SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/22/2025 8:30 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-4 “A Discerning Mind”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 Timothy 2:23
Message of the
verse: “23
But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce
quarrels.”
Now as I continue to look at these verses this
morning I can say that Paul is not, of course, advising believers to avoid all
controversy and discussion of the faith.
We are to “sanctify Christ as Lord in [our] hearts, always being ready
to make a defense to everyone who asks [us] to give an account for the hope
that is in [us],” but we are to do so “with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter
3:15). It is true that Paul spent much time presenting and defending the gospel
as he went from city to city. Now “according
to Paul’s custom,” Luke reports, “he went to them [Jews in the synagogue at Thessalonica],
and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (Acts
17:2). “He was reasoning in the
synagogue [at Corinth] every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks”
(Acts 18:4). He also began his ministry
at Ephesus in the same way as seen in Acts 18:19. In defending the gospel and himself as he
stood before the Roman governor Felix in Caesarea, “he was discussing
righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come” (Acts 24:25). Now in the above passages, “reasoned,” “reasoning,”
and “discussing” all translate dialegomai,
from which we get the English “dialogue.”
John MacArthur writes “In this Timothy passage, Paul makes clear that he is not speaking about responsible discussion of Scripture and theology, either with the unsaved or among believers. He rather forbids speculations, fruitless and unproductive debates that…produce quarrels. Such speculations not only are worthless but are ungodly. They question Scripture, distort the truth, create doubt, weaken faith, undermine confidence in the Lord, often lead to compromise of convictions, and produce quarrels. Earlier in this chapter, the apostle commanded Timothy to ‘solemnly charge [believers] in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers’ (v. 14).
“Paul gives almost identical counsel to Titus, warning him to ‘shun foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law; for they are unprofitable and worthless” (Titus 3:9). Any church member who persists in such ‘unprofitable and worthless’ behavior is to be severely disciplined. ‘Reject a factious man after a first and second warning,’ the apostles continues, ‘knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned’ (vv. 10-11).”
This is the end of this section, and Lord willing
tomorrow we will look at the next section “A Gentle Manner” which covers 2
Timothy 2:24.
Spiritual Meaning
for my Life Today: I suppose that
when a crisis is going on in a person’s life like it is going on in the life of
my family because of what is going on with my wife, as cancer has invaded her
body, that things that may have seemed very important do not seem as important
now. That is one way to avoid these
types of arguments that Paul is talking about here.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I
trust the Lord to bring glory to His name through this illness that has invaded
my family through my wife.
3/22/2025 9:00 AM
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