Good morning. Refuse
foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. Notice
it is talking about speculations. It is not talking about some certainty in the
Bible. People have opinions about different things, and when someone disagrees
with them they get upset. Then you have quarrels. You even have quarrels over
things that are in the Bible. That is why we have so many denominations. The
Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach,
patient went wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition,
if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.
You can disagree without being quarrelsome. As you soon as you start to
quarrel, they stop listening and start fighting. You are supposed to be trying
to win them - not the argument. However you don't let those wrong statements
slide - you correct them, but with gentleness. The goal is not to win the
argument but to lead them to the knowledge of the truth. We want them to: come
to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held
captive by him to do his will. When you stray from the truth, you are held
captive by the devil. He can convince you to do anything he wants you to do.
This is always true of nonbelievers; but it can also be true of believers. If
he can't keep you from accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior, he tries to keep
you from making Him Lord. Father thank You that the reader is kind to all. He/she
is patient when wronged; he/she gently corrects those who are in opposition to
the truth.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
Comments
Post a Comment