“God is not Mocked”
Introduction. Before “sin entered into the world, and death through sin” (Rom. 5:12), our world was a place of beauty and serenity. Many of the things we hope to receive when we get to heaven were there “in the beginning.” As he completed his work: “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). But “God is not mocked,” and we are still reaping what Adam and Eve sowed since now “cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen. 3:17).
Global Consequences. In Ecclesiastes, the full extent of what they sowed and all now reap is revealed. “Behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight; and what is lacking cannot be numbered” (Eccl. 1:14-15). Adam and Eve started with what was “very good,” and reaped “vanity and a striving after wind.” Many “very good” things are now “crooked” and “cannot be made straight.” Countless things made wholesome now “lacking” some vital part, changing it from “very good” to “vanity.”
Because God is not mocked, our world is now a jumble of “very good,” “crooked,” and “lacking” things. As each day begins, we “do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well” (Eccl. 11:6). That which is “crooked and lacking” leaves outcomes unknown. “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecc. 9:11).
Gravity was very “very good” in the garden, but is now often “crooked or lacking.” Never wavering in its pull to the earth, we walk without falling and drive without sliding off the road. But what does gravity do when we slip on ice or fall from a cliff? It becomes “crooked and lacking,” leading to a broken leg or even death. Thus the creation “groans and travails in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:22-23).
Personal Consequences. The consequences of their choice in the Garden will continue until our Lord returns and all is burned up (II Pet 3:10). But this is the least damaging part of sin’s consequences. Not only does the creation groan, but “we ourselves groan within ourselves.” When “sin entered the world and death through sin,” “death passed to all men for all sinned.” (Rom 5:12). Did we get that? Spiritual death & separation from God passed to me because I sinned and death passed to you because you sinned. God is not mocked. We still reap only what we sowed. It was my own actions that earned me “the wages of sin” that brings death (Rom 6:23). We sowed by our own choices and by them we reap that which is “crooked and lacking” in our own heart. It was Paul’s choices that led to his anguished cry: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Rom. 7:24)?
It is now our own “very good” in the “image and likeness of God” emotions that have become “crooked and lacking.” In the beginning, “a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). God created the beauty and pleasure of sexual union and “it was very good.” Each of us was born pure and with the potential to fully enjoy God’s gift. But God is not mocked. If we choose to misuse these emotions, we will reap the terrible lusts that are “crooked and lacking” which lead to adultery, fornication, pornography, and “men with men”(Rom. 1:24-27). For “God is not mocked,” “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.” (Gal 6:7-8)
No one can deny that every emotion in the hearts of Adam and Eve were “in the image of God.” Before Satan lied and became a “murderer from the beginning” (Jn. 8:44), Eve’s emotions were “very good.” As she stood before that tree, her temptations were similar to those of Jesus. Even those who are perfect can be “tempted in all points like as we.” The emotions Satan used to create temptation were not the problem. All of our emotions are “very good” and “in the image of God.” It is not wrong to see things good for food and want to eat them. It is perfectly lawful when seeing something delightful and beautiful to want to possess it, and who can fault Eve for being ambitious, seeking more wisdom?
It is never the emotions! It is always where they are directed. Temptation can only occur when our “very good” emotions are used toward things God warned us against. Temptations to sin are temptations to corrupt our emotions. Once corrupted, we are forever weakened in their power and can never fully trust them. They are corrupted and can lead us back to sin. When Eve’s “very good” emotions were directed toward the forbidden tree, she, “being quite deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Tim. 2:14). This is exactly what happened to Paul and to each of us. “For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” (Rom. 7:11). Paul speaks of the spiritual consequences here and the rest of the consequences in Galatians. “God is not mocked” does not only refer to the Judgment Day. There are other terrible consequences. The wages of sin is death, eternal and final separation from God. All other punishments for sin including those from the curse are only the consequences that grow from the act itself.
Other Bible Examples. The Scriptures are filled with the terrible examples of these other consequences. Clearly David was forgiven for his sin regarding Bathsheba and Uriah. There would be no spiritual consequences in the Day of Judgment. But what David made crooked could never be made straight. “The sword shall never depart from your house, because you hast despised me,” “I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them unto your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.” (2 Sam 12:10-11). Certainly David was forgiven, but God was not mocked, David reaped bitter anguish because of what he had done. When the terrible magnitude of this reaping was revealed he cried out in the agony of his soul and wept, “as he walked, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Sam 18:33). David knew his own folly and sin had started these crooked and lacking things in motion. What had felt so good and right led to this terrible event. He could not undo what had been done even with forgiveness and it created great agony. How many parents even today look at their children and feel as David, wishing they could reap the terrible consequences they have created for their children.
Jacob’s terrible lies to his father when he stole Esau’s blessing were also forgiven. But God was not mocked. Jacob reaped what he sowed. First with Laban’s deceptions regarding his wives and labor and later his own sons deceived him about Joseph’s death.
Our Choice. The choice now falls to us. We now live as they lived and our own choices lie before us. We can sow to the flesh and reap corruption as Adam and Eve in the garden. We can pierce ourselves through with many sorrows as David or we can reap the consequences of lying and deception as Jacob. But there is a better choice. We can use our emotions as God has directed. We can sow to the spirit and reap eternal life. We can’t change what is already “crooked” and “lacking,” but we can keep from adding to it.
