Perverse disputings. Or, “constant irritations.” Paul notes further results of unsound religious teaching. Fellowship is exchanged for constant bickering and irritation.
Corrupt minds. The basic problem of intransigent teachers of irrelevant and unsound doctrine lies in their personal attitude to truth. They have bent their minds to defend their personal positions because their own conceit convinces them that they could not possibly err. The Jewish leaders who refused the words of Christ set their minds to support tradition, not to encourage truth wherever found (see John 8:45).
Destitute. Or, “bereft,” “dispossessed.” Because these teachers have dedicated themselves to preserve traditional errors, the spirit of truth does not prevail as it once did when they joined the Christian church. They have ceased to advance. Yet they remain in the church, opposing all who would help them.
Gain is godliness. In all ages there have been men who equated material possessions with spiritual health. However, the example of our Lord and the disciples should remove all thought that those most righteous are necessarily also the most prosperous in worldly possessions. The experience of Job illustrates the insecurity of worldly possessions. The best men do not necessarily own the most property. Most often, those who have dedicated life and means to the cause of God retain only the minimum for material needs, all else being diverted into the channels of Christian service.
Others explain v. 5 as referring to religious workers whose chief thought is compensation for their services, and who look upon religion as a means for securing a comfortable income. They serve by the hour and not by the necessities that demand a church worker’s time day or night. In part, this earthy perspective of Christian service accounts for the traits of false religious teachers listed in vs. 4, 5.
From such withdraw thyself. Textual evidence favors (cf. p. 10) the omission of this clause.
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