Am I A Fool?

Tonight we're in Proverbs 26. We have a simple thought, simple question, I guess I should say, that went with our call to worship in Psalm 14. The reason we did that was the hope of it being in collaboration or being complimentary to the message tonight. That would give better clarity unto what the Lord's given us tonight. We know that in all of scripture, that scripture defines scripture. When we don't understand something, we look to the Lord to reveal it in his word. We can find the truth if we, whatever it is, that's how we define scripture.

I heard a man say one time, he was using a commentary, And the man said, you know, the Bible sheds a lot of light on those commentaries. That's true, isn't it? It's very true. Scripture defines scripture, scripture defines scripture, and it tells us about ourself. And it tells us about our glorious savior. Thankfully, what the Lord hath said or what he has spoken is truth. It's not just truth. Therefore, he spoke it. It's truth because he is the truth. Whatever he says is truth. And his word is forever settled in heaven. He's the final authority. And he's the only one that can make me or make you believe his word, his truth.

That's what we hope for tonight. We were singing that song, Feel Me Now, number 162. And that verse, I don't normally stop and say anything when we're singing, you know that. But when he says, I am weakness, full of weakness, I felt that. I felt that. So the plea is, Lord, feel me now. Send your spirit and power. Cause us to see your face. He must reveal himself or we'll be lost. Proverbs 26, verse one. As snow in summer and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool. As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass. and a rod for the fool's back.

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet and drinketh damage. The legs of the lame are not equal, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honor to a fool. As a thorn goeth up into the hand of the drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. The great God that formed all things, both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors. As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit, there is more hope of a fool than of him, than of him.

The word fool is mentioned 188 times all throughout the Bible. 78 of those times are in the book of Proverbs alone. So that's almost, that's more than a third, more than a third written in Proverbs. Now we just read the first 12 verses of chapter 26. And if you had, if you paid attention, you heard the word fool several times. It's actually 11, 11 times in 12 verses. So the message that I was studying, I was trying to find what the Lord would have me speak on tonight. So I asked, why is it important? Why did 11 times? Why is that an important amount to have in this chapter?

Well, we see that the wisdom of God is the Lord Jesus Christ and the wise man of the Lord. was Solomon, the Lord gave him wisdom. But make no mistake, Solomon is a picture and a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's warning us to be guarded from fools. He's teaching us the dangers of the fool's mentality, of the fool's ways, of the fool's actions.

And so what I've titled this message is, Am I a Fool? Am I a fool? It's a simple question. It's a very simple question. The definition of fool as it's given in scripture is an arrogant one. a self-boasting one, a self-exalting one, one that has everything figured out and does not listen to wisdom. That's what a fool is. That's what a fool is. In the book of Proverbs, a fool is often described as someone who is stubborn, who is proud, who hates knowledge, who hates wisdom. They reject wisdom and correction.

It frequently denotes someone whose moral choices result in their own self-destruction. I wanna say that again. In Proverbs, it often describes the fool as someone whose morality, whose morals, the way that they live their life and the things that they do bring them to destruction. There is nothing more destructive for the soul than the false gospel.

There's nothing more destructive to the soul than to say that salvation is man's decision, man's choice, man's work, man's will, by man's will, and nothing more destructive than that. Understand something, the fool It's not just talking about someone who's foolish in the way that since we think about it, somebody that don't listen, don't pay attention.

These are not lawless men and women. These are they who look to themselves as part or evidence of their salvation. Do we see a pattern all throughout the word of God? We're in Philippians right now, and is that not what they're talking about over there? Is that not what we saw in Galatians when they were bringing in circumcision?

They said, okay, yeah, Christ is all, the blood is all, You have to be saved by grace through faith. That's all true. And you have to be circumcised. And in doing so they omit the value for themselves of the first part. These are not lawless men and women. These are they who look themselves to themselves. They look to themselves.

