No Arguing It Is Like Breaching A Dam

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Today, we have a great message for you on arguing. Arguing is something that seems to happen every single day in day-to-day life. You get into some kind of argument or a disagreement with someone, or you’re bickering about something, and you can disagree on things.

And the Bible says that you will, because if someone is doing something that’s contrary to the Bible, you’re going to disagree with them on that.

The thing is, you shouldn’t disagree to a point where you are arguing all the time or are bickering with someone, because that’s not what’s good. You can rebuke, teach, and correct, but not argue. And so we’re going to dive into that a little bit more today. And you’re going to understand how significant a lot of these things are.

You see, as believers today, most people just tend to say, “Oh yeah, I read the Bible.” Or most people don’t even read the Bible, for crying out loud. They go to church maybe a couple times a month. No big deal. No. Listen, all of this stuff is a big deal because you need to be living according to the Word of God. And there is so much more than you understand.

It’s like when Jesus came, He said, “You have heard, do not murder.” I tell you, though, anyone who thinks it commits murder in their heart. You’ve heard, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you, anyone who even has a lustful thought of sex commits adultery in their heart.

And we have a sermon on that, “No Sexual Thoughts.” We have a whole playlist. I’ll put the playlist up here. “No Impure.” You must be pure. “Sexual Purity” is the playlist. We have “No Impure Thoughts.” We have “Sexual Lust.”

So those two relate directly to what that is saying. Jesus said, “You heard, don’t do this.” Even if you do it in your mind, He says it’s the equivalent. He raised the bar. He said, “This is so important.” You gotta get this through your head.

Like James says, “Life and death is in the power of the tongue.” That means if you are speaking something, you could literally be cursing and causing problems for those you love. “Tongue is a Fire.” We have a sermon on that.

We’re throwing all kinds of sermons. You might not be able to view all of them because I have others that come up, but you can go to our website and search for those. This is so important. Arguing is a big deal. And oftentimes in arguments, you might get a little angry. And that’s when, all of a sudden, the fire of the tongue is unleashed.

You could call someone a name. You call someone stupid, and, all of a sudden, you just pronounced stupidity on them. Stupidity is a demon that can come to someone and cause them to be stupid. You could say, “Oh, you’re just so full of anxiety. You’re so anxious.” You just cursed that person with anxiety, a demon of anxiety.

You could go up to your child, and they could be little. They don’t really know right from wrong yet. You have to teach them that. And you say, “Did you clean up your room? Did you make your bed?” “Yeah.” You go in there. Nope. Bed’s not made. “You little liar.” And then you wonder why that child grew up lying all the time. You cursed them. You told them they’re a liar.

And you say, “You’re getting a little too technical. You’re getting a little too analytical. You’re reading into it too much.” I’m not. I’m reading into the Bible. And that’s what the Bible says.

Instead of calling that person the evil thing, the evil action that they might do, correct them. Teach them. Train them in righteousness. That’s what the Bible says. It’s so important.

All right, let’s get back into arguing a little bit more. Proverbs 17:14, “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam. So drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.” This is a powerful picture. Think of a dam. Think of the Hoover Dam.

If you put a bunch of explosives on that and blew that thing up, what would happen? Man, that water would flood all over the place. And to restore that, to get that water back, you’d never do that. To rebuild that dam would take so much work and effort to get it back to the way it was.

And think how quickly you could destroy that, and then how much repair and time and effort is needed to put it back. And it’s never fully repaired because that water’s gone. In the same way, when you have an argument with someone, when you start the quarrel and breach the dam, and the argument breaks out, repairing that is nearly impossible.

So drop the matter before a dispute breaks out. The wisest man of all time said that. What’s even greater, is God inspired him to say it. Arguing is like breaching a dam. So do not breach that dam. Drop it.

Let’s go to 2 Timothy 2:23. “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” You say, “What does that mean?” Don’t do it. Most arguments are stupid and foolish, and they produce a quarrel, like just bickering back and forth for really no purpose.

Now, an argument that would not be foolish or stupid would be something where you are trying to lead someone to salvation. If you guys are having an argument over something like, “Well, was the forbidden fruit an apple or a pomegranate?” It doesn’t really matter. Let’s get to the root of the matter. Let’s talk about what matters.

Especially if you guys are arguing over what color to paint the wall or something. You know what I mean? Don’t have anything to do with them. Drop the matter. Doesn’t matter what color you want. You want it blue? Fine. Paint it blue.

It doesn’t matter. Some things are not that important. And you need to be able to test and discern that because arguing is like breaching that dam. Solomon knew there was no point in arguing because arguments are tireless and are rarely resolved.

