Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.
Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions,
I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder,
I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail.
And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.
But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,
for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.
Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,
Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,
nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.
Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.
Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.