is your faith shipwrecked today?

I was reading a story the other day about a type of Pirate (one who would sink and plunder ships) and I had never heard of this type of piracy before. They were called “wreckers”. Wreckers were men who would try to lure Ships at sea into the rocks off the coast causing the ship to wreck.

In fact, there are legends that hundreds of years ago on the coast of Cornwall, there were wreckers that would tie lanterns onto the heads of Donkey’s and move the animals along the high cliffs that border the shore. The purpose of doing that was to cause the mariners to think that the light was from another ship, which in turn would be a signal that it was safe to travel towards the light. But when ships at sea would see these false lights and believe them to be guides into the safe and open water, they would then proceed towards them, crash into the rocks, and be dashed into pieces. Then the wreckers would come down to the shore, and take all that they could from the wrecked ship, even killing the wounded sailors.

And just as these wreckers who used false lights to lead sailors to their destruction were a serious threat to any vessel on the water, so too do we as Christians have many false lights before us that we have to guard ourselves against so that we do not follow after them and shipwreck our faith.

In fact, the Book of Jude describes false teachers having the same effect upon people’s spiritual lives, as the ancient wreckers had upon sailors. In Jude (v.12), the false teachers are described as “SPOTS”. The Bible says, “These are SPOTS in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves...” In the Greek this word “SPOTS” is a word that describes a “ROCK” or a “REEF” which is covered up by the sea. Jude is saying that these false teachers are like “hidden rocks” in the ocean that sink ships. But instead of ships these men shipwreck the faith of other people. 

How do we guard against such people?

First off, Jude 1:3 tells us:

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

So the first thing that we are called to do is to “contend earnestly for the faith.” Meaning we have to fight for the faith, not with weapons, but with knowledge and with scripture. We must be men and women who are like the Bereans’ who daily searched the Scriptures to make sure what they are being told is in line with what God’s Word says (cf. Acts 17:11). That is how we fight for the faith.

Jude gives us more insight into how we can protect ourselves from being shipwrecked in (vv.20-21). Jude says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

Jude tells us that there are 4 more important things that will enable us to protect ourselves from having our faith shipwrecked.

1. We protect ourselves by “building ourselves up on our most holy faith.” Or in other words, we keep growing in the faith!
2. We are also called to be men and women of prayer
3. We are called to be ruled by the Love of God. And finally,
4. We are called to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, and to put our trust in Him alone for salvation. 

There you have it saints! The recipe to protect ourselves from ever allowing our faith to be shipwrecked, and to know that we are truly living for eternity in this life! May today be the day that you are more determined than ever before, to guard yourself against deceptive doctrines that can shipwreck our faith in Jesus.