But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
Refuse - have nothing to do with (2 Timothy 2:22-23; Titus 3:10).
(The) old wives' fables - which are so current (Titus 1:14): "profane" because leading away from "godliness," true worship and piety (1 Timothy 1:4; 1 Timothy 1:7-9; 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:16; Titus 1:1-2).
Exercise thyself, х gumnaze (G1128)] - strenuous exertion, as of one training in a gymnasium. Contrast 2 Peter 2:14. Let thy self-discipline be not in ascetical exercises, as the false teachers (1 Timothy 4:3; 1 Timothy 4:8: cf. Hebrews 5:14; Hebrews 12:11), but with a view to godliness (1 Timothy 6:11-12). Christianity is a discipline as well as a dogma.