Sometimes we think we are growing in Christ, when we are just wasting our time discussing things that aren’t doing us, or anybody, any good at all!!  Some topics of discussion and debate, may sound SO spiritual, but they are not helpful, or life-giving and often not even true!  

They may even be about something IN the Bible, but they are not relevant to the message OF the Bible.  And they degenerate into arguments. They become obsessions over things that don’t really matter. They distract us from Christ, they make us forget the commandment to love one another.  And they hinder genuine spiritual growth. 

By knowing this scripture, you will be able to identify and stay away from these unprofitable debates that Paul said, can even ruin your life.   

Paul begins the book of 1 Timothy with this warning: The goal of our instruction IS LOVE... that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from THESE, have wandered away into vain discussion.”  1 Tim. 1:5 

In our passage, Verse 14 begins: Remind THEM of these things, and CHARGE them before God NOT to quarrel about words.   Remind them of what things? Well all the things Paul just said - that we need to endure hardship and faithfully follow Jesus, no matter the cost.  If we endure we will reign with him!  That is what he just told us! 

Remind them of THESE things, and CHARGE them BEFORE GOD not to quarrel about words.  The word translated “charge” means to testify solemnly or earnestly. Paul was saying, “In the most serious possible way I command you IN GOD’S PRESENCE, not to quarrel about words!!”  This should put us on the edge of our chairs! Or on our knees.  This is something we need to pay attention to! 

Quarreling is a temptation for many of us, and for all of us at times! Some people like to be combative.  But Paul said, “The Lord’s bond servant must not be quarrelsome”.  He must be able to teach and refute error, but he is not to be a quarrelsome person.  One of the elder qualifications is “NOT quarrelsome”.  

More specifically Paul said, NOT to quarrel about words.  We don’t know exactly what words Paul was talking about.  But he certainly was telling them, “Do not get drawn into petty  arguments.”  Don’t quarrel about things that are NOT important, things that are merely speculation, or things that are just plain crazy, things that do not build people up or further God’s purposes in anybody’s life. 

Human beings have an enormous capacity to be drawn into arguments and topics that don’t matter, and a capacity to neglect the things that really do matter.  

This was a big problem then and it is now.  To some people the Christian life is just a debate about words and ideas.

This is a big theme in 1 and 2 Timothy. *1 Tim. 6:4 Paul warns about those who have “an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people.”  ESV  *1 Tim. 6:20 “Avoid godless foolish discussions” NLT  *2 Tim. 2:23, “Refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”  NASB

The Holy Spirit gives us general guidelines for what to avoid because the foolish speculations are always changing!  The foolish arguments today are different than yesterday.  And there will be new false and foolish controversies tomorrow.  

Paul is not saying the words of scripture don’t matter.  He is not saying truth doesn’t matter!   He goes on to tell us to study scripture and handle accurately the word of Truth.  And we are going to get to that...

But we are NOT to turn the gospel into an argument over words.  Words and ideas are not a substitute for being born of the Spirit.  They are not a substitute for knowing Christ, or for knowing the power of Christ.  There are those who love to argue over a word of a text of scripture, but who have no real fellowship with Jesus.  They’ve never been touched by the Spirit of God.  And they miss the really important message of the Bible because they have become obsessed about controversies and side issues.   

William Law: “The life giving power of Christ does not reside in Greek and Hebrew syntax, but in the quickening of the Holy Spirit.  “For the gospel is not in word only but in power and in demonstration of the Holy Spirit”.”  

Some Christians argue about how you pronounce a word.  Or become absorbed with how one particular word in the Bible is translated. You probably heard Christians arguing in the last election over whether you should say 2 Corinthians or 2nd Corinthians!  Or that it is more spiritual to use one certain word more than another.  This kind of Christianity results in endless quarrels. And it quenches love and it quenches the Spirit.

However...We ARE to contend earnestly for the faith.  So there is a time to fight for truth, and a way in which we ARE to fight.  But Paul is going after those who thrive on controversy and argument, instead of the sound words of the gospel.  

Now how do we tell what is a foolish discussion, or one that needs to take place to protect the gospel?

One: *Is there clear teaching from God’s word on this. Or is this speculation. Paul said, “refuse ignorant speculations”. 2 Tim. 2:23  Speculations are ideas that have no firm root in scripture, or things that are not clear in scripture.  What we talk about has to be tied to the Bible. I was talking with another Pastor about someone whose teaching concerned me and his comment was “He does say a lot of things that are not tethered to scripture.” Well that’s not good!    

Tether ball is played with a ball fastened to a rope, and tied to a pole.  That ball is tethered to the pole!  Good Bible teaching is to be like that!  I understand now tethered is a term used when you connect your laptop to your phones mobile signal.  Our teaching has to be completely connected to scripture. 

And teaching must be something that other believers (who have the Spirit of God) can see in the text by reading and studying it.  Be suspicious of interpretations of verses that require ONE teacher who has some special knowledge, that no one else has and you need to listen to this one guy, to really understand the Bible.  The veil hiding the meaning of scripture is removed in Christ..  2 Cor. 3:14 “The veil is removed whenever a man turns to the Lord.”   It is not for ONE person with a special secret knowledge.    

Second: *We use discernment.  I know this is subjective.  But if you walk with God, you will be given wisdom to know when someone is pushing a foolish controversy.  

1 John 2:27 “As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.” 

When someone starts pushing an idea (or teaching) that is unprofitable, those who have the Spirit and who know the Word of God, will sense that in their inner person.  There was life in the fellowship and this discussion chokes that life.  It is like the air went out of the room, when people bring up these controversies. 

