Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
a form.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Isaiah 48:1,2 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness…
Isaiah 58:1-3 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins…
from.
2 Timothy 2:16,23 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness…
Romans 16:17,18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them…
Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
but denying its power
The power referred to here is the transformative power of the Holy Spirit and the gospel, which brings about true change in a believer's life. This denial can be seen in a lifestyle that contradicts the teachings of Christ, despite outward religious observance. In 1 Corinthians 4:20, Paul states, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." This highlights the importance of a faith that is not just spoken but lived out through the power of God working within.
Turn away from such as these!
Paul's instruction to "turn away" is a call for separation from those who profess faith but live in contradiction to its principles. This aligns with the biblical principle of holiness and the call to be set apart, as seen in 2 Corinthians 6:17, "Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord." The early church faced challenges from false teachers and hypocritical believers, and Paul emphasizes the need for discernment and purity within the community of faith.
Paul warns Timothy about people who “have a form of godliness.” They look spiritual—attending gatherings, speaking the right language, perhaps even engaging in charitable acts. Outward appearance, however, is not the test of true faith. Jesus described similar people in Matthew 23:27–28, where the Pharisees appeared righteous but were “full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Genuine godliness flows from a transformed heart (Ezekiel 36:26), not merely exterior rituals.
“Godliness” points to a life aligned with God’s character, revealed perfectly in Christ (1 Timothy 3:16). It embraces reverence, obedience, and love. Real godliness is more than moral respectability; it is the life of Christ reproduced in believers through the Spirit (Galatians 2:20). By limiting godliness to a facade, these individuals empty it of the holiness and humility that accompany saving faith.
The power they reject is the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit who changes hearts and enables obedience (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:11–14). Evidence of that power includes:
• A new birth that awakens someone to repentance and faith (John 3:3–8).
• Daily victory over sin’s dominion (Romans 6:11–14).
• Love that reflects God’s nature (1 John 4:7–12).
By resisting this power, the counterfeit believer settles for religion without regeneration, rules without relationship, and ceremony without conversion.
Paul’s directive is clear: “Turn away.” Fellowship with unrepentant pretenders endangers the purity and witness of Christ’s church (1 Corinthians 15:33). Separation here is not unloving; it is protective, preserving believers from doctrinal compromise (Galatians 1:6–9) and moral contagion (2 Thessalonians 3:6). While we still pray for their repentance (2 Timothy 2:25), we refuse to grant them influence over our lives or assemblies.
2 Timothy 3:5 exposes the danger of a faith that is all show and no substance. God calls His people to an authentic, Spirit-empowered godliness that transforms from the inside out. Identifying and avoiding hollow religion guards the church and keeps each believer focused on Christ, “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
(5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.--Keeping up a show of observing the outward forms of religion, but renouncing its power and its influence over the heart and the life; shewing openly that they neither acknowledged its guidance or wished to do so. These, by claiming the title of Christians, wearing before men the uniform of Christ, but by their lives dishonouring His name, did the gravest injury to the holy Christian cause. Another dreary catalogue of vices St. Paul gives in the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 1:29, and following verses); but in that passage he paints the sins of Paganism. Here he describes the characteristics of a new Paganism, which went under the name of Christianity.From such turn away.--These, daring to assume the sacred name, no doubt with the thought of claiming its glorious promises, without one effort to please the Master or to do honour to His name--these were to be openly shunned by such as Timothy. No half measures were to be adopted towards these, who tried to deceive their neighbours and possibly deceived themselves. The Pagan was to be courteously entreated, for in God's good time the glory of the Lord might shine, too, on those now sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. The heretic, seduced by false men from the school of the Apostles, where the life as well as the doctrine of Jesus was taught, was to be gently instructed. Perhaps God would lead him once more home. But these, who, while pretending to belong to Jesus, lived the degraded life of the heathen, were to be shunned. No communion, no friendly intercourse was possible between the hypocrite and the Christian.
The command here is so definite--"from these turn away"--that any theory which would relegate the vices just enumerated to a distant future would require, as above stated, that a strained and unnatural meaning should be given to this positive direction to Timothy. The plain and obvious signification of the passage is: men committing the sins alluded to lived then in the Church over which Timothy presided; they were to be avoided by the chief presbyter and his brethren.
Verse 5. - Holding for having, A.V.; hating denied for denyiny, A.V.; these also for such, A.V. Holding (ἔχοντες). There is no reason to change "having." Perhaps "indeed" after "having" would give the emphasis conveyed by ἔχοντες preceding the object. A form (μόρφωσιν). It should be the form; i.e. "the outward semblance," i.q. μόρφωμα, form, shape, figure (Liddell and Scott), here in contrast with δύναμις, the reality. In Romans 2:20, the only other place in the New Testament where μόρφωσις occurs, there is no contrast, and so it has the sense of a "true sketch" or "delineation." Having denied (ἠρνημένοι); possibly more correct than the A.V. "denying," though the difference, if any, is very slight. The meaning is that by their life and character and conversation they gave the lie to their Christian profession. Christianity with them was an outward form, not an inward living power of godliness. From these also does not give the sense at all clearly. The A.V. does, though it omits the καὶ, which is not wanted in English. In the Greek it marks an additional circumstance in the case of those of whom he is speaking, viz. that they are to be turned away from as hopeless. Turn away (ἀποτρέπου); only here in the New Testament, or, at least in the middle voice, in the LXX.; but frequent in classical Greek in different senses. St. Paul uses ἐκτρέπομενος in the same sense in 1 Timothy 6:20. "This command shows that the apostle treats the symptoms of the last times as in some respects present" (Alford). With this catena of epithets comp. Romans 1:29-31; and, though of an opposite character, the string of adjectives in Wisd. 7:22, 23.