JUDE 16

In Jude verse 16 the Bible is describing the individuals who will be judged at the coming of Christ. Verse 15 gave a general description of them when it spoke of their “ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed.” Verse 16 gives the detail of what are these ungodly deeds. Jude 16 says, “These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaking great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”

Five specific things are said that the ungodly do for which they will be judged at the appearing of the King of kings and Lord of lords. The first thing mentioned is that they are murmurers. They murmur against God and against Christ. They are also complainers. The difference between murmuring and complaining is that murmuring refers more to inner feelings, thoughts, and attitudes; but complaining refers to a much more outward expression in word and in deed. Murmuring and complaining are directly related to rebellion. If you murmur and complain, it means that you do not accept what God has chosen to bring your way. If you murmur and complain, it means that you have no faith that God knows what He is doing. Because without faith it is impossible to please God. God does not want human beings to murmur or complain. That includes Christians. Christians are warned against murmuring in First Corinthians 10:10 that says, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” You will not murmur if you truly believe that God is in control. You will not murmur if you are thankful for everything that God brings your way. You will not murmur if you are surrendered to God’s will in the name of Christ.

Those whom God must judge will be murmurers and complainers. They will also speak “great swelling words.” The words that they say will be a demonstration of their arrogance. No one has anything to be arrogant about. Anything that you have and anything that you are is from God. You may have many things to be thankful for, but you have nothing to be arrogant for. Notice that a “proud look” is first on a list of things that God hates. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

The last thing that Jude verse 16 says about false teachers is that they have “men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” This statement shows the problem in their motivation, and it also shows one of the reasons that they come into power in human religious organizations. The problem stated here is that they are motivated by the wrong thing. A human being should be motivated by questions like: “What should I do to please God? What is God’s will? What is the right thing to do?” Selfish people such as the false teachers are not at all motivated by such noble ideas. They are motivated by the following: “What do I want for myself? How can I get what I want? How can I advance myself? How can I keep others down so that I can rise to greater heights? How can I become rich at the expense of others?” Because they have such strong selfish motivations, they are willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill their desires.

Jude verse 16 says that the false teachers have “men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” Instead of admiring God and Christ, they admire man. They know that in order to get ahead they must please man. The way that they rise in human organizations is that they become students of what their superiors want to hear. Because false teachers are willing to say anything, they do not say what they really believe. They say what their superiors want to hear. Eventually their superiors trust them and regard them as good soldiers, and eventually they are promoted. This whole situation happens because they have “men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”

When honest believers see that type of person being promoted over and over, and when honest believers see false teachers of every kind rising to the top of every human religious organization, it has the potential of being discouraging unless the believer keeps in mind all of the teachings that Jude gave about the false teachers. Jude verse 17 says, “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Believers in Christ are not living for this life. We are living for the next life. It does not matter to spiritually minded people who has power and who does not. We know that Jesus has all power. What is important to us is to remember what Jesus and His apostles taught us concerning the false teachers.

Jesus and His apostles taught us what would happen in these days in which we live. We should not be surprised by the false doctrine that is on every hand. We should not be surprised that the religious phonies are given the opportunities of leadership. We should not be surprised that the deceivers have such large followings and such popularity. We have been told many times that it would happen. Jude said in verse 18, “How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.” Jesus also said that there would be false prophets. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Jesus also said in Mark 13:6, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” In Matthew 24:14 Jesus warned, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

Jesus warned about the false Christs, the false prophets, the false teachers, and the false religious leaders; and the apostles also warned about them. The apostle Peter wrote in Second Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” The Apostle John wrote in First John 4:1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
[18] For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

The Apostle Paul wrote in Second Timothy 3:1-8, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” Paul also wrote in Second Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

There are many other warnings just like these that have just been quoted that were given by Christ and that were given by the apostles. Certainly, true believers are aware of what has happened. If all these things were true two thousand years ago, then what is the situation today seeing that “seducers shall wax worse and worse.” These are difficult times. There are many false teachers in practically every organization. True Christianity as found in the New Testament is almost non-existent. Jesus asked the revealing question in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

The point that Jude is making is that believers should not be surprised or disheartened by the vast numbers of false teachers or by their influence. All of this was foretold. We should be able to take the information that we have about the false teachers and be prepared. Jude seems to want us to know several things about the false teachers: 1. The existence of the false teachers. 2. The character of the false teachers. 3. The methods of the false teachers. 4. The destiny of the false teachers. We see two of those things in Jude verse 18 that says, “How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.” We see a reminder of the existence of the false teachers, and a reminder of the character of the false teachers.

The false teachers are described as walking “after their own ungodly lusts.” This seems to be a common theme given over and over again by Jude: the selfishness of the false teachers. That is always a common factor in the human race when speaking of good vs. evil or righteousness vs. ungodliness. There is a direct relationship between selfishness and ungodliness. The more that you are selfish, the more that you are evil and ungodly. That is especially true of the false teachers. They are very evil because they are very selfish. That is what lust is: strong desire, and strong desire is just another way of describing human selfishness.

Jude verse 19 says about the false teachers and other ungodly people, “These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” First of all they “separate themselves.” This means that they separate themselves from true believers by their ungodly lives and their false doctrines. They are not really a part of the family of God. Too often, as Jude points out, they are intermixed with the family of God, but in reality they are not a part of us. True believers are those who have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, and who understand the greatness of their own sinfulness, and who give Jesus Christ all the praise and all the glory for what the Son of God has done for them. The false teachers will talk about a lot of things, but they will not talk about their own sinfulness nor how much they owe the Lord Jesus. The false teachers also will never worship Jesus as God. Only true believers do that. They might talk about God a lot, but they will talk about Jesus very little or not at all. They never pray to Jesus nor treat Jesus as God in other ways either.

The false teachers “separate themselves.” There are doctrinal divisions among those who call themselves Christians. Those separations, those divisions, ought not to exist. Where do the separations and the divisions come from? They come from the false teachers. In all of the differences, someone is wrong. Where did the wrong teachings come from? They came from the false teachers. They are the ones who “separate themselves.” Remember that all divisions among true Christians are caused by false teachers. Jesus taught that true Christians should be united. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Jesus also prayed in John 17:20-21, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Of course, the false teachers are not going to contribute to the unity of true believers. Note also that the false teachers have separated themselves from the true believers not by what religious organization they are in, but by the kind of people that they have become. Jude verse 19 says that they are “sensual, having not the Spirit.” They do not have the Spirit of God because they have never been saved by faith in Christ. This is another of the countless verses in the New Testament that shows that a believer receives the Spirit of God at the time of salvation. If you have been saved, then you have the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is within you. He is a part of your existence. The Spirit will always be there with you to guide you, to enlighten you, and to reveal Jesus to you. The false teachers do not have the Spirit, and therefore they are not guided by God, they are not enlightened by God to true doctrine, and they certainly do not have the person of the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to them.

Do not be like the false teachers. Do not allow yourself to be separate from the people of God. Do not remain only a “sensual” person. Make sure that you are a spiritual person by turning to the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. If you turn to Jesus, the Spirit will come and abide within you.

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