God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Ministers must know how to lose arguments on non-essential matters. Care must be taken not to harangue others into silence. Preachers have a way with words. Their whole career is related to the skillful communication of ideas. It is a disgraceful fact that some ministers love to talk and have a habit of dominating discussion on every subject. Even when ignorant on an issue, a preacher can usually out-talk knowledgeable men. Thus in a controversy it is possible to silence men by sheer force of verbiage without convincing them. How exemplary would it be if all ministers exercised self-control over their tongues in the church! It is to be feared that some men are able to handle texts of Scripture who cannot discipline themselves.
Paul [addressed] the Corinthians as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2). The congregation in Corinth was anything but a “holy” people in terms of life and conduct; false teaching, schisms, and immorality marred the church. Still, it was a congregation of saints, of the sanctified, because in spite of the sinful conduct of many of its members and the worldly character of the church itself, it was still the church of God in Corinth.
