How Christians Slowly Drift Away from God

I’m not a great swimmer.

If you throw me into the deep end of a swimming pool, I can probably survive long enough to get to the side. But, man, put me in a lake or the ocean, especially where my feet can’t touch the ground?  I’m in trouble.

It so happens that a number of years ago, some friends and I went to the beach at Ocean Grove, NJ. We were fooling around near the shoreline and letting the waves crash into us when a few friends, who were strong swimmers, suggested we needed to go farther out to catch the waves before they broke.

Knowing I wasn’t a good swimmer, I was cautious at first. But I noticed that when they went farther out, they were still standing comfortably on their feet, and the water only came up to their waists. So, I paddled my way out to them, and for the next ten to fifteen minutes, I had a blast as they taught me how to body surf.

What I didn’t realize was that while I was enjoying myself and paying less attention, I was slowly drifting farther and farther away from the safety of the shore. At some point, I turned around and suddenly realized I was much farther from shore than I thought, but before I could react, a wave slammed into me, and suddenly my feet could no longer touch the ground. To make matters worse, my friends had drifted farther away because, I assume, they thought I was okay by myself (which I absolutely was not).

Those next few moments were terrifying.

I remember swallowing salt water, panicking, flailing, and desperately trying to stay afloat until either someone grabbed me or my feet finally found the ground and I stumbled my way back to shore. When I eventually made it safely to the beach, someone who knew I couldn’t swim very well asked, “Man, why did you go out that far?”

I remember responding with something like, “I didn’t mean to. I just wasn’t aware that I had drifted that far.”

It was an unsettling moment for me.

But honestly, I think it is also a sobering picture of how many people within the church slowly drift away from God.

What I mean by that is this: No one wakes up one morning planning to destroy their relationship with God. The drift from God rarely happens suddenly. It usually happens quietly. It happens through a slow drift, an inattentiveness to the spiritual condition of your soul. One compromise here, one ignored conviction there, and before you know it, much like my experience at the beach, you wake up spiritually somewhere you never thought you would be.

That is exactly the concern behind Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 1, the passage I want to help us unpack in this blog post. The context of the passage is Paul warning Timothy about false teachers in the church at Ephesus who had already drifted into spiritual wreckage.

In fact, Paul names two of them specifically: Hymenaeus and Alexander, men who had already, in his own words, “shipwrecked their faith.” In the middle of Paul's warning comes one massive lesson, which also happens to be the big idea of this passage:

GUARD YOUR SOUL BEFORE THE DRIFT BECOMES A SHIPWRECK.

I’ll define what a shipwreck faith looks like as we go along, but let’s start by exploring in this passage two subtle ways believers slowly drift toward spiritual shipwreck.

The first way we as Christians do this is…

1. WHEN GOD'S MERCY STOPS HUMBLING YOU (1 Timothy 1:12–17)

“12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me trustworthy, appointing me to His service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

You get the sense in this passage that while warning Timothy about false teachers, Paul has a revelatory moment where he suddenly becomes overwhelmed by the mercy of God in his own life. It's almost as if he puts his pen down, rubs his forehead, and remembers how close he himself once came to shipwrecking his faith.

Essentially, he’s saying, “Timothy, I was once like those men.” I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. "Man, I was horrible."

In verse 15, Paul says that of all the people Christ came to save, he is the worst, the chief of sinners. That’s quite a claim. And to be clear, this is not fake humility. It isn't one of those testimonies where people share stories about their wild lifestyle before Christ with subtle pride and enjoyment.

No. Paul is genuinely stunned that God would show mercy to someone like him. 

Years later in his ministry, when he stands trial in Acts 26:9–11 (NLT), he recounts with grief the life he used to live: “I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene. Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.”

Paul was a terror to the church, and he understood that most people who harden their hearts against Christ, as he once did, remain hardened until the day they die and stand before Christ in judgment. Yet against all odds, God interrupted his rebellion and showed him mercy.

The reason Paul's faith remained so spiritually vibrant is because he never stopped seeing himself as a man rescued by mercy. In fact, the reality of God's mercy humbled him so deeply that in verse 17 he breaks out into spontaneous worship: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

That is the song of a man who is still amazed by grace and overwhelmed by mercy.

So, let me ask you:  Do you remember how far you once were from God?

In case you're tempted to rate yourself as “not that bad,” allow me to remind you that the Pharisees were not condemned because of gross immorality. They were condemned because they were spiritually proud, and they could no longer see their need for mercy.

Seriously. In your prayers and worship, do you ever pause and honestly think: "Man, if not for the mercy of God, my life would be a much bigger mess than it is right now." Or have you slowly drifted into comparing yourself with the people around you and thinking: "Well, thank God. At least I'm not as bad as that guy."

One of the clearest signs that God's mercy is no longer humbling you is when your outrage over other people's sin becomes greater than your grief over your own. So, please, hear me carefully: The soul that stops being amazed by the mercy of God will eventually start drifting toward pride. The fact is that pride has shipwrecked far more believers than weakness ever has.

So, please…GUARD YOUR SOUL BEFORE THE DRIFT BECOMES A SHIPWRECK.

The second way a shipwreck happens is…

II. WHEN OUR CONSCIENCE STOPS WARNING US (1 Timothy 1:18–20)

“18 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.”

What set Timothy apart from the false teachers in the church in Ephesus is that Timothy held on to faith and to a good conscience (whereas the false teachers, Hymenaeus and Alexander did not).  

Holding on to faith meant he kept on believing in God’s goodness and God’s promises in God’s word, even though trying circumstance (he didn’t abandon the faith). Now, the conscience, on the other hand, is a God-given internal warning system in every human that reacts to your behavior. It does one of two things:

• It either justifies you when your behavior is good by producing feelings of peace, contentment, and calm.

