By Steve A. Hamilton

Introduction: What does it mean to be called a fool (1 Cor. 1:18-31)? To man, God’s word is foolishness. Man has his trust in His own opinion and judgment. To God, the time lost considering our eternal destination is foolishness.

Doesn’t it seem ironic, when we live our lives in conformity to the will of God the world calls us a fool but when we live in conformity to the world God considers us a fool.

So I must ask, are we a fool in God’s sight or are we a fool in the sight of man? What kind of fool are you?

Let’s talk about three kinds of fools in the scriptures.

I. The Infidel Fool (Psm. 14:1).

    A. “There is no God.”

        1. It is both mental and moral folly to make such a statement. In order to make such a statement, one must make irrational assumptions in order to sustain it.

        2. For example, how did we get here? The infidel assumes there is no one omniscient nor omnipotent. He believes in a theory.

    B. In contrast, the Christian believes in God.

        1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

        2. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

        3. A ship is evidence of a shipbuilder. A watch is evidence of a watchmaker. Therefore, the earth is evidence of a world designer and man is evidence of a creator!

    C. Watch out when man begins to think for himself (1 Cor. 3:18-20).

        1. God created the earth and foolish man refers to Geology.

        2. God made all plants and life yet foolish man refers to Biology.

        3. God wrote a book called the Bible and foolish man refers to Theology.

    D. It is not likely we will find him in the church but the next fool is more likely:

II. The Business Fool (Luke 12:13-21).

    A. Notice the premise of the parable:

        1. The demand: “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

        2. The answer: “Who made me ... an arbitrator?’

        3. The warning: “Beware of covetousness...” Covetousness is a desire to have that which is not yours to have.

    B. The parable of the Rich Fool:

        1. This guy wasn’t an idiot, he had plenty of sense to run his business and make money. He wasn’t squandering his money. He wasn’t speculating nor was he making money underhandedly. Yet, he was a fool (vs. 20).

        2. What constituted this man as a fool. Three mistakes:

            a. He left God out of his life. Notice his language:

                * “What shall I do...?” He says “I” six times in short succession.

                * “My barn... my goods... my soul.” Possessive of everything the Lord had given him. (Remember this is a parable about covetousness.)

            b. He could be satisfied with material possessions. “Take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”

                * Yet the Lord said, “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (verse 15)

                * He also told us life isn’t about physical existence (Matt. 4:4).

            c. He thought he had a lease on life (Jas. 4:14):

                * Man says tomorrow; God says today.

                * Man says many years; God says tonight.

        3. This man was a fool because he was “not rich toward God.” God was not first in his life. He was covetous for material gain and he thought he controlled his own life. Are we this kind of fool?

III. Fools for Christ’s sake (1 Cor. 4:9-13).

    A. Paul said the Apostles were “made a spectacle to the world.” The world thought they were crazy.

        1. Remember Paul before Festus (Acts 26:24-25).

        2. 1 Cor. 1:18, 23.

    B. God chose the foolish things by the world’s standard to make man wise (1 Cor. 1:27). Gail Miller, a school principle once said, “If you want a well rounded education, you must know your Bible.”

    C. It is God’s plan to save us through the preaching of God’s word though the world calls it foolishness (1 Cor. 1:21).

Conclusion: The gospel plan of salvation is not based on premises laid down by man. God’s plan often appears to leave no connection between a thing done and the reason for which it was done (Mark 16:15-16). Man complains that there is no logical reason for baptism other than the fact God said to do it. Man says baptism is foolishness. What foolish man fails to understand is that it is not an issue of logical reason. It is a matter of faith! Faith accepts, reason rebels. Where will you stand? For God or for man? What kind of fool are you?