Jude 14-16 – Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Because Jude quoted from the Apocryphal book of Enoch does not mean that the whole book should be canon. The Apostle Paul quoted the Cretan poet Epimenides in Titus 1:12-13 but that did not mean that all the poet said should be canonized. A drunkard may point out hypocrisy to a Christian who touts faith but is drunk at a family wedding. Truth is truth no matter the fountain the spouts it. The Lord can remind us of truth using anyone or anything.
The point here was to illustrate the truth that our righteous God has always, and will always, judge sin. We know that the only escape from the punishment of sin is through Jesus, if indeed He is both our Savior and Lord. (Galatians 6:7, Ezekiel 18:20)
Jude calls their acts “ungodly” and even refers to the person doing ungodly acts as living in ungodliness. In the Merriam Webster “ungodly” is defined as “1. A: denying or disobeying God: impious, irreligious. B: Contrary to moral law; sinful, wicked.” Ungodly refers to things that do not come from God or honor Him, but instead are contrary to Him. Jude is describing such people who live in rebellion against God and the defiance in their heart overflows out of their mouths. They boldly speak heresies against God, as if their foolishness is bravery. They may put on the appearance of being bold, brave and assured, but deep in their spirit, in their soul, they fear the coming and certain wrath of God that comes to those who reject Him, the triune God. Unless their hearts are hardened beyond repentance, and that is something only God knows. It is also noteworthy that God will judge people not only for what they have done, but for what they have said. (Matthew 12:36-37, Romans 2:6) Of that judgement Warren W. Wiersbe writes “There will be a sentence, but no appeal, for there can be no higher court than God’s final judgement. The entire procedure will be just for the righteous Son of God will be in charge.”
“These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” These grumblers and faultfinders not only come to deceive others, but have already deceived themselves. They grumble about everything which is an insult to God. People who always grumble are those who blaspheme God by, in truth, telling Him that what He does is not good enough. In effect, that He is inept.
Andy Capp is a comic strip written by British cartoonist Reg Smythe. He once wrote something about grumblers. “You’re satisfied by nothing that befalls you; you complain at everything. You don’t want what you’ve got, you long for what you haven’t got. In winter you wish it were summer, and in summer that it were winter…” It is mindful of the saying “You would complain if you had nothing to complain about!” The problem with complainers is that there illness is contagious. Do we too often find that describes us?
The word behind faultfinders brings the picture of somebody who is constantly grumbling, a person who is always cursing their luck. Their circumstances are never a fault of their own, but rather the fault of “bad luck” which in reality, is an accusation of God. They accept no responsibility but rather blame their situation on circumstances, or person, beyond their control. They are never satisfied and are blamers. The spirit of a faultfinder is contagious and if they will not desist, they should be avoided, lest their spirt leap upon another who made the mistake of being too close.
Being free of responsibility of their circumstances, they are proud. Not accepting responsibility for one’s own circumstances and blaming others is a dizzying action like a dog who chases his tale. Though better is a dog who chases his tale because he hurts no-one. But the person who grumbles and fault-finds hurts oneself and also infects others who lack the wisdom to keep a distance and to certainly not to join in.
We need not be like these described, it is a travesty if we are. Those who act in such ways ultimately most hurt themselves. But the Lord has enabled us to not be as they are. He is within us to cleanse us from such things, transforming who we were to a new creation that is increasingly like Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:2) Besides, we have everything to be thankful for and that should take up all our time so that we don’t sink into complaining. If we feel such a perverse urge upon us, let us count our blessings from God and that will chase away our complaining and faultfinding. It will certainly leave not time for it. After all, God is good all the time and He loves us. Let our hearts be full of peace and joy as we keep that on our minds.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”