A key difference between battling Satan and battling his Earthly servants is that, unlike him, they are not yet beyond redemption. Every human being on this Earth has the potential to repent and come to salvation. That means that your goal must change. With Satan, you want him out of your way. If he gets angry, it doesn't matter. If he hates you, it doesn't matter. He's condemned no matter what you say or do. But a human being is not truly lost until his or her heart beats its last. What you say to them matters. It could mean the difference between their salvation or their condemnation.
With this goal in mind, Paul's first instruction to Timothy is this: Avoid "foolish and ignorant disputes". Why? They generate strife. Not every battle is worth fighting. Sometimes, often in fact, it's better to keep your mouth shut. The example I usually give is vegetarianism. As I was once a vegetarian myself, I know how annoying it is to argue about diet. Meat eaters don't want lectures about eating meat. At the same time, it used to irritate me to no end when a meat eater found out I was a vegetarian, and the first thing they'd do is shout "bacon!" at me.
Dietary preference is a foolish and ignorant dispute. Whether dealing with believers or unbelievers, diet is completely irrelevant. We're not saved by eating or abstaining from meat. We don't even gain spiritual profits from our diet. So why argue about it? All that happens is we look judgmental. And what happens then? If we're dealing with a Christian, we end up with an unnecessary division in the Church. If we're dealing with an unbeliever, their view of Christianity will be increasingly negative, and it will even be hard for another Christian to win them later down the line.
So Paul tells us that we are not to quarrel, but to be gentle. I feel that this is where the most confusion will occur. The rest of the passage talks about teaching and correcting. How can we quarrel without quarreling? For this, we need to define terms. A quarrel is different from a debate or a discussion. A quarrel is usually fruitless and filled with emotion. It is done selfishly. It is an attempt to enforce yourself over someone else. "I'm right, you're wrong, deal with it you stupid idiot! No, I'm right. No, I'm right. No, I'm... don't you dare take that tone with me! What did you say about my mother???" Fun times. What does any of that achieve? It achieves anger, strife, and division. No one learns, no one gains.
A discussion is different. You can correct someone without emotion, and for their own good. Take, for example, Matthew 7:1. This verse is taken wildly out of context by Christian and unbeliever alike. Most people stop at verse 1, but the entire context of the verse spans 6 verses.
Verse 6 gives us a useful tip. Don't cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them and turn on you. Good advice, meaning don't even bother trying to correct contentious people. I once knew an example of such "swine". Blown around by every wind of doctrine, she took the whims of her heart as solid doctrine. Any correction, no matter how gentle, would result in a swift barrage of cuss words, and sometimes even threats. Talking to her at all was fruitless.
With verse 6 out of the way, let's head back to the meaning of verse 1. Does it really mean don't judge anyone ever, or does it mean something else? Verse 2 tells us that we will be judged with the measure with which we judge. So, what this means isn't that we can't rebuke, but that we can't usurp the throne of God. I can't say to my friend "you're a sinner! This is how I will punish you", or even "this is how I hope you will be punished". But, as shown later on in the passage, we can say "hey, I've noticed you're going wrong in this area, and I don't particularly want it to harm you or your loved ones. Let me help you break that habit."
But it's not as simple as that. Verses 3 and 4 talk about a speck vs. a plank in the eye. If you're particularly weak in one area, you cannot walk up to a person who is also weak in that area and say "hey, you're weak in that area, let's buff that out of you." No, you're blinded by your own weakness. Take alcoholism as an example:
Ben: Hey Bill, you're an alcoholic. That's bad. You're abusing something given to us for use in moderation, you're destroying your body, and you're hurting your family.
Jesus: Hey Ben, why are you trying to correct Bill? On top of alcoholism, you're addicted to drugs, and that's turning you into a violent man! You are a hypocrite, and I'm not letting you off the hook for it. You're due for a harsh reality check, mate.
But it doesn't stop there. Verse 5 says to remove our plank first, then help our brother remove their speck. Imagine Bill and Ben in another life. Ben, having recovered from his addictions, still sees Bill struggling. Now there's a right way to deal with Bill. We've already established that we don't need foolishness disputes. "Hey Bill, you oughta be teetotal because >insert cherry picked Bible verse here<". No, you don't need to establish your personal views over Bill's. But Bill's still in a rough spot. He's not the same man you knew, and he's scaring his wife when he comes home drunk at night. Bill needs a gentle correction.
So Ben walks up to Bill and says to him "Hey. I've noticed you struggling. Remember back when I had my troubles with drugs and alcohol? I'm seeing a lot of that in you. I want to help you." So Ben, caring about his friend, has gently pointed out Bill's problem. He's been where Bill is, so it's not a plank/speck situation. He hasn't started fruitless arguments, he's getting to a dangerous spot in Bill's life which, if not corrected, may do damage. One thing I have neglected to cover so far is humility. Motive matters too. Ben could view himself as superior to Bill. He could use Bill to make himself feel good. Instead, he treats Bill as a brother. It's not about Ben, it's about Bill.
This, of course, doesn't come easy. Even if Bill accepts Ben's rebuke (he may not), it's not going to be a simple "thanks Ben! I'll never touch a bottle again." No, it's more likely to be a long struggle. Ben must be patient with Bill.
Then we come to the most important part. We can know all of the above, but still we might not win a soul. Paul tells Timothy that all this is so God might perhaps grant repentance. See, only God can reveal things to us. We are told that these people we are rebuking are taken captive by Satan to do his will. John 8:34, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. We can't release them, no matter how patient, gentle and humble we are. As the old saying goes, "I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you." Therefore, the most vital element of all of this is heart-felt, faith-powered prayer. First, pray for wisdom. James 1:5 tells us “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” So, in all things, pray for wisdom so you know what to say and how to behave when dealing with someone afflicted by Satan. Second, pray that God will bless your efforts. “Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3 NKJV).
There are ways to do battle with Satan himself, but we must never see our fellow men in the same way. In this article, we looked at how to deal with those who are enslaved by him. In both scenarios, the Scriptures are vital, and your attitude matters a lot. With Satan, always do battle. Defend your soul more than your life. But with humans, always have their soul in mind. They, themselves, are not your enemies. They are not yet beyond redemption. Be patient, gentle, humble and loving, and never stop relying on the God who loves them more than you do, yet commands you to love them too.