The Unwise, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Again, that's what you're going to find from a scoffer. No matter what they did, they're going to justify it one way or another, and they're going to fight for it. He said, do not reprove a scoffer. He said, or he'll hate you.

Scoffers hate to have anything pointed out to them that their decision making process is inadequate or misguided. Notice, do not reprove a scoffer. He will hate you. Reprove a wise man.

And then what? He will love you. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. You see, you can learn wisdom two ways. You can learn through education or you can learn wisdom through experience. If you learn it through education, you're way ahead of the game. If you learn it through experience, you have some very painful memories.

That's what Solomon is saying. You don't have to remain naive. You can actually learn wisdom. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119, he said, I have more insight than all my teachers. Why?

Because I've lived my life on the basis of the framework of your word. My teachers aren't as wise as I am. You see, wisdom for the naive is something that can be gained, but the naive is unwise. There is a next group that's unwise. Solomon calls that group the fool. A fool knows his choices are unwise. But a fool doesn't care. Turn to Proverbs 26. Proverbs 26. In a description of the fool.

Solomon says in verse three that a whip is for a horse and a bridle for a donkey and the rod for the back of a fool. He says, do not answer a fool according to his follies. He said, or you will be like him. He said to try to point something out to a fool is extremely difficult.

In fact, it's often even foolish to try. He said, answer a fool, he says, as his folly deserves. He says that he not be wise in his own eyes. He said, let me tell you what a fool is like.

He cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. Who would ever send a message by the hand of a fool? He said, like legs which are useless to the lame, so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. So when you try to teach through education and wisdom, a fool, a fool won't listen. By the way, there's a reason a fool won't listen. Whenever you're dealing with fools and you point out foolish acts, they always sort of say the same thing.

Some version of this. It's my life. It's my life. I can do whatever I want to do. Who are you to tell me what to do? I can live. I can do what I want to do. Those are the words of a fool.

But it gets worse. He said, like one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool. You say, what does that mean? Well, a sling was what they used to call a slingshot, a little bit different than ours. It was single. But you took a leather piece and a long strap and you put a stone in it and you spun it and you threw it.

David and Goliath, the whole story is a pretty formal weapon. He said, but just think if you took a sling and you put a stone in it and then you tied the stone in the sling. How good is it then? See, it doesn't go anywhere. Just stays there. That's what he is saying right here. He said, like one who binds a stone in the sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.

Don't waste your time. He said, like a thorn which falls into the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. Now, what's that mean? Well, thorns are designed by plants to protect the plant. And if you've ever gotten near a plant and plants trying to protect its fruit or its, you know, flower, and there's a thorn there, as soon as you hit it and give the appropriate reaction, it's like, wow, that really hurt. I've got to be careful around this plant. But not if you're drunk. You see, the drunk can just fall into the plant. Oh, look at that, you know.

It's kind of wasted once you're loaded. And that's what he is saying. He said, like a thorn which falls into the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools, like an archer who wounds everyone. I love that imagery. He just starts pulling out arrows and shooting everyone on his side. He says, like an archer who wounds everyone, so is he who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.

Notice the analogies. Fools are hard to deal with. That's what he is saying. A fool is hard to deal with. And then the most amazing statement of all about what it means to be a fool. Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. You see, that's what fools do. That's what fools do. Fools make a bad choice this week and then a bad choice next week and a bad choice a week later or a month later.

They repeat the indiscretion over and over and over again. Boy, it's a difficult thing if you have a child that's a fool. How many times have you heard this?

What were you thinking? How many times do I have to tell you? Well, if it's a fool, you can never tell them enough times. Fools repeat their folly. You see, that's what they do. A fool repeats the folly.

That's exactly how they work. He said, do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There's more hope for a fool than for him.

We'll talk about that group next. Fools have the same experience over and over again. One of the things he said in Proverbs 10, a wise son makes his father proud, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. Whenever a fool is involved, there is always collateral damage.

Always. You're a friend of a fool, you'll be hurt. If you're married to a fool, you have my prayers.

Because when you marry a fool, you just constantly reap the consequences of that. A person that over and over and over again will not learn as a dog returns to its vomit. One piece of parenting advice, if you have a child that's a fool, never rescue or enable a fool. Never rescue or enable a fool.

All you do is solidify their folly. And you see that pattern over and over again. One time after another, a parent trying to bail out a foolish child.