That's the warning of the Lord. This is my beloved son, of whom I am well pleased, hear him. This is my beloved son, of whom I am well pleased, hear him. Well, the rich man came up to the Lord and said, good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And he said, why callest thou me good? There's none good but God. There's none good but God.

What the fool believes is that they sit a little higher than their peers The fool believes they've done a little bit better than everybody else. They're not as bad as other people that because they're kind and they're nice, that God's going to give them a free pass.

And it's not true. That's the foolish way of thinking. That's the foolish way of thinking. And I'm constantly going to go back this evening, if the Lord be our help, I remember to, and say, am I a fool? I want to answer that question. I need to know.

Because a fool is not a believer. A fool is not someone who has heard the good news of the gospel and believed by God given faith. Somebody said, well, I thought whenever you asked the question to begin with, am I a fool? I said, yep, I'm a fool. There's no doubt about that. When I think of my own wisdom and my own self and my own understanding, I feel like a fool. But understand the definition of fool is someone who is arrogant, someone who is haughty, someone who boasts in their self-righteousness. That's a fool. This is God's definition. This isn't our definition. This is what the Lord has said. There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. There is a way that seemeth right unto man. Men and women believe that they are right.

When's the last time you got into an argument with somebody or somebody did something when you were in public that frustrated you and you wanted to justify yourself and tell them that they were wrong for what they did? Has it ever happened to anybody in here? Oh, yeah. My wife and I has had arguments. We've never argued one time, actually. I don't know what I was about, I was about to tell a fib. We argue often. Why? Pride. Pride. You know what God hates? A proud look.

And the fools, the fools believe themselves to be wise. But they're fools. professing themselves wise, they became fools and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator. Churches around here and churches all over the world boast in what they do or boast in what they do not do. And they say, look at me, look at what I have done. and they put themselves upon the throne of God in salvation, saying, I chose God, I let him, therefore I am God.

The fool has said in their heart, there is no God. That's what he means by that. Turn with me, I told you we'd turn back to Psalm 14. Now, you and I can read this just first handed, but if we go over here in Proverbs, now we're understanding a little bit more when he says right here, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. We say, OK, well, they're talking about the atheists. No, actually, he's not.

He's not literally talking about those who specifically say There's no God. He's talking about those who deny the sovereignty of God in the heart. He's talking about those who deny God's power in salvation, that salvation is all of the Lord. He's talking about those who say, you have to do this or you have to do that.

They're saying there is no God of the scripture. And they put their self upon the throne of God. They're denying His sovereignty, His power, His right and election, His finished work of salvation. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none that doeth good.

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. Don't you love the wording there? You really think that the Lord And I say this reverently, respectfully, do you think, do we believe he got up off his throne and looked down on earth to see if there, he already knows everything. But the writer wrote it this way so that we can understand in our own little pea brains that the Lord knew that there was nothing.

Nothing good. None understood. None sought God. They are all gone aside. They are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. But our natural conclusion is God will be pleased with me. God will be pleased with me. if I do, but we're completely depraved. There's none good, no, not one. He's not gonna be pleased with me. See, this is the lie from the beginning. This started in the garden when Satan told Eve, you will not surely die. He called God a liar. He said, you'll be like God. Don't you wanna be like God? That's the whole, yeah, that's everybody. Everybody wants to be God.

This is why we need the Lord's gospel that reveals truth. This is why the conclusion of chapter 14 says this in verse 7, oh, that salvation of Israel will come out of Zion. Zion is the place built by God. It is the city of the Lord, it represents our salvation, represents glory. Christ is the chief cornerstone whereby everything is built. It's the gospel of our Lord that saves the Lord's people. God must provide a perfect salvation or I will remain a fool. So the question is, am I a fool? Am I a fool? Well, the first description that I'll give us of fools are those that have a head knowledge only. They have a head knowledge only about God and about what the Bible says. They know a what. They know a what.

I can know all of the doctrines of grace and still be a fool. I can know what tulip means. I can say that I believe that. Total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. I can say that I believe that I know that and still be a fool. I can have the Bible memorized. I can make certain that I'm from front to back. I know every word in the scripture. I've searched out the scriptures and still be a fool.

