Thursday, April 11, 2024
THE SHIPWRECK OF FAITHLESSNESS!
1
Tim 1:18-19
18 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;
19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having
put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
In Paul’s day
travel by ship was the most common mode of transportation over large distances
and could actually be luxurious by their standards. But travel by ship was
subject to the dangers of weather and poor navigation and Paul chose the word
“shipwreck” in verse 19 because the wreck of a ship at sea was one of the
greatest disasters known at that time and perhaps because he had personally
fallen victim to it.
The 27th chapter of Acts is an exciting story of sea danger and, while it is hard to
cut a few verses out of such a story, the following will give you a taste of
the drama.
Acts
27:40-41
40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed
themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the
mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.
41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the
ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the
hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
1. HOLD ON TO FAITH!
Faith offers little
substance nor evidence, yet Paul says to hold on! The conflict of the present
and the confusion of the future whip us as surely as the winds, yet faith
provides the sure passage to the far shore. Faith is the persuasion of the mind
that a certain thing is true. It is of no practical use without trust.
Believing will do no good unless we commit ourselves by trusting to the foam of
the sea of trouble. Without trust we stand as observers on the near shore. With
a firm reliance on a God we believe is real and trust in His providence we
commit ourselves to the sea of circumstance.
2. HOLD ON TO A GOOD CONSCIENCE!
Mr. Vine says
that “conscience” is “a knowing with.” It is counsel with oneself, and it is
the faculty with which we discern the will of God. Conscience
produces guilt when we violate a law or decide against reason. This same
conscience assures us that a chosen way is right by condemning the bad and
commending the good. By developing a sense of the presence of God we gain moral
control of our actions. Hold on to a good conscience!
Titus
1:15-16
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are
defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience
is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny
him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Dear Lord, let me hold steadfastly to my faith and listen
carefully to my conscience that I may be safely carried to the far shore. AMEN
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