The Dangers of Compromise
1Timothy 1:1,9,20
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
27 Sept, 2009
AM
I.
Introduction (1Timothy 1:19,20)
A.
This
month, we are learning about being “Separated Christians.” Different than the
world that we live in. Somebody said, “One of the big problems with Christianity
today is that we have lost our difference, our separateness” – and they are so
right!
B.
Christians ARE different - different by design.
1.
We are lights in a dark world. We are a new creature in Christ. We have a new
mind, a new heart, a new song, a new direction we are heading. We talk
different, think different, love different, give differently – we are different
2.
But Christians not only need to be different, but stay different, instead of
starting out godly, and clean, and ending up filthy like the world around us
again (2Pet 2:22) like a pig does, and a dog
C.
Biblical separation is a part of the Bible that so many dare not teach, because
it is offensive to people, even Christians. People don’t want anyone telling
them NOT to do something, or to stop their drinking, or to live differently.
Doctors gave up a long time ago trying to tell people to stop smoking, and to
eat right. Nobody listens!
D.
We
live in a day when anything goes. As long as you don’t hurt anybody, and as long
as it feels good, people, even Christians just live like everyone around them.
And yet we are wondering why marriages don’t work, why teens die of suicide, and
why most people are only bitter!
E.
This
morning I want us to want to continue to develop some convictions – some
backbone about how we are going to live, and what we are going to do, and what
things we will never allow ourselves to do!
II.
Background about Shipwrecks
A.
The
Titanic
1.
On
April 10, 1912 the R.M.S. Titanic left
2.
How
could the unsinkable Titanic, SINK? And yet it did!
a.
Its
captain thought nothing could sink her
b.
They
ignored the warnings
c.
They
didn’t want anything to slow them down from their trip across the
d.
And
so they wrecked – and
B.
And
that’s only ONE shipwreck. There were also the
C.
But
did you know that not all shipwrecks happen at sea?
1.
It's
true! Most shipwrecks occur on perfectly dry ground. Our text speaks of the
potential of a "spiritual shipwreck". In fact, it even records the names of two
men in the early church that has experienced such a shipwreck: Hymenaeus and
Alexander.
2.
Most
of us will never be involved in a shipwreck at sea. However, we might suffer a
shipwreck in our spiritual life. And, in some ways, a spiritual shipwreck is far
more devastating than any tragic shipwreck on the high seas. Ask Jonah, and
Simon Peter!
D.
The
Bible reveals something of the nature of spiritual shipwrecks and how we are to
go about avoiding them. I want to help you avoid the danger of shipwreck in you
life. I want to preach for a while on this thought: "Avoiding Spiritual
Shipwreck". Your life does not have to end up badly from a spiritual
perspective! You do not have to be shipwrecked in your walk with God. The facts
reveals in this passage will help us to avoid the shipwrecks of the spiritual
life.
III.
Message
A.
The
Reality Of Spiritual Shipwrecks
1.
Paul
names two men who have “shipwrecked.” We do not know much about these men, but
we do know that they became a problem for Paul and for the early church.
a.
Hymenaeus began to teach false doctrine, 2 Tim. 2:17;
b.
And
Alexander caused "much" injury to the Apostle Paul, 2 Tim. 4:14.
c.
Both
had been saved, and solid in their faith, only to fall away, and end up both
destroyed, and destroying!
2.
Probably everyone in this room could think of a person or persons who once
walked with the Lord and have now made shipwreck of their spiritual walk. It
happens! Spiritual shipwrecks are to be found all around!
a.
What
we need to remember this morning is this: spiritual shipwrecks don't just happen
to the other guy, they can happen to you and me! No one in this room is immune
to the possibility that we will fall into sin and make shipwreck of our lives.
b.
Please don't scoff at the danger of becoming shipwrecked! It can happen to
anyone - 1 Cor. 10:12; Pro. 16:18.
B.
The
Reasons For Spiritual Shipwrecks
1.
Wrong Blaming
a.
People will blame the iceburg for the Titanic’s demise
b.
Other will blame storms for a ship sinking
c.
Just
like we all blame outside circumstances: our parents, our friends, our poverty,
Mondays, disappointments, etc
2.
But
the apostle Paul tells us the reason that these two men suffered shipwreck was
because they "put away" the faith. They got rid of their anchors!
a.
Can
you think of anything more stupid for a ship master to do that to cut the
anchors and try and sail without them?
b.
Yet
most Christians go through life without ANY limits, any convictions, any
constraints and think they will be just fine! They have their occasional drink,
they watch their occasional risky programme on TV, they listen to their Rock
Music, they hang with their godless friends
3.
People don’t set out to crash and burn, but like a ship adrift without an
anchor, they WILL (mark my words), they WILL experience disaster (Gal 6:7,8; Rom
6:23a)!
