by David Gibson<\/p>\n
God expects Christians to take a firm stand on morals and doctrine. But how can we do this without unnecessarily closing doors?<\/p>\n
“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth<\/em> …” (II Timothy 2:24-25).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Kindness, patience, gentleness, and humility keep us from coming across as abrasive, arrogant, holier-than-thou know-it-alls.<\/p>\n
A Lifestyle that Changes Minds<\/h2>\n
People quickly notice whether we practice what we preach (I Timothy 6:1; Titus 2:9-10; I Peter 2:15; 3:1-2, 15-16).<\/p>\n
Also, good deeds make the truth attractive (Matthew 5:16; I Peter 2:12). Even unbelievers can’t help but be impressed when they see believers actively involved in Christ-like deeds of compassionate service to those in need.<\/p>\n
With this approach, we may win a soul for Christ!<\/p>\n
And won’t that make it all worthwhile?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson Firm but Kind God expects Christians to take a firm stand on morals and doctrine. But how can we do this without unnecessarily closing doors? “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if…<\/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":[1857,451],"class_list":["post-97365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-steadfast","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62152,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/rules-for-religious-discussions\/","url_meta":{"origin":97365,"position":0},"title":"Rules for Religious Discussions","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor \u00a0 \"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence\" (I Peter 3:15). It is incumbent upon all Christians to\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\/2023\/08\/discussion-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":97457,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gentle-not-quarrelsome\/","url_meta":{"origin":97365,"position":1},"title":"Gentle, Not Quarrelsome","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Text: II Timothy 2 I find it a bit humorous. When Paul tells Timothy he is given a spirit of power instead of fear and tells him to fan his gift into flame, many people conclude, \"Timothy must have been a timid, cowardly fellow.\" However, I've yet\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":14301,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/meekness\/","url_meta":{"origin":97365,"position":2},"title":"Meekness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: James 4:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is meekness - Galatians 5:22-23 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Few view meekness as a desirable trait \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Instead, people take assertiveness training \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We are conditioned to be aggressive, to watch out for our own interests. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rudeness is in, consideration\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37813,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/kindness\/","url_meta":{"origin":97365,"position":3},"title":"Kindness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 12:9-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When a person walks as the Spirit directs, it produces a fruit that has many attributes - Galatians 5:13-25 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will focus on one of those attributes today: kindness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0chrestotes is a form of the word for usefulness. It means kindness, goodness,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23348,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-confession-for-internet-writers\/","url_meta":{"origin":97365,"position":4},"title":"A Confession for Internet Writers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I Repent of pretending to know more than I do, of speaking without listening, of correcting without caring, of passing judgment without understanding, of talking at people instead of with people, of using words that hurt and do not heal, of writing without grace, charity, love,\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":90633,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/instrumental-music-to-worship-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":97365,"position":5},"title":"Instrumental Music to Worship of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gary Colley The following reasons, concerning why churches of Christ do not use mechanical instruments of music in worship to God, were given recently in our Denominational Doctrines class. It has been requested that they be in our bulletin for the help of all. It can be stated without\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":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}