Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: Atonement and Justification, 1971, p. 113-114.
“The great Apostle [Paul] never confines himself to mere positive statements but often indulges, because he feels that he must do so, in arguments, in polemics. I make this point because I think there is a great deal of very loose and very false and flabby thinking on the whole question of polemics and of argumentation at the present time. The attitude of many seems to be, ‘We do not want these arguments. Give us the simple message, the simple Gospel. Give it to us positively, and do not bother about other views.’ It is important that we should realize that if we speak like that we are denying the Scriptures. The Scriptures are full of arguments, full of polemics…
“Disapproval of polemics in the Christian Church is a very serious matter. But that is the attitude of the age in which we live. The prevailing idea today in many circles in the Church is not to bother about these things. As long as we are all Christians, anyhow, somehow, all is well. Do not let us argue about doctrine, let us all be Christians together and talk about the love of God. That is really the whole basis of ecumenicity. Unfortunately, that same attitude is creeping into evangelical circles also and many say that we must not be too precise about these things….‘Ah, but you are beginning to argue now,’ they say. ‘You must not argue, that is upsetting, that is going to divide people.’
“What I am trying to show is that if you hold that view you are criticizing the Apostle Paul, you are saying that he was wrong, and at the same time you are criticizing the Scriptures. The Scriptures argue and debate and dispute; they are full of polemics. You cannot read this Epistle to the Romans, or the Epistle to the Galatians, or indeed any one of these Epistles, without seeing that very clearly. Let us be clear about what we mean. This is not argument for the sake of argument; this is not a manifestation of an argumentative spirit; this is not just indulging one’s own prejudices. The Scriptures do not approve of that, and furthermore the Scriptures are very concerned about the spirit in which one engages in discussion. No man should like argument for the sake of argument. We should always regret the necessity; but though we regret and bemoan it, when we feel that a vital matter is at stake we must engage in argument. We must ‘earnestly contend for the truth,’ and we are all called upon to do that by the New Testament. The Apostle Paul thanks the members of the church at Philippi, and thanks God for them, because they have stood with him from the very beginning in the ‘declaration and defense of the truth.’ And there is nothing that is so utterly contrary to the New Testament method as to say, ‘Let us be positive, let us forget the negatives, let us never argue about these things.’ While men and women are not clear in their minds as to the truth, while they are liable to be carried away by that which is false, we must contend for the truth; we must engage in the type of argumentation that we have illustrated.”
