In 2 Timothy 2:23-26, Paul urged Timothy to not be quarrelsome:
But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
Now by avoiding foolish disputes, Paul did not mean that Timothy was never to confront error. Timothy remained in Ephesus in order to charge some to teach no other doctrine (1 Tim. 1:3). Timothy would have to correct those who had strayed from the truth and turned aside into idle talk (1 Tim. 1:6). Paul himself called the names of false teachers in both letters to Timothy (1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 2:17-18). In preaching the word of God, Timothy would have to rebuke (2 Tim. 4:2). Don’t get the idea that Timothy was to be a push-over who never stood up to anything. In fact, Paul told him to wage a good warfare (1 Tim. 1:18), fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), and endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3). There are truths for which we, as Christians, must contend (Jude 3). False teachers will try to secretly lead people astray, away from the truth and into destruction (2 Pet. 2); therefore, we must expose error for souls hang in the balance. But, as Paul warned Timothy, we must not be drawn into foolish disputes that only produce more strife. Some people just want to argue about useless issues. As Christians, we should be characterized by humility and patience while at the same time firm in our convictions, resolved to confront error when needed.
The perfect example of this balance is found in Jesus Christ. The earthly ministry of our Lord provides tremendous examples of the varied ways in which He dealt with people. He voiced scathing condemnations of the religious leaders (Matt. 23), yet gently corrected Martha (Lk. 10:41). Children were able to come to Him and He took them up in His arms (Mk. 10:13-16), but the soldiers who came to arrest Him fell back in fear of Him (Jn. 18:6). He was gentle in His conversation with the Samaritan woman, yet He did not allow her to avoid accountability for her promiscuous life (Jn. 4:16-18). She later admitted that He was, “a Man who told me all things that I ever did” (Jn. 4:29).
While none of us will ever measure up to the perfection of Christ, we can endeavor to be more like Him in having a deeper awareness of the specific spiritual needs of the individuals around us. As servants of the Lord, let us not avoid confrontation, but in meekness instruct those who are in error in order that perhaps they may recognize the truth, repent and be saved.
-Mark Day
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