Strive Not About Words

Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. (KJV, 2 Timothy 2:14)

I’ve often heard this text used to discourage detailed debate about the meaning of Scripture passages, or even to devalue highly precise Bible study. Is this what Paul’s warning to Timothy here is about?

First, observe that whatever “striving about words” is, Paul clearly saw it as something that threatened Timothy’s ministry. Timothy is to “charge them before the Lord” not to do this. Second, the activity is doubly discouraged as lacking in value (“no profit”) and also as causing damage of some kind to hearers (“subverting”). Third, the activity apparently involved individuals in at least two roles: the “strivers” and the “hearers.”

So what activity is being forbidden here? What is meant by “strive not about words”?

Discussion

Book Review – ‘Dispensationalism Revisited,’ edited by Bauder & Compton (Part 1)

A review of Dispensationalism Revisited: A Twenty-First Century Restatement,* edited by Kevin T. Bauder & R. Bruce Compton, Plymouth, MN, Central Seminary Press, 2023, 294 pages, paperback.

This book was written to commemorate the life and teaching of Charles A. Hauser, Jr, a man who did not have a high profile ministry but who had a big impact through his faithful service to the Lord, and the tributes at the back of the book are not to be missed.

Discussion

Author explores making theology accessible for every person

Body

“You don’t have to go to seminary to be a theologian. You have to hear the Word of God and respond to it with faith. If we’re going to love God, worship God and obey God, we need to know who He is, who we are in relation to God and how that relationship works.” - The Baptist Paper

Discussion

Scripture Over Systems

Body

“We will gravitate to one system or another, and this is not necessarily a terrible thing, if we are gracious with those who differ with us and acknowledge the difficulties with our own positions.”- P&D

Discussion

Where Is Dispensationalism Going? (Part 5)

Read the series.

In the previous installment, I primarily addressed the need for the leaders of dispensational churches—including pastors and all members of the congregation—to take their roles more seriously.

Discussion

Where Is Dispensationalism Going? (Part 4)

Read the series.

How should our dispensational movement attempt to move forward?

That is the vital question of this series. And I began my attempt at tackling it last week, looking at the issue in terms of what you might call its philosophical foundation. In essence, I provided some very basic and practical direction for the revival of dispensationalism—drawing on its historical roots from the time that it began to grow in popularity as a system of theology.

Discussion

Where Is Dispensationalism Going? (Part 3)

Read the series.

Let’s just cut to the chase: Since dispensationalism grew out of a renewed commitment to the rigorous study of the Bible, could it be that dispensationalism’s decline is related to the notable neglect of Scripture?

Discussion