Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
Summary: In this passage, Paul gives us a warning: God cannot be mocked. To fully understand his meaning we need to explore how mockery works.
The word “mocked” as Paul used it is described in Strong’s Concordance as “to turn up the nose or sneer at; to mock, deride.” I like the phrase “to turn up the nose” because it is so descriptive and relatable.
If you have ever hung around with Scandinavians, you have probably heard of something called lutefisk. The “lute” in “lutefisk” is Norwegian for “lye.” Yes, you read that right. Lye. Lutefisk is lye-fish, or white fish that has been cured in lye. After being soaked in a lye solution the fish is dried and can be kept without refrigeration for months.
To make it edible, lutefisk is soaked in water for days to remove the lye. When cooked, it is a bit like eating warm fish jello. As you can imagine, not everyone likes the taste or texture. Fairly or unfairly, lutefisk is mocked mercilessly by Scandinavians and anyone who has been the victim of a lutefisk dinner.
One of the reasons lutefisk can be mocked is that the fish is already dead. It doesn’t care if you mock it. Mock it or not, if you were starving to death and the only thing you had to eat was white fish cured in lye, you would eat it and like it. Still, if it does get mocked there is not a single thing it can do about it.
Not so with God.
People mock God for many reasons. Some, like a sports fan, have a favorite “god.” When they choose to follow a god who is not God, they set themselves up against the Creator of all things. If they disparage God or his Son, Jesus, they mock something they do not understand. If they did understand, they would know that God, unlike lutefisk, will have a day of judgment for every person he created (Psalm 9:7, Revelation 20:11-15).
When that day comes, we want to be able to point to Jesus and say “I’m with him!” If we can’t do that, we are left to stand there before the perfect and infinite God who knows every thought and deed we ever had. To stand before the power that created the universe without any advocate or defense is not a place any of us would knowingly want to be.
Application: Hallowed be His name.
Food for Thought: Why are some people deceived about God?
We are all born spiritually dead, ignorant of our own spiritual nature, ignorant of God’s Spirit. God reveals Himself to us in a few different ways:
In Creation
Romans 1:19-20 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
In our hearts
Romans 2:14-15 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
Through Christ
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Through His Word.
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Why are some people deceived about God?
They deny Him in Creation
Romans 1:21-23 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
They deny Him in their hearts
Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
They deny Christ
1 John 4:7-12 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
They deny His Word.
2 Timothy 4:4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
Chris,
Thank you for sharing! Your four ways we connect with God cover a lot of ground. Well done!
Great comments CH.
I am not going as deep😊. The thing I have noticed over and over again, is that some people are deceived about God because they want to be. They demigod because they want to be their own king and answer to no one. In other words, it is a heart issue for many. There is a deceived in Satan (Revelation 12: 9; John 8: 44) but sometimes we are self deceived (Titus 3: 3; James 1: 13 – 15; 1 John 1: 8 – 10)
* deny God (not demigod).
Thanks Rich!
Actually, I kind of like using “demigod” as a verb! I took it to mean they diminish God in their minds which is similar to denying God. 🙂
Excellent verses, too! (Link here)
Why are some people deceived about God?
Deception first bore fruit when Eve chose to reject God as she chose to feed her flesh, which resulted in separation from God and the arrival of death.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and A TREE TO BE DESIRED IN ORDER TO MAKE ONE WISE AND INSIGHTFUL, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world about [the guilt of] sin [and the need for a Savior], and about righteousness, and about judgment: John 16:7-8
We are all spiritual beings confined to physical bodies. Our bodies require food for growth. Our spirits also require food for life and growth. Time with God, His word, fellowship other believers, and prayer will all bring spiritual growth as we choose feeding our spirits over our flesh.
Today we must make this same choice as Eve as this world around us teaches, our success and value come from the “things” of this world we accumulate, while God teaches we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Matthew 6:33
Thank you, Ron!
Excellent points! Deception and distraction are very closely related. A magician couldn’t do magic without deceiving his audience and they can’t deceive without causing a distraction.