3:5a

having a form of godliness: Here Paul described people who do many types of religious things: they use religious words and expressions, they participate in religious ceremonies, and they may even teach other people religious beliefs that sound like the truth. But all these things are external actions and words. Their hearts have not changed. It refers to people who practice a type/kind of religion, but not true Christianity. It has only the outward appearance of true faith.

form: The word form means “outward appearance.” This Greek word occurs only here and in Romans 2:20.

godliness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as godliness, means “the duty that man owes God to serve and worship him.” Some English versions translate this word by “religion.” (See Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, NET Bible, Revised English Bible.)

3:5b

denying its power: The phrase denying its power means that people will refuse to allow God’s power to make them genuinely godly.

denying: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as denying means “to refuse” or “to reject.”

its: This word refers back to “godliness/religion” in 3:5a.

power: The word power refers to the power found in true Christianity. It is God’s power that changes people’s behavior and makes them holy.

3:5c

Turn away from such as these!: Here Paul commanded Timothy to “avoid” or “stay away from” people who have the characteristics he listed in 3:2–5.

Paragraph 3:6–9

© 2003 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.