“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm … Don’t have anything to do with foolish and ignorant arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged<\/em>” (II Timothy 2:15-19, 23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n by Bruce Reeves Preparing for a sermon I came across this passage as Paul wrote to Timothy and thought I would share: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1242,1241,552],"class_list":["post-25543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-character","tag-dignity","tag-integrity"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":97665,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/love-his-appearing\/","url_meta":{"origin":25543,"position":0},"title":"Love His Appearing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier This final push in II Timothy 4 comes because Paul knows this imprisonment will be his last. The time has come for him to give his life for his King. He faces it with dignity and honor. He's fought the fight, finished the race, kept the faith.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23429,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/racism-is-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":25543,"position":1},"title":"Racism Is Wrong","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Racism is wrong. Do you know why? If you say that it is wrong, but do not ultimately know why, then all you are doing is expressing either your own personal preferences or mirroring the preferences of others. That is not acceptable, for preferences are subjective expressions,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/racism-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":96987,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-model-of-good-works\/","url_meta":{"origin":25543,"position":2},"title":"A Model of Good Works","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Not only is Titus to teach what accords with healthy teaching, but he is also to be a model of good works. That is, he should model self-control, sober-mindedness, dignity, soundness in faith, love, and steadfastness. He is to demonstrate purity. He is to place special emphasis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/godliness-in-conflict\/","url_meta":{"origin":25543,"position":3},"title":"Godliness in Conflict","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford The book of James has the reputation of being the most practical book of the New Testament, but Paul's epistle to Titus surely must be considered in the same light. Titus is only three chapters long, but all three chapters are light on abstraction and heavy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/conflict-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":85281,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/quiet-and-dignified\/","url_meta":{"origin":25543,"position":4},"title":"Quiet and Dignified","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way\" (I Timothy 2:1-2). Today's popular culture\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91026,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/political-discourse\/","url_meta":{"origin":25543,"position":5},"title":"Political Discourse","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Political discourse is like the Las Vegas of Christianity; it's an environment in which we think our sin is excused.\u00a0Christians feel free to go wild, fear is perpetuated, strife is intentional, and hate is winked at. 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As one serves the Lord and teaches the truth there is certainly a time to forthrightly reprove and rebuke that which is sinful and false, but we must not ever lose our dignity, integrity, and character in Christ in the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"