The apostle Paul was well acquainted with shipwrecks. “Three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,” 2 Corinthians 11:25. Consequently, Paul used the word shipwreck to illustrate the seriousness of holding on to our faith in Jesus and maintaining a good conscience. He told Timothy to “fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith,” 1 Timothy 18:19.
Faith in Jesus entails more than merely embracing a religion. Faith in Jesus creates an ever-growing love for him, our heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we strive mightily to increase our emotional and spiritual attachment to Jesus and fight off every human idea or teaching that endangers our affection for the Jesus who sacrificed himself for our salvation.
We must appreciate the importance of maintaining a good conscience in order to avoid shipwrecks in our relationship with Jesus. Who determines what’s good? The Author of the Scriptures: “Your laws are good,” Psalm 119:39. So we maintain a good conscience by bringing our meditation, our values, our desires and ambitions into line with the Bible. Additionally, since the Spirit of the resurrected Jesus lives in us, he pricks our conscience when we are about to act out of harmony with his will.
We can live in ways that please the Lord and rejoice his heart. By pleasing and rejoicing him we find the ultimate fulfillment in life and maximize our success in all we do.
Be greatly encouraged,
Pastor James Fields
