In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he describes a very serious situation:
Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme (1 Timothy 1:18-20)
I’m not able to translate the original Greek text myself, but the references I checked indicate that the specific thing “which some have rejected” is a “good conscience.” That is what led to the shipwreck of their faith. And this is particularly sobering, since the very fact that their faith could suffer shipwreck proves that these people had faith to begin with. Paul is talking here about believers in Jesus who continued to engage in practices that they knew were sin, and came to grief.
These people, including the two blasphemers Paul names, did not pay attention to the witness of their own conscience. They were living in a way they knew was morally wrong. That’s what led to the destruction of their faith. The metaphor Paul uses, that they “suffered shipwreck,” gives a picture of something that has crashed, broken apart and sunk. It’s a complete disaster. When the trial came, as trials do, they faltered, unable to trust in God to bring them through. In the case of the two people who Paul names, Hymenaeus and Alexander, their loss of faith ended with their being ejected from the church – the only sense I can make of “handed over to Satan” – for blasphemy. The picture suggested here is not that blaspheming was their original moral failure, but that it was their response to the trial that wrecked their faith.
This tragic outcome was all too predictable. I’ve seen in my own experience that continuing to practice something I know is sin will interfere with my ability to trust God. How can I trust God’s promises when I know I am rejecting his authority? Willfully rejecting my own conscience, making a deliberate choice to continue in sin in other words, is rebellion against God. This is the shipwreck of faith.
Now, our salvation and our adoption as God’s children are entirely by God’s grace. It was while I was a slave to sin that Christ died for me (Romans 5:8). But Jesus didn’t give his life to rescue me from just the consequences of sin; he gave his life to rescue me from sin itself. As it says in Scripture:
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin (Romans 6:6-7).
Continuing in sin is not a part of God’s plan.
I’m sorry that I can’t report a happy ending to this story. Rebellion against God is a deadly serious matter. Hymenaeus is mentioned again in 2 Timothy 2:16-18 as a false teacher. And in 2 Timothy 4:14 Paul mentions “Alexander the metalworker” (who may or may not be the same person) as someone who did him great harm. What ultimately happened with either of these men is unknown.
This does not call for fearfulness, but for sober judgment. Hymenaeus and Alexander did not wander blindly into error, they openly defied both God and their own consciences by continuing to do what they knew was wrong. Don’t follow their example! Remember that the God who calls us to be holy has given us everything we need to do just that (2 Peter 1:3-4). He wants us to succeed!
And for any of you reading this who feel the sting of conviction, this is the time to take warning. Go to God, confess your sin, and turn around. Don’t keep going straight into a shipwreck.