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Arguing And Debate

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Category: Miscellaneous
Published on Sunday, 29 March 2009 07:01
Written by Ryan Hicks

ARGUING AND DEBATE

By Ryan Hicks

 

2 Timothy 2:22-26
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
"And the servant of the Lord must not strive..." It seems that many believers today believe that they are called to be arguing and striving with people over the word of God. Some claim this comes from a zeal for the things of God, but in actuality it comes from a zeal for one's own thoughts and most of it is rooted in pride and rebellion. They are mentioned in the Scripture, "A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself" (Proverbs 18:2). Think about it, if you have participated in arguments were you actually zealous for the truth of God or was it hidden pride and a desire to be right at all costs?

The carnal mind loves arguments as it is proud of its opinions and thoughts, but we, my dear brethren, are spiritually minded, as the Scripture saith, "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:6-8).

The servant of the Lord is to "be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

Do arguments and general strife bring people to the Lord? No, though the Lord through His mercy can move and call a person to Him even in the midst of such wickedness, but the argument and strife drives people away from the truth. Most such striving would not even exist had someone simply followed the leading of the Spirit of God. In such an instance the believer would be aware of who the Lord has been drawing to Him and speak by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Arguing comes in when the people want to be right, and even if they are right, the word tells us that we must not strive. There are other ways to minister the truth to an individual without arguing, and it must be remembered that not everyone is going to accept the truth; thus arguing with someone that rejects the truth is not going to be profitable and will only cause one to waste their precious time and quench the love of God in their hearts.

Through my years building myself up in my most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 1:20), I have been blessed of the Lord to receive a number of revelations from heaven, which I in turn used to draw myself in closer to the Lord and purify my walk before Him. One of these revelations is so simple and yet I would suggest it is one of the most powerful truths that can be learned in one's faith-walk. This revelation is very simply that if you want to keep your heart pure before God DO NOT ARGUE! Please read that last sentence again and again and seek the Lord on its revealed truth.

If you argue and strive with men have you noticed how it is hard to maintain your purity and cleanliness before God? How could you expect to keep a pure heart when you are letting pride and self motivate you to argue? As Paul said, "Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers" (2 Timothy 2:14). Such striving has no profit and can actually subvert the faith of the hearers. Is your being right and winning an argument worth the potential damage and backsliding it could cause the hearers? God forbid. Especially since your compelling arguments or great expounding will not change the heart, as only faith and the leading of the Lord can do that work.

Before you get to the point of arguing, I want to give you these thoughts to contemplate, "Will this grieve the Holy Spirit of God? Will it extinguish the light of the word in our hearts with the filth of pride?" One should think about how they are going to communicate and refuse to be drawn into an argument or debate. Your peaceable spirit and walk of holiness will have far greater weight for your position on an issue than a thousand hours of arguing could ever produce. This does not mean that you should shrink from presenting the truth, rather that when such a presentation becomes argumentative, you should decline to proceed into such sinfulness. One ought to do as Paul and beseech and individual "by the meekness and gentleness of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:1) and not by the pride and anger of strife (2 Timothy 2:14, 22-26; Titus 3:9).

When you are opposed, do not argue or mock nor attack, as that is not the way a partaker of the divine nature behaves (2 Peter 1:4); rather instruct them by the meekness and gentleness of Christ in love. You will find more profitable results from this path, as it is the way that God blesses and demands.

In closing, I ask that you obey the words of Paul found below:

Ephesians 4:1-3
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 



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