Scratching the Surface of the Psalms - 14

Kopp Disclosure

(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Scratching the Surface of the Psalms

#14

“Jesus Said What About Them?”

There are many kinds of fools in our world.

The most notorious may be in Springfield and D.C.

For women and men who’ve convinced us to vote for them because they’ve got so many answers, they sure look rather foolish in office.

Actually, a look in any direction and it’s hard not to conclude fools are breeding in record numbers.

The biggest fools, according to David in Psalm 14, are those who say, “God does not exist.”

That professed atheism or denial of God-consciousness enables a self-direction and self-gratification without divine boundaries of behavior; resulting in what we see increasingly around us in America: “They are corrupt.  Their actions are revolting.”

Without God – minus that sense of ultimate accountability to God for beliefs and behaviors – morality is reduced to navel-gazing ethics: “There is no one who does good.”

We could put it another way.

People who act as if there is no God have a hard time convincing anyone that they believe in God.

“Faith without works,” wrote James, “is dead.”

Faithful deeds are produced by faithful creeds; and where there are no faithful deeds, it’s most often because there are no faithful creeds.

Calvin simply said people who belief in God and are saved show “the signs of their salvation.”

Jesus was direct: “A good tree produces good fruit.”

A closer look at the word for fool in Hebrew betrays atheism as more moral than intellectual.  

Transliterated as nabal, a fool aka atheist is saying aggressively, in effect, “No God for me.  I have no room for God in my life.  Because God does not exist, I have no inclination to have a Lord over my life.”

William MacDonald identifies the dirty little secret of atheists: “He does not want there to be a God, therefore he denies the existence of God.”

Albert Barnes is even more candid: “The belief that there is no God is commonly founded on the desire to lead a wicked life, or is embraced by those who in fact live such a life, with a desire to sustain themselves in their depravity and to avoid the fear of future retribution.”

That makes sense in a perverted kinda way.

If God exists, we better pray and try to do His best because, as the risen Christ warns in the last verses of Revelation, “Look out!  I am coming back quickly!  My reward will be with Me.  I will repay each person according to what He has done.”

Before anyone suggests that is work-righteousness or working one’s way into heaven as opposed to being granted heaven by grace through faith in Jesus, what we say and do is an expression of what we believe and what we believe determines our ultimate destiny.

Again, we are not talking about being pure and perfect in every way - knowing that is impossible which is way Jesus came to save us by grace through faith - pero His Word enfleshed in Jesus and explained in Holy Scripture is clear on believers behaving in ways that are more than less consistent with Him as proof/fruit/signs/indications of belief.

God alone is the Judge.

Still, Godly people act more Godly than unGodly.

Duh.

Of course, atheism is rather preposterous.

It’s so foolish.

Unreasonable.

Illogical.

Stupid.

While we can look at several arguments for the existence of God that make sense, I like how my MIT engineer friend Bruce Ennis combined them all so convincingly in a little note dated 14 November 1976 that I found in his Bible just after he went home to Jesus: “If this Someone, whom I call God, has the power to grant life on earth, simple logic would dictate that He could also grant life elsewhere, which I call heaven…To any intelligent and perceptive human being exposed daily, as he is, to the beautiful miracles of this earth, and realizing that only some Power greater than he could produce such miracles, it must seem that an atheist has a low degree of intelligence, coupled with an abysmal lack of perceptivity, a deplorably egotistical self-esteem, and an unseemly arrogance.”

Whoa.

Not bad for an egghead.

I think of it this way.

Atheists may have more faith than Theists; because atheists assume everything just popped up and existed without Anyone turning the ignition.  

Uh, but, sigh, gasp, thinkaboutit, that’s like saying there was an explosion in the church office yesterday and a new language dictionary just, like, you know, appeared.

Atheists are so foolish.

People who don’t believe in God and don’t feel responsible to God and don’t depend upon God are, in Jesus’ own words, fools.

BTW, Jesus used the Greek word that transliterates as moros.

Get it?

Psalm 14 is a precursor to the good news of God in Jesus continuing as Holy Spirit that punctuated the greatest sermon of all time: “A wise man builds his life on the solid rock foundation of God.  The fool does not.  He builds his life on the sinking sand of human invention.  The wise man survives the challenges of life.  The fool does not.  Be a wise man!  Don’t be a fool!”

That’s what Jesus said about them.

The wise survive while fools sink.

Being God, He knows.

Fools don’t and won’t.

Believers do and will.

That’s why we say around Christmas, “Wise men still seek Him!”

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

@#$%

Shatter the sound of silence!

Wake up!  Look up!  Stand up!  Speak up!  Act up for Jesus!

Salt!  Shine!  Leavenate!

@#$%

@#$%