GRACE FOR TODAY Radio Message #411
DEPRAVED FOOLS
Pastor
Don Fortner
Grace Baptist Church of Danville
2734 Old Stanford Road
Danville,
Kentucky 40422-9438
I
want you to listen carefully to Psalm 14:1-3. In these three verses, the Word
of God describes all the sons and daughters of Adam as depraved fools. That
includes you and me. We are all, by nature, with regard to all things
spiritual, depraved fools. If that offends you, you will have to take up your
fight with God. I didn’t write this Book. I’m just reading it to you.
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is
no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that
doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see
if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside,
they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not
one."
God’s description of man and
man’s notions about himself are not the same. God tells us here that all human
beings are by nature corrupt, depraved fools. Be sure to observe the fact that
the words “there is” are italicized.
That indicates that the words were added by the translators to make the passage
read more smoothly. However, in this case, the added words are a detriment rather
than a help. The text should not read, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” but simply, “The fool
hath said in his heart, No, God,” or “The fool hath said in his heart, No, to
God.”
If
David had said, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” that would be a direct contradiction of Paul’s
teaching in Romans 1 and 2. There the Holy Spirit tells us plainly that there
is no such thing as an atheist. There are many fools who would like to be
atheists, and try to be. But all who claim to be atheists are liars. The
Apostle Paul, writing by Divine inspiration, tells us that all men are born
with a God consciousness from which they can never escape. So when David
writes, “The fool hath said in his heart, No, God,” or “No, to God,” he is not
suggesting that some men really are atheists. Not at all. David is telling us
that all men are foolish rebels by nature, constantly shaking their fists in
God’s face and saying, “No, God!”
In
these three verses, the Holy Spirit describes the character and condition of
all human beings by nature since the fall of Adam. Here are seven facts about
the entire human race.
1.
All
human beings are, by nature, rebellious fools, fools for their rebellion, for
man’s rebellion is against God Almighty!
2.
The
whole human race is corrupt, abominable, and filthy before God.
3.
We
all became corrupt, abominable, and filthy at one time, by Adam’s one act of
rebellion and treason against God.
4.
We
all, at one time, turned away from God. - In the fall of our father Adam we
willfully, deliberately turned away from our God.
5. Because of Adam’s sin and
our sin in him, the entire human race has become totally ignorant of all things
spiritual. - “There is none that
understandeth!”
6.
No
one left to himself will ever truly seek the Lord. - “There is none that seeketh after God.”
7. And no one has the ability
to do anything that is good and acceptable to God. - “There is none that doeth good…There is none that doeth good, no, not
one.”
Thus
the Spirit of God tells us that man is, by nature, a totally depraved,
helpless, perishing creature. That is the nature and character of us all by
nature. Our only hope, our only help is grace, free, sovereign, saving,
almighty grace.
AMEN.