The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at New Georgia

Tim Johnson, editor

January 20, 2008

 
In This Issue:
Would You Resolve "No Longer to LInger"?
by Steve Klein

Christians Should Grow in Knowledge
by Carrol Sutton

 

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The Perfect Fool

    No one likes to be thought of as a fool.  Yet, according to the Bible, the world is full of fools.  The Scriptures even describe a number of ways to become a fool.

Here are seven ways to be a fool:

  1. Doubt the resurrection.  The resurrection is a difficult concept for mortals to understand.  Some find this reason enough to doubt that there will be a resurrection.  By doubting the resurrection, they have an excuse to live in pleasure and moral foolishness. The apostle Paul observed that "if the dead do not rise" we could well say, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" (1 Corinthians 15:32).  Notice that doubting the resurrection leads to poor direction in this life.  Given the fact that Christ rose from the dead, it is foolish to doubt the resurrection just because we do not understand how a dead person can come back to life.  Paul notes that "someone will say, 'How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?'  He calls the person who would ask such doubt-filled questions a "foolish one" (1 Corinthians 15:35-36).

  2. Build your life around worldly accomplishments and prosperity. In Luke 12, Jesus told of a rich man who was so prosperous that he had to build new barns to store all of his stuff.  The rich man said to himself, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." "But God said, to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'" (Luke 12:19-20).

  3. Despise instruction. "Fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). They think they know it all, when in fact they have a lot to learn. "But fools hate knowledge" (Proverbs 1:22).  This kind of fool is commonly found in the home in the form of a teenager who will not listen to his father's instructions. "A fool despises his father's instruction" (Proverbs 15:5).  

  4. Enjoy starting arguments. "Any fool can start a quarrel," and so every fool seems to enjoy doing so (Proverbs 20:3).  Truly, "A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for blows" (Proverbs 18:6).

  5. Make light of sin.  Fools mock at sin (Proverbs 14:9).  Sin is funny to fools.  They don't see the seriousness of it. So they laugh at filthy jokes, take pride in drunken parties, and brag about getting away with breaking laws or committing sexual immorality.  "To do evil is like sport to a fool, but a man of understanding has wisdom" (Proverbs 10:23).

  6. Act like you're always right and everyone else is wrong. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes" (Proverbs 12:15).  "A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart" (Proverbs 18:2).  "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Proverbs 28:26).

  7. Act as if you will never have to answer to God.  Fools commit many sins, "Yet they say, The LORD does not see." They are only kidding themselves. The God who created the eyes and the ears sees and hears all. "Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools, when will you be wise?   He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?" (Psalms 94:7-9).

  The number seven is thought to be the number of completion or perfection.  If a person is a fool in all of the seven ways listed above, I suppose that would make him the perfect fool.  Hopefully, we can all see the folly of that. 

-- Steve Klein

 

 Christians Should Grow in Knowledge

 We learn from Psalm 92:12 that "the righteous . . .shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." Paul exhorted the saints at Ephesus to "grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). Peter said: "as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby" (I Peter 2:2). In II Peter 3:18, he said: "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

We should grow in the knowledge:

  1. Of God - John 17:3 says: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." We learn from Colossians 1:9-10 that saints should "be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding&ldots;and increasing in the knowledge of God." NOTE: As we study the Scriptures, we can learn more about the character, nature, works and will of God. See John 4:24; Ephesians 1:17-23; I Timothy 1:17; 6:16; Romans 11:22; Acts 17: 24-31; Romans 8:35-39; II Peter 5:1-10; I John 5:1-4.

  2. Of Christ - Read again John 17:3 and II Peter 3:18. Also John 1:1-14; 8:12; 14:6; Colossians 3:17; II John 9-11; John 14:6; I John 5:13; Hebrews 5:8-9; Philippians 3:8-10.

  3. Of the Word of God - Jesus said: "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:29). In Hosea 4:6, God said: "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee&ldots;" Also see Hebrews 5:11-14; John 8:31-32.

  4. Of Satan and his devices - Paul said: "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices" (II Corinthians 2:11). We need to study to learn about "the wiles of the devil" that we may be able to resist him when he tempts us to sin. He goes about "as a roaring lion&ldots;seeking whom he may devour" (See Ephesians 6:10-18 and I Peter 5:8).

   A man who grows in knowledge and increases his wisdom increases his strength. Proverbs 24:5 says: "A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth his strength."

--Carrol Sutton