The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at New Georgia

Tim Johnson, editor

April 2, 2006

 
In This Issue:
What Kind of Fool Am I?
by Steve Klein

It Was Necessary
by Edward O. Bragwell Jr.

 

 

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What Kind of Fool Am I?

    Aaron Neville had a hit song entitled "Everybody Plays the Fool, Sometime".  Frank Sinatra once asked the musical question, "What Kind of Fool Am I?"  If Neville was correct, then Sinatra's question is a pretty good one.  Realizing that we are all fools sometimes, and with the passing April Fools Day, it seems appropriate to ask, "What Kind of Fool Am I?"

  In the Bible, there are at least two categories of fools -- those who are labeled fools by the world for their trust in God and those who are labeled fools by God for their trust in the world.  There are a lot of different kinds of fools in this latter category.

THOSE WHOM GOD LABELS AS FOOLS

  • Those who say there is no God .  Psalm 53:1 -- The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.

  • Those who do not fear the Lord or receive His instruction . Proverbs 1:7 -- The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

  • Those for whom practicing evil is a fun sport. Proverbs 10:23 -- To do evil is like sport to a fool. Proverbs 14:9 -- Fools mock at sin

  • Those who are ignorant but insist on telling others what's what.  Proverbs 18:2 -- A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.

  • Those who do whatever they want and won't listen to anyone.  Proverbs 12:15 -- The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.

  • Those who show their anger quickly.  Proverbs 12:16 -- A fool's wrath is known at once.  Proverbs 29:11 -- A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.

  • Those who are contentious and quarrelsome.  Proverbs 18:6 -- A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for blows.  Proverbs 20:3 -- It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.

  • Those who repeat their mistakes.  Proverbs 26:11-- As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

  • Those who trust in riches but leave God out of their plans.  Luke 12:16-22 16Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do&ldots;'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' 20But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 21"So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

  • Those who hear God's word but fail to obey.  Matthew 7:26 -- "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:

  THOSE WHOM THE WORLD LABELS AS FOOLS

  • Those who trust in the message of the cross for salvation.  1 Corinthians 1:18 -- For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

  Yes, we can choose to be fools in a lot of different ways, but there is only one kind of fool who is going to heaven.  And that's the kind of fool we are urged to become! "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise." (1 Corinthians 3:18-19).

-- Steve Klein

 

 It Was Necessary

  When reading the accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus in the gospels, you cannot but be impressed with the great detail with which Old Testament prophesy is fulfilled. In many cases, the writers of the gospels are careful to point out these prophecies and their fulfillment. Matthew points out that the dividing of Jesus' garments was "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet" and goes on to quote the prophesy from Psalm 22:18. (Matt. 27:35). Mark says that by being crucified between the two robbers that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 53:12 which stated that he would be numbered with the transgressors. (Mark 15:27-28). John tells us that the piercing of Jesus' side and the fact that Jesus' legs were not broken while he hung upon the cross were in fulfillment of the prophesies in Psalm 34:20 and Zechariah 12:10. These are just a few examples of the Old Testament prophesies which where fulfilled when Jesus was rejected by the Jews and put to death.

  Why is it so significant that these prophesies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in such detail at the end of Jesus' time here on earth? Religious teachers of our day sometimes make the accusation that Jesus came to this earth to set up his kingdom in Jerusalem. But the Jewish people refused to accept him as their ruler and rejected Him and killed Him, forcing Him to implement a kind of alternate plan. It is argued that Jesus then put the church in place to make do until He could at some later time come back and set up the kingdom, ruling from Jerusalem, that He originally intended to do. So many today apply the kingdom prophesies of the Old Testament to look forward to some time in our future when Jesus will finally be able to come and set up that kingdom that He had originally planned but was prevented from implementing because of the evil Jewish nation.

  There are many things in the Scriptures that refute this idea and show the absurdity of it. One thing that clearly refutes this idea is the fulfillment of Scripture seen in the death of Christ. The fact that His rejection and death at the hands of the Jews was prophesied in detail many years before it happened shows that it was part of God's plan all along. It could not be true then that this was some kind of mistake and a result of a miscalculation on the part of the Lord. It was then not necessary for Him to come up with some sort of secondary plan as some want to imply. The prophesies and their fulfillment show without a doubt that this was God's only plan all along. The rejection of Jesus and His being put to death at their hands was necessary in order for God to bring about his plan to save mankind, not a mistake.

  Luke tells that Jesus told his disciples, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:46-47). No, the rejection and crucifixion of Christ were not a mistake that Jesus is planning to return and correct someday. IT WAS NECESSARY!

 

--Edward O. Bragwell, Jr.