But they [scoffers] deliberately forget …
Summary: Today, Peter shares a powerful insight into the psyche of the scoffer. Knowing that they deliberately choose the path they are on helps us to avoid the trap of falling in with their ways.
“Hutzpah” is a wonderful Yiddish word. It is used to describe a person who is arrogant, self-centered, and insolent. It is a word that describes the scoffer well. In today’s passage, Peter points to the reason scoffers scoff. It is also why we say they have hutzpah.
The scoffer stands alone in the world. In his mind, he goes far beyond Descartes’ “I think therefore I am.” The scoffer says to himself, “I think, therefore I decide what is right and wrong.” The scoffer is their own authority. They are a law unto themselves. They are the center of their own universe, and they believe that everyone else’s universe should agree with theirs.
Because of this amazing superpower, they can choose to decide what is real and what is not real for everyone!
Scoffers choose to forget the judgments God has rendered in the past and those he will render in the future. They also choose to forget God’s authority and power to implement his judgments. Peter will detail an outline of this in the next few verses. Much of the second chapter of his letter was about this. God can judge and will judge and his judgments are just (John 5: 30, Revelation 16: 7).
Imagine a scoffer getting into a fast car and driving down the highway. They have been told not to tailgate, but they do it anyway. They “deliberately forget” the warnings and the accidents that they see on the road. None of that bad stuff is ever going to happen to them. Until it does…
One moment they glance at a text or fiddle with the radio, the next moment they look up and everyone else has their brake lights on. Judgment has arrived! The laws of physics do not bow to arrogance or pride. Mass and momentum affect the humble and the prideful alike. Eyes flare open, brakes lock, tires scream and bending metal groans as the two cars collide. What was a shiny piece of engineering excellence is now, in the blink of an eye, converted into worthless shards of plastic and metal. The car does not survive. Whether the body of the driver and passengers survive is up to God.
Assuming everyone survives the wreckage, does the scoffer learn from his mistake? Is he humbled by God’s leniency? Does he look at the crumpled metal and feel the cuts and bruises and think, “How could I be that stupid?”
No.
The scoffer does not learn. It was the “other guy’s fault.” “They shouldn’t have braked then!” “Who caused all that?!” “Stupid drivers.”
In the same way, scoffers see what has happened throughout history. Bible stories are just “stories.” History does not have to repeat itself. Things will work out the way I want because I want them to.
Every day, we get to choose what we want to believe. Am I created by God, or am I a self-made person? Should I be grateful for the life and health that I have or should I be angry that I do not have more?
How we see ourselves in relation to God makes all the difference. Hutzpah or humility; it is your choice.
Application: All of us can close our eyes to the truth. Choose humility. It makes all the difference.
Food for Thought: What does it take to make a scoffer “remember” the truth?
Prayer. For God to unharden their hearts, and open their eyes to see.
Ephesians 1:18, Acts 28:18, Psalm 34:8, 2 Kings 6:17, Psalm 119:18,
Sorry to keep it short. But in all things pray.
May God continuously guide us to open our eyes, minds, and hearts so that we may glorify Him with our thoughts and actions; today and always – Amen.
I agree. We can’t make them remember truth by hitting them over the head with it. There are some things you can only entrust to God, and stop trying to take it on on your own.
Does that make prayer the best medicine?
Yes! 🙂
I like prayer with laughter……. humble laughter. Or a hugging prayer. . …… with laughter.
T –
I know what you mean, and I agree! 🙂
Mr. T,
Thank you! Short and sweet!
Prayer is a blessing that I keep learning more and more about. You have pointed out one of the most important blessings – there are some things only God can do, and we need to ask him to intervene.
Another blessing is the unburdening of our own heart. If we pray for someone, we have done something. When we feel a burden for someone and there is nothing else we can do, prayer is there.
Thank you Jeff. To many times I keep forgetting that prayer is doing something for them. I keep trying to wrestle with myself to figure out a way to help someone. Yet I pray for them and pray for a way to help them feeling unanswered and frustrated. Thanks for making me realize that my prayers were answered prayers to help them.
Today has been a blessed day with many reminders of Gods love.
Sweet!! 🙂
I agree with T. Can’t say it any better. At some point it is God’s work and we respond by being faithful to pray.
You have been a great role model in the area of prayer. Thank you!
GREAT COMMENTS TODAY!
12-13-2021, 2 Peter 3:5a, What does it take to make a scoffer “remember” the truth?
When Jesus sent His disciples out to minister to others, He told them to avoid wasting time in debate with others. Any place that does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them. Shaking the dust off their shoes was a way of breaking all ties with them because they had rejected His message.
Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:11
God has written His law in the hearts of all mankind and they are convicted or excused by their own conscience, and The Holy Spirit is convicting all mankind or sin, righteousness and coming judgement.
2 Corinthians 3:3, Romans 2:14-16, John 16:8-11
Scoffers despise and have chosen to reject all truth given to them by God. Their internal scoffing, scorning, mocking God and His word are being seen as they seek to justify and live in their own ungodly lusts. They have been blinded by the god of this world. It is impossible for them to see their salvation will only come through Jesus Christ and they will not respond to any correction.
Acts 13:41, Jude 1:18, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Proverbs 13:1
Their defiance shows as they are against all that is godly. But the Lord only laughs as He sees the day of their judgement coming. God will not be made a fool and every person will reap what he has sown. Corruption will come from the flesh while eternal life will come from the Spirit.
Psalm 37:12-13, Galatians 6:7-8,
“For it is written, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.” Therefore, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Romans 14:11-12
God is the Ruler over all things. As His servants we are accountable for how we use the time He gives us each day. We best serve Him by focusing on our obedience to His guidance to increase His Kingdom on earth as we leave the conviction of the scoffer to Him.
Ron,
Another excellent meditation on today’s question. I appreciate you bringing in the “Shake the dust off your feet” command. It is easy to get focused on serving and forget that there are guard rails that God has put in place on how we spend our time and who we spend it with. (See Titus 3: 10; Jude 1: 22-23; James 5: 19-20)
Thank you!
Good references Jeff. I was surprise with the amount of reference verses on this topic. I appreciate the other posts which mentioned prayer which I had not posted. Prayer is effective and we never know who might change down the road.
God Bless,
Ron