[…holding on to faith and a good conscience]…which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.
Summary: Paul uses a metaphor to help explain the importance of maintaining control over our thoughts and actions.
This passage brings up a sensitive topic for many people. They read these words Paul wrote and wonder, “Does this mean we can lose our faith?” Others take the question one step further and ask, “What about salvation? Does this mean we can lose our salvation?”
There is another question which these people rarely, if ever, ask. The real question is, “Can we know what God will do in any given situation?”
We can know what God tells us about himself in the Bible, but beyond that, we are in deep waters if we think we can sit in God’s judgment throne and decide who gets to go to heaven and who doesn’t.
So…
Let’s look at this passage from a different perspective. Instead of asking questions we can’t know the answer to, let’s ask some questions we can know the answer to.
First, what does it mean to be “shipwrecked?”
The Bible actually has a lot of information on this topic. Paul, himself, has a lot of experience with shipwrecks! In his letter to the church at Corinth, he writes:
“Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea…” (2 Corinthians 11:25)
Just because a ship goes down or breaks apart on a reef or shoal doesn’t mean that everyone dies. What it does mean is that the ship itself is lost, and any cargo or personal belongings that were aboard. A shipwreck strips us down to the bare essentials of life.
A person adrift at sea or stranded on a deserted island is extremely vulnerable. They could be attacked, wounded, fall sick, or die. All these things are true, but they can also live as Paul himself lived after surviving three shipwrecks.
To expand on Paul’s metaphor, if you were sailing a boat, you would need to hold onto the “sheet” and the “tiller.” The “sheet” is the rope that controls the sails, and the “tiller” is the handle used to steer the boat. Both of these work like “faith” and “good conscience.”
If you let go of the sheet and the tiller of your boat, your chances of getting shipwrecked increase dramatically. If you hang on tight and keep control of the rudder and the sails, the boat will go where you want it to go.
Our Christian life is the same, especially for those who are tasked with being leaders in the church. Hanging onto our faith and good conscience is critical to maintain control — not control over others, but of ourselves. If our ship is our service to God, we don’t want to see it wrecked.
Application: Hang tight!
Food for Thought: How does allowing ourselves to “cheat” a little affect our faith and conscience?
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