Diagnosis: Are You A Fool? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: Sin is a universally condemning condition; salvation is the only cure, and Jesus has chosen His Church as the means of proclaiming that cure.
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 14
Today we’re going to be looking at another short psalm (which, again, I know is always exciting to hear at the beginning of a sermon☺️). This one in particular might sound familiar because Paul quotes a good portion of it in Romans 3. It’s also almost identical to Psalm 53. In fact, there might only be a verse difference between the two. These words aren’t repeated so specifically because God forgot He’d already used them ☺️, but because they’re words we need to remember.
"1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. 4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD? 5 There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. 6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge. 7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad."
It’s a short psalm, but it represents the core truth of humanity--we’re sinners who need saving. I’ll stretch that out for you in the gist here, but that shorter version might have worked just as well: Sin is a universally condemning condition; salvation is the only cure, and Jesus has chosen His Church as the means of proclaiming that cure. As I was writing up the notes this week, the bullet points I started jotting down sounded an awful lot like a medical diagnosis, so I just embraced that wholeheartedly. We’ll look at the condition, the impact, the side effects, and the cure this morning. Then, as always, end with a few takeaways.
I. THE CONDITION (1)
The Condition: Foolishness. "1 The fool…” Let's just cut straight to the controversy here. This psalm starts by calling somebody a fool. This is not to be offensive, or to be some sort of strawman argument against those who disagree with us. I'll go ahead and give a spoiler now. The answer to the diagnosis question is that we’re all fools by nature. So what's meant by this word fool in the text? Tim Keller describes it as “a destructive self-centeredness”, and Broyles describes it as “those who ignore realities”. So the fool is someone who has missed the point--which is all of us apart from Christ.
The Cause: Heart Rebellion. That’s the condition, so what’s the cause? Look at the next part of verse 1, “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." The cause is heart rebellion against God. This is the source of sin. There are a couple of things to note about this line.
1. This claim is from the inside. This claim may or may not ever be voiced out loud. In fact, you could be a regular church attender, but if in your heart you don’t believe that God is who He claims to be, then your condition is no different from the man who publically proclaims his disbelief. It’s a heart issue, and the most serious one. Some translate this phrase “The fool says in his heart, “No God.”” It’s a deliberate refusal to believe. And this is our natural state, to live as if God does not exist (Keller). That’s why I agree with what Spurgeon wrote about this passage, “Let the preacher aim at the heart and preach the all conquering love of Jesus, and he will by God’s grace win more doubters to the faith of the gospel than any hundred of the best reasoners who only direct their arguments to the head.”
2. This is a denial of the one, true God. Now, this denial is also very specific. This does not mean that he doesn't believe in the existence of some God or some spiritual reality. That's possible today, right? It’s actually kind of popular to acknowledge some kind of vague spirituality--as long as it’s not exclusive...like the claims of Jesus. And that’s the idea here, as well. The word used for God in this verse is Elohim. This is the personal, powerful, and perfect God of the Bible! Today a lot of people are okay with believing in great unknowns, but bring up Jesus and things change.
The Symptoms: Corruption. “...They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds…” So, we have the condition, the cause, and we’re also given some symptoms. Or specifically a symptom, corruption. This leads to a question frequently asked by those who don’t believe in God. “If He is real and really loving like the Bible claims, why is the world so messed up?” We actually asked that question last week. It's almost like the psalms were put in this order on purpose ☺️. The reason the world is so messed up is because of sin. It's because people say in their hearts that there is no God. Why is there so much suffering and destruction in the world? Because people are saying in their hearts “no God; I don't want You; I don't want the things of You; I don't want to follow after You”. Remember David's lament in chapter 12? He said it seemed like the Godly were gone. When people aren’t following God, sin abounds. Period. In fact, if it were not for God’s hand in this world, even the good we do see wouldn't be here.
II. THE IMPACT (1-4)
So that's the condition, the cause, and the symptoms. So, how widespread is the impact of this disease? Do we have some kind of epidemic or pandemic* here? Well, the text is pretty clear on that actually. Look at verses 1c-3. ““1c...there is none who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” So, the impact is→
Universal (1-3). It affects everyone. The passage starts by saying none do good. Then expresses that God seeks... and finds none. Let’s pause here for a second. There is an obvious objection to this, right? Don’t some do good that don’t believe in God? Sure, but what’s the standard here? God is looking for those looking for Him, those who seek God. God’s standard exceeds ours. I know this is a huge topic and would be more than willing to speak with anyone individually who has more questions (feel free to contact me directly). However, for now, let’s just make these three quick observations.
1. Those who seek were first sought. The saved are not better people than the lost; they are sinners saved by Grace, sinners covered in the forgiving blood of Jesus.
2. Good in this sinful world is a product of common grace. God makes the sun rise on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).
3. Apart from God, even our good deeds are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) because sin taints/pride corrupts. This is what is meant by total depravity. Saying the world is completely depraved does not mean there is only evil all the time, but rather that even the good we do is tainted by the sin we live in.
So, the condition is universal. It’s also→
Casual (4) Now, this might seem like a bit of a jump in logic here, so let me show you what I mean. Look at verse 4. “4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?” Being universal means sin becomes just a part of life. Let’s break this down a bit.
