The Contradiction of Ungodliness (3): Jude 11-13,16

¹¹Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion. ¹²These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted--twice dead. ¹³They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever... ¹⁶These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

Jude goes on a rampage against these false teachers in v11-13, which is similar to 2 Peter 2. We won’t focus on it all, but he gives more examples of their wicked ways, comparing them to more Old Testament examples of the same types of erroneous behavior we saw earlier – like that of Cain (they slander men more righteous than themselves), Balaam (they’re just trying to make a quick dollar), and Korah (they reject the authority God has placed over them). He says they’re fruitless, out to feed themselves, and they’re floating along the road to nowhere – to the forever-darkness reserved for them. Jude’s point in this section is that the false teachers are not living the life that a true teacher of sound doctrine would live. A person’s life shows a person’s heart. So take note of a teacher’s lifestyle, pay attention to how the teacher spends his money, and you’ll see his heart. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Finally, in v16, Jude, having taught that God will judge these false teachers, rebukes them once more with a series of adjectives describing their character flaws. Isn’t interesting that one of the most prominent things false teachers usually deny is the judgment of God? Yet we know that sound Biblical doctrine would never deny the judgment of God. Jude certainly doesn’t. And these false teachers will experience it in everlasting fullness – something we know nothing about. Repent and believe.