Friday, September 23, 2011

2 Timothy 2:24


Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely
2 Timothy 2:24

24 And [de] the servant [doulos] of the Lord [kurios] must [dei] not [ou] strive; [machomai] but [alla] be [einai] gentle [epios] unto [pros] all [pas] men, apt to teach, [didaktikos] patient, [anexikakos]KJV-Interlinear

24 And the Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, NASB

In this world we have one master from the two possible masters that exist.  And there are only two masters that exist in the universe.

First there is the cosmos or the world or the sin nature or the carnal state, however you wish to describe it.

Second there is Christ.

You are never the master of yourself.  You are ruled either by your sin nature or by doctrine.  There is no third choice.

And the best master one can have is Christ, thus we become the servant through our commitment to Christ through doctrine.

All masters have a stated policy. 

The sin nature’s policy is evil and the wickedness activities of evil.  This includes all of the temptations, lusts, arrogance and hates and bitterness's and self righteousness and self pity and a long list of attitudes and beliefs that could go on for a mile.

Christ’s policies are communicated through doctrine. 

The cosmos policies evolve from the sin nature and whatever things that are imagined and originated from the sin nature.

The spiritual side of life gains you an inheritance of a new universe to come and more.

The carnal side of life loses you everything, leaving you with nothing.

Therefore, when you interact with people, be kind, be polite, be courteous.

Don’t be argumentative, or debate, or try to force your will or opinions on others.

The carnal side of life loses everything and thus that side will argue to no end, to get its way.  It struggles and struggles because it has no ability or destiny and the struggle is a constant losing battle.  Yet the carnal person will keep up the fight, trying to force their view on others, learning nothing.  Ever struggling to have that which they will never have.

Evil cannot win over converts because it is not the truth, therefore it must use deception and lies.

Doctrine, on the other hand, offers the truth and simply allows others to accept it or reject it.  Christians should never try to enforce their will on others.  Should never try to legislate their beliefs on others.  Should never try to enforce or intimidate or superimpose Christianity on others.

This practice is often the means of getting people to dislike Christianity, because too many Christians do not know enough about their own faith to know better, or even how to act.

To be gentle, ‘epios,’ means to be affable, kind, pleasant, sociable.

To teach, ‘didaktikos,’ means to be instructive through objectivity and factual methods, to communicate information.  This is not a forced dictator approach, this is not a group forum or discussion or committee approach, but instruction by means of authoritative (accurate) knowledge and understanding.

Patient, ‘anexikakos,’ means tolerance, forbearance, patience, enduring.

So, do not order or demand, but teach or communicate through whatever conversation presents itself, and do it with tolerance and patience, because most people who lack doctrine, will have their own ideas, will have their own counter arguments, will have there own doubts, will even challenge your credentials, as though credentials are somehow the only qualification for knowing truth.

Unfortunately folks that do have credentials of any sort, are numbered among the wicked or naïve crowd.

To push your position risks your pushing yourself into the argument, which risks your going out of your spiritual sphere, which risks your loss of spiritual benefits.  And why would you risk losing a fortune in exchange for nothing?

It is far easier to be humble and polite, than it is to be pushy and arrogant.

E-Books, E-Book Reader
Your Comments
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Subscription Options
Unsubscribe:
(applies only to mailing list recipients)
%unsubscribe%