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Beware the Sneaky Creeping CrudPart Three
By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
© July 2, 2010
www.godsbreath.net
Copies of this and other homilies available by sending requests to: mikefarrar@aol.com
Jude has continually warned us of false teachers. Now we continue to read his descriptive warnings of their sinful life, deceptive beliefs and selfish motives.
In the second part of verse twelve and thirteen he continues with his, divinely inspired, creative analogies of their horrible character. He states:
“They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted — twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”
Notice the four descriptive examples from creation Jude uses to illustrate the worthlessness of these false teachers. First he compares them to clouds without rain that are blown about by the wind. Rain clouds bring precious rain to crops and creatures. Water is a requirement for life on our planet. Clouds that have no rain in them are simply collections of dust particles that have no value to sustain life. They are easily blown about by whatever wind might carry them away. Jude is saying that these false spiritual leaders are worthless when it comes to insights or instruction for guidance in the spiritual life. Worse yet, they are blown about easily by any wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:11-14). Because they do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them, they put their confidence in their fleshly passions and worldly insights, thus they not only entertain strange unholy doctrine, they encourage others to follow after them.
Next Jude compares them to fruitless and rootless trees. Every tree produces either fruit or seed to perpetuate life and supply food for creatures. But these false teachers, Jude exclaims, are fruitless trees. They bear no spiritual fruit. They are barren when it comes to encouraging life in the Spirit or stimulating spiritual growth. Not only are they fruitless, they are also rootless. A tree without roots can be easily toppled. Trees rely upon their root system not only for obtaining much needed nourishment but also for stability to withstand storms and wind. These false teachers are not only dead “once” because they are fruitless, they are dead “twice” because they have no root in the things of God. They are totally and absolutely dead trees. It seems that Jude is shouting when he makes the statement that they are “twice dead!” They have no stability in their lives because they are not grounded in the Word of God, they lack the guidance of the Holy Spirit and they reject the authority of God. “Twice dead” is a harsh but accurate description of their spiritual condition.
Now Jude compares these shifty characters to not just regular waves of the sea but “WILD” waves of the sea. “Wild waves” implies a lack of control or out of control behavior. The behavior of these false teachers is not only erratic they are also powerfully destructive. Because of their wild sinful and unholy lifestyle they wreak havoc on those who are attempting to live godly lives. If you’ve ever walked the beach in the morning after a storm at sea you will find on the beach all sorts of garbage; dead seaweed, animal carcasses, garbage made up of wood and human trash not to mention driftwood. This is the excrement of a storm that is deposited on the beach. Jude is using this analogy to illustrate the garbage that accumulates in the lives of these false teachers and how this refuse ends up polluting the church. These “wild men” if you will, throw up or discard their error and sin into the local church and upon righteous Christians.
Jude’s fourth description of these false teachers is that they are wandering stars. There are several possible explanations for this comparison. Possibly Jude is describing the false teachers as wandering stars such as meteorites. These appear in the sky as falling stars. They flash before our eyes and are wonderful to see, but eventually they burn out. These false teachers could be compared to meteorites because they are charismatic and flashy in their presentation and talk, but eventually they burn out and their sin and lies reveal their true nature. Another possible explanation for this description is that men often used the stars to navigate. Certain constellations appear in specific parts of the heavens and can be used to gain a bearing for directing one’s path. But wandering stars pose a problem. Without a stable orbit or fixed pattern, wandering stars would throw those using them for guidance way off their path. Jude is saying that these men cannot be depended upon to guide one’s life in spiritual matters. They may sound good, but they will lead unsuspecting Christians down an ungodly path that eventually ends in destruction. The last part of this verse has a tone of dark foreboding. Jude states that these “wandering stars” have a “blackest darkness” reserved for them. This judgment that is waiting to be placed upon them is a darkness that is so black that it can be literally felt. I remember being in the Subway Caves of Northern California at a men’s retreat once. We went deep into the caves and then turned off all our flashlights. It was so dark you couldn’t see your hand inches from your face. It was a piercing deep dense darkness. This may be something like the black darkness of judgment that not only awaits these false teachers but also anyone that follows their lies and lifestyle.
In part two of this series I mentioned how Jude quotes “apocryphal” books to more effectively communicate to those whom he was writing. We learned that an apocryphal book was a book that was not divinely inspired nor approved to be included in the Bible, but one that many people would read for enjoyment. Here in verses fourteen and fifteen we see another apocryphal quote, this time from the Book of Enoch.
“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Jude has just shared with numerous examples how detestable the character of these false teachers are and now he shares the judgment that awaits them when Jesus Christ returns. Christ Jesus Himself will return with countless angels to judge those who have rebelled, led others astray, led ungodly lives and rejected His authority and sacrifice (Romans 2:6).
In verse sixteen we return to Jude’s tirade about the horrible character of these sinful false teachers. In this verse he lists five characteristics that define their sinful behavior and evil motivations.
“These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.”
First, Jude reveals that these apostate Christians are grumblers. The word for grumble here in the Greek means “speaking out against someone or something.” In other words they are always grumbling and complaining about people in the church or how things are done. They are like people who complain in the summer they wish it were winter and in the winter they complain that they wish it were summer. Grumbling is not a godly characteristic. While we are all guilty of grumbling at one time or another, these disturbed individuals make it a regular habit.
Secondly Jude states that they are fault finders. They are chronic complainers always finding the negative in every situation. Their acidic lifestyle and talk is corrosive not only to relationships between Christians in the church, but it also influences others to have the same attitude.
Thirdly these devious people follow their evil desires. Whatever their selfish flesh desires they pursue. Sinful lusts dominate and motivate their thoughts and actions. There are no sacred boundaries for these ungodly individuals and their influence is destructive to others and abhorred by God. Imagine someone who seeks to fulfill all their evil imaginations and you have an accurate picture of the dirty minds and lives these false teachers have.
Fourthly, they are horribly boastful. They are arrogant individuals who seek to draw all attention to themselves. The Greek word for boast can be translated “using great swelling words.” They are so full of themselves, if it were possible, they would probably set themselves up as God Himself. They promise great things that they cannot deliver, but in the process of boasting, they can lead unsuspecting Christians astray.
Fifthly and finally Jude shares that they flatter others to gain advantage. In other words, they use people. They build others up with false encouragement to serve their own needs. These evil people are out for personal gain and they will do anything to obtain it. The Greek word here for flatter literally means “admiring faces.” I get a picture of these false teachers using their charismatic personality to draw attention to themselves as well as showering words of praise on others to “butter-them-up” so they can use them for their own ungodly purposes.
I’m not sure what else Jude could say in his warning to convince people of the importance of staying away from these selfish and sinful false teachers. He is painting a detailed picture of their character that further substantiates the need for the Christians in these churches to contend for the faith. This command applies to us as well. False teachers will always be in and around Christ’s church while it exists on the earth. It was predicted and it is constantly being a fulfilled prophecy. The question is, will we respond to Jude’s call to attention and go out to battle for God’s truth?
Next time we conclude this series with some encouragements of how to build ourselves up in the faith, save others from the influence of false teachers and trust in our Heavenly Father.
2 Peter 2:1
“There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
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