Acts 27:1-12

We cannot live a risk free life. If we could, it would not be a life worth living. Almost everything worth having requires us to take a risk. Even salvation is risky; risk is the very essence of faith. To believe requires us to take a risk. Faith is a leap from the state of unrighteousness into the state of reconciliation with God.

The boat taking Paul to Rome had already faced bad weather and was running late. The winter season was starting and they clearly were not going to make it to Rome without needing to layover in a safe harbor. They made it to the port town of Fair Havens. Fair Havens was not ideal for spending the winter. It was a small fishing village without lodging. They could stay where they were, under less than ideal conditions, or they could try to get to Phoenix 50 miles away. Phoenix had one of the best harbors in that part of Crete. To travel to Phoenix this late in the season would be risky.

Paul advised against taking the risk and believed it would end in disaster. Paul lived through three shipwrecks in his travels; he understood the risks better than most. The ship owner and the ship’s pilot both wanted to take the risk. The centurion made the final decision, and they started out on the 50-mile journey.

Risk is amoral. However, in context, risk can involve righteous and unrighteous action. Most risk, like the risk the centurion took, is morally neutral. When a risk is morally neutral, we make our decisions based on the degree of risks vs the potential rewards.

Placing risk in a moral context changes everything. A firefighter’s action, running into a burning building to save a child, is high risk, but righteous. Stealing candy from a baby is low risk, but wicked. As Christians, no risk should be high enough to stop us from doing what is right, and no risk can be low enough to justify doing wicked.