“Don’t Confuse Me With the Facts”

Charge some that they teach no other doctrine . . . which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith (1 Timothy 1:3-4).

When people refuse to see beyond their own interests, conflicts inevitably follow. For instance, when a person expresses a very strong opinion against every version of the English Bible other than the one he uses, his position tends to be informed by hear-say rather than specific facts. But that line of thinking can easily become hardened into a standard to measure other believers: “If you don’t read the Bible translation I read, there’s something wrong with you!” That person has replaced honest questions and responses with harsh judgments. Most Christians can relate painful events in their past when someone determined to have his or her own way no matter who was injured in the process.

Worthless and irrelevant discussions can quickly crowd out the life-changing message of Christ. Religious speculation and theological arguments about minute details may seem harmless at first, but they have a way of sidetracking us from the central message of the gospel—the person and work of Jesus Christ. They waste time we should use to share the gospel with others. Avoid anything that keeps you from doing what God wants you to do.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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