Shipwrecked Faith

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. (1 Timothy 1:18-19)

In looking over this chapter and in context with the rest of this book, it appears to me that Paul is highlighting the differences between his teachings and beliefs as opposed to others who disagree with what he believes is important for salvation. In the first chapter he describes in more detail some of the characteristics of people he believes are misguided. He then spends the rest of the book itemizing the things that he wants Timothy to focus on instead.

Paul was Timothy's mentor but more than that, Paul had very strong emotional attachments to Timothy whom he treated as a son. He appreciated the responsiveness of Timothy to his teachings, warnings and instructions and was keen to protect him from the many deceptions and allurements of both the world and counterfeit religion. Paul was himself intimately familiar with the power of external religion to suck people into its vortex of trying to impress God or change His mind about saving us and he was quick to speak out against its deceptive power over men's minds.

By contrast, in verse five he lays out the signs, the characteristics that will result when true teaching is used. Then at the end of the chapter in his specific instruction to Timothy he refers to these same things again, particularly faith and a good conscience. He then shares that to reject these things as being the most important aspects of good teaching will cause one to suffer shipwreck in regard to their faith.

It is interesting to notice that Paul uses this analogy of shipwreck. Paul himself was personally quite familiar with the experience of being shipwrecked. The intense emotions and trauma that one experiences during such a life-threatening event is never forgotten and burns itself vividly into one's memory. When experiencing a shipwreck it is extremely helpful to have already established a pattern of faith-based thinking, to have a secure trust in the power of God to save. But when facing death in such a situation it is also essential to have the peace that comes from knowing that one's destiny is secure whether one lives or dies. To have a faith that can surpass the intense fears involved in a shipwreck is to be wealthy in the things that count the most.

Paul was also painfully aware of people who had been close to him previously that had since been drawn away from their faith in Jesus by the subtle deceptions of counterfeit religion or other allurements of the world. He had seen fellow workers lose their way and fail to protect the purity of their conscience and become re-infected with the disease of sin. Paul remembered the insecurity and terror of others who had gone through shipwrecks with him and maybe even some who had lost their lives. The contrast between the peace and confidence that Paul had compared with the terror of his fellow passengers was a perfect analogy to highlight the differences between the peace and security of total, resting faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and the alternatives that demand additional righteousness in order to be saved.