These are grumblers,
complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great
swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.
Jude 16
Dear Heavenly
Father, please hear my humble prayer.
Please be with the people who were in hurricane Harvey's path. Comfort them, protect them, provide for them, be there for
them. Send people to minister to them
and show the Holy Spirit. Encourage
them. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Jude continues to
describe the attributes of these false teachers. To bring deeper understanding to today's
text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.
"Grumblers"
in the Greek is goggustes which means
murmurers, one who discontentedly complains (against God), generally of
smoldering discontent. This Greek word
is only mentioned once in the Bible.
"Complainers" in the Greek is mempsimoiros
which means discontented, finding fault, blaming one's lot or destiny, blame,
complaint over an allotted portion, complaining about one's lot in life. This Greek word is also only mentioned once
in the Bible. 2 Peter 2:10 states
"and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of
uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are
not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries."
These false teachers grumble and complain about their life blaming the
result on God and others. However, their
life was a result of their choice to walk in the flesh.
"Walking"
in the Greek is poreuomai which means
travel, journey, die, moving something from one destination to another,
emphasizing the personal meaning which is attached to reaching a particular
destination. "Lusts" in the
Greek is epithumia which means desire,
eagerness for, inordinate lust, passion built on strong feelings, craving,
longing desire for what is forbidden.
These false teachers live their life according to their thirst for
forbidden passions.
"Swelling"
in the Greek is huperogkos which only
occurs twice in the Bible, in Jude and 2 Peter. It means immoderate, boastful,
pompous, excessive, beyond a swelling, bloated, oversized, braggart, spewing
words out of an inflated ego. 2 Peter
2:18 states "For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they
allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have
actually escaped from those who live in error." These false teachers spew empty excessive
words out of their inflated, bloated ego.
"Flattering"
in the Greek is thaumazo which means
admire, marvel, wonder, awestruck, admire one's external appearance, to
influence by partiality. Leviticus 19:15
states "You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to
the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge
your neighbor." Deuteronomy 10:17
states "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great
God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe." As Christians, we are instructed to treat all
people equally regardless of their background or their status. These false teachers hope to gain an
advantage or benefit by showing partiality to a group or individual.
To summarize, Jude
states that these false teachers:
- Smoldering, discontentedly complain about God
- Blame their situation on someone else
- Live their life according to their passion for what God forbids
- Construct their conversations out of their pompous, bloated, inflated ego
- Influence others by feigning interest and admiration in their target to get what they want
Remember, you are
the only person to blame for the decisions in your life, especially if you put yourself in that
situation to begin with.
These people are
[habitual] murmurers, griping and complaining, following after their own
desires [controlled by passion]; they speak arrogantly, [pretending admiration
and] flattering people to gain an advantage.
Amplified Bible
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