I can say that salvation is all of the Lord and it's all by grace and yet have something whereby I live or I do as part of that salvation and therefore I am a fool. If I have to do something to make salvation come to pass, if I have to do something to make the blood of Christ effectual, then I'm a fool because that's not true. I can't do those things. The fool described all throughout scripture are the religious, the self justifiers, the self righteous.

You ever been around people that are religious that tell you, well, I'm not as bad as I used to be, not as bad as I used to be. I'm getting better. Can't you? Somebody asked me one time right here, looked me in the face and said, can't you see yourself getting better? I thought, no. And I, I don't hesitate to tell you that, no. I don't see myself getting better.

Our bodies are dying and we're, the sin that we are, the wretched man that we are, it's getting worse and worse and worse. Our pride gets worse, our lust gets worse, our arrogance gets worse, our selfishness gets worse. Oh, we need to be kept by the power of God, don't we? This is what this verse means. when it says they have a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof. They are literally doing something as part of their salvation. They have a form of godliness. They know about God, they know that there's a God, and yet they deny that there's a God in their action and in their word because they don't give him all the glory for salvation. So I can know a what and still, still not know God's gospel. I'm still a fool. Still not know, not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I would still be a fool.

Paul relays this information to church after church after church in Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, all of them that we've looked through thus far, Ephesians, they're all trying to do something as part of their salvation. And the Jews kept saying, well, you have to have circumcision because that was the sign given to Abraham. Paul said, circumcision availeth nothing, doesn't do any good, especially for salvation. He's saying, don't do it.

But we see, the men and women desired that. Our natural desire is to do something. If I was to get up here and preach a message after message, and I was so close, I would preach the truth, except for one little thing I say, but we also have to do this. First of all, the church would be packed out. That's just truth. But second of all, I would be lying completely on God. Adding one thing to what he says makes it the lie. I'm not talking about something big. Satan changed one word.

You shall not surely die. God said you shall surely die. He said not, N-O-T. That's all it takes. Believing the not is believing the what. Believing the not is to trust in the what that I'm talking about. Trust what I know. Trust what I've experienced. Trust what I've done. Trust where I've been. Trust where I quit going. Trust in my morality. I can know a lot of what's and still be a fool. I can know the what of the gospel and still be a lost fool.

Secondly, I can know the how of the gospel, how the scripture describes salvation, how that it took place, how that God required a lamb and in eternity elected a people and gave to that lamb, the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem them. That lamb became a man, the Lord Jesus Christ in flesh, the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

I can know what the scripture says about that. I can know that he walked upon this earth, that he healed the sick, he raised the dead. I can know that he went to the cross and died on a Roman cross and it was done at such and such time. I can know those things. I can know the how. I can know the historical facts, all of them, and still be a fool. Still be a fool. We can know that Christ was born of a woman, born under the law to redeem them that were under the law. I can even know that he shed his blood, because I know that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.

Can know all these things. This is how the Lord accomplished salvation. I can say I know that, I know that. I can know the doctrines of grace and I can know the how. I can know the what of the doctrines of grace and I can know the how the Lord caused them to come to pass and still be a fool, still not know Christ, which is bringing me to my final point. The good news, the good news. First, let's go back to our text in Proverbs. How is it I can know the doctrines, the what of the doctrines of grace and know the how of the gospel and still be lost?

Because the fool has said in his heart there is no God. Now nobody says that, I mean we have people that say they're atheists, I don't, I'm not even gonna argue about that, that's between them and God that they don't believe in, apparently, but anyways. Men say that there is no God by denying his sovereignty, by denying his power, by denying his authority, by denying his determinant counsel, by denying his is-ness.

He told Moses, I am that I am. I'm going to do what I want to do when I want to do it. He's God. And they deny him that. They make him out to be something that he's not. What I want us to notice here in chapter 26 of Proverbs, as we go down through here, look at the condition of the fool. Look at the titles that the fool is given. Look at the trouble that the fool makes and brings upon themselves.

