Arguments over words can lead teachers into great trouble and steer them away from the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Paul warns Timothy about those who are obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, and useless wrangling of men with corrupt minds and destitute of truth. Some in the Christian world even argue that the word "Bible" is of pagan origin, claiming it derives from the name of a pagan deity, but this is unfounded. The word "Bible" comes from "Byblos," the Greek name for the Phoenician city Gebal, significant in the papyrus trade, and thus associated with books, or "biblia" in Greek. Gebal itself means "line" in Semitic, not the name of a deity, though the city's patron was called Ba'al Gebal or Ba'alat Gebal, meaning Lord or Lady of Gebal. Similarly, words like "Jesus" and "God" are often condemned as pagan, with claims that "Jesus" derives from Zeus and "God" from a Teutonic deity, but these assertions lack basis. "Jesus" is a Latinized form of the Greek "Iesous," a transliteration of the Hebrew "Yahshua" or Joshua, meaning "Yah saves" or "Savior." "God" is a common Teutonic term for a personal object of worship, adopted by converted Teutonic races to name the one Supreme Being, akin to the Greek "theos" used in the New Testament. Caution is advised in this Information Age against theological arguments that hinge on the meaning or origin of a word, as they often lead to trouble, and Paul urges withdrawal from such disputes.

Arguments over words arise when teachers become proud and ignorant, obsessing over disputes that produce envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, and useless wrangling among those with corrupt minds and no grasp of truth. Such arguments draw a teacher away from the doctrine of Jesus Christ and into serious trouble. Herbert Armstrong therefore warned against anchoring any doctrine on the definition of a single Greek or Hebrew word; instead the preponderance of Scripture, especially its clearest passages, must determine the proper meaning. Critics have objected even to the word Bible, claiming it carries pagan origins and should never be spoken by God-fearing people. The claim is false. The term derives from byblos, the Greek name for the Phoenician city Gebal, which traded in Egyptian papyrus; books made of that material were called biblia, and the greatest collection of such writings came to be known simply as the Bible. Similar objections condemn the words Jesus and God as pagan, alleging descent from Zeus or a Teutonic deity. These assertions lack foundation. Jesus is a Latinized form of the Greek Iesous, itself a transliteration of the Hebrew Yahshua, meaning "Yah saves." The objections often surface within segments of the Hebrew Roots movement that reject any term not directly Hebrew, yet the etymological accusations remain groundless. By focusing on such verbal controversies, teachers risk neglecting sound doctrine and the practical duties of ministry.

Paul warns in II Timothy 2:14-16 against striving about words to no profit, since such activity subverts the hearers, and he commands believers to shun profane and vain babblings because they increase unto more ungodliness. The same passage urges study to show oneself approved unto God as a workman who rightly divides the word of truth. This instruction is repeated in I Timothy 6:20-21, where Timothy is told to keep what has been committed to his trust by avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called, errors that cause some to err concerning the faith. Paul further directs in II Timothy 1:13-14 and 2:2 that the form of sound words heard from him must be held fast and committed only to faithful men able to teach others. God's Word is presented as direct, frank, and open rather than convoluted, so that any called person can understand its plain statements. Those who desire to teach something different substitute hair-splitting parsing of words and twisted explanations that turn speculation into doctrine without scriptural warrant, exactly as the serpent parsed the word "die" to produce a lie. Such practices mirror the deviations already attacking the first-century church and continue to erode the one faith consisting of specific doctrines. The command to guard these sound words is therefore essential to examining oneself whether one is in the faith and to preventing the presumptuous unbelief that leads people to change divine directions and suffer the consequences.