The men, of whom Jude wrote, poured at all kinds of invective and abusive words because their thinking was governed by things on a fleshly level. In Romans 8:5, Paul said that the world consists of two kinds of people.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

When you look at some of the things going on in their behavior and look at the things he classifies as fleshly, they might make us very uncomfortable. It's easy to agree with him on homosexuality. It's not quite so easy when he talks about grumbling and faultfinding in verse 16.

The Consequences of their Undisciplined Behavior

We're going to back up in the text a few verses so we can understand why all of these negative things make a difference.

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home-these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. - Jude 5-7

In verse 11, he recalled Korah's rebellion. Korah was a guy who didn't like the leadership God had appointed. He made some negative statements about Moses and Aaron. What happened? According to Numbers 16:31-33

". . . the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

It doesn't pay to mess with people whom God has placed in authority.

There were other consequences. Observe verses 14 and 15

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."

How Do Christians Respond?

Too often when we're faced with people and influences like those Jude describes - ungodly sinners, grumblers, faultfinders, those who follow their own evil desires, those who boast about themselves and those who flatter others for their own advantage (note that he lists all those behaviors in the same category), we wring our hands and bemoan how awful things are. Jude will not let us do that. He demands that we take a proactive stance. It is only when we take a proactive stance that we contend for the faith without being contentious.

The proactive plan is laid out in verses 17-23

• First, we expect to be challenged. As a friend of mine likes to say "the grenades are going to come over the wall. Jude reminded his readers that the apostles had foretold these very things.

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