Verse one. As snow in summer and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool. You ever seen it snow in summer? Not in our climate. But that's what he's saying. He doesn't get honor. It doesn't make sense to give him honor either. That's what he's saying. And the Lord won't honor the fool because he doesn't believe Christ.

As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back. The only hope that we have is that the Lord whips us into shape. Isn't that right? The rod of correction. That's what David was talking about over in Psalm 23, that rod and that staff, they comfort me. I'm not sure if we know this or not, but that rod sometimes would warp a lamb or a stubborn sheep. The crook would bring it back. It's a comfort because it brings us back to him. That's the whole point. He won't let his people be fools.

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest they'll also be like unto him. If I answer the way that he talks, And actually, it's interesting how he words this here, because the first time it says, answer not a fool according to his folly, lest I'll be likened to him. And then it says, answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

So what does he mean? Am I supposed to answer or not? You're not supposed to answer him according to the foolishness that he's speaking and agree with it. That's what he's saying. He's saying, correct him, or he'll be wise in his own eyes. He'll be vain in his own conceit. He'll be wise in his own conceit. Don't leave him to that place. You hear somebody say, God loves everybody. Jesus died for everybody. All you have to do is this or that to make it work for you.

Then to that response, I would say that's a lie. That's answering the fool. Otherwise he would be wise in his own conceit. He that sendeth a message with a hand of a fool cut off the feet and drinketh damage. There's a whole lot of preachers out there that are fools, that the Lord never sent, and they're going about telling the lie. They're going about telling the lie, and all that they're doing, they don't have feet to walk on. They don't even know it. The legs of the lame are not equal.

So is a parable in the mouth of fools. As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honor to a fool. What honor does a stone have in a sling? As a thorn goeth up into the hand of the drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fools and rewardeth transgressors. As a dog returneth to its vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Seest thou a man wise in his own eyes, there is more hope for a fool than of him.

Brethren, this is, if we're left to ourself, that's what this is. Just as a dog returns, I've got dogs and I'm not going to go into detail because it's gross, but the scriptures right on that. They do exactly what he just said they do. And a fool does not leave his folly. The foolishness that's been instilled in them, the self-righteousness that we have by nature, the fool holds on to that, returns to that.

I've made my choice. I've done this, I've done that. That's the folly of the fool. So what is my hope of not being a fool? Verse 10 is actually, the great God that formed all things, both rewardeth the fool and rewardeth transgressors. There is a particular word that causes the Lord's people to rejoice in their heart, and that word is substitution. Substitution. And the glorious thought is that it's not what we know, it's who we know.

Paul said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. We're in Philippians right now and it says that I might know him in the power of his resurrection. Count all things but done that I might know him. Just him, I don't wanna know anything else. I just want to know him. It's the who of God's gospel that we must know. It's not the what. I can know the what. I can have it written down, marked down, checked off, every I dotted, every T crossed. But unless God makes the gospel effectually the heart of one of his sheep by saying live, giving faith to believe, revealing the person of Christ, All I would be is a fool. Aren't you thankful he promised he would? He didn't leave us to ourselves to try to figure out salvation. He didn't leave us to ourselves to try to make a choice. He didn't leave us to ourselves to try to do anything. Everything he required, he provided in the who, the person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation. Salvation is in the person. of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is a person, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. We might as well just say that.

We see that I can know the historical facts, and there's a lot of people that know those. On Easter, people come to church because they know historically Jesus Christ was risen again on Easter. He died and was risen again, historically speaking. They know that he was born and the Roman Catholics have made everybody think that it's on December the 25th, and that's not true. But people worship that day because of it. That's a history that's true though.

Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem. I can know that. I can know that Christ was baptized in the River Jordan and I could go over there and be baptized in the River Jordan, but it doesn't do any good for my soul, any good for salvation. Why? Because all these things are what's. that I might know him and the power of his resurrection, that I might know him.

