A prominent feature of the current evangelical landscape is the popularity of debate as a mode of teaching. Some popular teachers, including Dave Hunt and James White, often engage in debates, sometimes with unbelievers, and at other times with those they would acknowledge to be Christians. The debate format is increasingly common as a means of interchange between believers and Muslims.<\/p>\n
A lively debate seems a natural way of engaging people\u2019s attention. The entire sports industry is based on the natural attraction of a good fight between skilled adversaries. Isn\u2019t it wonderful that we can take advantage of this inborn interest to draw attention to the truth of God\u2019s word?<\/p>\n
Or is it? Just because something seems natural doesn\u2019t make it right. Our natural state is dead in trespasses and sins, and many of our instincts require revision by the Spirit as we grow in Christ. Some exhortations in Scripture suggest that believers ought to be more cautious about engaging in, or promoting, staged controversies on spiritual subjects.<\/p>\n
The most direct instruction about contentious modes of presenting truth comes from Paul at the end of his life, as he is awaiting execution during his second captivity in Rome:<\/p>\n
2Ti 2:24-26 And the servant of the Lord must not strive<\/strong> \u03bc\u03b1\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9; but be gentle unto all men<\/em>, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that <\/em>they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In instructing Timothy concerning his role in spreading the gospel, Paul invokes the image of \u201cthe servant of the Lord\u201d from Isaiah 53, who was noted for his patience and meekness in the face of unjust accusation. (Peter draws the same conclusion from Isaiah 53 in 1 Pet 2:21-25; see my exposition of Isa 53:7-9, mp3<\/a> or notes<\/a>.) Following our Lord\u2019s example, we must not be combative. Our presentation of the truth is to be marked by gentleness, patience, and meekness, recognizing that true, redeeming changes in people\u2019s beliefs are the work of God, not the result of our cleverness.<\/p>\n
Earlier, before his first captivity, Paul emphasized the non-polemical nature of his ministry in his farewell to the elders at Ephesus:<\/p>\n
Act 20:18-19 Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, 19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind<\/strong>, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And James, in condemning the \u201cenvy and strife\u201d of the worldly wisdom, describes the wisdom that God gives thus:<\/p>\n
Jam 3:1 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, <\/strong>and <\/strong><\/em>easy to be intreated<\/strong>, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
James does not excuse error: godly wisdom is \u201cfirst pure.\u201d But the need for purity does not justify a combative spirit in presenting it.<\/p>\n
As one contemplates these exhortations, some objections come to mind. These include Jude\u2019s exhortation to \u201ccontend for the faith,\u201d<\/a> Paul\u2019s \u201cdisputings\u201d with the Jews<\/a> throughout his ministry, and clear cases of confrontation (as when Paul rebukes Elymas the sorcer). I\u2019ll consider these in upcoming posts. When all is said and done, I hope that you will join me in shaping your ministry of God\u2019s word in the light of Paul\u2019s exhortation in 2 Tim 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A prominent feature of the current evangelical landscape is the popularity of debate as a mode of teaching. Some popular teachers, including Dave Hunt and James White, often engage in debates, sometimes with unbelievers, and at other times with those they would acknowledge to be Christians. The debate format is increasingly common as a means […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,13,9],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-debate","category-debate-uncategorized","category-spiritual-growth","tag-debate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2MwJP-5w","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyber-chapel.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}