II Timothy 2:22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
This is the concluding paragraph of the chapter that begins with Paul's charge to Timothy to be a strong soldier, a relentless runner, and a faithful farmer - to win at the Christian life and win others to Him. He then goes on to give another familiar charge: to be an approved worker and an honorable vessel. This paragraph then applies these charges by listing ways to do that: pursuing personal purity; watching what you say; making sure that in everything you do you are winning not by beating them up, but by showing a Christlike example and gently telling the truth of the Gospel. Winning the war is more like a child's show and tell than a bloody battle.
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