## The Biggest Fools

## Psalm 14:1

There are many fools in the world today. Every one of them is pictured in the Bible. The Word of God is never out of date. Although it was written many years ago, it still portrays men as they are today. Times change, customs change, but human nature never changes. So the Bible gives us a picture of certain individuals whom God would call "fools."

The word "fool" means someone who is silly, unwise, or simple. In the Bible it means more than that. It means someone who has sunk so low that they have become a degraded person. A fool is a vile person, one who is morally degenerate, one whose heart is rotten, one who even wants to get rid of God.

Let us see what the Bible says about these fools.

I. The Atheistic Fool. cf Ps. 14:1

"...The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

A. There was a time when most scientists didn’t believe in God or in divine creation.

1. They said that everything came into being through scientific means.

2. But today we are told that they believe more and more in the Bible and in God’s hand in the universe.

3. They have seen His power in the great physical forces which have been unleashed in the last few years.

4. Dr. Arthur Compton, the great scientist who won a Nobel prize in physics, had this to say:

"For myself, faith begins with a realization that a Supreme Intelligence brought the world into existence, and created man. An orderly unfolding universe testifies to the truth of the most majestic statement ever uttered, ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ "

B. How can you explain creation without some great first cause?

1. We who believe the Bible and trust Christ call that first cause, "God."

2. A watch is a very delicate instrument.

3. How did it come into existence?

a. Did it evolve from earthly matter?

b. Did the works and the face and the hands suddenly become alive and jump into place?

c. No, you can’t have a watch without a watchmaker.

4. Now look at the world in all of its glory and beauty.

5. Look at man, the most intricate piece of machinery in the world.

a. Did man just happen?

b. Did he grow from a piece of dirt or a piece of flesh?

c. No, there is a great first cause behind all of creation; there is an intelligent being called God.

C. One man said, "Creation was a series of explosions."

1. That cannot be, for when an explosion happens, it tears up everything, in sight.

2. But this world is a world of order and precision.

3. In 1682 a man by the name of Edmund Halley observed a comet streaking across the sky.

a. He predicted that it would reappear in 76 years.

b. It did in 1758, 1834, 1910, and on Feb. 9, 1986 it appeared again as it has been doing all along.

c. And if the Lord tarries His coming and the world is still standing it will appear again in the year 2062.

d. Behind everything there is a God of order and precision... explosions have nothing to do with it.

D. It is said that one night in Egypt, Napoleon pointed to the stars and said, "For no other reason than those lights up there, I am convinced that there is a God."

1. Go out some clear night and look up at the moon and the stars and the milky way.

2. You will be forced to say, "A mighty Hand put them there and that Hand has kept them there for thousands of years."

3. One of the downfalls of our educational system in America is that God is taken out of consideration.

4. The very institutions that we support with our tax dollars are under- mining the faith that we are trying to instill in our young people.

E. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."

1. There are many fools like that in the world.

2. Some of them say it with their lips and some of them say it by living as if there were no God.

II. The Self-righteous Fool. cf. Pro. 28:26

"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered."

A. Any man is foolish who trusts his own righteousness and his own goodness.

1. The Bible says that "the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked."

2. You can’t trust the heart.

3. Even the best of men are full of sin.

4. The only One whom we can trust is the perfect Son of God. It is when we come to Him, confessing our sin and pleading His mercy that we find peace and rest.

B. There are many people trusting their own goodness and character and clean lives.

1. That won’t hold up at the end of the way.

2. "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" cf Ro. 3:10

3. They had better acknowledge their need of the Saviour, throw themselves upon His mercies and ask for His forgiveness.

III.The Unbelieving Fool. cf Lk. 24:25

"Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:"

A. How can a man help but believe in Christ?

1. We know that He is the Son of God.

2. We know that He came down from heaven for our sakes.

3. We know that He died on the cross for our sins.

4. We know that He saves unto the uttermost.

5. We know that He has a tremendous influence on the world.

6. We know that someday He is coming again.

7 Yet men go on in their unbelief.

B. But look at the fearful consequences of unbelief.

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." cf Jn 3:36

1. I am thinking now of a certain man.

a. He is fine fellow.

b. He is good to his family, he is loyal to his country, and respected by his co-workers.

c. But...and that ‘ but" implies all the tragedy of his life, he is not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Yet that is the only thing that really matters.

3. When we come to the end of our lives, it won’t matter how many friends we had, nor how big a funeral we have.

4. The only thing that matters is what we have done with Jesus Christ.

C. The world is full of those who don’t believe in Christ.

1. The Bible calls them "fools."

2. Any one who leaves Christ out of his life is indeed a fool.

3. Throughout all eternity in hell they will cry out, "Oh, I was the biggest fool that ever lived."

IV. The Worldly Fool. cf Lk. 12:20

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"

A. The story of this man’s life begins with triumph and ends with tragedy.

1. He owned a big farm and he had an unusual season.

2. God sent the sunshine and ram and gave him a bumper crop.

3. At harvest time he had so much grain that he had to tear down the small barns and build bigger barns to store his goods.

4. Things were going great for him.

a. He had money in the bank, a fine home, security for the future.

b. But his soul couldn’t feed on grain nor enjoy the money.

c. His soul cried out for something better, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; . . . eat, drink and be merry."

B. Every man at some time has a hunger of soul.

1. He longs for something better.

2. He yearns for peace and hope and security.

3. But there are too many men like this man.

4. They seek happiness and peace in the things of the world and not in the things of God.

5. Those who have Christ have peace. cf Is. 26:3

C. This rich farmer thought only of worldly things.

1. He left God out.

2. He made preparations for his physical future, but none for his soul.

3. And in the middle of the night death came and he went out into eternity unprepared.

4. The rich farmer was rich no more.

D. The world is full of worldly fools.

1. Their lives, their time, their effort and their energy are all given to the world.

2. God has no part m their hearts.

3. One day death will come and they will be buried in a fine casket, with many flowers all around.

4. Many friends will come to the funeral, but the person who gave their life to this world will not be able to appreciate these things.

5. They will have gone out to spend eternity in torment and everlasting sorrow.

Don’t be a fool! Look to God in repentance. Come to Christ in faith. Believe and thou shalt live.