Brother Gary Rowlette brought the message.
We need to be careful how we handle the word “fool.” We’ve done foolish things, but to be a fool is serious business.
Matthew 5:22 ”But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Who is a fool?
- Proverbs 18:2 “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.”
- Ecclesiastes 2:14 “The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.”
- Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. “ Psalm 53:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” When God says something twice, we need to take heed.
A fool says there is no God. Isaiah 35:8 says “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” We travel on a highway of holiness. Fools will not err therein. It’s a simple way; even a fool can’t miss it. Yet he does.
Nature teaches us there is a God. From the leaves in the fall to the winter and spring when they bud again, we see God. David said in Psalm 19 that “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” God is clearly seen by his own works in nature. Using this standard, God says anyone who can look around and say there is no God is a fool.
He who disgraces his parents is a fool. A good parent is the first to teach a child about God. A parent provides and sacrifices for his child. If your parents are still with you, remember to tell them you appreciate what all they have done for you. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” As we’ve been taught by our parents, trust the Lord while youth still keeps the evil days from you. Proverbs 20:20 says “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.” In other words, God will put your lights out. You’ll find yourself in utter darkness, a place none of us want to be. There is a promise to those who obey their parents in the Lord, but Solomon said “A fool despiseth his father’s instruction.” The father of a fool has no joy.
He who meddles in another’s business is a fool. Proverbs 20:3 says “It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.” Don’t be a busybody. Leave things alone. Don’t go where you have no business going. It’s enough for us to take care of our own business. It’s a task to take on someone else’s. Remember we don’t always know what we think we know.
A fool trusts in his own heart. Jeremiah 17:19 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Our heart knows nothing but wickedness. It takes the touch of the Master’s hand to clean it up. It’s an act of grace when an evil heart is made new. Can a leopard change his spots? No. We cannot change our hearts. It takes God to make a change. One of the problems today is the thinking that “I’m a good old boy” and it may be true, but there still has to be a change of heart.
A fool mocks at sin. Sin is serious business. If you don’t think so, look at Calvary. God gave his Son so that we can be washed of our sins. Paul said “Be not deceived; God is not mocked.” We cannot go into eternity thinking that the books will balance. Paul finishes that verse by saying “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
There are many people dying every second. Don’t meet God as a fool.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 