14 Remind the believers of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words,  which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.  15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved (after being tested), a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 

16-18 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are  Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his”, and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:14-19 English Standard Version

It's difficult enough facing the arguments that people who aren't Christians confront us with, but how much sadder it is when it's people who profess to be Christians who cause controversy. Paul speaks in vs 14 of people in the Church who loved to quarrel over words! They had an axe to grind over some point of the Christian faith and it led to frequent arguments. What do vs 16-18 tell us about the attitude of such people?

They lacked a humble reverence for the Lord. If they were truly God fearing they would not babble on with their personal views they thought everyone else should follow. Paul mentions two such people by name who went as far as insisting that ‘the resurrection had already taken place’. The only thing I can think they were basing their view on are the verses in Matthews' gospel which tell us that, following the resurrection of Jesus, “the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And, coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:52-53)

But the Bible doesn't tell us anything else about that event so it ought not to have led to any major issue to split the Church. But whether that was what was behind their argument, or some other 'logic', we are not told. We do know from Paul's letters to the Thessalonian Church that some people were teaching that 'the day of the Lord' had already come and the faith of many believers had been disturbed. We see the same sort of situation in our times through people like the Jehovah's Witnesses and other groups who introduce foolish arguments over words. How does Paul urge Timothy to respond to all this? (vs 15)

An expanded translation of that verse says: “Make every effort to present yourself to God as the kind of person He will approve. Be a worker who is not ashamed, and who uses the true teaching in the right way, and who holds carefully to the true message.” While this was important advice for anyone who is called by God to teach others, it is as important for every believer too. Following Christ involves effort! We are not to be people who drift with the tide of everyone's opinion. We must do all we can to grow in our understanding of God's word. Our biggest desire in life should be that we'll be unashamed when we stand before God of things we taught and how we lived. Why does that make vs 19 so important?

A clear heart, in some ways, is more important than a clear head. We may not know all the answers to questions of theology and the arguments people bring against us, but do we know enough to flee from all iniquity? That's the real issue. Has the gospel given us a love for Christ that we turn from sin as best we can? Paul spoke of the 'irreverent' babble of those who love to argue about the faith. Do we seek to live with a humble fear of God that guides us even in the conversations we have with people? The various religious sects, such as the JW's, usually insist that we are not God's true people – but Paul says “the Lord knows those who are His”. May we steer clear of the foolish arguments of those whose lives show no reverence for the Lord, and keep doing our best to present ourselves to God as those who are approved.