House of Hope Online

April 6, 2025

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Last time, I shared a word the Lord gave my wife Nancy, entitled “Vessels of Honor.”  We spent time in 2^nd Timothy 2, where the Apostle Paul taught us that being vessels of honor for the Lord meant being sanctified, or purified, for every good work.  Rather than quarreling with those who do not call on the Lord, and wrangling with them over words and worldly issues, we should intercede that God might grant them repentance, opening the door for them to receive knowledge of the truth.

This week, the Lord has given Nancy a follow-on word about dealing wisely with scoffers.  Whenever we share the word of God, we undoubtedly will encounter scoffers.  Now, a scoffer is defined in Websters as one who expresses scorn, mockery, derision, or contempt.  Scorn involves anger, disgust, and contempt.  Mockery and derision include ridicule and insulting speech, while contempt means to despise, disrespect, and to willfully disobey.  Websters’ definition is consistent with the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words used in the Bible for scoffers, or scoffing.

Don’t Be that Guy!

The Bible warns against sitting in the seat of scoffers.

Psalms 1:

 1 ¶ How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

 3 And he will be like a tree [firmly] planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

 4 ¶ The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. (NASB)

The Lord promises if, instead of becoming scoffers, we turn toward his reproof or correction, He will pour His Spirit upon us and make His words (wisdom) known to us.  But if we refuse His correction, Proverbs 1 teaches us there are serious consequences.

Proverbs 1:

 22 “How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?

 23 “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

 24 “Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention;

 25 And you neglected all my counsel, And did not want my reproof;

 26 I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

 27 When your dread comes like a storm, And your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, When distress [and] anguish come on you.

 28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me,

 29 Because they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

 30 “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.

 31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be satiated with their own devices.

 32 “For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, And the complacency of fools shall destroy them.

 33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely, And shall be at ease from the dread of evil.”

(NASB)

This is a strong word from Proverbs 1.  God is saying if we refuse His correction, He will not have a lot of sympathy for us when our storms come, or when calamity comes.  This does not mean God will never forgive us, but we saw last week in 2^nd Timothy 2:25 that in order to repent, God must grant us repentance.  We cannot just assume that we can repent.  We must be granted repentance by Him and be drawn into repentance by the Holy Spirit.  And to be drawn into repentance by the Holy Spirit, we must accept His Word, which includes His written (logos) word, His spoken (rhema) word, and the Word made flesh, Jesus.

Unfortunately, many do not accept the word of God, or they pick and choose what parts they accept or reject.  Those are the ones who are ripe for becoming scoffers.  Remember, a scoffer willingly disobeys.  If you willingly disobey in a courtroom, the judge can hold you in contempt of court, which has serious penalties.  So it is with God.  If one willingly disobeys His word, he or she is considered a scoffer, and that comes with consequences.

Do You Know Any Scoffers?

Today there are many scoffers, as the Bible has foretold.

2^nd Peter 3:

 3 ¶ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (KJV)

In the NASB:

2^nd Peter 3:

 3 ¶ Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with [their] mocking, following after their own lusts,

 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For [ever] since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Note the connection to their own lusts.  Scoffers willingly disobey because they are following their own lusts, their own excessive desires.  If you refuse to worship God as supreme, and His word as infallible, you become a lover of self, which was also foretold in the Bible.

2^nd Timothy 3:

 1 ¶ But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.

 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Jude 1:

 17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”

 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.

The word of God is true, and the word of God is saying scoffers will come.  Mockers will come, following their own lusts.  Jude 1 says they will be worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.

Therefore, God is admonishing us today to deal wisely with scoffers.

You Need Wisdom

So, if you are expressing the word of God to a scoffer, you likely will be met with anger, disgust, and contempt.  You may be ridiculed, derided, and insulted.  Unbelievers, who are deceived by Satan, despise the word of God, and those who profess it.

For this reason, wisdom is necessary in dealing with the scoffer.  The good news is: the Bible says wisdom is readily available to those who seek it.

Proverbs 4:

 5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

 6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you.

 7 “The beginning of wisdom [is:] Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

I love verse 7.  The beginning of wisdom is to acquire wisdom, and with all your acquiring, get understanding.  Comedian Steve Martin used to have a line on how to become a millionaire.  He said the first step is to get a million dollars.

But what God is saying to us is we can acquire wisdom, and while we are at it, we can get understanding as well.  Wisdom and understanding will go a long way toward dealing with scoffers.

There is better news: the Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.  As you try to acquire wisdom, know that the Lord provides it.  In fact, He is the only source of it.

Proverbs 2:

 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.

 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; [He is] a shield to those who walk in integrity,

 8 Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

 9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity [and] every good course.

 10 ¶ For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

 11 Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,

Not only does the Lord give us wisdom, Proverbs 1:20 says the Spirit of Wisdom shouts to us in the streets, meaning wisdom is readily available to us if we seek Him and believe His word.  This promise of wisdom is even more explicit in Proverbs 9.

Proverbs 9:

 1 ¶ Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;

 2 She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table;

 3 She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the tops of the heights of the city:

 4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks understanding she says,

 5 “Come, eat of my food, And drink of the wine I have mixed.

 6 “Forsake [your] folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.”

God’s wisdom is calling to us, but we must turn into it.  We cannot run from it, or doubt it.  Believe that God wants you to have wisdom because His word says so.  When you are uncertain of a matter, or you have no idea what to do in a circumstance, that is the time to come and eat of Wisdom’s food, and drink her wine.  She is inviting you in.

So what is Wisdom saying to us about the scoffer?

This Is Wisdom

Wisdom warns us about dealing with scoffers.

Proverbs 9:

 7 He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man [gets] insults for himself.

 8 Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you, Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

 9 Give [instruction] to a wise man, and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man, and he will increase [his] learning.

 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

 11 For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.

Proverbs 13:

 1 ¶ A wise son [accepts his] father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

In addition to Proverbs, Jesus also told us to be aware of those who would not receive the word of the Lord from us.  Jesus said we should disassociate with that spirit.

Mark 6:

 11 “And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”

While we are called to the Great Commission to spread the Gospel to all the nations, the word of God also teaches us to have discretion when dealing with the spirit of unbelief.  This does not mean we should judge others, but there is a gift of discernment available from the Holy Spirit to know when the spirit of unbelief is unrelenting.

Jesus confirmed this word in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7

 6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

There is danger here.  The swine will trample the pearls under their feet, and turn on the believer and tear him or her to pieces.  The Holy Spirit will send us wisdom to discern the hungry souls from the swine.

And we said in the last session, instead of becoming angry, we should pray with compassion for those who oppose the word of God, and especially for those who scoff at it, for they are snared by the devil.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for the wisdom of Your word, and the promise that the Spirit of Wisdom is calling for us.  Thank You for wanting us to have wisdom and making it readily available to us.  Thank You that Wisdom is preparing food for us, that we might turn toward You to eat it.  Lord, we ask for Your wisdom in dealing with scoffers.  Help us to discern that spirit so that we do not throw our pearls before swine, and quicken us to shake the dust from our feet as we leave there.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.