The Three Fools

THE THREE FOOLS

Psalms 14:1-7

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. The Three Stooges were a comedy act that built on the ignorance of 3 men: Moe, Larry, & Curly. In this episode, Curly’s trying to save a woman’s reputation and displays his fear of mice and penchant for cheese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y6YPjcQJ4g

2. Though the 3 Stooges were foolish, they weren’t “fools” in the Biblical sense. Listen to Ps. 14:1-7, Living Bible.

B. TEXT

“That man is a fool who says to himself, “There is no God!” Anyone who talks like that is warped and evil and cannot really be a good person at all. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God. 3 But no, all have strayed away; all are rotten with sin. Not one is good, not one! 4 They eat my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying! Don’t they really know any better? 5 Terror shall grip them, for God is with those who love him. 6 He is the refuge of the poor and humble when evildoers are oppressing them. 7 Oh, that the time of their rescue were already here, that God would come from Zion now to save his people. What gladness when the Lord has rescued Israel!”

Ps. 14:1-6, Living Bible.

C. THESIS

1. In Matthew 5:22, the Lord Jesus warned us that calling another person a “fool” puts us in danger of the “fires of hell.”

2. Maybe we need to be a lot more careful of what we say! If the word “fool” holds such consequences, what will other more serious cuss words result in?

3. Paul said, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Eph. 5:3-4.

4. Yet God describes in Scripture 3 types of “fools.” They are all around us, and we need to check ourselves to see if we fit into any of their descriptions.

I. THE MENTAL FOOL

Ps 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

A. IS NOT MENTAL, BUT RATHER A MORAL PROBLEM

1. Here is an intellectual atheist. The word “fool” doesn’t mean they are dumb, or uneducated, or stupid. It means they are “morally deficient” -- lacking in their moral component.

2. He/she thinks they can cast off fear of God and acts as if he can safely disregard the Person and righteous standard that God has set up.

3. Someone has said, “If there’s no God, then I don’t need to bother about keeping His commandments.”

4. Aldous Huxley said he supported [evolution] because Creationism/ theism “interfered with our sexual freedom” (Ends and Means, 1937).

5. The sceptic doesn’t WANT to believe in God, because his godless creed allows his godless lifestyle!

B. ATHEISM VIOLATES THE EVIDENCE

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen 1:1). To say there’s no God is to deny the plainest evidence, to oppose the almost universal testimony of man to the divine, and to stifle the conscience, which bears witness.

1. CREATION proves there is a God. The universe is complex and orderly, giving immense evidence of a Designer. One night in Egypt, Napoleon pointed to the stars and said, “For no other reason than those lights up there I’m convinced there is a God.”

2. HISTORY proves there is a God. God is there controlling, guiding, shaping “all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph. 1:11). God has intervened in history many times!

3. The LORD JESUS proves there is a God: "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9).

C. HUMOR

1. A rabbi was sitting next to an atheist on an airplane. Every few minutes, one of the rabbi’s children or grandchildren would inquire about his needs for food, drink, or comfort.

2. The atheist commented, “The respect your children and grandchildren show you is wonderful. Mine don’t show me that respect.”

3. The rabbi responded, “Think about it. To my children and grandchildren, I am one step closer in a chain of tradition to the time when God spoke to the whole Jewish people on Mount Sinai.”

4. “To your children and grandchildren, you are one step closer to being an ape.” [SOURCE: Laura Schlessinger, The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God’s Laws in Everyday Life, p. 133].

II. THE MOCKING FOOL

1. Pr. 14:9, “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor.”

2. The English words “fool,” and “folly,” come from the Latin “follis,” which means “bellows” (blacksmith’s equipment). It describes a person’s puffed up cheeks. Follis indicates that a fool is a windbag.