Can you say that we count everything but dung that we used to think, that we used to say, or do we boast in ourselves? Because if we are, we're the fool. If we boast in ourself, our morals, our works, All it's going to equal is destruction. Destruction. You remember, we literally talked about that at the beginning, didn't we?

So here's the good news. But God, and I love the definition the Lord gives of himself here. The great God that formed all things. I love that. The great God. First of all, it's singular, the. Second of all, it describes his person as being great. The great God.

And in case we were wondering about his sovereignty and his power, he said he formed all things. But God, who is rich in mercy, hath commanded his light to shine out of darkness. and hath revealed the glorious person of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the savior of his people. He has revealed that everything God required, he provided in his son, in life and in death and in resurrection as the seated prophet, priest, and king of his people as king of kings and Lord of lords. He's our mediator. He's our intercessor. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. It's the who. We have to know the who. Not just know about him.

Lord, give me a new heart. Lord said, I'm going to take out your stoning heart and give you a heart of flesh, one that believes God, one that loves God. It's not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy hath he saved us. After this, God's gospel declares His elect people in Christ. We've always been in Christ. We'll think about that just for a minute. We've always been seen in Christ.

That means His perfect obedience is my perfect obedience and your perfect obedience. His perfect righteousness is the perfect righteousness of everyone He died for, His elect. His faithfulness is our faithfulness. How faithful are you and I? Well, the fool might say, I'm pretty faithful. I make it to service every Sunday. I do this, I do that. But Lord, we've cast out demons in your name. We've done all these wonderful works in your name.

Depart from me. Why? They're the fool. They're the fool. And I love this part. We're looking to Christ no longer We're no longer the fool. We're looking to Christ as our wisdom, as our sanctification, as our redemption, and as our righteousness. Am I a fool?

The question would come down to this. Who am I looking to? That's pretty simple, isn't it? I wanted this to be as simple as it could. Question comes down to this. If you ask yourself, whoever's listening here and there and wherever else, I want to know, am I a fool?

Well, who am I looking to? Am I looking to myself? Is any part of my salvation? Am I looking to self for evidence of salvation? Am I looking to self, self-service, self-sacrifice? Or am I looking to Christ alone? If I'm looking to self, I'm the fool, but if I'm looking to Christ, if God has been pleased to reveal the who of the gospel to me, if God has been pleased to reveal the who of the gospel to you, you will never look to yourself as any part of your salvation again because faith looks to Christ. Faith looks to Christ. Anytime we ever start examining ourself or try to find any evidences of salvation.

I find it interesting how quickly the Lord corrects that mentality by letting us just fall flat on our face for some reason. His purpose is the reason. It happens often, doesn't it? As soon as we start examining self. God's been pleased to reveal the who of the gospel that he has made us. And this is the glorious part. I want us to get this and I'm finished. If God has revealed his son, then what he has revealed is because we are one with Christ and one in Christ, we are the wisdom of God in Christ. We're no longer the fool. The Lord's people have his name. They have his titles. They have his nature. They have his nature in the inward man, the new man.

In Christ, we're called the wise, not the fool. Why? Because God gave it to us. God gave it to us all by grace. It's not what you know, it's who you know. If I am to ask the question one last time, am I the fool? The answer is, it's not what I know, it's who I know. Paul said, I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded.

Who is he persuaded by, himself? Another man, if one man can talk you into it, another man can talk you out of it. Oh, he was persuaded of God. I love what they said, what he says over there in Acts, as many as were ordained unto eternal life believed. They believed.

Aren't you thankful the Lord didn't leave us in our, well, to ourself, to our own devices, our own way of thinking. Because I confess, it's hard not to say that we're not a fool, because we see our flesh, our sin, the way we do. But the Lord has declared his people as justified, as perfectly righteous, because they're in Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would take this and bless it for your glory, for your honor, unto us for our understanding and for our good. In Christ's name, amen.

Am I A Fool?

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Am I A Fool?

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