Monthly Archive for June, 2008

Matthew 10:29-31 Translation Comparisons

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
30Jun08
. 5 Comments

I memorized Matthew 10:29-30 to music in the ESV. (See Free Scripture Memory Songs.) The ESV is rather awkward for this passage so I thought I would look at some other translations and found there is a quite a bit of variance.

I don’t know Greek and am not trained in linguistics or translation so I can’t say which I think is the “best” translation. I can only write about (or share to use the popular lingo) my own observations.

Anyone can look up a bunch of translations and post them but I hope to add some value by posting the REB and Lattimore; literary style translations that aren’t available on the web.

Matthew 10:29-31 ESV
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

As far as the passage goes, v. 30 seems abrupt but this is what it says and v. 31 extrapolates it.

As far as the ESV goes that archaic language comes up again. I’m not sure what “apart from your father” means. But fear not, there are other translations!

Matthew 10:29-31 KJV
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

ESV isn’t much different than the KJV…

Matthew 10:29-31 HCSB
Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 Don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31 NET
Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 31 So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

I don’t usually like the NET but like it a lot here.

Matthew 10:29-31 Lattimore
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them will not fall to the ground without the knowledge of your father. Also, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Then do not fear; you are worth many sparrows.

As usual, this literary translation flows very well. I like also instead of but which the NET leaves out.

Matthew 10:29-31 REB
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet without your Father’s knowledge not one of them can fall to the ground. As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than any number of sparrows.

I just got the REB and this is the first passage I looked up. This is a really nice rendering.

I like v. 31 in the REB much more than the Lattimore if only I would like to think I’m “worth more than any number of sparrows” instead of many.

Regarding HCSB, NET, Lattimore and REB: Where other translations just say “without/apart from [your Father]” these say apart from your Father’s will, consent or knowledge. In looking up without, Thayer’s says,
“ἄνευ
aneu
Thayer Definition:
1) without one’s will or intervention”
so I like the inclusion of that part if it’s universally accepted.

Matthew 10:29-31 MSG
“What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. 30 He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail–even numbering the hairs on your head! 31 So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.

All I will say is I like v. 30 a lot.

Now I want to get away from the critical translation comparisons. I want to study the Scriptures and use translations for insight and perspective. I want to guard against spending too much time on pitting this translation vs. that translation.

Four Great Passages On Who Christ Jesus Is

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
27Jun08
. 1 Comment

John 1:1-14 HCSB
In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. 6 There was a man named John who was sent from God. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. 9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. 14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Philippians 2:5-11 HCSB
Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death–even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow–of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth– 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1:15-20 HCSB
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; 16 because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. 19 Because all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him, 20 and to reconcile everything to Himself through Him by making peace through the blood of His cross — whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Hebrews 1:2-3 HCSB
In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. 3 He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

How about memorizing all of them? I’m one for four so far.

Isn’t it amazing…?

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
25Jun08
. 5 Comments

This is an intensely personal post that for some reason I’m reticent to write about much less speak about because of how shy I am about what’s written later in the post. I also think the biblioblogosphere can be pretty academic and could use more passion so I better contribute some of my own. So here goes and I hope it blesses you in some way.

Isn’t it amazing that our creator and God is holy, righteous, good and perfect? Imagine what it would be like if the creator were Satan. Or one who created everything and then just let it go without caring.

Isn’t it amazing how creative God is and that He created everything first for His own enjoyment? He created things that we will never discover. And He enjoys the fact that we also enjoy His creation.

Isn’t it amazing that God prepared to send His Son to die to redeem us, even though we didn’t ask for that and even though we didn’t know we need that?

Isn’t it amazing that because Jesus rose from the dead He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us and that God lives in us? This isn’t only because we are just seen as righteous enough to be in His presence but we have “become the righteousness of God in Him”. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Isn’t it amazing that God has not only revealed Himself through nature, but also through the Scriptures? (Psalm 19) Any time we want, we can read His letter to us and listen to Him speak to us through the aid of the Holy Spirit.

Isn’t the depth of His Word amazing? We could read the Bible for 16 hours a day for the rest of our lives and only begin to mine the depths of who God is. And that’s only a partial revelation.

Every one of these thoughts came flooding into my head a few nights ago and I had to get on my knees with my head to the ground. I cried. This was a strange and overwhelming experience because although I’ve gotten tears in the past in contemplating things of God, I’ve never cried. I’ve been on my knees like this in the past but it was because I was in pain and was asking for God’s mercy. Crying has always equaled pain.

Although this was a unique experience there is no need to analyze. It was just praise. I’ve always stressed and valued truth over experience but when the experience from God does come it’s obvious and overwhelming.

