A scofflaw is “a contemptuous law violator” (Merriam-Webster) or “1. a person who flouts the law, especially one who fails to pay fines owed. 2. a person who flouts rules, conventions, or accepted practices” (Dictionary.com). There’s a lot of that going around these days. It seems that almost no one obeys the rules or respects the laws of the land. On every hand, multiple people simultaneously openly violate laws, their only remorse, if any at all, merely being that they were caught and penalized. The volatile, reckless Israelite history about which one reads in Judges 21:25 appears to be the general attitude shared by contemporary people. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (NKJV).
There is hardly a roadway anywhere where a driver obeying the speed limit isn’t at least passed by a hoard of traffic zipping along with excessive and unlawful haste. Several speeders, though, bully other drivers by tailgating, blowing horns, flashing headlights, shouting obscenities, making offensive gestures or sometimes simply by forcing their way through with a crash-and-burn mentality (get out of my way now or else because I don’t care whether either of us lives or dies!). Often, drivers of vehicles overtaking other cars on Interstate highways are fully involved in their cell phones—texting or pushing digital buttons—combining speed and inattentiveness. Other driving violations are too numerous to enumerate all of them (e.g., running red lights and stop signs, parking in fire zones, etc.), but suffice it to say that drivers are some of the most obvious scofflaws.
Modern society oozes with drunkenness, drug additions, adultery, fornication, sexual sins of all kinds, stealing, home invasions, armed robbery and murder. The general citizenry is unashamed to flaunt the laws of both civilized society and of Almighty God, too. Polite thieves scam and embezzle whereas ignoble offenders resort to brutality. Both seize opportunities to take advantage of anyone else, wherever and whenever they can. Employees often steal from their employers. Looters excuse themselves because of power outages, storms or social frustration. Many taxpayers cheat on their income taxes, and several proudly boast about it. How people finagle and plot to get ahead at somebody else’s expense would be better applied to honest labor (Ephesians 4:28). Nearly in every direction to which one might cast his eyes, he sees a myriad of scofflaws.
Every country has laws—some with which we may agree, and some with which we may not agree. Furthermore, the God of Heaven has decreed that nations have a right to make laws, and that the citizens of those realms are obligated to obey those laws (Romans 13:1-7). Hence, to disobey a country’s laws at the same time constitutes disobeying God Himself. The only exceptions for which a person may disobey mankind’s laws, without raising the ire of God, are when laws directly contradict the divinely inspired Word of God (Acts 5:29). God does not look favorably on scofflaws.
Sad but true, there also are spiritual scofflaws—religious people and even members of the Lord’s church—who are contemptuous law violators or who shamelessly flout the Word of God. The list is extensive depicting the biblical areas that even Christians are willing to readily dismiss or to adapt to their own preferences (e.g., marriage-divorce & remarriage, singing versus instrumental music in Christian worship, disregarding the God-given roles of men & women, deemphasizing baptism for the forgiveness of sins, elevating salvation by grace while abasing obedience to the perfect law of liberty, ecumenism instead of accepting the uniqueness of Christ’s church, jettisoning modesty, favoring so-called social drinking, lying, etc.).
A number of biblical characters essentially were scofflaws, and things did not end well for them (e.g., the generation contemporary with the Noahic flood, Nadab and Abihu, Korah, Uzzah, etc.). Scofflaws of today who flout the laws of God (the New Testament) may think that they have escaped the penalties that they deserve for their sinfulness, since God is not now exacting judgment against them. Not so!
…knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:3-10 NKJV)
Scofflaws, beware!
Works Cited
“Scofflaw.” Dictionary.com. < https://www.dictionary.com/browse/scofflaw?s=t>. 24 Sep 2018.
“Scofflaw.” Merriam-Webster. <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scofflaw>. 24 Sep 2018.
