Thursday, July 21, 2022
Jude 1:10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

In verse 10 we are shown the contrast between Michael’s attitude and that of these filthy dreamers. Those that are lost have no idea of what the truth is. They speak against it but they really don’t know what they are talking about. There are lost people like our politicians who spout off without knowing what they are talking about. More importantly, Jude is talking about these individuals who reject God’s truth. Lost people scoff at God’s Word, but they do not know what they are scoffing at. They try to disprove God’s truth and yet they expose themselves as fools over and over again.
These people behave themselves as brute beasts. We have noted already that these people have uncontrolled lusts that govern them. They are undisciplined because they are lost. They corrupt themselves with their filthy dreams.
In verse 11 God pronounces a woe upon these people. They have chosen the way of Cain. Cain chose to make up his own religion. He was full of hatred and anger toward God and toward his brother Abel. His wicked, unchecked heart led him to murder his brother.
These men also follow the way of Balaam for reward. We see here that Balaam was a greedy man. He was a false prophet who was self-appointed and was looking for the praise of men and the material gain from men. God destroyed him in a battle.
God also compared these vile people in Jude’s day to the man Core. Core is a reference to the rebellion of Korah and his cohorts in Numbers 16. They rebelled against Moses’ leadership and accused him of deception. They tried to exalt themselves to a place that was not for them. God judged them and did a new thing there. He opened the earth and swallowed them up alive with their families and all their possessions. This was quite the shock to the many others in the nation who were also rebels but just not as vocal as Korah and his gang. Those others who observed that event, were not humbled by it. They tried to defend those who had been killed by God. Wicked people just do not get it. We are witnessing that in our world today as well.
In verse 12 we see the importance of separation. These wicked people still want to be included in the religious affairs of the godly. The word translated as “spots” refers to a reef or rocks at sea that are hidden and will cause damage to a ship that runs into them. These people were guilty of trying to corrupt the “beloved” by trying to join in with their feasts of charity. It seems that some of the churches would come together from time to time to hold a feast to express their love for one another. It seems as well that some of these were even pastors in local churches and they were corrupting the people with their immorality.
Jude went on to describe these people as clouds without water. They are carried about of winds but they offer nothing of value. That is certainly true of false teachers. It is sad to see how many people will flock to false teachers who know how to speak, but they speak lies. The lost cannot discern that. They are just enthralled by their words. They are that way when it comes to politics as well. The smooth talking politician can draw them in to their thinking and they are all excited about voting for them. The greater issue here is the spiritual one. A person cannot be saved on imaginations or on lies. A person must turn to the true God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. We have talked many times of the lies being spread by the New Evangelical philosophy that suggests you can be saved but still keep your ungodly habits and it is all good. You can be involved in leading in church activities, but your life is a mess. That kind of stuff can only be allowed when you have such corrupt leaders.
Jude further describes these people as trees whose fruit withereth. They bring no fruit to fruition. We have warned before of the danger of quick prayerism. Those who learn the art of leading a person in well orchestrated questions and generally give a “yes” answer and then they get the person to follow them in a prayer and then they declare them saved. They are well described here. There is no fruit. They are twice dead, and they are plucked up by the roots. It is tragic for the person who has been duped into these ungodly schemes. There are many people who can be easily manipulated. They are quite shallow thinkers and thus can be led to agree with smooth talkers quite easily.
That is why we need to contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints. We need to know the truth and we need to be grounded in the truth. We cannot allow our emotions to dictate our course in life. We are all emotional beings. However, we need to learn to control our emotions so that we are not led astray.
In verse 13 God shows us that He is not done with describing these ungodly people. God wants us to understand just how wicked these people are. Generally, due to our sin nature, we are much quicker to reject truth than we are lies. In the secular world, the government has forced the tobacco industry to put warnings on cigarette packs. They show ugly pictures and other things on the packaging. Yet those who smoke just ignore all that and keep purchasing the poison.
The same is true for the liquor industry. They have tried using advertising showing the carnage of a vehicle crash involving a drunk driver. Then they tell people to “drink responsibly”. Those who drink responsibly, drink water and milk and other good drinks. They avoid even looking at alcoholic drink because God tells us to avoid them.
We could go on, but in verse 13 God continues to show us the nature of these filthy dreamers. They are raging waves of the sea that create foam. These filthy dreamers also create foam out of their own shame. Those raging waves cause destruction for those who get in their way. These filthy dreamers cause destruction for those who are foolish enough to follow them. These filthy dreamers will definitely be ashamed one day when they stand before the Lord. They will also bring shame upon themselves in this life as they are exposed for their wickedness. They may act as though they are not bothered, but the drug and alcohol business is booming as they try to cover their guilty consciences.
They are further described as wandering stars. A star that does not hold its place is of no value to the sailor that is trying to follow the stars to his destination. The wise men would never have been led to the place where Jesus was, if that star did not guide them with purpose.
These filthy dreamers are reserved for the blackness of darkness for ever. It is a curious fact that the lost will be cast into the lake of fire and yet it will be a place of darkness. Fire gives light. However the light of that fire where the lost will go for all eternity is darkness. There is nothing good about that fire. It is not a warming fire. It is a tormenting fire. It is not a relaxing environment such as sitting around an open fire and talking. It will be an unsettling fire as those in it will be crying out in agony for all eternity.
God wants man to stop and think soberly about life. I trust that those who receive these devotionals will stop and think soberly about their lives. There could well be some who are not saved. You may tolerate some of the devotionals but other ones get dismissed. I do not know what you do with them. God knows. He has given you opportunity to receive the truth in your mailbox daily to help you to see your need to know Him. Are you squandering that opportunity? I hope not. We are praying that the lost will turn to the true God and know His peace and blessing today.
Pastor Bartel