As is usual protocol on this blog, I was going to look up Scripture to back up each of the items listed above but I don’t want to do that here because it’s obvious and I don’t want this post to be like work. I wanted to record this experience so I can look back on it and remember all the points that God brought to mind.

ISV v2.0 Preview Release E-sword Module

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
24Jun08
. 0 Comments

“It is NOT supported by e-Sword at the present time because the Old Testament portion remains incomplete. We have tested this module, and except for a few cosmetic issues, the module appears to be functional…”

ISV v2.0 Preview Release E-sword Module

Most of the OT is there now.

Wordle Word Clouds of Smaller Books of the Bible

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
23Jun08
. 4 Comments

Wordle has been getting popular among bibliobloggers. I thought I would do some smaller books of the Bible. Click on an image to see a larger one and use your browser’s Back button to come back.

Ephesians–TNIV on the left and HCSB on the right:

Ephesians - TNIV

Ephesians - HCSB

Malachi ESV:
Malachi

Philippians ESV:
Philippians

Titus ESV:
Titus

Philemon TNIV:
Philemon

Jude ESV:
Jude

See:
The Bible, Wordled - ESV Blog
The complete text of the ESV Bible
The Wordle New Testament - The Crazy Australian
Tag Cloud of My Colossians Translation - According to the Scriptures
Wordle - Make Your Own

Fear and Trembling

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
20Jun08
. 1 Comment

Philippians 2:12 HCSB
So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

2 Corinthians 7:15 HCSB
And his [Titus] affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling.

‘Fear and trembling’ refer to ‘the anxiety of a man who knows his limitations to do the will of God, but equally his faith that the Lord is not only Judge but Redeemer and that the grace is able to make even him adequate for his task, provided that he rests in faith on that grace.’

–Beasley-Murray, 2 Corinthians

Calvinism and Arminianism

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
19Jun08
. 9 Comments

Here are some posts related to a passage that doesn’t usually come up in comparisons.
Luke slips in predestination… - He Is Sufficient
Acts 13:48 - “Appointed” or “Disposed?” - I follow Christ
Acts 13:48: Arminian? Calvinistic? - Connecting
Acts 13:48 An Exegetical Study - Love Acceptance Forgiveness

For books related to this subject:
Arminianism and Calvinism Books: A Starter List

Arminianism:
Arminian Perspectives
Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Arminian - Roger E. Olson

Psalm 139:16 TNIV
your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Acts 13:48 HCSB
When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Romans 8:29 HCSB
For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

Romans 9:14-16 HCSB
What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For He tells Moses: I will show mercy to whom I show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on human will or effort, but on God who shows mercy.
and also:
Romans 10:9-10 HCSB
if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.

Ephesians 1:11 HCSB
In Him we were also made His inheritance, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will,

2 Timothy 1:9 HCSB
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

How these two sides of God’s truth—His sovereignty in choosing us (Rom. 9) and our responsibility to confess and believe (Rom. 10)—reconcile is impossible for us to understand fully. But Scripture declares both perspectives of salvation to be true (John 1:12-13). It’s our duty to acknowledge both and joyfully accept them by faith.

–John MacArthur

1 Timothy 2:4 HCSB
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 HCSB
The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

Ezekiel 33:11 HCSB
Tell them: As I live”-the declaration of the Lord God-”I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?

Meme: What Has God Been Teaching Me?

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
17Jun08
. 10 Comments

I’ve been tagged by TC Robinson for a meme started by Roger Mugs.

“In an effort to keep it simple, short, and easy to follow, I’d like to challenge you to quote one verse (not one chapter). And then say what the Lord has been teaching you in one sentence (not one paragraph). Then tag 5 peeps (you know the drill).”

Psalm 51:4 TNIV
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

God is the holy lawgiver and when we sin it is against the one who not only gave the law, but is the Holiest of holy who is infinitely more offended by sin that any people we sin against, and caused David to declare that only against Him was he sinning.

That verse always mystified me. In a future post I may elaborate on this regarding forgiveness which is more personal in nature.

I’d like to tag:

  • Stefan - even though he doesn’t have time right now
  • Mike - ditto
  • Bryan - I follow Christ (or whatever it’s called now)
  • John MacArthur

Psalm 131:1 - What a difference a translation makes

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
16Jun08
. 3 Comments

Psalm 131:1 ESV
O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.

I don’t know what “my heart is not lifted up” or “my eyes are not raised too high” means.

Psalm 131:1 TNIV
My heart is not proud,
Lord, my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.

TNIV clarifies this by indicating that it’s about pride and haughtiness. But are we not supposed to think of great matters or strive to concern ourselves with wonderful things that may for now be too wonderful for us to understand?