4.
Try
Living Without Anchors
a.
Anchors are Restraints, boundaries, limits on what we allow life’s troubles do
with us
b.
This
is what we call having Biblical Convictions
1)
Strong beliefs that you are fully convinced of, having been persuaded by clear
evidence and not just your feelings
2)
Limits that you put on yourself of what you will and will not do so that you can
stay close to God
c.
Everyone, absolutely everyone has storms – pressures that drive us in directions
we don’t want to go
d.
But
nothing else will stop you from crashing on the rocks
1)
You
can’t stop the storms, and the stress and the pressures
2)
But
you can get you a couple of good anchors that will hold you firm and safe in the
storms!
5.
Examples
a.
When
it comes to young drinkers, culture tells us that when you're hanging out with
your friends, you just HAVE to have some type of alcoholic beverage. Kids know
they shouldn't drink because it's wrong and dangerous. But instead, they
rationalize that they can handle it, that it's no big deal because it's not like
they’re using drugs or doing something really "bad."
b.
In
some homes, parents unknowingly set bad examples. Some allow their children to
drink at home, thinking, "If they're doing it at home, at least they're not out
getting drunk at some party where I can't watch them." This type of approach
doesn't work because it promotes the idea that drinking is acceptable in certain
times and that it is actually SAFE when supervised.
c.
History proves this WRONG!
1)
In a
recent IrishTimes article, “Go on, darling, have a drink” Parents who believed
giving their teenagers a glass of wine with Sunday dinner would cultivate a
responsible attitude to alcohol had their illusions shattered this week.
2)
AND
THERE we were thinking we were doing everything right. “We” being nice
liberal-thinking parents, determined that our children would have a better
upbringing than our own and that they would not fear us, but instead be our
friends.
3)
To
this end, and from an early age, we treated them as little adults. Not for us
the Victorian notion that children should be seen and not heard. No. We took
them places, brought them to parties, sat them in restaurants, flew them to
foreign destinations, gave them laptops and iPhones, cash and clothes,
highlights and make-up, and at a certain age, say from 14 onwards, offered them
the odd glass of wine. Why not? Surely it was better to acquaint them with
alcohol through a respectable glass of wine at the kitchen table, rather than
having them rolling around in the bushes after a binge of Dutch Gold or Huzzar?
And surely they would be safer at home having a few beers, rather than sitting
in some park where they could be nabbed by the Gardaí and given a J-LO (junior
liaison officer).
4)
WHERE DID it all end? Well, with a dressing-down this week from child and
adolescent psychiatrist Dr Bobby Smyth who told parents at a packed lecture
in UCD they are doing it all wrong. By introducing children to alcohol in
the home, in the hope that it will teach them responsible drinking, parents are
being “very naive”, he told a rapt audience on Wednesday.
5)
That
means you, Dad, “spotting” your 17-year-old some cans from the fridge as he
heads out to a friend’s gaff, and you, Mummy, getting all giggly with the girls
as they put on the fake tan for the disco, and offering them a drink while
they’re at it. It happens. You may not allow your child to drink at home, but
other parents may be offering it to them – not knowing, or caring that it’s
illegal. It’s okay for children to drink in their own home with parental consent
but it is breaking the law to offer someone else’s underage child alcohol in
your home without their parents’ permission.
6)
Dr
Smyth, a consultant who specialises in addiction, is calling it myth, this idea
that we can inoculate our children against the “toxic drunkenness” of Irish
society – which has one of the highest levels of teenage drinking in
7)
The
evidence he presents is compelling. Teenagers aged 16 to 17 are now spending
around €123 million a year on alcohol. The average 16-year-old will have spent
up to €20.90 a week on alcohol and €10.70 on cigarettes or tobacco products. And
all because MANY of them were “
8)
Our
homes need some ANCHORS to hold our kids back from drink and cigarettes
d.
We
need some restraints against pornography in our homes, AND against bad attitudes
and anger!
e.
We
need the conviction that not only are my kids not going to ever drink, but that
“I” am
6.
I
could list thousands of people who threw away their anchors and lived anyway
they wanted, only to crash and burn in the end! Judy Garland,
7.
Sadly, because alcoholism, and pornography, and smoking, and bad attitudes, and
drugs all do terrible damage in our lives and in our homes, people constantly
want “miracles,” and for God to act like Superman, and just rush in and stop
them from experiencing the results of their sins, but He doesn’t do that very
often!
8.
God
tells us to get us some good anchors to KEEP us from those rocks
C.
Biblical Convictions
1.
Flow
out of my relationship with God
2.
And
are meant to protect that relationship at all costs! You will
D.
The
Blessing of Anchors/Convictions in Your Life
1.
They
hold you when you can’t hold on
a.
