The Difference Between Contending for Truth and Chasing Controversy
By Al Felder
Christians are sometimes warned to avoid controversy as though every disagreement were spiritually harmful. That is not what Paul taught. Paul confronted false doctrine, identified dangerous teachers, reasoned from Scripture, and instructed church leaders to correct those who contradicted the truth. Some issues must be addressed because God has spoken and souls are at stake. At the same time, Paul repeatedly warned against foolish disputes, arguments over words, empty talk, and an unhealthy obsession with controversy. The challenge is learning the difference.
When is a Christian faithfully contending for truth, and when is he merely chasing controversy? Paul’s qualifications for elders provide an important answer. An elder must hold fast the faithful Word so that he can encourage Christians through sound doctrine and refute those who contradict it. Paul then warned Titus that there were insubordinate and deceptive teachers whose mouths needed to be stopped because they were overturning entire households. He also instructed Titus to reject Jewish fables and human commandments that turned people away from the truth (Titus 1:9–14). Paul did not tell Titus to ignore error. He required qualified men to answer it. However, their authority came from the faithful Word: not speculation, suspicion, or a desire for attention.
Holding Fast the Faithful Word
Before an elder could correct anyone else, he had to hold firmly to the faithful Word. That order matters. Biblical correction does not begin with identifying an opponent. It begins with loyalty to what God has revealed. A man is not qualified to refute error merely because he is confident, intelligent, forceful, or skilled in debate. He must know the truth and remain personally committed to it.
This protects the church from correction based upon:
Personal preferences.
Family traditions.
Political loyalties.
Cultural assumptions.
Popular theories.
Private interpretations.
Unverified claims.
Human religious rules.
The standard is the faithful Word. Modern religious content often reverses this order. A teacher begins with a person, event, or controversy that attracts attention. He then searches for Bible verses that can be connected to it.
Faithful teaching begins with Scripture and allows Scripture to identify the error. The difference is significant. One approach uses controversy to determine the message. The other allows divine truth to determine when controversy must be addressed.
Exhorting Through Sound Doctrine
Paul said an elder must be able to “exhort by sound doctrine.” Correction is only part of his responsibility. He must also encourage, strengthen, and instruct the church. This produces balance.
A teacher who only attacks error provides an incomplete spiritual diet. Christians need to know what is false, but they also need patient instruction in what is true. They need teaching that strengthens marriages, develops holy character, guides worship, builds faith, promotes love, and prepares them for good works. Sound doctrine does not merely tell people whom to oppose. It teaches them how to live.
A controversy-driven platform may speak frequently about threats to the church while providing little instruction about life within the church. It may identify false teachers but rarely equip fathers, mothers, young people, elders, and other Christians to fulfill their responsibilities. The biblical teacher must do more than sound an alarm. He must nourish the flock.
Convicting Those Who Contradict
Paul also said an elder must be able to “convict those who contradict.” Truth has boundaries. A statement that contradicts what God has revealed is not made acceptable by sincerity, popularity, or tradition. Faithful teachers must sometimes demonstrate that a doctrine is false.
This requires:
Accurately identifying what has been taught.
Representing the teacher’s position fairly.
Examining the relevant biblical passages in context.
Showing where the teaching contradicts Scripture.
Explaining the truth that should replace the error.
Calling hearers toward repentance and obedience.
This is not controversy for controversy’s sake. It is the necessary defense of revealed truth. Silence can become sinful when error is leading people away from God. Shepherds are responsible for protecting the flock. Evangelists must preach sound doctrine. Christians must be prepared to give a defense for their hope.
The desire for peace cannot justify allowing error to spread unchallenged.
Some Mouths Must Be Stopped
Paul described certain teachers as insubordinate, idle talkers, and deceivers. He said their mouths must be stopped because they were subverting whole households. These were not harmless differences of opinion. Their teaching was damaging families and turning people away from the truth.
Paul’s language shows that there are times when strong action is necessary. Stopping the mouths of false teachers does not authorize physical force or personal cruelty. It means their error must be exposed and their influence restrained by faithful teaching, proper oversight, and necessary discipline. The protection of souls sometimes requires directness.
A teacher who refuses to identify demonstrable error because he fears being called controversial is not necessarily peaceful. He may simply be unwilling to accept the cost of faithfulness. The question is not whether correction creates discomfort. The question is whether Scripture requires the correction.
Contending for Truth Begins With Revelation
The first difference between contending for truth and chasing controversy concerns the source. Contending for truth begins with what God has revealed.
Chasing controversy often begins with what someone suspects.
A faithful teacher can provide book, chapter, and verse for the truth he is defending. He distinguishes divine commands, approved examples, and necessary conclusions from personal judgment. He does not bind where God has not bound or create certainty where Scripture has remained silent.
A controversy-driven teacher may build a message from possibilities:
“Could this mean something more?”
“What if these events are connected?”
“Why is no one talking about this?”
“Is someone trying to hide the truth?”
“Does this prove a secret agenda?”
Such questions may generate interest, but they do not establish doctrine. Christians should contend earnestly for the faith that was delivered. We are not called to contend for every theory someone develops about subjects God has not revealed.
Contending for Truth Has a Spiritual Purpose
The second difference concerns the goal. Faithful correction seeks to protect souls, restore the erring, and preserve the church in truth. Controversy seeks an opponent.
When Paul instructed Titus to refute those who contradicted sound doctrine, the concern was not Titus’s reputation or platform. Households were being overturned. People were being turned away from the truth. The controversy existed because error had caused spiritual harm. A teacher chasing controversy may reverse that relationship. Instead of addressing conflict because it causes harm, he needs conflict to sustain his influence.
