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trivial empty talk

2 Timothy 2:14-19 (JDV)

2 Timothy 2:14 Remind them of these things, and be seriously warning {διαμαρτύρομαι} them before God not to fight over words. This is useless and leads to catastrophe for those who listen.
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:16 Avoid trivial empty talk, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness,
2 Timothy 2:17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them.
2 Timothy 2:18 They have departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are ruining the faith of some.
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.

trivial empty talk

When our theology leads us (and others) away from lives of godliness — we need to rethink our theology.

Not too long ago, a believer with a particular theological position might have expressed his or her beliefs by joining a like-minded denomination, or perhaps writing a book or two on the subject. Today, we can blog, vlog, podcast, join groups on Facebook and other social media sites, and spend all our days promoting our ideas, and defending them against the opposition.

In many ways, this is an improvement. The restrictions to both access to information and to its communication have been very freeing, and all of us should appreciate the changes.

Yet, we should also be very careful that we do not become modern-day examples to the kind of constant bickering that Paul warned Timothy about in the text above. If we post our posts just to foment controversy and keep the flames burning in never-ending debates just for the sake of bickering itself, that is just what we will become.

LORD, keep us from trivial empty talk, and help us to concentrate our testimony on things that matter.