You
can rely on the strength of your convictions instead of your own strength
b.
David did not have the strength to resist temptation with Bathsheba, but if he
had had a conviction against looking at nakedness of ANYONE, he wouldn’t have
had to wrestle with it at all
2.
They
allow you to enjoy the storm, and not fear it anymore – I love being in the
middle of a fierce
a.
Anchors about what is right to do
b.
Anchors in your marriage
c.
Anchors in your prayer life – always praying, always praising, always staying on
your knees until you get the answer
3.
They
protect you until it is time to move forward again – you are not going to be
stuck, just safe!
a.
Hey,
barriers on the side of the road protect you from the cliff on the other side –
they protect you!
b.
It
is good to have limits on where you can go, and what you can do – THAT’S WHAT
CONVICTIONS ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG ARE! Protective limits on your “freedoms”
(1Cor 6:12)
c.
Hey,
sex is not wrong. It is awesome IN MARRIAGE! When you have a conviction about
NOT allowing boys touch you, it is not so that you stay celibate forever, but
just until marriage (1Cor 7:1,2)!!!
E.
Four
Necessary Anchors (1Tim 1:18-20; Cf Acts 27:27-29)
1.
The
Word of God – clear commands, instructions from God (Acts 5:29)
a.
Not
just knowing it
b.
But
meditating on it, and obeying it – it has to be THE anchor of your life!
c.
Fearing NOT obeying it. It would be like disregarding a map, or a radar, or even
a warning by other ships
d.
Just
drifting along without God’s word is like drifting along without a compass! You
are going to crash and burn!
2.
Declared Christian Warfare
a.
Declare war FIRST with yourself, and your bad habits, and attitudes
1)
You
need to get to wrestling with yourself
2)
Put
all the energy that you used to attack other people with, against your own
attitudes and habits
3)
Jesus commanded this in Matthew 7:3-5!!!
b.
Then
fight off the world’s lures and temptations – don’t give in to what comes easy!
c.
Then
put up a fight with the devil himself (James 4:7)
d.
No
wimps, or pacifists allowed in Christianity! Not if they want to live long, and
have real joy!
3.
Have
a Firm Grip on What You Believe
a.
About salvation (2Tim 1:12, “not WHAT I believe, but WHOM I have believed”; Heb
6:19)
b.
About the future (John 14:1,2; Luke 21:25-28)
c.
About whatever is going on in your life right now (Rom 8:28)
d.
About God’s goodness (1Cor 10:13)
e.
Constantly add to this list! Make THIS ANCHOR big!
4.
Keep
A Good Conscience
a.
Probably THE most neglected anchor you can have
b.
Sin
affects our conscience – burns it out, numbs it, ruins it
c.
The
blood of Jesus Christ cleanses and purges our conscience
d.
Oh
the value of a good conscience
1)
No
guilt, shame, fearful anticipation of chastisement or punishment
2)
Easy
sleep
3)
Not
constantly fearful
4)
Always soft hearted, and quick to apologize
IV.
Conclusion
A.
We
live in a day when anything goes. As long as you don’t hurt anybody, and as long
as it feels good, people, even Christians just live like everyone around them.
And yet we are wondering why marriages don’t work, why teens die of suicide, and
why most people are only bitter!
B.
We
looked at The Titanic. She sunk because: Its captain thought nothing could sink
her (pride); They ignored the warnings (stubbornness); They didn’t want anything
to slow them down from their trip across the
C.
We
have learned that not all shipwrecks happen at sea. We have learned that the
Bible reveals something of the nature of spiritual shipwrecks and how we are to
go about avoiding them. Listen! Thankfully, your life does not have to end up
badly from a spiritual perspective! You do not have to be shipwrecked in your
walk with God.
D.
Spiritual Shipwrecks are Real!
E.
Spiritual Shipwrecks have Reasons
1.
the
reason that these two men suffered shipwreck was because they "put away" the
faith. They got rid of their anchors!
2.
People don’t set out to crash and burn, but like a ship adrift without an
anchor, they WILL (mark my words), they WILL experience disaster (Gal 6:7,8; Rom
6:23a)!
3.
Try
Living Without Anchors!
4.
God
tells us to get us some good anchors to KEEP us from those rocks
F.
There are Blessing of Anchors/Convictions in Your Life
1.
They
hold you when you can’t hold on
2.
They
allow you to enjoy the storm, and not fear it anymore
3.
They
protect you until it is time to move forward again – you are not going to be
stuck, just safe!
G.
Four
Necessary Anchors (1Tim 1:18-20; Cf Acts 27:27-29)
1.
The
Word of God – clear commands, instructions from God
2.
Declared Christian Warfare
3.
a
Firm Grip on What You Believe
4.
A
Good Conscience