1 Timothy 1:19 kjv
Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1 Timothy 1:19 nkjv
having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,
1 Timothy 1:19 niv
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 esv
holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,
1 Timothy 1:19 nlt
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
1 Timothy 1 19 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Tim 4:1-2 | Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith… have seared consciences. | Departure from faith leads to seared conscience. |
| 2 Tim 2:17-18 | Their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth… upset the faith of some. | Examples of those upsetting faith and doctrine. |
| Acts 23:1 | And looking intently at the council, Paul said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day." | Paul's example of a good conscience. |
| Acts 24:16 | So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward God and toward man. | Striving for a good conscience. |
| Rom 9:1 | I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— | Conscience as an internal witness. |
| Heb 9:14 | how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. | Christ's blood purifies the conscience. |
| Heb 10:22 | let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. | Good conscience allows drawing near to God. |
| 1 Pet 3:16 | having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. | A good conscience silences accusers. |
| 1 Pet 3:21 | Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | Baptism and a good conscience. |
| Tit 1:9 | He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. | Importance of holding fast to sound doctrine. |
| 2 Tim 1:13 | Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. | Adherence to sound words/doctrine. |
| 2 Tim 3:14-15 | But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. | Perseverance in learned truths and faith. |
| Jude 1:3 | Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. | Contending for the faith (body of doctrine). |
| Rom 1:5 | through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, | Faith is linked to obedience. |
| Gal 5:6 | For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. | Faith must be active and produce results. |
| Heb 6:4-6 | For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift... then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance. | Falling away from truth/salvation. |
| Heb 10:26-31 | For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. | Willful sin after knowing the truth. |
| 2 Pet 2:20-22 | For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. | Worse consequences for deliberate return to sin. |
| Mt 7:26-27 | And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came... and it fell, and great was the fall of it. | Spiritual foundation collapse due to lack of obedience. |
| Lk 8:13 | And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. | Superficial belief leading to falling away. |
| Jn 6:66 | After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. | Disciples turning away from Christ. |
| 1 Cor 9:27 | But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. | Personal discipline to avoid being cast away. |
1 Timothy 1 verses
1 Timothy 1 19 Meaning
This verse warns against a deliberate rejection of core Christian principles, highlighting the dire consequences of such actions. It emphasizes the critical connection between holding steadfastly to true faith—both as personal belief and as sound doctrine—and maintaining a pure conscience. Those who push these away from themselves suffer complete spiritual ruin, likening their failure to a ship completely destroyed at sea, losing both its cargo and purpose.
1 Timothy 1 19 Context
First Timothy is an epistle from the Apostle Paul to his young protégé, Timothy, serving in Ephesus. Paul has left Timothy there to address serious issues, primarily the proliferation of false teachings. In chapter 1, Paul immediately contrasts the sound doctrine that leads to love and a good conscience (vv. 3-7) with the speculative myths and endless genealogies propagated by some. He defines the purpose of the law (vv. 8-11) and speaks of his own conversion as an example of God's grace (vv. 12-17). Following his personal testimony and charge to Timothy (v. 18) to fight the good fight of faith, verse 19 then directly warns of the critical error of those who have rejected faith and a good conscience, exemplified by specific individuals like Hymenaeus and Alexander (mentioned in v. 20), whose spiritual lives suffered utter devastation. The immediate context underscores that maintaining spiritual integrity is an active struggle requiring both doctrinal fidelity and moral purity.
1 Timothy 1 19 Word analysis
- holding (ἔχοντες - echontes): A present active participle, implying a continuous, active possession or grasping. It's not passive knowledge but an active grip on something essential. This suggests deliberate maintenance, a constant holding on to these twin virtues.
- faith (πίστιν - pistin): Can refer to personal trust in God/Christ, loyalty, or the objective body of Christian truth (the Gospel, sound doctrine). In this context, it carries both meanings: the active reliance on God and the content of belief which must be true.
- and (καὶ - kai): Connects "faith" and "good conscience" as two integral and mutually dependent components. They are to be held together, indicating their inseparable nature.
- a good (ἀγαθὴν - agathēn): Refers to something morally excellent, inherently good, upright, and beneficial. It's not just "not bad," but positively good in character and quality.
