2 Timothy 2:14-19
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 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. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene.
Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
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The more time I spend reading the New Testament, particularly Paul's writings, the more I realize that there were so many problems that cropped up in those days. It wasn't so different from today--some people were teaching the wrong things, and a few people got caught up in petty fights, while some others were living poorly. People get hung up on things, often little things, and begin to reshape their entire religion around it, sometimes drawing in people from all around them.
Paul is trying to straighten them out, and we could use a bit of this, too. We need Paul to focus us on the big picture--on Christ's amazing love. We need to remember that we belong to him. We need to let go of some of the differences we have with others, and we need to remember not to get distracted by minor disturbances. Everything will never be perfect while we're here on earth, I can promise you that. But we can set our eyes and hearts on Christ, and his love will transform us and enable us to live with hope in there and now.
Blessings
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 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. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene.
Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
***************************
The more time I spend reading the New Testament, particularly Paul's writings, the more I realize that there were so many problems that cropped up in those days. It wasn't so different from today--some people were teaching the wrong things, and a few people got caught up in petty fights, while some others were living poorly. People get hung up on things, often little things, and begin to reshape their entire religion around it, sometimes drawing in people from all around them.
Paul is trying to straighten them out, and we could use a bit of this, too. We need Paul to focus us on the big picture--on Christ's amazing love. We need to remember that we belong to him. We need to let go of some of the differences we have with others, and we need to remember not to get distracted by minor disturbances. Everything will never be perfect while we're here on earth, I can promise you that. But we can set our eyes and hearts on Christ, and his love will transform us and enable us to live with hope in there and now.
Blessings