Only Fools

Posted on by korgrocker

“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!”
Psalm 14:1 NLT

The Bible, particularly in Proverbs, says much about “fools”. One verse I particularly like, as being very applicable to modern times, is Proverbs 18:2, “Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions”. In these days of strange ideologies, where people stand up and stridently declare their views, “their own opinions”, one cannot but think that the word “fool” fits them very well. But then, we can’t call them that, because it might hurt their feelings. The Bible, however, has no such constraint, and God’s Word stands inviolate. But back in Psalm 14:1, David, the Psalmist, calls those who deny the existence of God, “fools”, and such an opinion, or belief, exposes their real problem – their corrupt ways, their evil actions and their lack of doing good. Those who deny God do so because otherwise they would have to face into their sin and its consequences. 

Much of what the people in the world think about God is misconstrued, twisted, invented and even libellous, but such false knowledge isn leveraged to build a picture to justify people’s actions, or lack of them. But for many others, they look around and see no evidence of God at all because, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Many of our scientists stay awake at night trying to plug holes in their theories of how the universe happened without God. So the conclusion of most is that there is no God, but if He does in fact exist, the knowledge is of no relevance to them. After all, they might say, knowledge of God won’t pay their bills. 

We pilgrims, of course, declare that God exists, and we know that we have a personal relationship with Him. We know Him as the Creator of the Universe. We know Jesus who died on a cross at Calvary to take on the punishment for our sins. We know that our God sent His Spirit to be with us, and live within us, a Helper and Counsellor always there for us. And we praise and worship God with thankful hearts, grateful for His love, grace and mercy. We keep short accounts with Him, always aware of our humanity and propensity to fall into sinful ways. Always humbly confessing our sins before Him who one day will judge the world.

It is so tempting at times to investigate the views of those who air their own corrupt opinions. We spend time thinking through the logic of devil-inspired arguments and ideologies, in case we have missed something. And before we know it our own view of God becomes skewed. There are many believers who post their own opinions on social media. They make videos of convincing scenarios that burden and confuse their viewers. They preach strange ideas that lead many astray, their charisma overcoming the doubts of their followers. Jesus warned about such people in a passage that describes what will happen in the End Times, and we read in Matthew 24:11, “And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people“. So, we must be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth”. In the end, it is God’s Word that prevents us from becoming fools, and we must be on our guard against false teaching. Paul had strong words for the church in Galatia, “Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross” (Galatians 3:1). 

So we pilgrims exercise caution when we hear a message or see a video. We carefully select books to read, always being vigilant to discern error. However, the denial of the existence of God may not just be an outward declaration from those unbelievers in the societies around us. Their secular and atheistic influence can also insidiously creep upon us until the God we say we believe in is a long way from the truth. Everyone believes in a god of some kind, and the devil is out to so corrupt us that we end up believing in a false god as well. That is a terrible place to be because we end up believing our own opinions rather than in the true God we know and love. The world may consider us fools, but better to be a fool for Christ than a fool denying His existence.

Dear Father God. In the eyes of the world we may appear foolish, but rather that than be numbered with real fools. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Amen.

Be Careful

Posted on by korgrocker

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.‭‭
Ephesians‬ ‭5:15-17‬ ‭NLT

I’m sure we all take care in the way we live. After all, we are wired to keep ourselves safe from danger, and that basic instinct increases, and becomes more important somehow, as we get older. But there are adrenalin junkies who take on incredible tasks, performing feats of courage and ignoring danger. I’m thinking of people like mountain climbers, or single-handed Atlantic rowers. Perhaps those who fly hang gliders or head for the breakers to surf their way ashore. There are also those who engage in more insidious tasks, taking illicit drugs of unknown content or purity, or those who deliberately head for temptation, trying to determine how strong they really are.

But this is a worldly perspective. As Christian pilgrims, we take seriously Paul’s instructions about the way we live. Not for us the way of fools, exploring places where we should never go. Instead we must seek out the ways of wisdom. True wisdom has its source in God. In James 1:5, we read, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking”. There is another helpful verse in James 3:17,  “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favouritism and is always sincere”. Following this advice will help us live like wise pilgrims.

In our verse today, Paul continues by encouraging us to make the most of our lives. He was right, when he wrote this Epistle, by discerning that the days were evil. And our days in the 21st Century are still evil. Nothing has changed over the centuries. The media is full of reports of crime, drug taking, wars and so on. An evil world where our enemy, the devil, prowls around causing mayhem and distress. An evil world where sin is endemic. But as we read in a recent blog, we are light in this dark and evil world, and must be opportunistic in shining our light into dark places. We must be counter-cultural pilgrims walking against the tide of those of humanity who are sadly and unknowingly heading for a lost eternity. And we must be diligent in aligning our lives to the true Way, avoiding the false and evil ways of darkness. Thinking clearly. Remaining focused on our assignment, doing God’s work. True in His service.

No-one Does Good

Posted on by korgrocker

The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 
All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Psalm 14:2-3

This is a depressing Psalm in some ways, but full of hope in another. The phrase, “there is no-one who does good” appears in two places, in verses 1 and 3. And that’s the depressing bit, because David, the Psalmist, was perhaps meditating on what it must have been like to be God and, from his own experience of society, came to the conclusion that goodness was a quality severely lacking in the human race. Worse, he sees his fellow men as being “fools” because they deny that God exists and instead are riddled with corruption and do things he calls “vile”. Some of their nasty behaviour is listed further down in the Psalm.

The hopeful part of this Psalm appears in verses 5 and 7. In verse 5 David is comforted by the thought that one day, the evildoers will be terrified when they find out that, actually, there is a God, and He will be found in the presence of those who are righteous. But David’s cry in verse 7 was a prophetic glimpse, through the murk and mists of time, that there needs to be a Rescuer, from God’s mountain, who will restore His people. He was looking forward in time through a prophetic looking glass, yearning for the day when God’s plan of salvation would be enacted. We have the privilege of being able to look back in time to see that God sent His son, Jesus, who restored all those who put their faith in Him. The Apostle John wrote down the words of Jesus in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  This was the fulfilment of the plan in God’s heart, that David only had a glimpse of all those years before. 

Verse 7 refers to Jacob and Israel rejoicing when salvation occurs. Perhaps there is a second part to David’s prophetic glimpse, and it is still to take place. That is the salvation of the nation Israel. But whatever our thoughts, we are truly a privileged people, living in an age of God’s favour. Let’s embrace it while we can.