Jude gives us some more characteristics of these false teachers:
These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves;
A reef will sink your boat. You can't see it, it's hidden below the surface, but it's deadly. And here they are, freely enjoying the dinner service, stuffing their faces without a care.
They are the ones you wouldn't suspect, unless you looked below the surface to see what their motivations are. So we need to get to know our leaders, to discern why they're really there.
clouds without water, carried along by winds;
Clouds bring the promise of rain, but these are empty. They are carried along by every wind of gossip or worldly idea that blows.
autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
It's by their fruits you shall know them, but they have no fruit that is not withered and dead, and their roots cannot drink up the spiritual nourishment that will give them life. They are dead these two ways.
wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam;
(The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Isaiah 57: 20.)Wild sea waves are a picture of chaos, that works against God's order. And what these teachers cast up out of their own lifestyles is shameful.
wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
The word wandering is planetes, which means "an erratic teacher" who "wanders;" this word comes from planos, "an impostor or misleader, deceiver, seducing." So these teachers are trying to seduce their hearers into deceptive ideas, that lead away from knowing God.
And since they have refused God's Light, then they have chosen darkness, which will last forever.
We must be able to recognize these teachers who are in our churches today. We need to call them out on their misuse of Scripture in taking verses out of context. And we are to deal with these erring teachers in a gentle and caring manner, to set them aright with God's Truth that will set them free.
And if your church has already lost its way, then you must have the courage and strength to leave it and find another congregation that is true to the purity of God's Word. This takes much prayer and leaning on our Lord's leading here.
O my Father, may Your children be strong in Your grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we seek Your face and Your pure Truth of Your Word, connecting the dots to understand Your ways and Your plans for each of us, in our place in Your grand Plan of the Ages.
Strengthen us, Father, in the power of Your might through Your Spirit in us, to follow You in Your footsteps in the path You have placed our feet upon; that narrow road that leads to Light and Life eternal.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
