Mockery

Mockery

Mockery is something that is rarely spoken about, and when it is mentioned, it is almost always mentioned in connection with mocking by unconverted people and freethinkers.

However, there is something worse than this: the mockery that worshipers of God can serve up. When they fail to gain the victory over sin in their own lives, when they have lost faith in a holy and pure life, when they have suffered shipwreck, they are inclined to mock those who believe and who have preserved their simple faithfulness to Christ.

Such mockery comes from hard, bitter, and hardened hearts who, nevertheless, confess the name of Jesus as believers, as pardoned sinners. Those who believe are then mocked for supposedly wanting to be better than others, for being self-righteous, for wanting to save themselves, for being in bondage, and so on. This is the mockery of those who say they are Jews (i.e., children of God), “and are not” (in truth). Rev. 2:9. It is the mockery of those who have the appearance of godliness, but deny the power of godliness to depart from evil and to be doers of the work. 2 Tim. 3:2, 5. It is the mockery of those who always teach others and who never come to the acknowledgment of the truth in their personal lives. V. 7.

“Cast out the scoffer [mocker], and contention will leave; yes, strife and reproach will cease.” Prov. 22:10. Mockery is like arrows with poisoned tips. They don’t just cause wounds that quickly heal again, but people are poisoned by them; that is, if they are weak and sufficiently wretched to be influenced by mockery. Those who are faithful and devout are either spared from such arrows, or the arrows are ineffective against the shield of faith and fall to the ground.

When “believers” have been corrupted in their minds, they mock those who are true believers, those who are holy and devout. Among other things, they will become targets for mocking words. 1 Tim. 6:4-5.

The usual mocking words (by way of example) can be something like this: “Sure, we’ll see about that; imagine that; he thinks he is better than other people.” Or if it concerns a leader, they call him “Pope,” and if there is someone who is willing to be led faithfully, “What a slave.”

In the epistle of Jude, we find the expressions, “Speak evil of [mock] dignitaries” [high authorities], and “These speak evil of [mock] whatever they do not know.” One of these high authorities that many worshipers of God do not know (in spite of having heard and read much about it) is the church, the church of the living God and of Christ, His body, His bride! His tabernacle! See Revelation 13:6.

These high authorities, kings, co-regents, and God’s holy Word can be so foreign and unknown even to preachers and leaders of God’s people that—in their complete ignorance— they can even permit themselves to make fun of and mock God’s Word, as a normally nice preacher did recently. He made fun of the fact that Jesus, though He was God’s Son, learned obedience by the things which He suffered. Heb. 5:8.

He was probably not aware that this is God’s Word, but in his ignorance, he thought that these were our words. And so he mocked what he did not know and what was too high for him. He mocked high and holy things, and high authorities.

Mockery is the worst thing! It is chiefly by their mockery that we shall be able to recognize the beast and the Antichrist. See Revelation 13:1, 5, 6. Let us be exceptionally watchful when it concerns these terrible things.