Global Consequences. In Ecclesiastes, the full extent of what they sowed and all now reap is revealed. “Behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight; and what is lacking cannot be numbered” (Eccl. 1:14-15). Adam and Eve started with what was “very good,” and reaped “vanity and a striving after wind.” Many “very good” things are now “crooked” and “cannot be made straight.” Countless things made wholesome now “lacking” some vital part, changing it from “very good” to “vanity.”
Because God is not mocked, our world is now a jumble of “very good,” “crooked,” and “lacking” things. As each day begins, we “do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well” (Eccl. 11:6). That which is “crooked and lacking” leaves outcomes unknown. “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecc. 9:11).
Gravity was very “very good” in the garden, but is now often “crooked or lacking.” Never wavering in its pull to the earth, we walk without falling and drive without sliding off the road. But what does gravity do when we slip on ice or fall from a cliff? It becomes “crooked and lacking,” leading to a broken leg or even death. Thus the creation “groans and travails in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:22-23).
Personal Consequences. The consequences of their choice in the Garden will continue until our Lord returns and all is burned up (II Pet 3:10). But this is the least damaging part of sin’s consequences. Not only does the creation groan, but “we ourselves groan within ourselves.” When “sin entered the world and death through sin,” “death passed to all men for all sinned.” (Rom 5:12). Did we get that? Spiritual death & separation from God passed to me because I sinned and death passed to you because you sinned. God is not mocked. We still reap only what we sowed. It was my own actions that earned me “the wages of sin” that brings death (Rom 6:23). We sowed by our own choices and by them we reap that which is “crooked and lacking” in our own heart. It was Paul’s choices that led to his anguished cry: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Rom. 7:24)?
It is now our own “very good” in the “image and likeness of God” emotions that have become “crooked and lacking.” In the beginning, “a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). God created the beauty and pleasure of sexual union and “it was very good.” Each of us was born pure and with the potential to fully enjoy God’s gift. But God is not mocked. If we choose to misuse these emotions, we will reap the terrible lusts that are “crooked and lacking” which lead to adultery, fornication, pornography, and “men with men”(Rom. 1:24-27). For “God is not mocked,” “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.” (Gal 6:7-8)
No one can deny that every emotion in the hearts of Adam and Eve were “in the image of God.” Before Satan lied and became a “murderer from the beginning” (Jn. 8:44), Eve’s emotions were “very good.” As she stood before that tree, her temptations were similar to those of Jesus. Even those who are perfect can be “tempted in all points like as we.” The emotions Satan used to create temptation were not the problem. All of our emotions are “very good” and “in the image of God.” It is not wrong to see things good for food and want to eat them. It is perfectly lawful when seeing something delightful and beautiful to want to possess it, and who can fault Eve for being ambitious, seeking more wisdom?
It is never the emotions! It is always where they are directed. Temptation can only occur when our “very good” emotions are used toward things God warned us against. Temptations to sin are temptations to corrupt our emotions. Once corrupted, we are forever weakened in their power and can never fully trust them. They are corrupted and can lead us back to sin. When Eve’s “very good” emotions were directed toward the forbidden tree, she, “being quite deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Tim. 2:14). This is exactly what happened to Paul and to each of us. “For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” (Rom. 7:11). Paul speaks of the spiritual consequences here and the rest of the consequences in Galatians. “God is not mocked” does not only refer to the Judgment Day. There are other terrible consequences. The wages of sin is death, eternal and final separation from God. All other punishments for sin including those from the curse are only the consequences that grow from the act itself.
Other Bible Examples. The Scriptures are filled with the terrible examples of these other consequences. Clearly David was forgiven for his sin regarding Bathsheba and Uriah. There would be no spiritual consequences in the Day of Judgment. But what David made crooked could never be made straight. “The sword shall never depart from your house, because you hast despised me,” “I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them unto your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.” (2 Sam 12:10-11). Certainly David was forgiven, but God was not mocked, David reaped bitter anguish because of what he had done. When the terrible magnitude of this reaping was revealed he cried out in the agony of his soul and wept, “as he walked, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Sam 18:33). David knew his own folly and sin had started these crooked and lacking things in motion. What had felt so good and right led to this terrible event. He could not undo what had been done even with forgiveness and it created great agony. How many parents even today look at their children and feel as David, wishing they could reap the terrible consequences they have created for their children.
Jacob’s terrible lies to his father when he stole Esau’s blessing were also forgiven. But God was not mocked. Jacob reaped what he sowed. First with Laban’s deceptions regarding his wives and labor and later his own sons deceived him about Joseph’s death.
Our Choice. The choice now falls to us. We now live as they lived and our own choices lie before us. We can sow to the flesh and reap corruption as Adam and Eve in the garden. We can pierce ourselves through with many sorrows as David or we can reap the consequences of lying and deception as Jacob. But there is a better choice. We can use our emotions as God has directed. We can sow to the spirit and reap eternal life. We can’t change what is already “crooked” and “lacking,” but we can keep from adding to it.