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Remind them of these things and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers (2 Timothy 2:14, NASB1995).
I’ve highlighted “wrangle about words.” This phrase comes from one word in the Greek: “logomacheo.” Be patient as I will draw a conclusion soon, but “logomacheo” is a compound word made up of “logos” and “machomai.”
Getting closer to my point!
“Logos” is used about 331 times in the New Testament and means “word.” The most reverential usage of “logos” is found in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the ‘Word,’” in reference to Jesus. “Machomai” (used four times in the New Testament) is translated in various English versions as “wrangling, quarrel, argue, and fight.”
Putting “logos” with “machomai” to get “logomacheo” in Greek, which the NASB1995 translates as “wrangle about words.” I’ve read the NASB for devotions my entire Christian life and appreciate this version’s interpretation of “wrangling about words.”
Now my point: We are not to argue about words!
Bible-believing and God-fearing Christians too often display a penchant to spend more time fighting about what the Bible says than obeying the Bible. But after a warning about word wrangling, Paul says to Timothy …
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB).
Paul encourages Timothy not to quarrel about words in his ministry but to be a workman who is “not ashamed” and “handles correctly” the word of truth. He’s telling Timothy, “The trademarks of your teaching should include confidence, love, accuracy, truth, but above all else be gracious” (2 Timothy 2:15, OGV [Old Guy Version]).
Okay, back to my point about not wrangling with words. We should be God-approved workmen (the Greek word “workman” means “common everyday person”). We must all handle God’s Word correctly, and arguing doesn’t measure up.
In this passage, Paul gets more pointed when he writes in 2 Timothy 2:16, “Avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness” (NASB1995), or a more direct translation in the English Standard Version, “Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.” When we fight about words, we tend to want to win truth battles rather than live in righteousness.
Today, culture has entered the age of wrangling about words.
There are nine authors of the New Testament and twelve apostles. The New Testament mentions 25 prophets by name, along with various teachers and evangelists. Including every significant Christian in the first century not mentioned in the New Testament, there were relatively few who wrote, taught, and prophesied. But with the guidance of the original apostles, a remarkable doctrinal harmony existed.
There are now over 150,000 religious podcasts out of a total of 4.52 million podcasts of all categories. With so many podcasters, bloggers, authors, social media types, and reel producers all fighting for “Likes,” “subscriptions,” and “views,” it seems that those who best wrangle words with words, arguments, and accusations are the ones who rise to the surface with millions of followers.
The potential for wrangling about words today is greater than at any other time in history. What can we do?
I was raised in a Christian home and taught to ask a simple question, “Where is that in the Bible?” My dad — a very smart used car salesman — often challenged my wacky ideas with this question.
My final point: Truth is found not by wrangling over words, but through searching Scripture in humility — with obedience as our goal, not getting more clicks on social media.