Let’s go to Titus 3:2. A lot of verses today. All of them are going to be in the description below. Please take the time to read them and learn them. Titus 3:2, “Slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always be gentle toward everyone.”

Listen, you need to remember that that’s what you have to do. You need to be doing good. Be peaceable, considerate, always be gentle toward everyone, because those arguments, they’re tireless. They really are rarely resolved. And so it’s not good to be continuing to go on like that.

People are always going to have their own opinions. So why spend time fighting about changing them? Well, you say it might be good to get them to know God. Yes, that’s true. But some things are just tireless and aren’t worth pursuing.

Let’s go to Philippians 2:14. “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” All right. This says; do everything without grumbling or arguing. So, if you are going to bring someone to Christ, can you do that without arguing with them?

Of course you can. If you are doing that and arguing with people to try to get them to know the Bible or to get them to understand, you’re going about it the wrong way.

We’ve had many verses. Starting quarrels is like breaching a dam. So drop the matter. Do everything without arguing. Do not engage in foolish or stupid arguments.

Basically, if you are trying to win someone to Christ by having an argument with them, that is foolish and stupid. Don’t do that. There are better ways to preach the gospel. Arguing is not one of them.

Proverbs 26:4-5. “Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” Interesting. That’s number five. But now we’re going to go to four. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be just like him.”

Okay, these two verses are very, very misinterpreted and confused by a lot of people. So I’m going to read them again. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.”

This is saying, if you go to some word studies, if you look up some concordances, you look up the Greek, the Hebrew, you look up some commentaries, and you dive into these verses, you will know exactly what it’s saying.

It’s saying that when a fool is speaking in their folly, they’re talking this stupid nonsense that you don’t need to have anything to do with it. This nonsensical talk that you need to have nothing to do with.

Don’t answer them in their own folly. So when they’re starting this argument, do not get into this argument. Don’t get sucked into that, or you will become exactly as they are.

The second verse is saying, challenge them in their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes. So it’s not saying engage on their level. It’s saying call them out on this nonsensical nonsense so that they will not be wise in their own eyes.

When they are coming up with these stupid, foolish arguments, as it says in Timothy, and as Titus is saying, don’t get engaged in these things. When they are talking their nonsense, their foolishness, you need to avoid going on their level, but instead stay where you are, stand your ground, speak the truth, call them out on it, or they will exalt themselves and think they are right and wise in their own eyes.

That’s what happened to the Pharisees. They were spouting off all this self-righteous piousness, and no one dared challenge them until Jesus came along, and He said, “You hypocrites. You guys are like whitewashed tombs.”

“You brood of vipers,” John the Baptist called them. They challenged this nonsense that they had. They didn’t argue with them. They spoke truth and challenged what was going on.

God wants you to share the gospel. We have a whole playlist. Get out there. It’s called “Share the Gospel.” It’s so important. You need to be preaching the Word. You say, “Well, I’m not a preacher. I’m not a pastor.” Guess what?

You are called to go out and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teach them to do all that He has commanded you to do.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The Holy Spirit is the teacher. If you tune in to the Spirit, it’s not you that teaches. It would be the Spirit that’s teaching through you.

Just like I’m not teaching you right now. The Holy Spirit is the teacher. I am the vessel. I get out of the way. The Holy Spirit flows through me and is teaching you. It’s not me, it’s God.

So get out of your own way. Let the Holy Spirit flow through you and go teach others. Mark 16:15. You have to share the gospel. Mark 16:15 says, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” That’s you. Go into all the world, preach the gospel to all creation.

Now, that will require presenting a compelling argument to support your reasoning. But presenting an argument is not arguing. You see, in the court of law, they’ve pretty much perfected this. Lawyers get up, they present their case, which is an argument for a certain position, then they sit down.

Then someone else comes up, presents their case, and does the same thing. They don’t stand there and argue with each other on why they’re right. They present the facts. They present the truth, and then they let people decide who is right.

If you stand on this, the ultimate truth, and you present the Bible as it is written, as God intended for that time, not out of context, not twisting it or distorting it, but present the truth and allow the Holy Spirit to flow through you, that is the way to present the argument, and that is called apologetics or defending the faith.

When you go out there and you are doing things like that, because people will challenge it, but if you use the Word of God, you can fight back against that, and it’s apologetics. It’s not arguing. It is using Scripture to defend your position, using the truth.

