God will Mock the Mocker
Sep 23, 2019 17:34:25 #
Every day, in every part of the world, there are people who mock God. Many go out of their way to blaspheme, to ridicule, and to shake their fist at their Creator. The amount of mockery is disheartening, and its audacity is often breathtaking. God sees all this, and surely He could do something about it. Why does He allow it to continue?
God created mankind with free will. God wanted to have fellowship with us, a relationship with us. True, genuine love is voluntary. It cannot be forced or imposed upon anyone.
And because God created mankind this way—of course, we have the free will to disobey Him, blaspheme Him, and, yes, even mock Him. But we are warned in Galatians 6:7 that God will not always be mocked. The blasphemy and derision are temporary. There will be a day of reckoning, and, ultimately, a man reaps what he sows.
God cannot be deceived (Hebrews 4:12–13). Jesus' repeated words to every church in Revelation 2—3 were, "I know your works." We only deceive ourselves when we think our attitudes and actions are not seen by an all-powerful and all-knowing God.
It is easy for us as believers to point the finger at those outside the church who mock God. But the most subtle mockery of God, and the most dangerous, comes from those of us sitting in church. We are guilty of mockery when we behave with an outward show of spirituality or godliness without an inward engagement or change of heart.
Charles G. Finney, a famous preacher in the 1800s, wrote about the effects of mocking God:
"To mock God is to pretend to love and serve him when we do not; to act in a false manner, to be insincere and hypocritical in our professions, pretending to obey him, love, serve, and worship him, when we do not. . . . Mocking God grieves the Holy Spirit, and sears the conscience; and thus the bands of sin become stronger and stronger. The heart becomes gradually hardened by such a process."
Mockery is a dishonoring attitude that shows low estimation, contempt, or even open hostility. A mocker goes beyond mere lack of judgment to making a conscious decision for evil.
In the Bible mockery is a behavior and attitude shown by the fool (Psalm 74:22), the wicked (Psalm 1:1), the enemy (Psalm 74:10), the hater of knowledge (Proverbs 1:22; 13:1), the proud (Psalm 119:51; Isaiah 37:17), and the unteachable (Proverbs 15:12).
Mockers are without a spirit of obedience, teachability, discernment, wisdom, worship, or faith.
Galatians 6:7 states a universal principle: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
This is what it means that God is not mocked. There are repercussions for ignoring God's directives and willfully choosing sin.
God warns that mockery of what is holy will be punished. Proverbs 3:34 says that God will mock the mocker but give favor to the humble and oppressed.
CompellingTruth.org
GotQuestions.org
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
God created mankind with free will. God wanted to have fellowship with us, a relationship with us. True, genuine love is voluntary. It cannot be forced or imposed upon anyone.
And because God created mankind this way—of course, we have the free will to disobey Him, blaspheme Him, and, yes, even mock Him. But we are warned in Galatians 6:7 that God will not always be mocked. The blasphemy and derision are temporary. There will be a day of reckoning, and, ultimately, a man reaps what he sows.
God cannot be deceived (Hebrews 4:12–13). Jesus' repeated words to every church in Revelation 2—3 were, "I know your works." We only deceive ourselves when we think our attitudes and actions are not seen by an all-powerful and all-knowing God.
It is easy for us as believers to point the finger at those outside the church who mock God. But the most subtle mockery of God, and the most dangerous, comes from those of us sitting in church. We are guilty of mockery when we behave with an outward show of spirituality or godliness without an inward engagement or change of heart.
Charles G. Finney, a famous preacher in the 1800s, wrote about the effects of mocking God:
"To mock God is to pretend to love and serve him when we do not; to act in a false manner, to be insincere and hypocritical in our professions, pretending to obey him, love, serve, and worship him, when we do not. . . . Mocking God grieves the Holy Spirit, and sears the conscience; and thus the bands of sin become stronger and stronger. The heart becomes gradually hardened by such a process."
Mockery is a dishonoring attitude that shows low estimation, contempt, or even open hostility. A mocker goes beyond mere lack of judgment to making a conscious decision for evil.
In the Bible mockery is a behavior and attitude shown by the fool (Psalm 74:22), the wicked (Psalm 1:1), the enemy (Psalm 74:10), the hater of knowledge (Proverbs 1:22; 13:1), the proud (Psalm 119:51; Isaiah 37:17), and the unteachable (Proverbs 15:12).
Mockers are without a spirit of obedience, teachability, discernment, wisdom, worship, or faith.
Galatians 6:7 states a universal principle: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
This is what it means that God is not mocked. There are repercussions for ignoring God's directives and willfully choosing sin.
God warns that mockery of what is holy will be punished. Proverbs 3:34 says that God will mock the mocker but give favor to the humble and oppressed.
CompellingTruth.org
GotQuestions.org
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
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