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Contending for the Truth Without Becoming Quarrelsome
Contending for the truth requires biblical courage, gentleness, and love. In this episode of Contending for the Word Weekly Watch, Dave Jenkins draws lessons from the Protestant Reformation to explain how Christians can defend the gospel, uphold biblical authority, and pursue faithful worship without becoming quarrelsome.
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Contending for the Truth with Courage and Gentleness
Jude 3 calls Christians to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Second Timothy 2:24–25 teaches that the Lord’s servant must be kind, patient, and gentle when correcting opponents. These commands belong together. Faithful discernment requires both conviction about God’s truth and conduct that honors Christ.
The Reformers confronted serious errors concerning salvation, authority, and worship. Their example reminds Christians that gospel clarity matters, Scripture must have the final word, and the church must measure faithfulness by God’s commands.
In this episode, Dave considers:
- Defending the gospel: Justification rests on Christ’s righteousness received through faith alone, apart from works.
- Upholding biblical authority: Every teacher, tradition, experience, and claim must be tested by Scripture.
- Pursuing faithful worship: Popularity, emotional excitement, and attendance cannot establish a ministry’s faithfulness.
- Valuing ordinary ministry: Christ builds His church through His appointed means as believers grow in grace.
- Practicing proportionate discernment: An imprecise statement, a secondary disagreement, and a gospel distortion require different responses.
- Correcting with gentleness: The goal is faithfulness to Christ and the good of His people.
Key Scriptures
Jude 3; Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 1:6–9; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; 2 Timothy 3:16; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 4:2; 2 Timothy 2:24–25; Ephesians 4:15.
Takeaway
We contend because we love Christ, His gospel, His truth, and His church. Know God’s Word, test teaching by Scripture, and stand faithfully with courage and gentleness.
Grow in Biblical Discernment
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Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah, and lives in beautiful Southern Oregon. He is a writer, editor, and speaker who loves Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology.
Dave serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He is the Host and Producer of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word.
He is the author of The War of Worldviews: Truth, Lies, and the Battle for the Christian Mind (Theology for Life, 2026), Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age and The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021).
You can connect with Dave on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, or subscribe to his newsletter.
When he is not engaged in ministry work, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife, going to movies, sharing a meal at a favorite restaurant, or playing a round of golf with friends. He is also a voracious reader, particularly of Reformed theology and the Puritans, and is often found working through a stack of new books from a wide range of Christian publishers.
Dave earned his M.A.R. and M.Div. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
