Peter shows why false teachers richly deserve destruction: “Many will follow their acts of loose conduct, and on account of these the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively.”—2 Peter 2:2.

5. For what were false teachers responsible?

⁵ Think of this! Because of the influence of false teachers, many in the congregations would become involved in loose conduct. The Greek word translated “loose conduct” denotes licentiousness, absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness, shameless conduct. Peter said earlier that Christians had “escaped from the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4) But some were going to return to that corruption, and false teachers in the congregations would be largely responsible! Thus the way of the truth would suffer disrepute. How sad! Surely, this is a matter to which all of Jehovah’s Witnesses today should pay close attention. We should never forget that, depending on our conduct, we can bring either praise to Jehovah God and his people or reproach upon them.—Proverbs 27:11; Romans 2:24.

8, 9. (a) What twisted reasoning affected some early Christians? (b) According to Jude, what were some in the congregations doing?

⁸ One Bible scholar noted that “there were those in the Church who perverted the doctrine of grace,” or “undeserved kindness.” (Ephesians 1:5-7) According to him, the argument of some went like this: “Do you say that God’s [undeserved kindness] is wide enough to cover every sin? . . . Then let us go on sinning, for God’s [undeserved kindness] can wipe out every sin. In fact the more we sin the more chances God’s [undeserved kindness] will get to operate.” Have you ever heard more twisted reasoning than that?

⁹ The apostle Paul countered wrong thinking about God’s mercy when he asked: “Shall we continue in sin, that undeserved kindness may abound?” He also inquired: “Shall we commit a sin because we are not under law but under undeserved kindness?” To each question Paul answered emphatically: “Never may that happen!” (Romans 6:1, 2, 15) Clearly, as Jude observes, certain ones were “turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for loose conduct.” However, Peter notes that for such ones ‘destruction is not slumbering.’—Jude 4; 2 Peter 2:3.