• Or it accuses you when your behavior is sinful by producing feelings of guilt, fear, shame, or even doubt.

Your conscience is like an internal alarm clock that rings out loud when something threatens the well-being of your soul.

Now, here’s the danger: It is very possible to ignore your conscience long enough and consistently enough that you no longer hear its alarm bells when it rings. Hymenaeus and Alexander were believers who had stopped listening to the Holy Spirit’s convictions in their conscience long enough and consistently enough, and as a result, had “…suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.”

So, let’s answer two important questions here:

• What exactly does a shipwrecked faith look like?

• and “How does someone gradually get there?

SO, WHAT DOES A SHIPWRECKED FAITH LOOK LIKE?

Shipwrecking your faith is what happens when a believer drifts so far from God through repeated compromise that their spiritual life begins falling apart.

Now, it is important to point out that shipwrecking your faith is not necessarily the same thing as losing one’s salvation.

The apostle Paul knows these two men personally. When he says he has, “…handed over to Satan to be taught”, he is using the language of church discipline. In other words, they were being removed from the spiritual protection of the church so they might painfully learn where their rebellion was leading them.

Notice carefully that Paul does not speak of them with a hopeless finality. He doesn’t say he handed over to Satan so they may be condemned or perish.  He says, “…to be taught…” The word he uses speaks of action that might lead to repentance and restoration.  In fact, Paul says something very similar in 1 Corinthians 5:5 regarding a man living in blatant sin, “You are to deliver this man [who’s sinning] to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

My point is this, though the follower of Jesus Christ is eternally secure in his relationship with God, shipwrecking your faith is still incredibly dangerous because it exposes the believer to Satanic deception, unnecessary painful suffering, and severe discipline from the LORD Himself. And in some instances, it may even expose that a person’s faith was never genuine to begin with.

HOW DOES ONE GRADUALLY DRIFT TOWARD A SHIPWRECK IN THEIR FAITH?

It happens one ignored conviction at a time. One violated conscience at a time. One private justification at a time.  Eventually, your heart starts becoming more attached to sin than to Jesus, and before you know it, you are in the drift.

Let me ask you this:  What behavior in your life used to deeply bother your conscience, but now you barely think twice about?

Allow me to make it even more personal:

• What entertainment shows did you once avoid because they disturbed your spirit, but now you binge-watch it without hesitation? 

• What language once grieved you, but now, it just casually fills your conversation?

• What once convicted you deeply, but now seem totally okay because “everybody is doing it?”

• What relationships, habits, fantasies, political anger, private habits have slowly reshaped your heart without you even realizing it?

This is how you end up in the drift that leads to a shipwreck of your faith!

Hymenaeus and Alexander did not wake up one morning and randomly decide to destroy their faith. None of us wakes up suddenly wanting to abandon our faith in God. Yet, it begins with hundreds of tiny decisions where we repeatedly stop respond to the voice of God through our conscience.

SO, HOW DO YOU GUARD YOUR HEART FROM DRIFTING?

It’s actually simple… do consistently the opposite of what leads to the drift?

1. Respond Quickly When Your Conscience Warns You

Stop trying to work out, “the art of the deal” with your conscience. Don’t negotiate with your convictions. Once the Holy Spirit convicts you of something, respond immediately and repent quickly. The longer you delay obedience, the weaker your sensitivity becomes.

The next time God exposes something in your heart, resist the temptation to defend it or justify it, otherwise every ignored conviction will make the next one easier to ignore. But every act of obedience will keep your heart tender before God. So… 

• What needs to be deleted?

• What needs to be ended

• What needs to be confessed?

• Who needs an apology?

• What needs to start?

Listen, the most spiritual thing some of us can do today is not a dramatic promise to God about the future, but to take one honest step back into the light and respond more quickly to that one thing the Lord has brought to your attention.

The second way to guard your heart from the drift is to…

2. Keep Returning to The Mercy of God Until It Humbles You Again.

Where and how has God shown you great mercy, that has become old news for you? Where did you mess up, expecting judgment, but you found grace?

Go back to those stories and sit with them till it humbles you. In case you are struggling to remember, ask yourself: “If Christ had not interrupted me, what kind of person would I have become?” Recall the mercy of God and remain in a place of gratitude.

Remember my beach story at the beginning?

I can assure you that I did not wake up that morning planning to drown. Even when I was at the shoreline fooling around with my friends, it never occurred to me that drowning was on my to-do list that day.  Yet, ever so slowly, almost imperceptibly, I drifted farther than I realized, till I got in danger.

Some of you reading this may be closer to spiritual danger than you think, and perhaps maybe today, God’s mercy is triggering your alarm system, warning you that, “I’m drifting too far.”

THERE’S HOPE!

Now, before you drift too far into panic, here’s the good news: Jesus still rescues people who are drowning. Allow me to remind you of some epic biblical failures who found themselves in the drift…

• Peter literally sank beneath the waves and later denied Jesus three times, yet Jesus rescued him and restored him.

• Paul persecuted, assaulted, and imprisoned Christians, yet Jesus interrupted his rebellion and commissioned him as an apostle.

• The prodigal son insulted his father, wasted his inheritance, and ruined his life, yet his father ran toward him and welcomed him home.

The story of the Bible is not primarily about people who never drift, it is about a Savior who relentlessly pursues people who do.

There is no sin in your life that has greater power than the cross of Jesus Christ, there is no drift so far that His grace cannot reach you, and there is no shipwreck so severe that He cannot rescue you.

So, if the Spirit of God has been sounding an alarm in your soul, don't ignore it. Come back to shore, come back to the One who rescues people from shipwrecks… and at the same time, continue to keep watch and guard your soul so that it doesn’t become a drift that leads to a shipwreck.

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