Jump Start # 656

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Our passage today is one of those common admonitions from Paul that are just stuffed and layered with multiple thoughts, ideas and principles. The direction of this passage is toward Timothy and all who would preach and teach God’s word. God has specific guidelines about who can be a shepherd or elder leading His people but it seems that just about anyone can preach and they usually do. Here two prevailing thoughts are addressed.

First, the attitude and spirit of the Christian. Look at the list of words Paul uses: kind, patient and gentle. The servant of God is to be kind to all. Not only kind to the congregation or to brethren but to all. He is to be patient when wronged. That carries the idea of opposition. He is able to teach. He is gently correcting those who are in opposition. Those in opposition may get obnoxious and loud. They may distort things and play mind games to win. They may fuss about words. Not God’s man. He is not quarrelsome. He is patient, gentle and using God’s word to teach. Steady, consistent and seeing the goal of trying to bring one to Christ. The opposition may have the agenda to make Christianity look bad. He may distort, take things out of context, misuse verses, misapply what was said and go to extremes. I have witnessed those things first hand. Very frustrating. Makes a person want to pull their hair out. The opposition expects you to listen to them, but they will not return the favor. They may not be kind or patient. They may quarrel.

Our Bible studies and disagreements can be lost because the attitudes that prevailed more than what was actually said. Keep the right attitude! Don’t let things get to you. Be calm. Keep plugging away with God’s word. Keep teaching. An angry Christian who loses his cool doesn’t fit the image of Jesus. Right then the Christian might lose all credibility with the person he is talking with. This is hard to do. I’ve not always hit it right. The opposition can sure burn your biscuits!

Secondly, Paul addresses the goal of the Christian. Again, notice the words: teach, correcting, repentance, knowledge of the truth, come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil. This is what the Christian is after. He is trying to save a soul. The person in opposition is trying to win an argument. Two different agendas, attitudes and goals. The man in opposition is not thinking straight. He is senseless. Like the prodigal who came to himself or came to his senses, God’s word will do that if a person will listen with a good and honest heart.

Sin is senseless. What people will put into their bodies, do to one another makes no sense. Sensible people try to figure these things out. They can’t. Their isn’t any sense to it. Patiently and gently teaching God’s word is the only hope. Getting in the ring to slug it out verbally is a losing proposition. It won’t work.

The Christian sees and knows things that the person in opposition doesn’t. The Christian sees that the one in opposition is senseless and is being held in the clutches of Satan. The man in opposition would not agree at all with that. He would say that he is free and answers to no one. He would say that he came to his conclusions on his own. But he hasn’t. He doesn’t see where he really is. The Christian knows. The Christian has been there himself before he came to Christ. He knows slavery. He knows the hold that Satan can have on someone. He knows the darkness of the mind and the hopelessness of the soul. He knows the bitter taste of sin. The Christian is there to help. He wants the man in opposition to know the Lord. Freedom, forgiveness and hope awaits the man of opposition. This drives the Christian to keep teaching and chipping away at the false hope the man of opposition has surrounded himself with. Patiently, gently, and kindly the Christian shows Jesus. He points not to the church, but to the Christ. He uses not himself, but Christ as the example.

Now sometimes we fail at this. We forget the goal and throw away our attitudes. We get in the mud and have a good ole’ fight. When it’s over, we don’t feel good. We’ve lost our temper. We’ve gotten impatient and cruel. Sure we may have told him a thing or two, but it wasn’t a pretty fight and the outcome goes to Satan.

These century old truths are important. Far too many forget these things. Angry Christians shouting at others is not very appealing. Paul knows that. You know that. There is a right way and a wrong way. Could we not use these thoughts at home with our family, especially our teenagers? Patient…with teenagers? Gentle…with teenagers? Think it would make a difference? How about using these thoughts in the church building among brethren. Some get so worked up about a point or idea that they jump both feet right into the mud, roll up their sleeves and are ready to bust the chops of anyone who disagrees. Really?

Name calling, making fun of someone, tying conclusions that they do not agree with to them, poking fun at what they believe, ridicule, mocking, laughing at them, making up things that they never said and quoting that—is not in the arsenal of a Christian. This is how the opposition works, not the Christian. It’s time to stop these things. It’s time to have the right attitude and goals as we discuss things. It’s time to stand with the word of God and teach it. These other things do not strengthen arguments, prove points nor lead a person away from Satan.

Attitude and goal—those two things set the tone for what the outcome will be. Paul saw that they were important. Hopefully we will as well.

Roger