<p>2:25- see on Acts 18:6; 2 Tim. 3:7; Tit. 1:1.</p><p><em>In meekness correcting those that contradict themselves, so that God may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth</em>- Arrogance is so easily companion of holding a superior understanding about something. To realize we have the correct position and to correct with humility- is really the supreme qualification of a teacher. And the context here is about teachers. If the contradictions can be corrected in humility, <em>then</em> God may give them repentance. He is prepared to confirm the efforts of a sincere teacher, by acting on the mind of the person being corrected. Repentance is a gift, as stated clearly in Acts 5:31. This is more than forgiveness. Repentance itself is a psychological gift, a direct operation upon the human heart. And the text here says that God will grant this when a teacher has humbly corrected a person; so He works with our teaching of others. Repentance is an outcome of having corrected someone who is contradicting themselves; the contradiction is therefore a moral issue, a way of life being lived in contradiction to principles espoused. There is no reference here to simply correcting someone whose theology or intellectual process is self contradictory or logically twisted. That has for too long passed as 'evangelism' or 'preaching'. The issue here is essentially <em>moral</em>, because the resolved contradictions are confirmed by the Lord granting repentance. And a fair case can be made for &quot;contradict themselves&quot; really meaning 'contradict' in the sense of those who contradict the teachers; the same group are mentioned with a similar word in 1 Tim. 6:20 and Tit. 1:9. &quot;Correcting&quot; is a word used about training of children; it is to the spiritual elders / fathers / teachers that these words are addressed.</p><p>&quot;The acknowledging of the truth&quot; doesn't mean 'I accept you are right and I am wrong'. This is the stuff of Socratean debate which has been so attractive to conservative Protestants, whereby &quot;Bible truth&quot; becomes a battleground upon which one side strives to win the victory of 'truth' in intellectual, expositional terms; as if Bible study is a concourse with only one glorious winner and many eternal losers. I have demonstrated above that &quot;repentance&quot; means that moral issues are in view. The repentance granted by the Lord leads to &quot;the knowledge of the truth&quot;; &quot;acknowledging&quot; is an unfortunate translation, because it suggests that the contradicting side acknowledges logical defeat. But it is the same word used as in Eph. 1:17 and 4:13, speaking of the effect of having the gift of the Spirit, leading to &quot;the knowledge of Him&quot;. Repentance leads to relationship, a knowledge of the Lord Jesus who is &quot;the truth&quot;. The very phrase &quot;the knowledge of the truth&quot; is used in 1 Tim. 2:4 see note there as meaning 'being saved'. Repentance results finally in salvation, when we shall know the final truth- which is of God's grace in Christ for eternity. Indeed 2 Tim. 3:7 contrasts &quot;ever learning&quot; with &quot;coming to the knowledge of the truth&quot;. It is all a moral dimension, rather than an intellectual one of learned intellectual knowledge.</p>