Jude 12-16        Ship-wrecked Faith

Jude is greatly concerned that false teachers have infiltrated the Christian fellowship and describes them as unsuspected dangers, hidden rocks or dangerous reefs. Unseen dangers are seamen's worst nightmares, and they generally prove to be the most dangerous.

Jude 12 When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord's love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®,

The unsuspected dangers, which wreck Christian churches.

The apostle here means that there were people in the Church who had their own agenda. Instead of keeping the unity and peace of the Christian community, they were the means of wrecking both. They had joined the church to change it but the church had not realised that at the time.

1. They crept into the Church in disguise and unnoticed. They spoke with authority but did not have the spiritual qualifications they professed.

2. They wanted to use the gospel for their own evil ends. “They turned the grace of our God unto lasciviousness.” They divorced Christianity from high moral standards and sinful behaviour. The letter to Romans also addressed this problem. They turned the grace of God into an excuse for continuing in a life of sin.

3. They denied the basis of all essential Christian doctrine. “Denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” You have probably heard some ask, “What has Jesus got to do with modern Christianity”.

They think that they can have Christianity without Jesus, without His standards and without His abhorrence of sin.

What is the remedy for these errors?

Return, Repent, Resolve. 

Watch, Pray, Strive, and go on going on.

What are the consequences of these errors?   

A dreadful punishment that is certain and appropriate.

It will be dreadful in two ways

 (a) In the nature of it, "the blackness of darkness." It is a Hebrew way of saying ‘exceeding great darkness,’ or as it called in the Gospel, "outer darkness," as being furthest from God, the fountain of life and glory, and so expressing that extreme misery, horror, and torment which is in hell. Well, then, let us not begin our hell here and now, by shunning God's presence, by preferring carnal pleasures before the light of His countenance, by remaining in the night or darkness of ignorance or error, by darkening the glory of our holy profession through sinful living, by sinning against conscience, and so bringing despair to ourselves for all eternity.

(b) In the duration of it, “the blackness of darkness forever.” The torment prepared for the wicked is everlasting (Mark 9:44). This is the hell of hell, which, as the torments there are without measure, so they are without end. Here they might have life and would not, and now would have death, and cannot (Rev 20:10).

2. The certainty of this judgment.

Let us consider this judgement. It is “reserved.” Hell’s torment is sure, prepared and kept for the wicked (Matt 25). Worldly people may lord it over others for a while, and shine on earth in worldly pomp, but “the blackness of darkness has been reserved for them.”

1. Christ's second coming is as judge. When we frustrate the end of His coming as a Redeemer, we make way for the end and His coming as a Judge.

2. When Christ comes in judgment, one great part of His work will be to convince sinners of their sins. He will do that openly and publicly.

3. When Christ has convinced, He will condemn, and when He has condemned, He will execute.

4. The process of the last day is mainly against the ungodly. Ungodliness is man’s chief provocation for the law first of all reveals our duty to God. The dignity of every command is known by the order of it. In the first place, godliness is required, and then righteousness.

5. These ungodly people are judged because they commit sin with an ungodly mind. That is what the text says, “ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed.” A child of God may fall into wickedness, but not revel in it with full consent. People are not condemned for infirmities, but for iniquities. A godly man does not so much commit sin as suffer by it. He does not pour out his whole heart in sinning.  There are those leadings within his soul, which restrain him.

6. Pay attention to the next clause because what we say may be a bigger problem than what we do. They will be punished for, “Their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against the Lord.” It is not only the deeds of ungodly men, but their speeches which are brought into judgment. Words do not perish with the breath with which they are uttered. They remain upon record, and we are to give an account of them at the last day (Matt 12:36; James 2:12).

7. Of all men's speeches, it is what Jude describes as "hard speeches" which shall be played back on the Day of Judgment. Now, what are “hard speeches”? Either those with anger in them (Prov 4:24), or have pride in them, or contempt of others, or when we insult others over their miseries (Ps 69:26); or triumph over their failings. Again, it will be those speeches with bitterness and malice in them, or with lies and reproach in them, which will be judged. (Ps 64:3,4).

8. Of all hard speeches the worst are those which most directly reflect upon the honour and glory of Christ. Note what the text says, "hard speeches spoken against Him." Now, hard speeches against Christ are either blasphemies against His natures, or murmurings against His providence: Mal 3:13 "Your words have been stout against Me".

They blamed Providence  as if the Lord were blind, careless, or unjust, in His dealings with us. That is what is Jude means by the “harsh speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. When we speak against God’s ways, calling zeal, fury; strictness, a foolish preciseness; and godliness, Puritanism; these harsh things will cost us dear, here and hereafter.

To make sure we understand the kind of people he has in mind and to encourage us to each search our own hearts, Jude now goes on to describe the people who make the hard speeches. He gives us five examples of their evil words and deeds. With the exception of the third ("following their own passions"), these examples refer primarily to words. This may be because, in the first part of the letter, he has already mentioned the evil deeds of the godless people, and now he wants to concentrate on their evil words and evil teachings.

These, referring, of course, to the same people referred to in verse 15. The first thing mentioned about them is that they are grumblers or "murmurers." One way of rendering "grumble" is “speaking against.”

Who are these people grumbling about?

There are three possibilities: they are grumbling against God, against other people, or against both. Some translations such as RSV translate the text literally and come out with an ambiguous rendering “they do nothing but grumble and complain.” They really do not need anyone or anything to grumble or murmur about.

A case can be made for God being the object of these grumblings. The use of this word is probably suggested by the experience of the Israelites in the desert, when they continually complained against God. This matter has already been mentioned in verse 5. The complaints of the Israelites are described as “murmurings” or “grumblings”. Korah's revolt (mentioned in verse 11) is described in the Old Testament as “murmuring”. If we accept that Jude has the experiences of the Israelites in mind, then "grumblings" can be related directly to harsh speeches in verse 15, and these grumblings therefore are directed more to God than to other people.

The second description of these people is that they are malcontents. The Greek word here describes people who are "fault-finding," "complaining," or "discontented," never satisfied with their state and always blaming others for their situation. Nothing is ever their fault. It is either God’s fault that their qualities are not receiving sufficient recognition or it is the fault of the fellowship.

The third description of this godless people is that they follow their own lusts The Greek word translated lusts can be understood either in a general sense, meaning simply “desire” but in this context in a more limited sense, referring to desires in a bad sense, “evil desires”. Follow is literally "going the way of" and an alternative translation for this clause is "They give themselves over to do the evil things their hearts want them to do" or "They constantly do the evil things ...."

The fourth description is that these people are loud-mouthed boasters; literally “their mouth speaks in an excessive or, bombastic way”. The word used only here and in 2 Peter 2:18,  literally means "huge," but it is used figuratively here to characterize boastful, bombastic, or arrogant speech. If the meaning is taken as "boastful," then the object of the boasting is "themselves". If, however, we take the meaning as "arrogant," then this arrogance is directed toward God. Most translations render this expression in an ambiguous way, recognising both meanings. They are what we would call “big mouths”.

The fifth description of these people is flattering people to gain advantage. What it seems to mean here is that these people “sweet talk others” and they teach in such a way so as to cater to the wishes and whims of some people. Their teaching therefore is compromised to the extent that they will change i if that will please some important people. They do this for the very selfish reason, to gain advantage. This expression can refer either to material benefits or to political gains: they cater to these people so that they, the false teachers, can have their own way.