No Profit

2 Timothy 2:14  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.

In the context of this letter, Paul is in prison, at the end of his life, writing to his friend and colleague Timothy, who was the pastor at the church in Ephesus to him to encourage him to continue following and serving the Lord Christ in perilous times. He told Timothy some hard truths, which were difficult to hear. But it wasn’t drive-by spite or courage at a distance. He loved the elect of God (2 Timothy 2:10) and loved them too much to lie or flatter. He was going to speak profitable words, and to borrow a phrase from Baxter, he wrote as a dying man writing to dying men.

He urges Timothy  not to be ashamed, not to be afraid, but, with boldness serve the Lord Jesus despite what the world may do to him. As a pastor, he had to take care of himself (2 Timothy 2:6) because he was charged to take care of others (2 Timothy 2:2) so he had to “endure hardness” like a good solider and carry on for the glory of the King. In verses 11-13 Paul reminds us that being united to Christ, we died with him. We died to the condemnation of the law. We died to sin, but we also, by faith, rose to live in Christ. And while we live in this world, we will suffer, but he has promised, we will reign with him when he returns in his kingdom. A few days of suffering in this life, to reign with Christ, after the resurrection is certainly worth it. But, if we deny him, he will deny us. 

Right after such a warning, Paul says to remind the church, and to charge them before the Lord of something very important. As a preacher, he wasn’t to suggest these truths and offer some friendly advice. Nor was he to find some uplifting words to make the church feel good and comfortable as if the preacher is supposed to be a motivational speaker to give you a boost to help you get through the week. Timothy had to preach divine truth. Sometimes, truth encourages the believer. Often times that charges, commands, or corrects the believer. I saw a TV preacher the other day telling how he came about his current sermon series. He was talking to his son and his girlfriend and gave them some marital advice. The problem was this was his advice. He didn’t provide any Scripture, or expound any text, but some things that came to mind in their conversation. Timothy had to charge the people before the Lord. The Lord who is coming again. The King they will stand before and give an account of how they lived since he saved them. I know we forget this truth. We can get wrapped up in the news or the goings on in our life that we forget the Lord is coming back. I think we also forget the Lord knows what we are doing and why we do it. If we are in God’s will, that’s a blessing. If not, well, that’s the point of this verse remember how you live — the Lord is coming.

The church is not to strive about words to no profit. Meaningless, useless, war of words, about words. Words are important. Douglas Wilson says the battle of our time is the battle over the dictionary. Some in our culture are trying to redefine reality by changing the meaning of words. Words have meanings and it's the art of the deceiver to subtly change the meaning of words to make things unclear. Defining our terms brings clarity to the discussion. But defining terms isn't fighting about words. Changing definitions is fighting about words. But if you tell me that marriage is union of some period of time between an indistinct number of life entities, then we are going to have a problem. That definitely is something. But it's not marriage. 

False preachers do the same. They redefine theological terms such as justification, elect, or even resurrection. Mormon's believe in Jesus if you ask them. Catholics believe you are saved by grace, if you ask them. But the Mormon's Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible and the grace of Catholicism is accompanied by works. It's grace, just not grace by itself. So if a person in the church is redefining grace or teaching we are justified by grace but not grace alone, then it's time to define some words which will probably start a fight, but a fight with a purpose and with profit. 

Words are important and that’s not what Paul addresses. He is addressing the far too often experienced fight about shades of meaning that have no answer. Fights with no profit. There is no end in the struggle other than to defeat your opponent and win. Win what? The argument? Congratulations. The end of the argument isn’t when someone wins, because once the shooting of words is over and the smoke clears, you see you’ve destroyed the hearers. 

One thing, most people don’t consider the collateral damage in such wars. You might be fighting with just one other person, but it never stays with just one person. Yes, you showed the preacher! You really proved yourself right. And you did it in front of his kids who get bitter about the church that hurts their dad so often. Yes, you really won that argument about whether Adam had a belly button in the garden and put Brother Jones in his place. But you also made half the church dread coming because they know they are going to have to be in the middle of a war. 

Paul was no snowflake. Take 15 minutes this week and read 2 Timothy and notice how many specific people Paul calls out. He wasn’t afraid of a fight or an argument — when they had a purpose, when they brought glory to God or protected God’s sheep. Paul called out Peter to his face, and said he didn’t put up with a false gospel, even for an hour. Why? The the “truth of the gospel might remain” with the churches (Galatians 2:5). Doctrinal precision, defining our terms is a crucial, profitable exercise. A shepherd can’t expect wolves to play nice with the sheep. Sheep are not aggressive animals. Usually. A ram can get a little feisty and so do ewes with lambs. God’s people are not aggressive. Usually. Brothers and sisters can get a little feisty. The Bible says to stop.