Jude describe the characteristics of their behaviour. ‘These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts.
As we read this we might ask, ‘Couldn't any member of the church be capable of murmuring and complaining?’ We would do well to think otherwise. The word of God treats murmuring as a very serious problem, a very dangerous sin. We must take it most seriously in our lives. It is something which we dare not allow to remain in our hearts. We must quickly stamp it out and remind ourselves of all that we have to be thankful to God for. The murmurer has got his eyes fixed on this world and his gains and losses in this life. If he does well here he is content but if things are hard then there is nothing left to make his life tolerable. But the Christian must think quite differently to this. His hope is not in this life, for he has been warned to expect tribulation here. He should be ready to suffer the loss of all things for Christ's sake. He remains cheerful despite great trials, and obeys the commandment to rejoice in the Lord always. It is not possible to have this mind and at the same time to be a complainer. The Christian may slip and begin to feel that his lot is unreasonable, but when this happens he must quickly take hold of his thinking and remember that his treasure is not on the earth but in heaven.