For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

JUDE 1:4KJV
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Jude 1:4 (KJV)

What does Jude 1:4 mean?

Jude 1:4 warns that certain people have secretly joined the community who were long ago marked for judgment because of their ungodly behavior. These people misuse God’s grace as an excuse for immoral living and deny the authority of Jesus Christ.

Jude, a servant of Jesus and brother of James, writes to early Christians to alert them about deceptive individuals within their group. He describes these people as “crept in unawares,” meaning they entered unnoticed, and says their actions twist God’s kindness into a license for wrongdoing. Jude emphasizes that their denial of Jesus and their immoral choices were foreseen and condemned long before.

The Greek behind Jude 1:4

  • "Crept in unawares" (παρεισέδυσαν, pareisedysan): This Greek word means to slip in secretly or sneak in by stealth. Jude uses it to show that these people did not enter openly but blended in without being noticed.
  • "Turning" (μετατιθέντες, metatithentes): The Greek here means to change or pervert. Jude is saying these people are actively twisting the meaning of God’s grace, not just misunderstanding it.
  • "Lasciviousness" (ἀσέλγεια, aselgeia): This word refers to unrestrained, shameless behavior, especially in a moral sense. Jude is highlighting that these individuals use the idea of grace to justify actions that go against God’s standards.
  • "Denying" (ἀρνούμενοι, arnoumenoi): The Greek means to reject or disown. Jude points out that these people are not just making mistakes but are actively rejecting the authority of Jesus Christ.

Why Jude 1:4 matters

  • Jude 1:4 clarifies that not everyone who appears to be part of the Christian community truly follows its teachings; some may secretly oppose its core beliefs.
  • The verse warns against using God’s grace as an excuse for immoral behavior, making clear that grace is not permission to do whatever one wants.
  • Jude’s words set the stage for the rest of his letter, which continues to address the danger of false teachers and the importance of holding to true faith.

Where else these words appear

“before” Greek G4270 · used in 4 verses

  • Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
  • Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
  • Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery;(as I wrote afore in few words,

“turning” Greek G3346 · used in 5 verses

  • Acts 7:16 And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
  • Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
  • Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

“old” Greek G3819 · used in 6 verses

  • Matthew 11:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
  • Mark 15:44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
  • Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

“men” Greek G765 · used in 8 verses

  • Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
  • 1 Timothy 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
  • 2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;