faith – Pursuit of Character

Where’s the Fire?

Posted on December 8, 2021January 4, 2022 by Scott C

Where’s the Fire? Where’s the fire? This is a term commonly understood to mean, “What’s the hurry?” or “Why the rush?”. That is not the meaning here. Here I ask,…

These Words Were Banned…

Posted on July 9, 2021October 4, 2021 by Scott C

These words were banned, and their author stripped of his license to teach after writing these words: “This commandment, that we should love our enemies and forgo revenge will grow…

Shipwrecked – Part 3

Posted on April 20, 2021August 29, 2021 by Scott C

The “Elect” Strive With God With “This Ship Has Sailed” post in mind, we proceed. While we would not have chosen Jacob from our limited view, God’s view has no…

Shipwrecked – Part 2

Posted on April 13, 2021April 13, 2021 by Scott C

The Fixer’s Who were the disciples really? If you boiled their job down… what was it? It’s popular in modern entertainment to refer to “The Fixer.” The person they call…

“In” Not “Of” – 4/03/21

Posted on April 3, 2021April 3, 2021 by Scott C

I confess going in. This post is not just about verses 19 to 27 but the rest of John chapter 18 beginning with verse 37. Here, Pilate asks Christ, “What…

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Faith and Conscience

First, a disclaimer: The idea for this post came, as many do, from our morning coffee time. This particular day, Bethany brought a verse from her bedtime reading and suggested it might be the basis for a post. She was not wrong. However, as I shared the growing post in subsequent morning coffee times, the consensus was it was too much… for one post. So, here we begin The Shipwrecked Series.

We have talked about Faith extensively, such as in Faith Is, and with good reason. We regularly touch on Conscience in some form and get specific in Our Conscience Testifies. Today, Paul brings “Shipwrecked” to our attention in relation to both.

“…fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith.” 1 Timothy 1:18,19

Shipwreck, from the word nauageō: meaning to be stranded or a failure in navigation leaving you shipwrecked. I can’t say if I have ever directly quoted the Amplified translation before, but here it is not only accurate but helpful: “…some [people] have rejected [their moral compass] and have made a shipwreck of their faith” (Amplified). Rejected their “Moral Compass.” I find that visual extremely useful. It also reveals an important detail…

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The Fixer’s

Who were the disciples really? If you boiled their job down… what was it? It’s popular in modern entertainment to refer to “The Fixer.” The person they call in to clean up a mess, to “Fix” problems others create either by neglect or malice. I would say this fits the disciples quite well, wouldn’t you?

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:2

“Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” 2 Timothy 1:14

Shipwrecked Part 2 – Tangent Part 2:

Season, “A fit or suitable time; the convenient time.” – Reprove, “To refute, To blame for, To charge with a fault to the face, To excite a sense of guilt.” – Rebuke, “to chastise for the purpose of restraint and correction.” – Encourage, “To give courage to, to inspire with courage, to embolden, to animate, to incite.” – Guard, “to protect, to defend, To secure against objections or attacks” (Strong’s)

Paul’s instruction to those who would claim to be disciples is: Whether it is convenient or not, we are not to tolerate but be truthful and refute wrong claims and beliefs – that is, any that do not match the Manual – held by those who claim the Name of Christ. We are to directly charge them with error and fault so that they can correct their course. We are to show them the courage of our commitment to God and His instruction so that we might inspire the same courage in them, inciting action, a stricter “walk in Truth,” a stronger Faith, that they too will protect and defend against worldly objections and attacks.

“The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished.” Titus 1:5

What was unfinished?

“…rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.” Titus 1:13,14

“…you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines.” 1 Timothy 1:3

Which brings us back to Shipwrecked. There is an idea, OK doctrine, that once you have given Christ the privilege of saving you, no more is required, you are safe, you owe Him nothing… you cannot be “Shipwrecked.” But that is not what the Holy Spirit instructed Paul, not what Paul instructed the disciples, and not what the disciples instructed… Well, those who stayed the course anyway:

“You know that everyone in the Province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.” 2 Timothy 1:15

We have built this entire discussion around 1 Timothy 1:19, but what does verse 20 say?

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The “Elect” Strive With God

With “This Ship Has Sailed” post in mind, we proceed. While we would not have chosen Jacob from our limited view, God’s view has no such restrictions. “He that searches the heart (inward spirit) of man knows the intent of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints (the pure or morally blameless) according to the Will of God.” (Romans 8:27) I know your translation only says “Saints,” but the word is hagios which means, “pure or morally blameless.” In other words, a Saint doesn’t just behave according to the Manual, their thoughts must also align. This is an important clarification for our discussion. In Part 1, we talked about Moral Conviction and Moral Conscience; now, we have Moral Blame or the lack there of. It really seems to become undeniable that God considers the thoughts, the inward spirit, the choice, behind the acts. God, from His perspective, saw Jacob and Esau “before Creation” and He saw them from beyond the limits of time. From that view, God’s Providence was clear. The heart of Esau would never become humble, pure, or morally blameless and choose God over everything else. Jacob’s heart, buried deep inside that trickster, would, and, one day, he would accept God for who He was above all else. With the Wisdom of that Providence (God’s Wisdom), God chose Israel… the man of God, Jacob would choose to become.

This brings us to another important lesson… –Read More–

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