Every week requires:
Another person to expose.
Another statement to criticize.
Another organization to suspect.
Another threat to announce.
Another dispute to keep the audience engaged.
If the platform cannot survive without a constant supply of opponents, truth may no longer be its central product. Controversy has become the product.
Contending for Truth Represents Others Fairly
A faithful teacher must tell the truth even about those who teach error. It is wrong to misrepresent an opponent’s belief merely because his conclusion is false. We must answer what a person actually teaches, not a distorted version that is easier to defeat.
Chasing controversy encourages exaggeration. A qualified statement becomes an absolute claim. A poorly worded sentence becomes proof of hidden motives. A short clip is removed from its context. The most inflammatory interpretation is treated as the only possible meaning. Fairness may make an argument less dramatic, but Christians are obligated to be truthful. We do not defend God’s Word through falsehood. We do not expose error by committing another error.
Contending for Truth Distinguishes Error From Disagreement
Not every disagreement is false doctrine. Some differences concern matters of personal judgment. Others involve questions for which Scripture does not provide enough information to justify certainty. Christians may sometimes reach different conclusions without either person rejecting biblical authority.
A controversy-driven teacher tends to treat every disagreement as evidence of compromise. If someone rejects his interpretation, that person is accused of rejecting Scripture. If another Christian questions his evidence, he is assumed to be protecting the enemy. Personal conclusions gradually receive the same authority as the biblical text.
Faithful teachers identify the level of certainty the evidence supports. They speak firmly where Scripture is clear, reason carefully where conclusions are necessary, and exercise humility where matters remain uncertain. Contending for truth requires conviction. It also requires restraint.
Contending for Truth Does Not Enjoy Destruction
Paul’s words to Titus were strong because the error was destructive. Yet the purpose of correction was not personal revenge. False teachers must be opposed, but Christians should never enjoy watching people fall. Religious social media can turn another person’s failure into entertainment. Accusations, reactions, and public disputes attract attention. Audiences gather to watch reputations collapse.
Even when correction is necessary, the Christian’s attitude matters.
Do we grieve because people were deceived?
Do we desire the teacher’s repentance?
Are we concerned about the households affected?
Or are we excited because the controversy gives us something new to discuss?
A person can state the truth while displaying a heart far removed from the character of Christ.
Human Commandments Can Also Turn People From Truth
Paul warned Titus about commandments of men that turn people from the truth.
Error does not always remove God’s requirements. Sometimes it adds human requirements and presents them as though they came from God. This warning is essential for anyone claiming to defend sound doctrine.
Zeal does not grant authority. A teacher may sincerely desire holiness and still bind rules God did not establish. He may treat his preferred method, custom, or judgment as a test of faithfulness. Contending for truth includes rejecting unauthorized restrictions as well as unauthorized liberties.
The question must always be: What has God said?
The faithful Word determines what must be taught, what must be rejected, what must be obeyed, and what cannot be bound.
A Test for Modern Religious Content
Before supporting or sharing controversial religious content, Christians should ask:
Is the issue clearly connected to something Scripture reveals?
Is an actual false doctrine being answered, or is the teacher responding to speculation?
Has the opposing position been represented accurately?
Is reliable evidence provided?
Does the teacher distinguish facts from assumptions?
Are biblical passages handled within their context?
Is the purpose to protect and restore, or to generate attention?
Does the content teach the truth that should replace the error?
Is every disagreement treated as apostasy?
Does the teacher demonstrate sorrow over harm and hope for repentance?
Is this controversy necessary for faithfulness?
Will sharing it help others understand and obey God’s Word?
These questions cannot eliminate every difficult judgment, but they can expose unhealthy motives and careless methods.
Truth Is Worth Defending
Christians should not be ashamed to defend truth. Jesus is the truth. His Word sanctifies. The gospel saves. False doctrine endangers souls and must not be treated as harmless. Elders must hold fast the faithful Word. Preachers must proclaim sound doctrine. Christians must test what they hear and reject what contradicts Scripture, but defending truth is not the same as building an identity around conflict.
The faithful teacher does not need constant controversy. He would gladly see error corrected, opponents repent, and conflict end. His platform does not depend upon keeping Christians suspicious and divided. He contends when truth requires it. He remains silent when Scripture provides no basis for certainty.
He speaks firmly without misrepresentation. He protects the flock without using the flock’s fears to build his influence.
The difference between contending for truth and chasing controversy is not whether conflict occurs. Faithfulness will sometimes create conflict because error resists correction. The difference is found in the source, purpose, method, and fruit. Contending for truth begins with God’s Word, seeks the good of souls, speaks honestly, and leads people toward sound doctrine. Chasing controversy begins with the need for attention, searches for another opponent, and leaves people surrounded by suspicion. Christians must be willing to contend.
We must also be wise enough to know what we are contending for.
Reflection Questions
What is the difference between necessary doctrinal correction and an unhealthy attraction to controversy?
Does the religious content I follow begin with Scripture or with a controversial event?
Can the teacher clearly establish the error he is correcting?
Does he represent opposing views fairly and completely?
Is the goal restoration and protection, or attention and reaction?
Have I ever treated a matter of judgment as though it were revealed doctrine?
Do I want false teachers to repent, or do I enjoy watching them be humiliated?
Does controversial content leave me better grounded in truth or merely more suspicious?
When does silence become a failure to defend the faith?
Am I holding fast to the faithful Word—or simply following the latest religious dispute?
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