It doesn’t mean you end up in a heated debate with someone over the topic of religion or Christianity, because that will get you nowhere. Let’s go to Proverbs 15:1. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

If you get into an argument, those harsh words come out, and that anger gets stirred, and pretty soon, you guys are bantering back and forth, and then you’re saying things you’re going to regret later. And remember, life and death is in the power of the tongue. The tongue is a fire, set itself by hell.

And so, if you get those emotions and that anger in there, you’re unleashing that hellfire power of the tongue. And that is not good. So guess what? Don’t breach the dam. Drop the matter before the dispute breaks out.

Your argument can be presented in a calm and peaceful, proper manner. Present those supporting points and then make your claim. Leave emotion out of it. Because when you bring emotion in, problems start to happen.

Let’s go to Proverbs 23:9. “It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.” Don’t be the fool. Don’t be quick to quarrel. Yes, when something’s going on and it’s not right, don’t come up there and instantly start arguing about it, because if you do, you’re going to be seen as foolish, which, historically, a lot of Christians have gone about this the wrong way.

They’ve been on street corners screaming at people. They go into bars and tell people why they shouldn’t be drinking. “What are you doing having a drink with them?” Then they go to abortion clinics, and “We’re going to protest all this stuff.”

You know what? These things that they’re saying are probably true according to the Bible. Yes, they are true. You shouldn’t be drinking. Yes, there’s no abortion. You know what? But when you go about it in the wrong way, you’re seen as a hypocrite, just like the Pharisees are. And no one will believe you.

And if you start arguing with them, getting mad about it, you’re not going to be very credible, because you’re going to be a hothead. And then people are going to say, “Those Christians, they’re always trying to do these things.” If you go about it the right way, like Jesus went about it, you can change the world.

Look at all that we have written. We have all this New Testament, pretty much all this right here. Some Bibles are a lot bigger, but this one’s smaller print. The point is, all this, a lot of this is about Jesus. All this Old Testament stuff, a lot of this is prophecy about Jesus. This whole thing is Jesus. The Word became flesh.

Think about that for a minute. He had three years on this earth. He practically changed the whole world. How many years do you have? What can you do if you live like He lived?

So when someone becomes heated, and you’re engaged in a discussion, and you’re trying to present your points in a calm and proper manner, like Jesus did, asking questions, maybe giving some parables or some stories to illustrate your point, and getting people to think.

Or when challenged, Jesus says, “Well, what about this or this?” And then the Pharisees are like, “Man, if we say this, He’s going to say this. And if we say this, He’s going to say this. So let’s just tell them we don’t have an answer.” “Alright, then I’m not going to tell you.” It’s like, what a peaceful way to just end the conflict.

You need to think like that. You gotta do that. So when someone becomes heated, just use the phrase, “I’m not going to argue with you. I’m not going to argue with you.” We’ve got a few more verses, then we’ll wrap up. Psalms 37:8. “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath. Do not fret; it only leads to evil.”

If you fret about things, it will lead to evil behavior, because you’re going to be worried about it. You’re going to be thinking about it. You’re going to say, “Well, I got to do this to get ahead of that.” And that’s going to be something shady. Don’t do it. Don’t fret. It only leads to evil.

Proverbs 29:22. “An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.” If you engage in that heated debate, you will become angry, because anger is contagious. As Proverbs says, “Do not associate with one easily angered, or you’ll become like them yourself.” Don’t do that, because when you do, you do become like them.

You need to avoid that. If you don’t avoid it, you will engage in those behaviors, and that’s not what you’re supposed to be doing. Remember, drop the matter before the dispute breaks out.

Don’t engage in those arguments. It’s not good. Present your points like Jesus did. Use wisdom. Use discernment. And just tell them, “I’m not going to argue with you.”

Let’s go to Ecclesiastes 7:9. “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” Now, you can get angry. We have a sermon on righteous anger. Check that out. Jesus became angry. We can become frustrated. Yes. But do not act in that anger, because that is foolish.

Just tell them, “This is my case. Here are my points. I’m not going to argue with you.” Doing so will increase the wisdom you portray and ensure that you follow God’s commands. Don’t breach the dam.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You so much for today. I ask that each and every person watching and listening would be inspired to dive into the Scriptures presented. Each one could be a sermon in and of itself. You’ve got hours and hours of content right here.

Give them the drive to read these verses, to meditate on them, to dig into them, to take this content and learn it, and to know that they need to avoid arguing, that they need to stay away from it, not breach the dam.

Help them learn how to present their beliefs, how to tell others what they believe, how to show the truth without arguing with them.

Let them be led by Your Spirit. Let them get out there and do, and have the Spirit follow them and show them signs and wonders.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Don’t breach the dam. Have a great week, and God bless.