Every once in a while, you might hear a reference to the "current state" of religion in the United States. Sadly, many of those studies report that the percentage of people associated with no religion is increasing, while those identifying as Christian continues to decline. In this post, we’re not going to be doing a deep dive into these studies or debating the semantics of these studies, but they do highlight an issue. These studies represent people...people who are hurting, upset, or just outright frustrated with religion, church, and/or Christians. Even more specifically, we want to focus on our fellow believers that have a shipwrecked faith. Somewhere along the journey, their faith was battered by "storms" and ran into "rocks" that wrecked their vessel. Some people refer to this as a falling away and this falling away is written about in 1 Timothy 1:19 “keeping faith and good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.”
We know it is shocking when a well-known preacher or famous Christian music artist denounces their faith, but this is not a new phenomenon. Jesus himself warns us of this in Luke 8 with the parable of the sower. Let’s jump right to v14 where it says “And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.” In another example (2 Tim 4:10) we see Demas, who Paul considered a fellow worker, "fall away"… “Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me.” Hebrews specifically mentions the ‘fall away’ in the third chapter, v12-14 “Take care, brothers and sisters [fellow believers], that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end.”
The fact of the matter is that most storms and rocks, causing a person’s faith to become shipwrecked, are their own desires for the things of this world and/or sin. Don’t get upset with the messenger here, go reread those verses…” Choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life”, “having loved this world” and “none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Before you (potentially) lean on the old Christian loophole of “well, we all fall short” and/or “I am human, born into sin. I can’t help my nature” let's prayerfully consider Romans 6:18-19 “Now you are free from your slavery to sin [free from the power of sin], and you have become slaves to righteous living. Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy." Let’s be very clear, Paul goes on to discuss the struggles of knowing what’s right, yet doing what’s wrong. Every one of us knows that very struggle. The temptations are absolutely there and we will stumble, but our “requirement” to sin is no longer there, when we are reborn in Christ Jesus.
So where is the lighthouse!?
Psalm 119:9 tells us “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to Your word.” Staying on the path, not falling into dangerous waters...the lighthouse is His Word! Sounds easy enough, but there are over 30,000 verses and it is said to take about seven months to read the Bible. In addition to it being weighty, with its 66 books, it is an intertwined compilation of history, poems, letters, parables, and more. All of which can be a daunting task for someone to tackle on their own. That is where a Biblically sound, Biblically-focused teaching comes in. Sound preaching is very much like a lighthouse...immovable, strong enough to withstand storms, purpose-built, and long-lasting.
Unfortunately, someone will lose a loved one at way too young of an age, a husband will walk out on his wife and kids, and someone else will be paralyzed by unexplained anxiety. What the studies tell us, is that too many people don't have a lighthouse to look towards during these storms. The lighthouse doesn't stop the waves, but it allows the captain to see through those storms. First built around 280 BC, Egypt's Pharos of Alexandria was the first lighthouse recorded and it used a huge open fire for its light source. Thousands of years later, lighthouses are still very purpose-built, lacking the flashy technology of the day. It serves a purpose...to save lives. Sadly, too many pastors are trying to be a hologram of a lighthouse, preaching watered-down, feel-good messages that simply don't stand up against the storms and rocks of life. That motivational message, people heard on Sunday morning, doesn't match the pain they are experiencing on Monday morning. When the waves of anxiety wash over someone, they can't see the steady light of His Word to get them through it. In the end, they blame God and His church.
Please know that we are not trying to bash other ministries and we know we don’t always get it right ourselves. However, there is some very real hurt in the church and lives are being shipwrecked, causing people to fall away from the faith...and the Word tells us how to fix this!
The Word of God tells us that it is the power of the Gospel that changes lives (Romans)…not worship productions, funny skits on the altar (stage as many call it), or lots of programs. Like a lighthouse, we understand our job is to save lives, not entertain. We know, we must sound like the life of the party! LOL! Trust us, Rescue Culture is full of laughter, fun, and joking but helping people walk in the joy of the Lord, His restoration, and His love are our priorities. What is our guiding verse? Well, the entire Bible but this post is getting long, so let's look at 2 Timothy 4:1-5.
The Chapter Title Says “Preach the Word” and it gets right to the point! We love it!
Before we get into it, consider the circumstances that Paul is writing to Timothy in verses 6-8. He is basically writing his last words of guidance/mentorship to Timothy. It's like death bed stuff and if says one last thing, this is what you MUST know Timothy.....
"I solemnly charge you" - Many people associate “solemn” with sadness, but it actually describes a deep and heavy reverence or seriousness. Paul is telling Timothy that he MUST be earnest in preaching God’s Word.
"in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom" - Paul wants to make sure Timothy [and us] know that this isn’t about him and Timothy, or some other teacher-student lesson. This is an eternal, heavenly responsibility and needs to be treated as such.
"Preach the word" - This is not about a motivational speech or some entertaining story, but Preach the WORD. Remember, it is THE WORD that has the power to change lives and set people free (Romans 1:16). Take a moment to reflect on Deuteronomy 4:10-12, specifically "You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice." Unfortunately, too many churches are focused more on their themes and entertainment to create engaging services. A lot of 'smoke and lights' churches have literally told their worship arts team that they need to think about how they create (even manipulate) the atmosphere. Seriously!! We MUST get back to THE WORD.
"Be ready in season and out of season" - The Bible often uses farming and seasons to illustrate various principles. Here, Paul is telling Timothy [us] that we must be ready regardless of whether or not the circumstances are right or things timed out as planned. For pastors, this means preaching the truth regardless of whether or not your church is growing.
"reprove, rebuke, exhort" - Wow! This is not the fun part, but it is the Word. Reprove = To Convict and Rebuke = To Reprimand. Thank God we have exhort, which means to encourage! Again, there are too many pastors saying “We don’t focus on sin, the world already beats people down.” Wait! What? The Word of God says to convict and rebuke people. How will they know their sin is dragging them down or holding them in bondage if no one teaches them!? Of course, the fun comes in when we THEN get to encourage them on their journey to freedom.
"with great patience and instruction" - Pastors, elders, and so on…this one is for you! You don’t get to preach one message and then put the responsibility on the people to change. Remember that faith comes from hearING the Word of God. You need to roll up your sleeves, and preach it again, and again. Then walk with them, take the 2am phone call, etc.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled" - Jump back to 2 Timothy 2:16-18 and then consider Jeremiah 5:30-31 where it says “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority and MY PEOPLE LOVE IT THIS WAY.”
"they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires" - With so many ways to consume content (Youtube, podcasts, etc) people are finding pastors/preachers who speak on the topics they prefer. Healing…there’s a podcast, books, and YouTube channels for that. Prosperity...you can curate that topic. On the flip side, people are able to fill their ‘queue’ filtering out topics (Biblical truth) they don’t like (forgiveness, tithing, etc).
"and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." - Consider Isaiah 30:9-10 “Tell us pleasant things…”
"But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." - Fulfill the ministry and consider Ezekiel 2:7 “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.”
We want to encourage you to find a church that preaches the Word...all of it! It's not always easy to hear and will absolutely challenge you in ways that can be uncomfortable, but in the end, it will be the lighthouse each of us needs to safely get through the storms of life.
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