A new week begins on this fine Monday morning. Thank you for joining us. And the week begins

with a humbling question about shipwrecking the faith. What does it look like to make shipwreck

of the faith? What are some personal examples of faith failing? Why does it happen? How

do people shipwreck their faith? Just sobering topic in a common question in the inbox represented

well by this question from a list named Andrew. Hello, Pastor John. Thank you for the

ass pastor John podcast. The apostle Paul talks about some who have made shipwreck of their

faith in 1st Timothy 119. In the next verse, Paul singles out hymnais and Alexander, both of

whom appear to have been professing Christians at some point earlier. According to 1st Timothy 120,

what did they do and how do people shipwreck their faith today? Jesus and Paul and Peter and the

writer to the Hebrews, all of them describe people who make a seemingly good start in the Christian

life and then reject what they once claimed to believe. Sometimes this 1st conditions, 1st state

is called faith and then is shown to be unreal faith. Faith without works is dead. You could call

it dead faith. James would say sometimes it's called knowing the way of righteousness

and then forsaking it. But in the end, the New Testament teaches that it is possible to make a start

in the Christian life, perhaps a very long start and then throw it away and be lost. Not that God

ever loses any of his children or any of his elect, he keeps them according to 1st Corinthians

19, 1st Thessalonians 524, Philippians 1 6, Romans 8 30. In fact, here's what Romans 8 30 says,

those whom he predestined, he also called and those whom he called, he also justified and those whom

he justified, he also glorified none of those that God predestined and calls and justifies will

ever be lost. Those he calls, he keeps, that's what those verses teach. But Jesus said in the parable

of the soils that the 3rd soil represents those who make a beginning in the discipleship

and then they fall away. As for what fell among thorns, he says, they are those who hear,

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