Storm Winds and Shipwrecked Faith

 "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,  having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme."  1 Timothy 1:18-20

Some years back, with camera in hand,  I roamed around the docks in Puerto Penasco, Mexico where a large fleet of shrimping boats head out each morning into the shimmering Sea of Cortez. I was gathering material for painting and also practicing my spanish on the gruff, weathered fishermen who call that place home.  It is one of my favorite places to visit during our frequent trips down to this wonderful Mexican town.

Later, drawing from those photos, I did a small painting of the Carranza II, a strong-looking, steel ship with light dancing across its yellow sides, jostling against the dock and the other boats, all waiting their turn to exit the Marina.

Fastforward about two years: Once again in Mexico, I picked up a local newspaper and read the headlines: THE SINKING OF THE CARRANZA II PASSES FIRST YEAR.

As I read the story, I discovered that the Carranza II had disappeared October 27th, 2009 in the Sea of Cortez, during especially strong storm winds. Of the six men on board, all were lost but one, who was rescued forty hours after the tragedy occurred, floating at sea. The search for the remaining crew was finally suspended one month later, leaving family members stricken with grief.

I was saddened by the tragedy, yet amazed when I saw it and realized that I had painted that very ship and had the painting hanging on our wall.

The Apostle Paul wrote of a different sort of shipwreck, addressing young Timothy, a pastor at the church in Ephesus. It is a warning against shipwrecked faith. In this passage, Paul admonishes Timothy to "wage the good warfare", acknowledging that the race we are running is not one that we will automatically win. In fact it is more than a race - it is warfare. And as good soldiers we must war against the plans of the enemy in order to stay in the race and in order to win the war.

Paul gives Timothy the example of two of his contemporaries, Hymenaeus and Alexander, who suffered the shipwreck of their faith. I have likewise seen a number of men and women whose faith was shipwrecked as they entered into storms and battles and had not prepared themselves to fight.

Understand this, that when the Carranza II set sail they had a goal in mind. They had a designated shrimping area, they had a harvest of shrimp they expected, and they fully planned on returning to shore. No one expects to be lost at sea. No one expects their own end to be a total shipwreck. Likewise, these men and women I have known, set out on a journey of service to the Lord. They had no intentions of ending in shipwreck.

What causes faith to be shipwrecked? What causes one who starts out well to end up in destruction? Paul gives two hints in this passage, though I believe we could add other things as well. He says that these two had rejected "faith",  and rejected "a good conscience". I believe that means they had replaced faith with something counterfeit, and they had dulled their conscience to the work of the Holy Spirit and allowed worldly, fleshly desires to take root and control their lives. Rather than walk in faith they had begun walking in their own emotions or even in fear...perhaps the fear of not being accepted by those around them. And rather than maintain a pure and holy conscience before the Lord, they had allowed their consciences to become seared...accepting lustful ideas, thoughts or actions into their life.  When this continues for long, one becomes spiritually blind, not even knowing that the enemy's storm has knocked them off course and they are headed for disaster.

I have seen the result of this shipwrecked faith. People who once burned with passion for the Lord and His work, soon drift so far that they end up in cults or in churches filled with compromise. Their end is that they find acceptance in places that will nurture their self-deception. I have seen people who preached with zeal for the Lord become almost deranged, seeking to form their own cult; I have seen others drawn to emergent or seeker-sensitive churches, where they hear no convicting message which would draw them back to the place they had with God. And they don't even know what has happened. They believe that they are following the Spirit of God. I have seen others totally destroyed by ungodly and self-destructive behaviors, totally outside of the Kingdom.

A shipwrecked faith is a compromised faith. And it ends with a ship shattered upon the rocks and helpless sailors drifting aimlessly in a sea of self-absorbed 'spirituality'.

My friends, wage the good warfare. Keep the faith. Do not be enamored by new fads and new spirituality. Do not be lured off course by the charms of this world and the sensuous leadings of the flesh. Keep your eyes upon Christ and finish the course.