Teachers who abandon “the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ”

1 Timothy 6:3–5, If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

We are zeroing in on a passage that feels almost tailor-made for our modern quarrels about Bible versions. Paul is warning Timothy about teachers who abandon “the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ” in favor of obsessive debates and word-wars. The outcome, he says, is predictable: envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction.

When this mindset appears in modern form—as in those who insist that only one English translation - the KJV is “the real Bible” and who condemn others as using “devilish” versions—it fits Paul’s description painfully well. The problem isn’t the KJV itself; it’s the spirit of conceit and contention that elevates a preference into a boundary marker for faithfulness.

Paul’s warning exposes several dynamics at play:

• Conceit and ignorance: People claim superior insight, yet their understanding of textual history or translation is often shallow.

• Unhealthy interest in controversies: The debates become an identity rather than a pursuit of truth. They produce energy, not holiness.

• Strife and suspicion: Instead of uniting around Christ, believers begin accusing one another of corruption or deception.

• Misuse of godliness: Some even turn controversy into a platform for influence or profit, which Paul calls treating godliness as a means to gain.

The antidote is the same now as then: humility and focus on the substance of faith—Christ himself. Every reliable translation, whether KJV, NIV, ESV, or others, seeks to communicate the same gospel message across time and language. When someone weaponizes a translation to assert spiritual superiority, they’re not defending Scripture—they’re violating its purpose.

Paul’s principle is clear: true godliness produces peace, gratitude, and love of truth; false teaching produces division, arrogance, and endless wrangling.

If the church applies this passage faithfully, our aim shouldn’t be to humiliate those who cling to KJV-Onlyism, but to gently redirect them to what matters most: the living Word that transcends every version printed on a page.