Ephesians 4:25

Ad hominem (Latin for “to the man”)

• What is it?

  • Attacking an opponent’s character or his motives for believing something instead of disproving his argument.

  • Ad hominem arguments fail because they avoid the issue.

  • Daniel 2:47 – Nebuchadnezzar was not a good person, but here he made a true statement.

• Spiritual importance

  • If one advocates some point, but also has a character problem, that reflects poorly on their character but does not necessarily mean their point was invalid. This is certainly not to say that character doesn’t matter – it does. Romans 2:1-3, 17-24; I Timothy 4:12, 16; Matthew 23:2-3

  • It’s easy to resort to ad hominem attacks. If we don’t know how to answer some else’s line of reasoning, we may get emotional and strike back at the other person themselves, which is irrelevant and immature. Acts 6:8-14

    • Let’s be good thinkers and choose to slow down and be rational instead of calling names or making other such attacks.

  • In past decades, when brethren were debating the issue of whether orphan homes ought to be supported by individuals or by church treasuries (James 1:27), many personal attacks were launched.

    • “If an orphan was left on your doorstep, you’d let him starve!”

  • One could listen to those kinds of accusations all day and still not know what the Bible said about the issue.

  • “Christianity isn’t true. You just believe in Christianity because you were brought up in a Christian home.” This avoids the question of whether or not Christianity is true.

  • “Those people are just saying that because they’re religious.”

  • “Why should we believe Solomon when he tells us to be satisfied with ‘the wife of your youth’ (Proverbs 5:18)? He wasn’t.”

  • Attacks against Jesus:

    • Matthew 11:18-19

    • Mark 6:3

    • Compare John 1:46 – but at least Nathanael was willing to investigate.

Philippians 1:15-26

Philippians 1:19

• Paul did not shy away from requesting prayers on his own behalf. Romans 15:30-32; Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3-4; I Thessalonians 5:25; II Thessalonians 3:1-2; Philemon 1:22

• “Spirit” here is the spiritual mindset and should not be capitalized. Ephesians 3:14; II Timothy 2:7

Philippians 1:20 – See II Corinthians 4:9; I Corinthians 6:20

Philippians 1:22 – God approves of fruitful labor. II Timothy 2:15

Self-control: restraint or discipline of self.

• “Holding the passions and desires in hand.” – Vincent

Acts 24:25

Galatians 5:23, 25-26 – Self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit.

Matthew 4:3-7

I John 2:15-16

Self-control is more than abstinence.

• It is moderation in things that are right.
  • Sleeping, eating, recreation, time with family, and many other things must all be enjoyed in moderation.
• It is abstinence in things that are wrong.
  • I Corinthians 6:9-10 – Self-control means complete abstinence from sin.
• It is strict obedience in things that are commanded.
  • John 8:24; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 22:16; I John 4:20; 5:1; I Corinthians 15:58; I John 1:7; Philippians 3:14

Self-control

• It is necessary for any worthwhile accomplishment.

  • I Corinthians 9:24-27; Galatians 5:17

  • I Corinthians 10:13

• Lack of self-control will cause many to be lost.

• Proverbs 15:2

• Is that great quality that enables to walk IN the world and yet keep self unspotted FROM the world.

  • John 17:15; James 1:27

• A Christian will give diligence to exercise self-control.

Introduction

• Philippians 2:14-16

• Christians try to live differently than others in the world.

• Some people will not like the way we live.

My righteousness judges others.

• Hebrews 11:7 – Noah condemned the world by living righteously and building the ark.

• Matthew 12:41-42 – The Ninevites repented, thus they would condemn others at the judgment.

• Romans 12:20 – Doing good to those who wrong you convicts and embarrasses them.

• No one should approve of sin just to keep from embarrassing others.

If people are determined to sin, you can’t stop them.

• Romans 1:21-32

• Romans 6:1

• We have all sinned, but we strive not to.

I cannot participate in or approve of sin.

• Romans 1:32 – Committing and approving sin are both wrong.

• Romans 6:23

• Proverbs 8:13

• Romans 12:2, 9 – We must train ourselves to abhor evil.

• II Corinthians 6:14

Interact with others like Jesus did.

• John 8:3-11 – The Jews presented Jesus with a rigged setup. The witnesses all left, so there was no one to condemn the woman. Jesus was not being soft on sin – he was applying the Law of Moses correctly. He used their own guilt to defuse the situation. No witnesses, thus no conviction and no execution.

Circular reasoning (begging the question), continued:

• Spiritual importance, continued:

  • Matthew 26:63-66 – The Pharisees assumed Jesus was not the Son of God, therefore when He claimed to be deity, they assumed He was blaspheming.

  • Evolutionists often use the similarity of DNA in different life forms as proof that those life forms came from a single ancestor.

  • Circular reasoning is used to date rock layers and fossils. The evolutionary timeline is assumed to be true, dates are assigned to fossils, and thus to rocks in which those fossils are found.

The question-begging epithet (biased words)

• What is it?

  • “… the arguer uses biased (often emotional) language to persuade people rather than using logic.”

  • Example: “That is the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard.”

• Spiritual importance

  • “Let’s open up our Bibles and discover whether or not this ridiculous doctrine is true.”

    • Maybe it is true that the doctrine is ridiculous but starting like this we prevent an objective assessment of the facts.

  • Examples regarding creation and evolution:

    • “Our department is becoming infested with creationists.”

    • “Creationists believe that the universe is young, but the best scientists tell us that it is billions of years old.”

  • Serene Jones: “Crucifixion is not something that God is orchestrating from upstairs. The pervasive idea of an abusive God-father who sends His own kid to the cross so God could forgive people is nuts.”