Third: *Is this a matter that the Bible tells us is important. 

I know that some want to reduce the Bible to just accept Jesus.  And then it doesn’t matter if you ignore the rest of the things the Bible says.  That is not what I am saying.

But THERE ARE CORE truths that should have our focus.  Paul said Gal. 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”  Jesus told the Pharisees “You give a tenth of your spices to God, but you neglect the weightier matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.”  There ARE things that matter most!  And the things that matter most to God have to matter most to us. 

Fourth: *Does it sound anything at all like what Paul and Peter and James and the other writers of scripture were saying to the believers.  We need to be familiar with the NT letters so we can compare everything we hear with them. Some of the things people get into and start pushing and start arguing for, do not sound even remotely like anything in the NT letters to the churches.  

In verse 18 Paul gets into specific people and a specific teaching. “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”

We don’t know how Hymenaeus and Philetus got their idea on the resurrection, but often false teachers claimed to get a new teaching from some special or secret knowledge.  This was called gnosticism.  Now the Lord does communicate to us, we hear his voice in our hearts, he gives us special words of comfort.  But when someone says they have received new revelation that creates a new teaching, watch out.   

***Okay now Paul tells us WHY to avoid such things: because these foolish debates inflict great damage on each Christian and on each church where they are tolerated.

Verse 14 “These quarrels about words, DO NO GOOD.”  People are not more loving, they don’t love God more. They are not more filled with the Holy Spirit.  They don’t care more for people’s souls...and so on. 

And, these quarrels ruin people.  The NASB says, “This only leads to the ruin of the hearers.”  When we take our focus off of Christ and the core matters of God’s word, it brings spiritual ruin.  

And these kinds of debates do not lead to godly lives. Verse 16 “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness”.  A mark of sound teaching is increased godliness in those who hear.  A mark of foolish speculations, not grounded in scripture is nobody is really growing in godliness. 

*And finally: Paul said these debates or foolish discussions “will spread like gangrene”. Vs 17 Conflicts over side issues get into the church and it spreads like a disease.  Church becomes a debate about words, and things that don’t matter, instead of being an expression of the life of Christ. 

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What is the remedy to all this?  Verse 15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

We are each to devote ourselves to careful investigation of God’s word so we have an accurate understanding of it, and so that what we talk about accurately reflects what is in the Bible. 

Paul begins this instruction, “Do your best”. If someone says “Do your best”, What does that communicate to you?  It means you go after something with all your heart.  You put effort into this!  Do your best about what?  To present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”

There is a lot in this sentence but it says do your best to have God’s approval in how you study and handle His word!  Of course we all have different gifts and those gifted to teach have a special responsibility in studying the scriptures.  But we all are to do our best to know and study and love God’s truth!  

Now if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we pick up our Bibles as justified people, already loved, and accepted by God, adopted as his beloved children.  We don’t come to earn our justification by how much we read our Bibles!  But we come with eagerness to God’s word to PLEASE him, to have him APPROVE of how we do it! -To have him say, “well done good and faithful servant” as to to how we approach his word.

So how are we to handle God’s Word?  As a worker!  Earlier we were told to see ourselves as good soldiers. Here we are to see ourselves as workers, as men and women at work.  So we may need to reconsider our approach to studying God’s word!  

Could our diligence to know the word of God be considered workman like!  When you open your Bible have you ever thought of it as going to work. “Okay now we are ready to go to work”.  And I don’t mean work in the sense of doing something we don’t like to do, but as serious business.

When we open our Bibles on Sunday morning, we should, in part think of ourselves as workers ready to go to work.  We are here to do the work of listening, thinking, taking in what we hear, doing more study, adjusting our lives and thoughts to the word, being doers not hearers only. 

Of course people do their work well or not and everything in between, so Paul clarifies we are study like a workman, who has no need to be ashamed of his work.  When we finish a new home we schedule a walk-through. And when we do that walk-through we do not want to be ashamed of our work.    You have things that you do, that if other people see them, you don’t want to be ashamed of it.  When we present ourselves to God, and we all will, we don’t want to be ashamed with how little regard we gave to his word.

Then it says, we are to be workmen, “rightly handling” the word of truth. Or KJV “rightly dividing”, meaning something like “cutting it straight”.  We are to cut the word of God in a straight-forward manner, cutting it just like it speaks.  IE no spin.   David Guzik said, “Timothy had to know what it said and didn’t say, and how it was to be understood and how it was not to be understood. It wasn’t enough for Timothy to know some Bible stories and verses and sprinkle them through his sermons as illustrations. His teaching was to be a “right dividing” of the Word of God, correctly teaching his congregation.  

If I wrote you a letter, how would you handle it accurately?

You would seek to understand what exactly what I meant  when I wrote it to you, without distorting it, or changing the meaning of it. 

In studying the Bible we are to seek to understand just what the Spirit has said, and what the Spirit MEANT, as He spoke through the human author.  We are not to twist it or distort it.  We are not to mix our own opinion in.  We are to take what it plainly says.  

Many people cast off serious work at understanding the Bible by just saying, well that’s just your interpretation and I have my interpretation, and some other person has their interpretation.  IE it’s hopeless so I give up.   

Well let’s go to Bible, the word of truth.  Let’s be like the Bereans, who examined everything carefully. Let’s do the work!  Does it take some study to do that? Yes. Do we always understand everything perfectly? No.  But, God will be pleased by our diligence, in seeking to handle his word accurately.

And the word is such a precious and good thing that it is worth handling rightly.  The word of God handle rightly handled, gives life to people, it builds up the church, it sanctifies us, it transforms us into godly and loving people, it revives our soul.