My dear readers,

Determining a Scorner

Proverbs 15:12: “ A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.”

In life, all believers will make mistakes and will still commit transgressions no matter how hard they desire to be perfect. They know that as long as they serve and witness for Christ on earth in this earthen vessel, the struggle against sin and unto holiness remains. As they mature in faith they will sin less and less but transgression remains. It is under these circumstances that Proverbs 15:12 impacts believers. All believers need to be warned and admonished at times. It is how we respond to these admonishments that determines who we really are: scorners or wise?

A scorner is a person who literally “makes mouths at” someone or something. In other words, he scoffs like a person struggling to pronounce a foreign language. His mouth is moving and often unintelligible sounds are made.

: A scorner does not love the one who reproves him. The scorner has committed a transgression and is rebuked. As the people of God, it was important that every Israelite bear a holy witness for Christ, similarly for today’s professing believers. It does not mean that everyone in Israel was a believer but everyone in Israel was regarded as the people of God. Hence rebuke was necessary. The church is also in the same state albeit much smaller in scale and numbers. Not everyone in the church is a believer although all of them may call themselves Christians or at least have been identified as members of a local church. To this end, they will need to be admonished or rebuked when they sin. Church discipline, like suspension or deposition or even excommunication, might be required when the transgressors refuse to repent; or when a sin committed is a serious one whereby sincere fruits of repentance need to be seen in the sinner’s life after confession. Under such circumstances, the sinner needs to repent sincerely and not murmur like the scorner.

Sadly, it is observed that more often than not, murmuring and scorning seem to characterize some of these individuals rather than genuine repentance. When a believer sinned and has been reproved and is genuine in his repentance, the Scripture says here he ought to love the person who reproved him. Why is this so? To reprove a person is not a delightful experience. The reprover takes the risk of getting his head bitten off, being attacked or maligned for pointing out sin. But when the love for Christ and the love for the person constrain him, he is prepared to take the risk. That is why God says the sinner ought to love the one who reproves him. First, he helps the sinner to stop sinning hence the anger of the LORD is removed from the sinner’s life. Second, he helps the sinner stop bringing shame to the Name of Christ by his transgression and also to stop causing others around him to be stumbled by his transgression. The sinner has much to thank the one who reproves him such that the only right response is to love the reprover. But the scorner will not love his reprover.

This was Moses’ experience when he rebuked Korah, Dathan, Abiram and 250 princes who gathered to challenge his leadership and Aaron’s priesthood. Moses warned and rebuked Korah and the men of renown who had the backing of the congregation of Israelites. When they refused to stop and repent of their sins, the LORD destroyed them. All of them were killed on the spot by the LORD including the families of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. The judgment of the LORD was swift and immediate because the iniquities were extremely serious. The next day the congregation rebuked and blamed Moses and Aaron for the deaths of these men. This is recorded in Numbers 16:41: “ But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.” The evil men were called “the people of the LORD” whereas Moses and Aaron were called killers! The congregation knew that the evil men were killed by the LORD even though Moses was the one who prayed for the judgment of the LORD to come. Numbers 16:28-34: “ And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.”

The immediate judgment on these scorners was the death of 14,700 Israelites.

No Approaching the Wise : When the scorner rejects the admonishment of the one who reproves him, the outcome is that he will not go to the wise. To remain with the wise is to be rebuked, for the wise will tell the scorner to repent of his sin and love the one who loves him enough to reprove him. So the scorner will not go to the wise, but to the unwise. These unwise ones will be like him. They will encourage him to scorn and hate the one who reproves him. These unwise ones will convince him that he is right and that he has not done anything wrong even though it is clear that he has transgressed the Word of God. In this manner, the scorner remains in sin and causes others to sin with him as they will pander to his sinful scorning like the congregation in Moses’ days.

The wise are truly born-again believers who will not allow kinship to colour their judgment. They will judge based upon the Word of truth and will tell the truth even though it might hurt the sinner.

The sinner is not a scorner if he repents and loves the one who reproves him. This is the only way to maintain his holy witness for Christ as a child of God. Do not be a scorner, go to the wise. Will a truly born-again child of God scorn when he hears the holy Word of his heavenly Father correcting him?