Psalm 131:1 NASB
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.

Even NASB is more clear on a couple of these things.

Psalm 131:1 HCSB
Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I do not get involved with things
too great or too difficult for me.

I’m kind of surprised that HCSB uses the archaic word haughty. How about arrogant or egotistical?

Psalm 131:1 MSG
GOD, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.

This is a nice interpretation of what the meaning may be.

John Gill on v. 1b:
neither do I exercise myself in great matters; or, “walk” (m) in them; these were not the subject of his employment and conversation; he did many great things, in killing the lion and the bear that came into his father’s flock; in slaying Goliath with a sling and stone only; in leading out the armies of Israel, and slaying his ten thousands; and he exercised himself in the great things of the law, which he was careful to observe, and studied the great things of the Gospel, which he had the highest esteem of, and desired to understand; but he did not seek human greatness, or the great things of this world, for himself; he had no ambitious views, or was desirous of the kingdom he was anointed to, before the proper time; see 1 Samuel 18:18;

or in things too high for me: or “too wonderful” (n); see Job 42:3. He contemplated the wonderful make and frame of his body, the texture, symmetry, and use of each of its parts; he observed the wonderful providences of God towards him ever since he had a being; and particularly he took notice of the wonderful love of God to him, and remembered and talked of, and declared, the wonderful works of grace and redemption; but not things above his capacity, out of his reach, and which are secret, or not clearly revealed: and such things we should be content to be ignorant of, or not to have adequate ideas of, or be capable of accounting for;

Related Scripture:

Romans 12:3 HCSB For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 HCSB
No one should deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, since it is written: He catches the wise in their craftiness — 20 and again, The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are futile.

Philippians 1:9-10 HCSB
And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, 10 so that you can determine what really matters and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,

(Emphasis added)

Philippians 2:21 HCSB
all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

What Is Revival?

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
13Jun08
. 4 Comments

A revival is a time of quickening or impartation of life. As God alone can give life, a revival is a time when when God visits His people and by the power of His Spirit imparts new life to them, and through them imparts life to sinners dead in trespasses and sins. We have religious excitements gotten up by the cunning methods and hypnotic influence of the mere professional evangelist; but these are not revivals and are not needed. They are the devil’s imitations of a revival. New life from God–that is a revival. A general revival is a time when this new life from God is not confined to scattered localities, but is general throughout Christendom and the earth.

…

…revivals also have a decided influence on the unsaved world.

First of all, they bring deep conviction of sin. Jesus said that when the Spirit was come He would convince the world of sin (John 16:7-8). Now we have seen that a revival is a coming of the Holy Spirit, and therefore there must be new conviction of sin, and there always is. If you see something men call a revival, and there is no conviction of sin, you may know at once that it is bogus. It is a sure mark.

–R.A. Torrey, How To Pray

Marks of Revival - J. I. Packer
Revival-and Renewal - A.W. Tozer
Revival Conditions - A.W. Tozer
What Is a Revival? by C. H. Spurgeon

The Spirit of Revival (pt. 1) - R.C. Sproul
The Spirit of Revival (pt. 2)
The Spirit of Revival (pt. 3)
The Spirit of Revival (pt. 4)
The Spirit of Revival (pt. 5)

Test Revival with Doctrine - John Piper

MARJOE GORTNER-HOW FALSE PROPHET WORKS - YouTube

Psalm 19:7a HCSB
The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;

Colossians Translation Comparisons - 2

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
10Jun08
. 6 Comments

If you haven’t seen it, the first post is here.

I don’t really have any comments on this second comparison. I just like it. Except for one thing I notice about the Lattimore is that he’s not afraid to let Paul’s run-on sentences to be run-on sentences. He doesn’t seem to put as many periods in as other translations, although this isn’t the best example of that.

First the standard, which I like a lot also.

Colossians 1:9-12 NRSV
For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

Colossians 1:9-12 Lattimore
Therefore we also, since the day we heard about you, never cease from praying for you. We pray that you may be fulfilled in your understanding of his will, in full wisdom and spiritual comprehension; so as to act in a manner worthy of the Lord and always pleasing to him, productive in every good work and increasing in your understanding of God; empowered with every power, by the supremacy of his glory, to be always steadfast and joyfully enduring, thankful to the father who made you fit for your share in the fortune of the saints, in the light.

Sites To Browse

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
9Jun08
. 2 Comments

Theologer - a theology forum
A bunch of famous biblio bloggers (there’s an oxymoron) got together and formed a forum. Come and check it out.

Suffering Christians offers prayers, quotes, Scripture, personal writings and links to articles related to suffering.

