Justifying my foolish sin
I say profane words occasionally. Sometimes in frustration and other times to make a point. To my recollection, Nicholas and Drew only heard me say the D-word a few times when they were growing up. Yet it made an impact. One day when young Drew was sitting at the lunch table with his friends, they started sharing their mothers’ preferred cuss word. There were some S-moms. Others and I were the D-moms. And there was even one F-mom. When Drew shared this with me on the way home from school, I felt a little foolish. He tried to make me feel better by saying, “at least you aren’t the F-mom!”
I like to think I don’t compare myself with others. But especially when it comes to sins I want to justify and continue, I tend to say to myself, “well at least I am not as bad as them.” I have never murdered anyone. I quit stealing in Jr Hi. And at least I am not the F-mom.
But as soon as the thought forms, the Holy Spirit reminds me what I was like and would still be like without Him. This leads me to see my sin as egregious as God sees it. Then I want nothing to do with it. This is not a conclusion I would come to on my own. It is a complete work of the Lord.
The fool says, “There is no God.”
In studying Romans, I learned Paul quoted from the book of Psalms frequently to substantiate his points. Romans begins with the obviously sinful sin of the Gentile, then reveals the Jew is no better in their outward piety but inward self-righteousness. The Truth revealed in Romans 3 is that we are all sinners that fall short of God’s Glory and need a Savior. The Psalm that Paul quotes in Romans 3:10-12 is from Psalm 14, which interestingly is almost identical to Psalm 53.1 This repetition of thought seems to communicate some importance and leads me to dig deeper.
Psalm 14 begins with the fool. The Hebrew word is Nabal, one who stubbornly rejects wisdom.1 You may recall this name from 1 Samuel 25 when he acted foolishly with David. And Nabal’s wife Abigail humbly intervened.
The fool here in Psalm 14:1 is speaking poisonous words in his heart when he says, “There is no God.”2 The outcome of denying the evidence of God leads to corrupting himself, abominable deeds before God, and doing no good or right thing in relation to his fellow man.3
Not even one
Continuing on, as the LORD looks down from heaven, what does He see? God is looking for a single man that acts wisely and seeks after Him to inquire of Him out of vital necessity.4 But what He finds instead is there is no one who does right and good, not even one man. They have all become corrupt. This is the second use of this word corrupt. It is slightly different but hardly milder – it means rotten to the core.5 They love evil more than good and think they know better than God. The indictment is universally applicable.5
The great miscalculation
This great miscalculation costs the fool.3 He has access to knowledge about God’s character but chooses to fill his heart with lies instead. He lies to himself so long, he starts believing it. This leads to thinking he can get away with all the evil doing.
Don’t they know anything?
They can’t get away with it.
They treat people like a fast food meal,
over which they are too busy to pray.2
The evil fool does not call on the LORD because he refuses to recognize he needs to rely on Him for his well-being. However, there will come a day when he is in great terror.
I want to be on God’s side
It is scary to consider the dread that awaits the evil doer. It makes me want to be on God’s side, the side of the righteous. We have already stated that no one seeks God. It’s easy to think I would never be like the fool, but apart from Christ that is exactly who I would be.
Romans 5 teaches me I am a helpless, hopeless, sinning enemy of God when He sent His one and only Son to die for me. A right standing with God is only possible because God looked down from heaven and showed compassion. His great love for me made a way when there was no way. When I compare with Matthew 5, I learn the character of those who inherit God’s Kingdom begins with being poor in spirit.
God loves the poor
Through the Old Testament prophets, God condemns those who treat the poor unjustly and would confound their dreams. Matthew 5 tell us it is not just those with low finances, but the poor in spirit who are blessed to receive the Kingdom of Heaven and then goes on to describe their character further. God delights in those who recognize they bring nothing to their own work of salvation. It is all God who does the work. The life here is not promised to be easy. Do not be fooled into thinking you can live your best life now. Instead be glad when you suffer for Christ because your reward in Heaven is great. In the meantime, God places the poor in a safe refuge until He returns. May we never get over our salvation!
The Great Day to come
The Psalmist closes with begging for salvation to come out of Zion for Israel. The true Israel is all of God’s people, His Church. There will come a glorious day when the fortunes of God’s people are restored.
We have Hope in a future where the poor in spirit are poor no more. Their great fortunes of God’s richest blessings are restored. This will be a day to rejoice and be glad, skipping rope and singing with laughter.2 But because Hope does not disappoint, looking forward to what is to come gives us joy for living now. It is a firm and resolute belief that it will happen. Not if, but when. No one knows the hour of Christ’s return except the Father. But it won’t be much longer now. So we can hang on, Jew and Gentile together as God’s people.
- The ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
- Eugene Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, NavPress, 2005. Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
- Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Volume 15, Psalm 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary. London: Intervarsity Press, 1973.
- Amplified Bible. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyrightc 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
- John Macarthur, The Macarthur Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006.
Wonderful blog Julie. Love that picture of you and Drew, one of my favorites. Thank you for the reminder that we have Hope in our God and Savior Jesus Christ. We have The Blessed Hope. Love you honey.
Thank you, mom. I love you.