1. No knowledge of sin**. When David asks this opening question, he’s not implying that non-believers have absolutely no knowledge. There people who don’t believe in God and are incredibly intelligent in the things of this world. In fact, there are many many many many who are far more intelligent than I. So, this isn't saying that Christians are somehow smarter than other people. What it is saying is that those who do not believe in God have no knowledge of sin, nor the remedy for it; they do not know God and therefore sin casually (Alleine).
2. Casually devouring. Where am I getting this? I believe that’s what’s implied by the eating of bread or devouring of bread. Now, I do think it has in mind a picture of destroying something, too. I mean, when I eat something... it’s gone; its destroyed. But, I think the fact that it uses bread as the object of consumption points to something a little little different. Spurgeon pointed out that this was an everyday event. We might not eat bread is much here, but when I was in Belarus, people ate bread at every meal. In fact, even my grandparents would have bread on the table regardless of what we were eating. It was just part of the meal. And for those of us who are still trapped in sin, that's exactly what sinning is like. It’s natural to us. It's part of our everyday life. We seek ourselves at the expense of others, and we don't even think about it...because it's just what we do.
3. Prayerlessness. So the condition is universal. That results in a casualness towards sin. It also results in a prayerlessness (“and do not call upon the LORD…”). That makes perfect sense, right? Why in the world would you pray if you don't believe in God? Now, of course, there are many people in this world who use the word prayer as a way of expressing their concern for someone in a time of need. Because it’s part of our vocabulary, it’s normal to hear someone say, “you’re in our thoughts and prayers” even if that last word is completely empty to them. Used that way, it's no different than throwing coins into a wishing well. However, we know prayer is so much more than that. It's an opportunity to speak with the God who created the universe and loves you and died for you and calls you to be His child. But the fool, sadly, misses that.
III. THE SIDE EFFECTS (5-6)
So that's the condition and the extent of disease. We also see a bit of the side effects here, specifically→
Fear. Beyond just being corrupt in heart, we’re told the suffers are...afraid. “5 There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.” Though sinning in arrogance and open defiance of God, they are still living in fear--afraid of what they cannot see and cannot control. Without God, this fear is valid, especially because the ultimate result is Hell, but with God, there is no reason to fear--and they see this!
The thought is continued in vs 6, “6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.” God’s people are referred to here as “the poor” like we’ve seen before, as a reminder of our dependance upon Him. Shaming God’s people would mean refuting God’s provision and, therefore, His existence, but they can’t because these poor have refuge in God!
IV. THE CURE (7)
So we have the condition, its extent, its side effects, and in the very last verse, we’re given its cure. Let’s break it down. First we’re given→
Salvation: The Need. “7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come…” This is the ultimate need. We are hell-bound, and we need saved. That salvation has to come from outside of ourselves; we can’t, by any merit of our own, do anything about our sin problem. This reminds me of Benjamin Franklin’s attempt to become a virtuous man. He set of a detailed plan involving steps and charts...but he gave up because he couldn’t stop himself from sinning by his own strength. We need a Savior, and David cries out for this! He wants to see those who are lost saved. He also asks that saving come→
From Zion: The Source. “7b...out of Zion!” Ultimately, salvation is from Christ and Christ alone! We are saved because of what Jesus did on the cross! Period. Yet, how did Jesus choose to spread that message to the world? David hits it on the head. From Zion. Jerusalem, the city of God, God’s people in His place--the Church! We are to be the ones who cry out for those who are sick to be healed. And if they are, we know that there would be→
Resulting Joy. “7c...When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad." This is the opposite of the fear resulting from sin. Again, I know this is becoming my soap box. Christian joy. We should desire for those who are not saved to be saved because we know that joy comes only from Jesus’ salvation. We were made to be a people who rejoices. I think the reason I say this so often isn't because I am just a happy person. It's because I want so badly to be a joyful person. Yet, I see in myself the same thing that is in all of you--a propensity to not be happy. It tendency to gripe and complain and get frustrated, to let the things of this world steal my joy which should be unshakeable because it’s source is unshakable!
TAKEAWAYS
So, are you a fool?
1. Sin is a universally condemning condition.
2. Salvation is the only cure. Oh, come to Him today. Be saved.
3. The Church is supposed to be spreading this cure, not lamenting the disease or, worse yet, remaining among the afflicted. Seek Christ that your joy may be new every morning. Cry out, like David, for the world to be saved! We should long to see God move and change the hearts.
Let me just end with this poem I stumbled upon this week.
"'There is no God,' the fool in secret said:
There is no God that rules or earth or sky.'
Tear off the band that binds the wretch's head,
That God may burst upon his faithless eye!
Is there no God?—The stars in myriads spread,
If he look up, the blasphemy deny;
While his own features, in the mirror read,
Reflect the image of Divinity.
Is there no God?—The streams that silver flows,
The air he breathes, the ground he treads, the trees,
The flowers, the grass, the sands, each wind that blows,
All speak of God; throughout, onne voice agres,
And, eloquent, his dread existence shows:
Blind to thyself, ah, see him, fool, in these!"
Giovanni Cotta
As quoted in Spurgeon’s The Treasury of David
*Note: I was using the talk-to-text feature on my phone to record some of these thoughts, and when I said “pandemic” it wrote down “panda maker”. ☺️You’re welcome.
** Dick Lucas noted that this also refers to “thought sins” or the corruption of even our minds.
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