Jude 12-16
These 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... These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
These men that Judas referred to in this Scripture are people who God hates. They do all kinds of evil and God's judgment will fall upon these men. When you study the characteristics of these men, you will be shocked at how these people are different from what you may imagine. Verse 16 describes the characteristics of these people. Firstly, it says that these men are faultfinders. In other words, they are not open about their complaints. They may appear loving in front of you, but may be attacking you behind your back. Many times, we talk about other brothers and sisters behind their back. We need to walk in the light and not be gossipers.
Secondly, these men are grumblers. We see that some of the Israelites did not make it into the Promised Land because they were grumbling against God in the wilderness. Grumbling actually gives glory to the devil. As such, we need to guard our tongue. We need to be careful about giving praises and grumbling at the same time. A well cannot produce both sweet and bitter water.
The third characteristic about these men are that they follow their own evil desires. Often, we enjoy freedom and we do not like to be told what to do. Many people work hard pursuing material things but end up being spiritually empty, and the end result is destruction. The fourth characteristic is that these men boast about themselves. We see many of these people are not honest. They boast about themselves, and put down others. This is a common problem in our society, and is not something the Lord delights in. Lastly, these men flatter others for their own advantage. We may appear nice to someone, but only to gain some advantage. In reality, sin is a reflection of our self centeredness. When we see the characteristics of these ungodly men, we see that we share some of their characteristics. Today, we need to return to the Lord and admit our sin. We need to ask the Lord to protect us and help us to be careful in our speech and actions, that we may live to please Him.
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