Jump Start # 3884
1 Timothy 6:21 “which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”
It’s a feeling that so many have experienced. It’s hard to describe and it just gnaws deeply on our insides. I call it the “Divine Disappointment.” It’s not disappointed with God, but rather, those who once were among God’s people and now they are not.
Our verse today expresses it as “gone astray from the faith.” It implies that they were once in the faith, but now they are not. They were part of the fellowship of the saved, but now they have gone astray. Astray means no longer walking with the Lord. This letter began by describing some who had shipwrecked their faith (1:19). In the second letter to Timothy, Paul again states that some have gone astray from the truth and they were upsetting the faith of others (2:18). Later, some were holding to a form of godliness but they were denying it’s power (3:5). The faith of these were not to be followed. These were no longer great examples for the rest. Their lights had become dim. The salt was no longer salty. Their own souls were in trouble.
Chasing the latest religious fad, going where the crowds are, seeking an atmosphere that demands little and offers no accountability, every year some leave the fellowship of God’s people for what they believe are greener pastures. Some are looking for more excitement in worship. Some have been listening to the tunes of a pied piper for so long that they do not even realize that he has taken them down different paths. Sensing little obligation, commitment or ties to the fellowship they belonged to, they break free and float towards the winds of error. They are convinced it is freedom that they are pursuing, but in most cases, it’s selfish and not Biblically based. Tired of the old, they seek the new. And, so, they leave one congregation for another.
Is it wrong to switch congregations within town? Sometimes that is necessary because one is not growing nor being fed well. Sometimes leaders are doing anything and everything but leading. One must do what it will take to get them close to the Lord and Heaven bound. But, others find church hopping to be their greatest exercise. They leave one place disgusted and discouraged, telling everyone who will listen how bad the last place was, only to embrace a new place that is viewed as the greatest church on the planet. But time passes. Things happen. And, after a while, this new and great place is not so great. And, if there are options, off they run to yet another congregation, declaring that the last place was a dude.
But, our verse isn’t addressing leaving one congregation for another. It is that divine disappointment when one leaves the truth of the Scriptures. They hurry off to a church of fun, fully embracing things not practiced in the Bible and are ready to dance with the devil, not caring about what is taught, believed or practiced. They have embraced fun as the foundation of their faith. They may still be going to church on Sunday, as some call it, but it’s nothing like what we find in the Bible. They have “gone astray from the faith.” They are not longer walking in the truth. Certainly, they consider themselves to be good Christians because they still go to church, but they have tossed overboard any real doctrinal positions. They don’t care about divorce. Be happy. They don’t care about how you worship. Feel great about it. Preaching is self help tips, layered with jokes. No one even mentions the word “hell.” But the crowds line up to be a part of such an amazing thing.
Some thoughts:
First, this is a divine disappointment because the righteous know that this isn’t right. One isn’t switching congregations. Paul is dealing with the abandonment of faith. The walking away from the Lord. Preachers and shepherds wonder what more could have been done to keep these wayward hearts around the truth. Was it something they did or failed to do? And, the leaving often encourages others to follow.
This especially hurts families. Moms and dads who have worshipped the Lord for years and brought their children up to love the Lord, see their grown children running off to the world to embrace principles and ideas not found in the Scriptures. These things age the parents. It hurts them deep inside. They wonder if they failed to do something. They see other families faithfully walking with the Lord for generations. But, within this family that cannot be said. The grown children do not want to talk about these things. Their minds are made up and they are not coming back.
What a disappointment. What a heartache. Great potential lost. Their children will grow up only seeing the crooked ways of error and not the straight paths of the Lord.
Second, while it’s easy to look in the rear view mirror and point fingers, often it’s hearts that are not content with God’s way of things that is the root cause of this. This is nothing new. Ancient Israel was like this. The period of the Judges was like this. And, as fresh and new as the New Testament was, we have verses like ours today that detail some leaving the faith in those early years. Some hearts just want more than what the Scriptures allow. Some place their thoughts and their feelings far ahead of the Lord’s. They long for a church that is more like the world, accepting of wrong, less demanding of commitment, and engaged in the wholeness and welfare of mankind. Less talk about the spiritual and the soul and more about the poor and the homeless.
Our Lord’s words, “Seek and ye shall find,” seems to be a proverb of life. If you are looking for trouble, you’ll find it. If you are looking for wrong, the devil will provide you an opportunity. If you are looking for fun, you’ll find it. If you are truly seeking the Lord, you’ll find Him. Often, it’s not what was taught, either at home or in the congregation, but hearts that were seeking a different way that led them to depart.
Third, departures and divisions hurt, but they do not destroy the kingdom. God’s word marches on. It continues to be embraced by those who love Him and are content to let the Lord be the Lord. They understand that God has always designed the best and one cannot improve upon what God has done. Such hearts are humble and submissive. It is the proud that demands departures from God’s way.
Even in the days of the apostles, there were some who were leaving the faith. Even in the days of miracles, there were some who were leaving the faith. The problem was not God. The problem wasn’t the message. It happened because hearts were not committed to the Lord or His word.
Divine disappointments—and the one who is disappointed the most, is the Lord.
Roger