Godly Living vs Ungodly: Spotting the Difference
We are too quick to judge. We see someone dressed modestly, giving generously, reacting calmly in public. We see someone religious, faithful at church, vocal about their faith — and we assume they are walking with God. We immediately label them Godly
But is that the full picture?
What if someone was given access to watch your life for 10 days — not your Sunday best, not your public moments, but your private conversations, your secret thoughts, your everyday decisions, your reactions when no one is looking? Would they walk away calling you godly or ungodly?
That is an uncomfortable question for all of us. But it is exactly the kind of mirror Jude holds up in his short yet powerful letter. Jude does not judge by appearances — he goes deeper. He examines character. He exposes what godly and ungodly people truly look like from the inside out — and the contrast will challenge everything you assumed you knew.
Jude — the half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55) and brother of James — wrote this urgent letter because false teachers had quietly slipped into the church. His message is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.
[Jude 1:4 NIV] 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Who Are Godly People?
1. They Are Faith Soldiers (v.3)
[Jude 1:3 NIV] 3 Dear friends... I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people
Jude urges believers to "contend for the faith." The word contend carries the image of an athlete giving everything — a fighter who will not quit. It means to we are to actively protect, defend, and stand firm for the truth of the gospel.
"The faith" is not just personal belief. It is the core message of Christ and his followers it’s the teachings about Jesus Christ, salvation, and godly living that the apostles passed down. This faith was given once and for all. It does not change or evolve with time or culture. We are called as “God’s Holy People”
Faith is given to us by God's sovereign grace — we have no right to abuse it or treat it with contempt. As its entrusted to us by the works of Jesus Christ in Cross. “that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people” we have no right to abuse this or treat this with contempt.
2. They Strengthen Their Faith Through Prayer (v.20)
[Jude 1:20 NIV]20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit
Jude calls this faith a "most holy faith" — a special gift from God. And the way to strengthen this “most holy faith” is through prayer in the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to pray in the Holy Spirit?
The Word of God and prayer go together. Read the Word to grow in faith (Romans 10:17), then use that faith in prayer.
Prayer is not getting man's will done in heaven — it is getting God's will done on earth (1 John 5:14–15).
The Spirit of God joins us when we pray, because He knows the mind of God and directs us (Romans 8:26–28).
When the believer is yielded to the Spirit, then the Spirit will assist him in his prayer life, and God will answer prayer.
[Acts 6:4 NIV] 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Jude's call to "build yourselves up" is a daily assignment. Think of it like laying one brick each day — every time we open the Word, every time we come before God in prayer, we are strengthening this "most holy faith" He has placed in us. This is not something we do occasionally or only when we feel spiritually motivated. Building faith is a daily commitment — consistent, intentional, and non-negotiable.
3. They Are Rooted in God's Love (v.21)
[Jude 1:21 NIV] 21 keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life
"Keep yourselves in God's love" — Jude is not pointing us to our love for God, but to God's love for us. That is the foundation on which the godly are rooted. It is this love that got us our salvation — not our effort, not our goodness, but His love alone. And when we stay anchored in that love, it leads us to the Cross. We begin to understand what He went through for us — His suffering, His sacrifice, His surrender. Read Isaiah 53 slowly. Let it remind you what this love truly looks like. A heart that sees the Cross clearly cannot help but be thankful.
Remember what we were before salvation:
[Romans 5:10 NIV] 10 For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
We were enemies of God. Yet by His sovereign love, He called us, chose us, and keeps us. That reality should produce in us:
• Gratitude — understanding the full weight of the Cross (Isaiah 53).
• Obedience — "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" (John 15:10).
• Hope — waiting expectantly for Christ to bring us into eternal life.
[John 15:10 NIV] 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love.
God's love is a holy love — not shallow sentiment. [Psalm 97:10 NIV] 10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.. To love God is to love what He loves and hate what He hates. This is what builds us to get to “bring you to eternal life”
4. They Are Ministers to Others (vv.22–23)
[Jude 1:22-23 NIV] 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Godly people do not only look after their own spiritual health alone — they look out for others. Jude describes three kinds of people we are called to minister to:
A. The Doubting — Show Mercy (v.22)
Some believers are wavering — unstable in their faith, susceptible to false teaching. Peter calls them "unstable souls" (2 Peter 2:14). Our response is not judgment, but compassionate patience. Gently lead them back to truth.
[2 Peter 2:14 NIV] 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed — an accursed brood!
B. The Straying — Snatch from the Fire (v.23a)
Some have already been drawn into the error of false teachers. Like the angels who pulled Lot out of Sodom (Genesis 19:16), sometimes bold, urgent action is needed to rescue those who have wandered.
[Zechariah 3:2 NIV] 2 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"
C. Watchful Worker — Mercy with Fear (v.23b)
"To others show mercy, mixed with fear — hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."
We certainly must love God's people, but we must also hate sin. Wherever there is sin, Satan has a foothold and can go to work. Defilement spreads rapidly and secretly, and it must be dealt with drastically.
[Galatians 6:1 NIV] 1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Some situations demand extreme discernment. Show mercy, but hate the sin. Do not let yourself be pulled in (Galatians 6:1). Not every believer is equipped to deal with deep corruption — it takes a grounded Word life, spiritual discernment, and the fullness of the Spirit.
Who Are Ungodly People?
Jude does not describe ungodly people vaguely. He gives a detailed portrait so we can recognize them — not as strangers, but as people who sit at the same table, sing the same songs, and attend the same church.