- conscience (συνείδησιν - syneidēsin): From suneidēsis, meaning "co-knowledge," a shared knowing within oneself, leading to moral awareness, inner moral compass, and a sense of guilt or innocence. A "good" conscience is one that is aligned with God's truth, free from defilement, and not accusing.
- which (ἥν - hēn): A relative pronoun, clearly referring back to both "faith" and "a good conscience," indicating that it is the rejection of both that leads to the subsequent disaster.
- some (τινὲς - tines): An indefinite pronoun, denoting certain specific individuals, implying real persons within the community, perhaps those referenced in verse 20. This makes the warning concrete and specific, not merely theoretical.
- have rejected (ἀπώσαντο - apōsanto): A strong aorist middle verb from apotheō, meaning "to push away, cast off, thrust away, reject decisively." It signifies a deliberate, volitional, and forceful act of casting aside, rather than a passive drifting or accidental loss.
- concerning (περὶ - peri): A preposition indicating "about" or "with regard to," defining the area in which the "shipwreck" occurred.
- faith (τὴν πίστιν - tēn pistin): Here, almost certainly referring to the objective "faith" or the body of Christian doctrine, the truth that they had presumably embraced but then cast off. Their doctrinal error led to spiritual ruin.
- have suffered shipwreck (ἐναυάγησαν - enauagēsan): An aorist verb from nauageō, literally "to be shipwrecked." This is a vivid and devastating metaphor for total spiritual ruin, a complete collapse of their spiritual life and theological understanding, much like a ship utterly destroyed and sunk. It implies complete loss and disaster.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "holding faith and a good conscience": This phrase highlights the twin pillars of a stable Christian walk: right belief (faith/doctrine) and right living (good conscience/morality). These are intertwined and must be actively held and guarded. One cannot be abandoned without jeopardizing the other. True faith is inseparable from a clear conscience guided by that faith.
- "which some have rejected": This emphasizes the willful and deliberate nature of the departure. It wasn't an unintentional lapse but a conscious decision to push away these essential principles. The act of rejection signifies an intentional apostasy or falling away from the established truth and moral standards.
- "concerning faith have suffered shipwreck": This dramatic concluding clause reveals the catastrophic outcome of rejecting faith and a good conscience. The "shipwreck" directly relates to their position "concerning faith," meaning their doctrine was corrupted, and their spiritual standing collapsed entirely, resulting in profound spiritual ruin. It illustrates that abandoning sound doctrine and a moral conscience leads to utter disaster in one's spiritual journey.
1 Timothy 1 19 Bonus section
The metaphor of "shipwreck" implicitly views the Christian life as a voyage or a journey. Just as a ship requires integrity (good build) and proper navigation (knowledge, charts) to complete its journey safely, so the believer needs "a good conscience" (moral integrity) and "faith" (sound doctrine/trust in God's navigational wisdom) to successfully navigate the spiritual life. Losing either means complete failure of the voyage. This ties into other biblical images of perseverance and endurance in the race or pilgrimage of faith. The active "holding" of faith and conscience is therefore crucial for staying on course and avoiding complete destruction.
1 Timothy 1 19 Commentary
The apostle Paul's injunction to "hold faith and a good conscience" presents them as non-negotiable prerequisites for Christian endurance and integrity. "Faith" here encompasses both personal trust in Christ and the objective content of Christian doctrine, while "a good conscience" speaks to an inner moral compass unblemished by deliberate sin and aligned with God's will. The connection is profound: sound doctrine must inform conscience, and a good conscience protects adherence to sound doctrine. Those who reject (a forceful, deliberate pushing away) these foundational elements – the objective truth and the subjective moral integrity – inevitably suffer a "shipwreck." This powerful maritime metaphor graphically illustrates total spiritual ruin. Their spiritual journey is not just hindered or veered off course, but utterly destroyed. This is a severe warning against intellectual compromise on truth and moral laxity, stressing that spiritual vibrancy depends on steadfast adherence to both faith and righteous living.
- Example: A believer who starts questioning core doctrines (e.g., Christ's deity, the authority of Scripture) while simultaneously rationalizing immoral behavior (e.g., deceit, bitterness) is on a direct path to spiritual shipwreck. They might lose their witness, experience profound internal turmoil, and ultimately fall away from effective service or even true fellowship with God.