Valid Argument OR Senseless Controversy

Last night on the way to swimming, my wife was wondering if the "fighting" on a few different blog sites were really worth it and thought that I needed to step back because our views are so polar opposite.



So, the question becomes, are the 'discussions' valid arguments OR are they senseless controvers ? Now, I know that some of you think this might be a "set up" BUT, I promise it is not. I was uploading the Daily Devotion for the youth today. Here is the devotional and the question.

2 Timothy 2:23-25
Amplified Bible (AMP)


23 But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill-informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels.

24 And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.

25 He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it],

Question to Ponder

When does a valid argument about faith become a senseless controversy that we should avoid?

Feel free to answer the question in my comment box. I would love to see and read your thoughts on the subject.

For me, I am leaning twards the senseless controversy that I should avoid. It is tough for me though because I think that we ned to extend grace and do it with courtesy and gentleness. I do not see that occurring with some Christians. I am concerned that there are many Christians who live/preach in such a way that they are going to turn people away from God and the teachings of Jesus.

However, I know that they will not enter into a dialogue. Also, when they have moderators on and block my conversation; they only show the comments they want people to see. They also do not answer the question and use tons of scripture, looking 'biblical' but they use the Scripture out of context.

Yes, it is senseless and I am close to walking away buy not just quite yet. It is getting close. Maybe, I will cling to vs. 25 ..... of course, they think that I am the one that is wrong and needs to repent and find the TRUTH.

God, thanks for your grace and may we continue to be in a state of repentance as we continue to try to follow you and the example that you gave us to live. I pray that we truly will live out the fruits of the spirit which are:

love (agape)
joy (chara)
peace (eirene)
patience (makrothumia)
kindness (chrestotes)
goodness (agathosune)
faithfulness (pistis)
gentleness (prautes)
self-control (enkrateia)

Also, I recently read a piece by S Lewis Johnson that I think "hits" home why I think Grace BEFORE Law is the appropriate way to go and why it "doesn't diminish the law"

S Lewis Johnson writes the following summation of Galatians 5:22-23, which he classifies as the evidence of the leading of the Spirit (Gal 5:24)...

The evidence of the leading of the Spirit lies in a cluster of nine virtues that make up "the fruit of the Spirit." This fruit is the product of the life of the Spirit in the believer. It is characterized by several interesting features.

First of all, in the fruit of the Spirit there is unity. We notice that the word, "fruit," is in the singular number. There is only one fruit of the Spirit, but it contains nine virtues. If one of the virtues is missing, then we do not have the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit's product is like a watermelon with nine flavors! Many commentators have suggested that the nine virtues illustrate the full-orbed, symmetrical character of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is His life that the Spirit produces in the believer.

Second, the fruit of the Spirit possesses a notable' harmony, the first triad of virtues being inward in nature, the second, outward, and the third upward.

Third, there is a necessity that believers have the fruit of the Spirit. The lack of the virtues indicates sin against the Holy Spirit who is engaged in producing the virtues in the lives of the saints.

Finally, in the concluding words of Galatians 5:23 there is an important point made by Paul. The Law of Moses finds no flaw in the fruit of the Spirit. The flesh may imitate, or counterfeit, certain of the virtues, but it can never produce them. The Spirit alone can do that, and the result satisfies all the demands of the moral law in the believer's life. It is sometimes forgotten that life by the Spirit is not a lower standard than life by the moral law, or the Ten Commandments. It is, if anything a higher standard. Arthur Way has caught that in his rendering of Galatians 5:18 "But if you definitely surrender yourselves to the Spirit's guidance, you are then not under the law, but ON A HIGHER PLANE."