Avoiding Shipwreck
Holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. I Timothy 1:19 (New International Version, NIV)
How do we hold onto faith? We do it by holding onto the Word of God- reading, studying, speaking, and practicing it. As we do this, we hold onto, protect, and keep a good conscience. This allows your conscience to guide you, telling you when something is wrong or right.
A good conscience helps faith to work. When you have a clear conscience and know you are right with God, it’s easier for you to believe and trust God. Not that we have a perfect performance, but when we mess up and sin, we are quick to repent. That way we remain before God with a clear conscience. When we hear God speak to our hearts, or our conscience, we obey, keeping our conscience clear and our faith operative.
It is important to keep our conscience clear. When we become convicted about something and don’t correct it, it begins a process that affects our faith and relationship with God. When we allow our conscience to be compromised and we don’t do anything about it, our conscience becomes hardened, making it harder to hear God each time.
When our conscience is clear, we can pray in faith knowing we’re forgiven and righteous. We know God hears us. In this way we won’t shipwreck our faith or depart from God. Instead, we go on with the Lord, reaching our destination.
