
- The captain is oblivious to his surroundings. This is the believer who forgets he or she is in a spiritual battle.
- The captain loses contact with the lighthouse/radar, and he loses track of where he is and what dangers surround him. This is the believer who stops praying and neither shares his or her needs with Jesus nor listens when Jesus speaks.
- The captain fails to rely on the crew, and he tries to tackle the problem all by himself. This is the believer who resists being part of a local church surrounded by other believers who can help him or her through the perilous waters. Satan isolates before he assassinates.
- The result of a shipwreck is loss of life and cargo. The believer whose life becomes shipwrecked may be saved, but they suffer significant loss. He or she often sees the cargo (fruit that they once produced) go down the drain. It is lost at sea.
Choose today to stay in Bible Study and bathe your life in prayer. Stay in fellowship with others and be part of the crew lest your faith become shipwrecked like those whom Paul mentions by name.