Messages on Philemon by John MacArthur
There’s more to this little book than one might think.

HCSB Bible Translation Web Sites

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
6Jun08
. 2 Comments

If you are interested in this translation here are some links for you:
Interview with Dr. Ed Blum, General Editor for the HCSB
HCSB links
HCSB at Better Bibles Blog
Choosing a modern Bible translation, part 3 - He Is Sufficient
Wretched translations! ESV vs. HCSB: Romans 7:13-25 - He Is Sufficient
HCSB at THIS LAMP - scroll through for relevant posts
Brief Thoughts on the Holman Christian Standard Bible
Search for a mediating translation: TNIV vs HCSB vs NAB – a conclusion
HCSB Collection
HCSB Apologetic Study Bible - Review
Holman Legacy CSB Bible
HCSB Apologetics Study Bible (review)

Any others?

Updated: 8/28/08

Colossians Translation Comparisons - 1

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
5Jun08
. 8 Comments

As is usual practice, before reading through a commentary I like to slowly and carefully read through the book of the Bible. The next one is Colossians. Since I’m evaluating the HCSB I decided to use that along with my regular NRSV. Then I decided to add the Lattimore and then looked something up in TNIV and decided to add that too. Colossians is a short book that I like a lot so this is a good time to do this and I always get a lot out of it.

When reading v. 5, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven seems disjointed and it wasn’t clear to me exactly how that relates. NRSV is typical of all the other translations I looked at, even in addition to the four, except for TNIV.

Colossians 1:3-6 NRSV
In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you.

TNIV “explains” this:

Colossians 1:3-6 TNIV
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all his people– 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true word of the gospel 6 that has come to you.

But is it too much of a commentary on the passage?

A 12 Point Cure for Complaining

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
4Jun08
. 0 Comments

A 12 Point Cure for Complaining

See other good articles at this site.

HT: CAMPONTHIS

In case you would like a list of Scripture mentioned:
Philippians 2:14
1 Thessalonians 5:18
James 1:2
Luke 13:2-3
2 Corinthians 4:19
1 Peter 2:23
Genesis 18:25
Psalm 34:4
Romans 8:28
Hebrews 11:35-39
2 Corinthians 12:9
Romans 8:35-39

Speaking The Truth In Love

Posted
by
Jeff
 on
2Jun08
. 6 Comments

Ephesians 4:15
…speaking the truth in love…

I always thought of this as synonymous with “tough love”. Which would be something like pointing out someone’s fault(s)–something they might not want to hear, but doing it with an attitude of love. This is the only way I’ve heard anyone use this phrase.

Is that what Paul means here?

First, the immediate context:

Ephesians 4:14-15 NRSV
We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Paul is speaking about doctrine or teaching here.

Edit: Quotes from O’Brien’s commentary:

A sharp contrast…is drawn between the final words of v. 14 and this opening clause of v. 15. Over against the ‘crafty scheming’ stands the expression in love (a key phrase in the letter), while speaking the truth is set in opposition to the words ‘of error’. Thus, speaking the truth in love lays out a twofold contrast with the false teachers: the latter were presenting false doctrine in a deceptive manner, but over against this God’s people are to grow through proclaiming the truth in love.
…
…the apostle is not exhorting his readers to truthfulness in general or speaking honestly with one another, however appropriate or important this may be. Rather, he wants all of them to be members of a ‘confessing’ church, with the content of their testimony to be ‘the word of truth’, the gospel of their salvation.

What is the truth?

Colossians 1:5 NRSV
You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel

Galatians 2:5 NRSV
we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.

Galatians 2:14 NRSV
But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Ephesians 1:13 NRSV
In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;

A passage that is similar to Ephesians 4:14-15:

Philippians 1:15-17 NRSV
Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16 These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment.

By proclaiming the truth and speaking sound doctrine (Titus 1:9, Titus 2:10) to each other “we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,”.

Normally I would stop there and smugly think that now I know that speaking the truth in love isn’t about rebuking someone (edit: related to their own personal faults unrelated to doctrine or the gospel), which is addressed elsewhere in Scripture (although an example noted in Galatians 2:14 above). But the in love part is important and shouldn’t be overlooked.

When talking about doctrine to a fellow brother or sister, or proclaiming the gospel, it should be out of love. I don’t think I would ever do these things deceitfully, but selfish ambition of some sort is definitely a possibility. I could try to get somebody to come over to “my side”, convince them to have the same doctrine as me, show them how much knowledge I think I have about something etc. My attitude should be to have their best interests in mind (Philippians 2:4, Ephesians 4:29) out of love for them and most of all to glorify God.

Romans 15:5-6 NRSV
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.