These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. (Jude 16, NKJV)
Jude gives essential warnings to Christians of false teachers who would creep in among them and corrupt the purity of the faith (Jude 3-4). He also describes these deniers of “the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” – we are not left wondering who fits the description. They are marked as complainers who murmur against the truth and the Lord who gave it. They use their words to gain an advantage over others in order to promote their personal, lustful agenda – not the gospel of Christ. Flattery is a hallmark of partiality and deception (Rom. 16:18). It builds someone up, not with godly edification, but with a facade of respect. The apostles of Christ did not preach with words of flattery, but with the sober words of truth and reason (Acts 26:25). Like Jude, we must unmask the frothy fawning of false teachers to see their message elevates themselves and not the Lord Jesus Christ. And, we can only do that when we know the Scriptures, live the Scriptures, and love them more than men and their praise.
Sword Tips 