YOU CAN'T ARGUE SOMEONE INTO THE KINGDOM: II Timothy 2:23

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." II Timothy 2:23

When I first started teaching there was a group of guys who started teaching couple years after me. They were all atheists and liberals. When they found out I was a Christian and not a liberal they just couldn't believe it and would ask all kinds of questions. I would ask them a few. The discussion would usually turn into a full on argument brawl. After a while I just told them that if they really wanted to know why I believe what I believe, just ask. They did and in the end about three guys found their way to Christ. 

I also notice that I have become a bit more tactful myself. I found that you need to always allow someone a way out, because, if you back someone into a corner (even verbally) they usually will try to fight their way out. Francis Schaeffer said that he once debated an atheist and when he got home his wife asked him if he won the debate. He said yes, but he'd never do it again because he felt that he beat the guy up so bad that he would never come to Christ. Truth without love can just be a battering ram. 

You can't quarrel/ argue someone into the kingdom. You may give an answer to your beliefs and that may be an opening to share the gospel. Proverbs 15:1 reminds us that, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Remember, the goal is to turn people to Christ, not away from him. 

Father, give us grace to gently answer those question or challenge our beliefs. May we turn people to you, not away from you. Praise be to you in us today!

DECEPTION AND TRUTH: I Timothy 4:1-2

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught my demons. Such things come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." I Timothy 4:1-2

I don't want to be too much of an alarmist, but, I am cognizant of the overt attention to things like demons and extraterrestrials in the media.  The skill of the magician is really his ability to deceive his audience into to seeing what he wants them to see, not what he is actually doing. 

Be careful where you get your truth from. Jesus is the Truth and he is the only way to the Father and eternal life (John 14:6). The Bible stands alone as inerrant and infallible. If you want to know if someone is teaching the truth (say me for example), you check to see if what is being taught is in sync with the Bible.

I short time ago my son and I where watching the PBS show NOVA. Well, they are of course pretty dogmatic in their belief of evolution. I am not. I happen to believe that the Biblical account of creation actually explains the reality we live in better than the idea that all was created by time plus chance. So, I taught my son the truth that God is the Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth, time and space. While I appreciate NOVA, it is not my source of ultimate truth. The Bible is. 

Father, thank you for your word. Help us to learn to apply your word to our lives. Praise be to you in us today!