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I. TRUE RELIGION IS GODLINESS — i.e., moral likeness to God.

II. GODLINESS HAS ITS FORM, or way of expressing itself.

1. Towards God — confession, prayer, praise, worship.

2. Towards man — respect for the right, compassion for the miseries, and a loving desire for the happiness of all.

III. THE FORMS OF GODLINESS SOMETIMES EXIST WITHOUT ITS POWER.

1. There is often a great deal of external worship where there is no godly devotion.

2. There is often a great deal of external philanthropy where there is no godly devotion.

IV. HAVING THE FORM WITHOUT THE POWER IS PRACTICAL INFIDELITY. To have nothing but the mere form is to deny the power.

1. The mere form misrepresents the power.

2. The mere form counteracts the power.

(Homilist.)

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KJV: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

WEB: holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.