Jude had grown up in the same household as Jesus, his elder half-brother. He knew the difference between truth and lies, and saw that false teachers who were distorting the gospel were evil in their hearts and corrupt in their behaviour. They lacked any conscience that they were offending God in failing to serve His people with the truth, while taking their money. The false teachers promised much but delivered nothing of value. They were spiritually useless - like clouds which failed to produce rain and trees that could not bear fruit.

False teachers are also double minded and unstable, as Jude’s brother James wrote, “...he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:6-8). Instead of being guiding lights, they were stars which had lost their way and were leading others away from Jesus.

Apart from the obscenity of their spiritual fraud, Jude was concerned that the churches should be much more discerning about the people who brought a ‘different gospel’. The Apostle Paul was equally stern in his assessment of such people (Galatians 1:6-9). Christian love should never tolerate falsehood, but be jealous for the truth. Therefore, church leaders and all true believers who love the truth should not allow false teachers to have influence. Rather, those who know the truth should proclaim it boldly and expose error, letting the Word of God loose – like a lion, to defend itself. The honest preaching of God’s Word will shame some rogues and highlight the folly of the others. And when you are in discussion with friends and colleagues, do not just give your opinion, let God speak as you read the Bible together with them.