“Holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.” 1 Timothy 1:19
Have you ever met someone who once seemed so strong in their faith, but now their spiritual life looks… wrecked? Maybe they’ve walked away, got tangled in teachings that don’t line up with the scripture, or just seem spiritually adrift. It’s a heartbreaking sight.
Hymenaeus and Alexander were members of the Ephesian church, likely believers in name. They rejected sound teaching and used their faith as a cover to promote false ideas. Hymenaeus, for example, is associated elsewhere (2 Timothy 2:17‑18) with spreading the teaching that “the resurrection has already happened,” which confused and misled other believers.Alexander is also mentioned in Acts 19:33 as a Jew involved in the uproar at Ephesus, suggesting he may have been a controversial figure, possibly prideful or oppositional in nature.
The bible shows their shipwreck happened through neglecting conscience, twisting or rejecting truth and living in deception. They suppressed God’s moral guidance, promoted ideas contrary to the scripture. They were living outwardly religious but inwardly defiled.
The Apostle Paul painted a vivid picture of this when he wrote to his young protégé Timothy. He urged him to “hold on to faith and a good conscience,” warning that some, by rejecting their conscience, had “suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith” (1 Timothy 1:19). That’s a powerful image: a faith that was once sailing toward Christ now broken on the rocks.
Let’s explore the vital partnership between our faith and our conscience. Think of your faith as the ship itself, which is your trust in God, your belief in Christ, your commitment to follow Him. It’s what gets you on the water.
Your conscience on the other hand is like the ship’s compass, rudder, and keel all in one. It’s that inner sense of right and wrong God placed within you. A clear, well-tuned conscience keeps your faith pointed in the right direction and steady in the waves. Faith and conscience are meant to work together.
A compass is useless if it’s broken, ignored, or miscalibrated. Our conscience can become “defiled” in similar ways: When we knowingly choose sin and refuse repentance, it’s like pouring sludge on the compass. Over time, our sense of right and wrong dulls. Conviction fades, and we stop feeling the Holy Spirit’s nudges.
But when we accept ideas that sound good but contradict God’s word, our moral navigation becomes confused. Wrong begins to feel right, and right starts to feel outdated.Neglecting prayer, Scripture, and fellowship hardens the conscience, making it less sensitive to God’s guidance.
When our conscience is silenced or broken, our faith loses its stability. We might still say we believe, but our lives tell a different story. Decisions become guided by feelings, culture, or convenience rather than God’s truth. We drift into error without even realizing it. Like a ship without a rudder in a storm, we become powerless and unstable—ultimately, shipwrecked.
A beautiful ship with a broken compass is a tragedy waiting to happen. Likewise, faith without a clean, cripture-informed conscience is vulnerable to life’s storms.
The good news is shipwreck isn’t inevitable. God gives us tools to maintain our faith and correct our course. Regularly examine your heart in light of the scripture. Don’t just read the Bible—let it read you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas where your thoughts or actions have drifted. Respond to conviction: When the Spirit brings correction, act. Confess sins to God without excuses. Repentance is the cleansing agent for a defiled conscience.Sail in community: Faith wasn’t meant to be lived in isolation. Surround yourself with fellow believers who can encourage, correct, and help spot the rocks ahead.
Author
kay.alli@legalview.co.uk