What does it mean to have a form of godliness but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5)?

from the old testament

• Isaiah 29:13 says, "And the Lord said: 'Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.'" This verse highlights the disconnect between outward expressions of worship and genuine devotion.
• In Ezekiel 33:31–32 God negatively addresses the superficiality of the people's worship and their failure to act on His words: "And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain."

from the new testament

• In 2 Timothy 3, Paul discusses the characteristics of godlessness in the last days. In verse five, he warns of people who have a form of godliness but deny its power and gives the explicit instruction: "Avoid such people." Where the ESV talks of those who have "the appearance of godliness, but [deny] its power" (2 Timothy 3:5), other translations say "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (NIV, NKJV) or "holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power" (NASB). The NLT puts it this way: "will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly" (2 Timothy 3:5, NLT). These are people who profess to be following God or who make an outward show of godly behavior but who do not actually know God (Matthew 7:21–23).
• Paul gives a similar description of people who claim to follow Christ but do not live that way in Titus 1:16: "They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work."
• Jesus criticized the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, highlighting their focus on outward appearances and strict adherence to the Law while neglecting the deeper spiritual truths of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. In Matthew 23:27–28, He referred to them as "whitewashed tombs," appearing beautiful outwardly but being "full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness" inside, emphasizing that true righteousness must stem from a genuine heart rather than mere external observance.
• We cannot live godly lives on our own; we need the power of God to transform us as we submit to Him afresh day-by-day (Romans 5:1–2; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 4:22–24; Philippians 2:12–13; Colossians 1:21–22).
• We need God to give us wisdom and discernment (Matthew 10:16; Ephesians 5:15–16; Colossians 4:5).
• God equips us to endure as we continually abide in Him (John 15:1–17; Romans 8:28–30; Ephesians 1:3–14; 1 Peter 1:3–9; 1 John 2:24–29).
• We should be aware of the reality and danger of false teachers (Matthew 7:15–20; 2 Peter 2:1–3; 1 John 2:18–25; 4:1–6), yet we do not need to fear because we can be confident in Christ (John 16:33; 1 John 2:24–27).
• We can overcome evil by drawing near to Jesus: "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4–5).
• If we encounter someone who says they believe in Jesus but lives in habitual, unrepentant sin, they are denying the power of God that would enable them to say no to that sin. They have a form of godliness in their words, but they deny its power by their actions. These are false believers. They claim Christ in name only but their hearts are far from Him, as evidenced by their deeds (Romans 8:7).
• James 1:22 urges believers to live out their faith actively rather than merely listening to it.

implications for today

Being able to easily recognize false godliness is one reason it is so important to regularly study God's Word. The more we know God through His Word, our time with Him in prayer, the internal witness of the Holy Spirit, and time with other believers, the more obvious distortions of truth become. Paul counsels Timothy, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:14–17). Though "evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13), we are to remain steadfast in our pursuit of God. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." Our growth in Christ is enabled by the Holy Spirit (Philippians 2:12–13) and it is meant to be continual and consistent. When we know the true power of God, the things that deny Him become apparent.