Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Sometimes when people are on a vessel, they will hear the captain’s call to abandon ship, and most of the time this is done because they know in their heart that the vessel cannot be saved. Perhaps a fire has broken out that they cannot contain, or they are taking on so much water that it eventually overwhelms the pumps. The ship is no longer seaworthy at that point, and the captain knows that is only a period of time until the vessel finally capsizes and sinks all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
There have been many vessels that have been lost at sea because of catastrophic failures that led to their destruction. Some people are going to live the Christian Life for a period of time, but then shipwreck their faith by completely forsaking the knowledge that they have gained from the teachings of Holy Scripture. Just like a vessel sinking quickly into the ocean, sudden destruction is inevitable, when they turn away from the things of God and then abandon ship.
1 Timothy 1:18-19 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; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
Over the years I have known many people who had been raised very conservatively in the Christian Life. For a certain period of time, they had a great desire to serve and to please God. They came out from the world in order to live their lives in a more old-fashioned and traditional manner. But, somewhere along the way, the things of this world crept into their hearts, and they decided that the narrow path that they were on was far too steep and strict for them, so they abandoned their ship of faith for a more liberal lifestyle and worldview. When people get involved in this type of behavior, they are completely abandoning their conscience in the sight of God. When people choose to return to the world from which they left, the latter end is going to be far worse for them, than when they first became a Christian.
2 Peter 2:20-22 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Can you imagine Noah preparing the ark for so many years only to have his wife jump ship when the floods started to rise? But she feared and trusted God and faithfully stood by her husband’s side, because of which she was ultimately saved from the great deluge. As I have said for many years, there is a lot of symbolism between a man and his wife. The man is a representative of the Lord in a marriage and the woman represents the bride of Christ. As a christian, we are in a marriage with our Lord Jesus Christ, but we are never to forsake Him. If Noah’s wife had done that, she would have perished in the flood. King David warned his son Solomon about the repercussions for forsaking the Lord
1 Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Consider the events that transpired in Lot’s wife, who was also warned of the approaching judgment of God upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. She was given the opportunity to flee with her husband, but rather than following her husband, she tried to turn back to the world from which she had left. She really didn’t fear God at all, because she didn’t care about the consequences for her choices, and because of this, she was destroyed herself. Her life is an example of the consequences to all those who begin to walk the Christian Life and then abandon it in order to return to the world. The same things are going to happen within the church, as many people will eventually turn away their ears from God’s Truth.
2 Peter 2:1-2 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Rather than abiding in their faith, they will choose to reject the warnings of their own conscience,
1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
As we are educated in scripture we learn what is right and wrong in the eyes of God, and to keep our faith we must abide faithfully in those things that we have learned.
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
Acts 24:16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.
As we grow closer to the return of jesus, many people will abandon the teachings of our faith, and it will only get worse and worse. But in order to obtain eternal life one must always remember that there is no turning back from what you have begun. You must count the cost before ever becoming a Christian, because you will have to endure a lot of things during your life. There have been numerous times when I have had relatives and family members betray me, speak evil about my beliefs, and lie about me, but anyone who begins the Christian Life is going to enter into some type of suffering and persecution along the way. Many people will become offended at the teachings of scripture, and then turn away from their faith, simply because they don’t want to have to deal with these types of situations. But when these dark squalls arise on the ocean, we are never to abandon ship, but must ride out the storm as faithful and obedient followers of Christ.
Mark 4:16-17 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
So, whatever might happen during our life, we must continually abide in the things that we have learned. Many people will eventually shipwreck their faith, by turning away from God and returning back to the world. But just like a vessel that is sinking into the depths of the sea, there is no hope of returning when people make the decision to….
…….Abandon Ship
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some m in kore tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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