Have you ever been laughed to scorn? Jesus has!

He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. – Mat 9:24 KJV
And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. – Mar 5:40 KJV
And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. – Luk 8:53 KJV

They believed she was dead! Why? Because she was dead! The fact is that she really was dead. But the Word (John 1:1) said that she was asleep.

Dealing with Unbelief!

How did Jesus deal with doubt and unbelief? “He put them all out (Mark 5:40)!”

How does Jesus instruct us to deal with doubt and Unbelief? He tells us to hate it! It’s evil, and we are to turn our back on it. Does God hate people who are overcome with fear, doubt, and unbelief? No!

He loves them enough to instruct us to hate them!

And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, – Luk 14:25 KJV
If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. – Luk 14:26 KJV
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. – Luk 14:27 KJV

To hate means to detest or “by extension, to love less.” I looked it up in an old print “Webster’s Dictionary” years ago. But, the definition that jumped out to me was to turn your back on. Whichever way you want to look at it or define hate doesn’t really matter. Jesus gave us excellent examples in Matthew 12:46-50 and John 7:3-10. John 7:10 tells us that Jesus waited until his brothers left. He wouldn’t go with them. Why? Because of their unbelief (John 7:5).

Is God Limited?

Jesus could do no mighty work in His own hometown because of their unbelief (Mark 6:4-6). Why? Because they didn’t see God Almighty in Jesus. They “knew” Him as the carpenter (Mark 6:3). They were offended at Him! Who? Mark 6:4 not only says in “his own country,” but “among his own kin, and in his own house.” His own family and in His own house (Matthew 10:36).

Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. – Psa 78:41 KJV

I have allowed the devil to rip my closest peeps to shreds through my own words, doubt, unbelief, and fear. I have been more concerned with pleasing people than seeking God (Matthew 6:33). Destruction (Romans 6:23)!

God’s Not Mad

God’s not mad at me. He wasn’t angry with Adam and Eve. He still tried to talk with Cain and instruct him in righteousness even after he murdered Abel. The prince of this world is judged (John 16:6-11).

God didn’t force Cain to leave His presence (Genesis 4:16). In Genesis 4:14, Cain, not God, is speaking. He is accusing God just like so many Christians do today.

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. – Gen 4:7 KJV

Accepted also means exalted. 1 Peter 5:6-9 explains what God is trying to explain to Cain. Who lies at the door? Sin (Romans 6:23). What does sin desire? To steal from you, to kill you, and to destroy you (John 10:10)! Why is God trying to teach us with His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17)? God wants His children to have life in abundance (John 10:10, 3 John 1:2).

The Truth in Love

Jesus is the Truth! He is the greatest!

The Truth is the Word of God (John 14:6)! The “god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4)” wants us to believe our circumstances, yes, the facts! Facts change! The Word of God never returns void (Isaiah 55:11). The Word became flesh and dwelt among men and revealed the true nature and character of God Almighty to the whole world (John 1:14, 1 Timothy 3:16). He accomplished His work on the cross (Luke 18:31, John 19:28, 30, Matthew 5:18). He has given every human being an opportunity to be chosen in Christ Jesus. Whosoever will believe.

There is Now No Condemnation

Romans 8:1 tells us there is now no condemnation to those of us in Christ who walk after the Spirit and not the flesh. Paul had just explained what my Bible has wrongly titled “The Conflict of the Two Natures (Romans 7:14-25).” It is really the conflict of old habits, beliefs, and doctrines versus the renewing of the mind by the washing of the Word (Romans 12:2).

Paul asks the question, “Who is it that condemns?” in Romans 8:34. And answers that it is Christ who died and now makes intercession (not accusations and condemnations). Notice it doesn’t say, “before the Father!!!” We are told to make intercessory prayers for all saints in the Spirit. Whose Spirit? Jesus’ Holy Spirit aka The Comforter (Romans 8:26-27). See “The Power of His Might.”

Laughed to Scorn

So if we are not supposed to be condemning and persecuting and laughing to scorn other people, what shall we say? How about edifying, exhorting, and comforting the whole world, from true believers to the evil and ungodly with the glorious gospel? The almost too good-to-be-true news. We don’t know who will or won’t believe through our testimonies (John 17:20, Revelation 12:11).

Edification, Exhortation, and Comfort

But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men [to] edification, and exhortation, and comfort. – 1Co 14:3 KJV
He that speaketh in an [unknown] tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. – 1Co 14:4 KJV
I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater [is] he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. – 1Co 14:5 KJV

1 Corinthians 14:5 explains why Jesus said that he that is least in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11, Luke 7:28)! Because John didn’t know what we know! He didn’t have the opportunity to know Jesus intimately or to have communion with Him like the disciples of Christ Jesus. Like we have! Jesus even said that we would do greater works than what He was doing (John 14:12).

Condemned Already

We were already condemned by the devil before Christ came (John 3:17).

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. – Jhn 3:18 KJV

Revelation 12 and especially Revelation 12:9-12 explain how the devil was cast down to earth. He is angry because his time is limited. He comes to deceive and devour whoever will yield to him (1 Peter 5:8). And he uses anyone he can to persecute the church (Galatians 5:15).

The Glorious Gospel

Is the Gospel that you believe, teach, preach, and minister “glorious?”

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. – 2Co 4:4 KJV
For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. – 2Co 4:11 KJV

If the gospel you truly believe is glorious, you will be persecuted.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. – Rom 8:29 KJV

Peace on Earth?

Luke 2:14 is announcing peace on earth between God and man! Not between men. We are at war or at least we should be.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. – Mat 10:34 KJV

A Man’s Foes

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. – Mat 10:35 KJV
And a man’s foes [shall be] they of his own household. – Mat 10:36 KJV
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. – Mat 10:37 KJV
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me. – Mat 10:38 KJV
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. – Mat 10:39 KJV

Persecution from our closest people is what hurts the most. That’s when our loved ones laugh scornfully because we believe and confess the Word of God.

Sickness, poverty, death, sin, disease, addiction, and anything else that comes to steal, kill, and destroy is not the cross we must carry. Jesus made atonement for all of these things. We can take responsibility and learn how to fight against the devil (Ephesians 6:11)!

Spiritual Warfare

Being laughed to scorn, or any other persecution is not something we can control. But we can pray for protection from and turn away from people who live by the world’s system and believe the lies of the enemy (John 8:44, 2 Timothy 3:5). We can love our enemies/foes (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, Luke 6:35).

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. – Eph 6:12 KJV

And we can make ignorance and foolishness flee by praying for wisdom and seeking first God’s kingdom by believing His Word and submitting ourselves (Romans 10:17, James 4:7).

What did Jesus do when He was laughed to scorn? He separated Himself from those who didn’t believe the living Word of God. You will want to read 1 Corinthians 10. Paul expounds on the importance of guarding yourself from those who are consumed with the world and why. He gives comfort also of God’s faithfulness in 1 Corinthians 10:13 to help us resist temptation.