What Jesus' Brother Jude Wanted Us To Know | Verse 16, Part 3 | The Flatteries of Falsities
These critiques in verse 16 accentuate Jude’s entire letter up to this point. There is no mistaking his urgency and focused effort to call not only the heretic out, but to also call Christians to a more ardent and strenuous endeavor for faithfulness—faithfulness to the truth that has been delivered to the saints once and for all.
We have already unpacked the first part of this verse, word by word, as Jude summarizes the false teachers he has been indicting and warning us about throughout his letter. They are, in his own words, “grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires.”
The second part of verse 16 completes his nutshell articulation of these spiritual imposters. Jude describes them as “loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.”
Just as “grumblers” ties back to the grumbling Israelites in verse five, or the “malcontents” ties back to the rebellious angels and the adulterers and homosexuals in Sodom and Gomorrah in verses six and seven, so do the “loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage” tie back to verses 12–13. Here, the false teachers feasted at the love feasts under the pretense of fellowship, yet truly seeking to feed their own ungodly appetites of sensuality.
The whole epistle, as Jude intends, wreaks of the selfish nature of the false teachers. Rooted in a wrong doctrine of salvation and sanctification, they continue to feed and nurture their greedy nature.
In verse 16, the Greek word for “showing favoritism” is thaumazo, which means “to wonder or marvel,” or “to be held in admiration.” It can also be translated to “flattering people” as is the case in the NASB.
It is a sad irony that people tend to love in spiritual leaders what they loathe in political leaders—a willingness to say what the general populace wants to hear without a real conviction of their own. People can be guilty of this without even realizing it. The only form of protection against this is to be personally involved in the study of the sacred Scriptures, “which are able to make [us] wise” (2 Tim 3:15).
Paul told Timothy it is only when people “will not endure sound teaching” (emphasis mine) that they will then—instead—“accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth” (2 Tim 4:3–4). This all assumes that the people have been exposed to the sound teaching of the truth and have then decided not to “endure” it, but rather to “turn away from [it]”.
Only a love for the truth, first and foremost, will keep our noses in Scripture and ensure we surround ourselves with faithful men who have been entrusted with the sacred task of expositing the Word of God (2:2).
The Apostle Paul is undoubtedly the preeminent man of faithfulness that we can look to as a model for ministry—other than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself—and he decided to know and preach nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). Unlike the false teachers in Jude 16 who flattered for selfish gain, Paul “never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed” (1 Thess 2:5). In fact, the very reason that he was often being persecuted was a living proof of the fact that he was not preaching to please men as he pointed out in Galatians 1:10 and 5:11.
In closing his extraordinary epistle to the Romans, Paul warns his readers of those who “cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have been taught; avoid them,” he states plainly. “For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve” (16:17 – 18). Jude similarly writes later in verse 19 that “it is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”
In Proverbs we are told that “a flattering mouth works ruin” (26:28) and that “a man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet” (29:5). Along with Jude and Paul, keep these in mind as we also reference Psalm 5—a song packed with truth relevant to our study today. Its twelve verses are worth reading in their entirety for the sake of this discussion:
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. 3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. 8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.
When considering this Psalm, we quickly see the disaster that awaits the false teachers in the church who are “loud-mouthed boasters” (Jude 16) for they, as David states to God, “shall not stand before your eyes” (Ps 5:5). These men are described by David as having “no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with the tongue” (vs. 9).
“Make them bear their guilt, O God,” (vs. 10) David pleads.
If any of these phrases sound familiar it is because Paul quoted this very psalm in Romans 3 when he described the human condition that every man and woman is born with. Lest we fall into a self-righteous disposition that puffs ourselves up by way of denouncing false teachers, we must remember that we were those very types of people that Jude condemns. The only difference, more than likely, is that you and I were not popular false teachers within the church masquerading as orthodox teachers of Scripture. No matter, we were in fact guilty of the same sinful nature before the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed us from all unrighteousness.
In Romans 3, Paul quotes from six different Old Testament texts to paint a picture of the human condition:
10 “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
For the believer in Christ who has repented of their sins, we have experienced what Paul later gets to in this same chapter, namely the “redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (vs. 24). With this salvation we are no longer living for the flesh and the will of man, but for our Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul told the Corinthians right after rattling off a list of sins that unredeemed people consistently commit—marks of those not going to Heaven—that “such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11).
Let us, then, as redeemed people, not allow ourselves to be surrounded and influenced by teachers in the church who presume to know God and His will while holding to false doctrines and living immoral lifestyles that identify more with the lost.
Some may wonder if they have ever "been flattered" by a false teacher, or what that would even look like. Some examples follow:
"There is a winner in you. You were created to be successful, to accomplish your goals, to leave your mark on this generation. You have greatness in you. The key is to get it out." –Joel Osteen
"Don’t just accept whatever comes your way in life. You were born to win; you were born for greatness; you were created to be a champion in life." –Joel Osteen
"I declare that you shall experience the goodness of the Lord in every area of your life!" –Creflo Dollar
"There is nothing going on in your life that you don't have the authority to overcome." –Creflo Dollar
"God has planted greatness in you. Let today be the beginning of a great adventure as you step into the gifts he’s given you." –Joyce Meyer
When you hear comments like this loosely made to anyone who is willing to listen then you are in ear shot of a false teacher who flatters and shows favoritism to gain advantage. Such is the case with these examples above. The gospel is made to be a mere acceptance of a god that empowers us to live our best life now, rather than to repent of sin and confess our submission to Christ as Lord.
Not only that, but Christ Himself leveled with His disciples, saying, "You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt 10:22).
Again, the Lord said, "In the world you will have tribulation" (Jn 16:33).
With all this in mind we must remember His warning: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25).
Jude's warning of flatterers is just as relevant today. His warning is tantamount to someone who points out the net being spread before us with the flattering pleasantries of false teachers (Prov 29:5). Rather than approach the people-pleasing flatterers who will potentially ruin us, let us, as David exclaimed, take refuge in God while we sing His praises forever and enjoy the protection He spreads over us! (Ps 5:11). "For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield" (vs. 12).
In Christ alone,
Ben
