Evangelical Scoffers
Jul 16, 2009
Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
(Isaiah 28:14)
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Surely Isaiah grieved as he confronted the irony of religious unbelief in what was supposed to be the “Bible belt” of the Promised Land. He must have felt anger and disgust toward those spiritual leaders who personified atheism, and sanctified cynicism.
Motyer says that scoffers “is a wisdom literature term for someone far gone in spiritual cynicism, self-assured (Prov. 1:22), beyond correction (Prov. 21:24) and scorning spiritual realities (Psa. 1:1; Prov. 14:9). The word expresses an advanced stage of practical atheism: the world has to be run by human common sense—what would God have to do with that?”
Oswalt states that scoffers “is the strongest negative term which the OT uses to describe the wicked. It is the diametric opposite of ‘faithful’ (cf.Psa. 1:1, 2). Not only does this person choose the wrong way, but he mocks the right way. He is not merely misled, he delights to mislead others. So he is the very opposite of the wise man, who understands the order of things correctly (Prov. 15:12; 21:24; 22:10; 29:8; Hos. 7:5). When such persons are in places of authority, as here, their impact is all the more serious. Faith is never easy for human beings and when the highest authorities model the opposite, it is not surprising if faith becomes increasingly rare among the people (Isa. 1:21-23; 3:4, 5, 12-15; 5:22, 23; Jer. 21:11-14; 22:1-5; Hos. 4:1-6).” He bemoans that, “There is no more hardened nor cynical person in the world than a religious leader who has seared his conscience. For them, tender appeals, which would move anyone else, become sources of amusement. They have learned how to debunk everything and to believe nothing (Heb. 10:26-31), all the while speaking loftily of matters of the spirit (Jas. 3:13-18).”
Consider the evil that inspires religious scoffing.
In the garden, Satan scoffed at God’s word to ensnare the first Adam (Gen. 3:1, 4, 5).
In the wilderness, Satan used God’s word to scoff at the Last Adam (Mat. 4:3, 6).
In America, many religious leaders scoff at living by grace through faith. To them the personal application of our oneness with Christ in death and resurrection makes no sense. Waiting on God, seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance, seems naive and irresponsible.
We Southern Baptists believe that a man is saved by grace alone—through faith alone—in Christ alone. But in leading the church, we depend on our professional skills and executive strategies. We are ever learning without coming to the knowledge of the truth. The more spiritual ground we lose, the more faith we place in man. Professing ourselves to be wise, we have become fools.
Our flesh scoffs at faith in God (Gal. 5:17) because the essence of our flesh is confidence in our own wisdom. In Christ our old self has been crucified and buried (Gal. 5:24;Ro. 6:6), and in Christ we have been made alive and raised from the dead (Eph. 2:4-6). But we won't experience resurrection power (in our personal lives or in ministry) unless we believe these things to be true (Ro. 6:11-14). We’ve been saved by grace through faith. Now let’s live that way—by grace alone, through faith alone, in union with the Last Adam alone (Gal. 5:25; Col. 2:6-7).
If we American evangelical leaders go on scoffing at the life of grace (the practical application of our union with Christ), we will continue to teach people, by precept and by practice, how to live religiously--as practical atheists.
No wonder Jesus asked the question, ". . . when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8).