1. They Corrupt the Grace of God (v.4a)
[Jude 1:4] 4 For certain individuals... are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord...
Jude explains this Ungodly people “who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality “ – these Ungodly people twist God's grace into a licence for immorality — treating forgiveness as a free pass to keep sinning. But grace was never designed that way.
[Romans 6:1–2 NIV] 1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Grace is given so we can step out of sin and rebellion — not so we can run deeper into it. When grace becomes an excuse, it has been perverted.
2. They Deny the Authority of Jesus Christ (v.4b)
[Jude 1:4] 4 For certain individuals... are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord...
Jude explains this Ungodly people as “deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord”
Whether through false teaching or rebellious living, ungodly people reject Christ's lordship. They may use His name — they may even be vocal about it — but their lives do not submit to His authority.
This spirit of denial is ultimately Satanic in origin. Satan's greatest goal has always been to dethrone Christ. He does this by raising up teachers who deny Jesus as the only Sovereign and Lord. Satan’s teachers does the opposite of what’s written in Romans 10:9
[Romans 10:9 NIV] 9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
3. They Are Spiritually Empty and Self-Centred (v.12)
[Jude 1:12 NIV] 12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted--twice dead.
Jude uses four powerful images to expose the inner emptiness of ungodly people:
"Shepherds who feed only themselves" — they take from the community but give nothing back. They are self-centred to look at their own.
"Clouds without rain" — they promise spiritual blessing but deliver nothing.
"Autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted" — no roots in God, no life to offer.
"Twice dead" — spiritually lifeless, cut off from the vine.
[John 15:5–6 NIV] 5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."
Because they are disconnected from Christ — the true vine — fruitlessness is inevitable. They come to the love feast, eat without shame, and leave without contribution. At the heart of it is a double life (hypocritic life) — one that pleases the world on the outside, and a hollow, void spiritual life on the inside. What makes this hard to detect is that they often do not sense it themselves. Unless God's Word is genuinely rooted in a person and working from within, it is easy to mistake activity for fruitfulness. Their definition of spiritual fruit is simply different — and by their own measure, everything looks fine.
4. They Are Driven by Shame and Instability (v.13)
[Jude 1:13 NIV] 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Jude describes these as Ungodly with Metaphors in Sea "Wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever."
Like waves after a storm, their actions deposit ugly debris on everything around them. Jude says that just as the sea's swelling makes a lot of noise, so do these people — but what do they produce? Walk along the beach the morning after a storm and see the refuse left on the shore. That is a picture of what ungodly influence leaves behind.
"Wandering stars" — they lead others off course, aimless and unreliable, destined for judgment. There is no fixed point in them, It’s like blind leading a blind as Matthew 15:14 Says.
[Matthew 15:14 NIV] 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."
5. They Follow Flesh, Not the Spirit (vv.18–19)
[Jude 1:18-19 NIV] 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
These are the marks of people who operate in the flesh and not by the Spirit:
• They mock God's truth and follow their own desires.
• They cause division instead of unity.
• They operate by natural instinct — soul-driven, not Spirit-led.
• They do not have the Holy Spirit (contrast with Jude 20 — "praying in the Holy Spirit").
Satan's greatest bait is always the same — appeal to the flesh. What looks pleasurable and natural leads to destruction. Only the Holy Spirit and a discerning heart can protect us.
How do we discern between a soul-driven ministry and a Spirit-led one?
• Use the Word of God, which divides soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12).
• Pay attention to the inner witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16).
• A "soulish" ministry magnifies man. The Spirit always glorifies Jesus Christ.
[Hebrews 4:12 NIV] 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Jude's Historical Examples of Ungodliness
Jude does not leave us with abstract descriptions. Read thru Jude 1: 5–11 He points to five real historical examples — each one a warning from the past that echoes loudly into our present.
Example | Bible Reference | Sin | Lesson |
Israelites (v.5) | Numbers 14:1–38 | Unbelief & Disobedience | Association with God's people ≠ salvation |
Fallen Angels (v.6) | Isaiah 14:12–15; Ezekiel 28:12–19 | Pride & Rebellion | God judges pride — even in heavenly beings |
Sodom & Gomorrah (v.7) | Genesis 19:1–29 | Immorality & Corruption | Sin has eternal consequences |
False Teachers (vv.8–10) | Zechariah 3:1–2; Numbers 22–24 | Pride, Pollution, Mockery | True servants of God are humble |
Cain, Balaam, Korah (v.11) | Genesis 4:1–16; Numbers 22–24; Numbers 16:1–35 | Hatred, Greed, Rebellion | Old patterns — same judgment |
The pattern is unmistakable. Ungodly people follow the same old paths — unbelief, pride, immorality, arrogance, and rebellion — and they face the same judgment.
Conclusion: The Mirror and the Promise
Jude wrote this letter not to frighten us, but to equip us. He wanted believers to have clear eyes — to recognise ungodliness when it appears, and to walk confidently in true godliness.
He ends with one of the most beautiful and reassuring promises in all of Scripture:
[Jude 1:24–25 NIV] 24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
The call is not to live in fear or suspicion. The call is to be discerning, rooted, and active — and to rest completely in the One who is able to keep us from stumbling.
Go back to the question from the beginning:
If someone watched your life for 10 days with no context — would they see a godly person or an ungodly one?
Jude gives us the mirror. God gives us the grace to change what we see.
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