Over and over and over again, and it just gets deeper and worse and deeper and worse. And the reason is for this, is this is the reason. There is hope for a fool, but normally a fool has to face the full consequences of their choices.

They have to face exactly what the cost is for what they've done. And sometimes, sometimes that will promote change in a fool. Sometimes a fool just has to say, you know what, I found I not only went to the bottom, I fell through the bottom.

I'm going to change my life. I'm not going there again. That's the way it is with a fool. You don't educate a fool, they can only learn through the consequences of their experience. They repeat the folly. The naive are unwise. The fool is unwise. And there's one more group.

This time go to Psalm 1, the book of Psalms chapter 1. The third group, not the naive and not the fool, is called by Solomon the scoffer, or depending on your translation, the mocker. Now a scoffer is a fool on steroids. That's really what a scoffer is. A scoffer not only knows that what they're doing may be unwise, but they don't, but they're not like the fool. The fool just says, I don't care.

I'm just going to do it anyway. The scoffer will be extraordinarily defensive and combative when it comes to any view of choices, decisions, wisdom, life. That's what the scoffer does.

They spend all their time arguing about what is wrong with what is right. That's how he starts out the book of Psalms. The psalmist says, how happy, how blessed is the man first who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. A person who can be happy is a person who doesn't live their life surrounded by wicked people. Then he says, nor stand in the path of sinners.

So you've got walking and then standing. And then he says this, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. You see, that's what scoffers do. They scoff. That's what mockers do. They mock.

In other words, they take an anti-God view of life and then they constantly just beat that drum. You can find that in all kinds of settings. The best setting I was ever in for scoffing was that at the University of Pittsburgh in my undergraduate work, one of my majors was philosophy. So it was really interesting because when you sit in philosophy classes, you sit with the scoffers.

And that's exactly what they do. That's what philosophy is, is it's the art of scoffing. And at the University of Pittsburgh at that time, they had a very fine philosophy department as measured by academic terms. But the prevailing mood of the department was clearly existential. What you went into in every class is that you basically were taught over and over again that the only view of life that makes any sense is existentialism, which is, by the way, a really depressing view of life because basically an existential philosopher is basically saying this. Everybody who ever thought they knew what life was about is wrong. OK, there's nobody that ever understood what life's about. And there's no way that you could really ever understand what life's really about. And so consequently, if you stop and really think about it, you'll realize that life stinks and then you die.

Now, the irony is over and over again, I would hear that nothing really matters, that everything's existential. By men, by the way, who taught at the University of Pittsburgh and made sure they got tenure so that they could have job security, so they could have nice houses and drive cars, all the things they said that don't matter. But it seemed to matter to them. I can still remember one professor in particular who he enjoyed me being an evangelical Christian more than anybody else. And he was usually kind and he was very, very bright. And I can remember one day he was really giving me the business and making fun of me. And I told him in the class because he said, is the Bible have an answer for that? You know, that kind of thing. He was just having fun. And I said, well, not exactly that, but the Bible does presuppose you and me because the Bible says that God has chosen the foolish of this world. That's me to make the wise of this world.

That's you look foolish. And he just had a big time with that. He he enjoyed it.

He had no mean spirit about him at all. But he but that's what they do. That's what scoffing is. You know, you get a bunch of guys out of high school, guys or girls, you get to college and they basically go sit down in places and scoff. Because after all, if you're 19 years old, you figured it all out.

You understand virtually everything now. But that's the scoffer. Now, watch what happens, he says, when you're dealing with a scoffer.

Let's go to Proverbs Chapter nine. Verse seven, Solomon says this, he who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself. You can tell the difference between a fool and a scoffer when you point out the foolishness to a scoffer. The scoffer fights. The scoffer goes on the attack.

That's what they do. He said he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Again, that's what you're going to find from the scoffer. No matter what they did, they're going to justify it in one way or another.

And they're going to fight for it. He said, do not reprove a scoffer, he said, or he'll hate you. Scoffers hate to have anything pointed out to them that their decision making process is inadequate.

Or misguided. Notice, do not reprove a scoffer. He will hate you. Reprove a wise man. And then what?

He will love you. Now, before we get too pious in here, as any church group gets a little pious. You know, we're always talking about these other people here, not us. But let me ask you, I'll ask the guys this because I think guys have a tendency to be more of a scoffer than women do. But whenever your wife points out just how stupid and foolish you can act when she does. Do you say, thank you, honey?

I love you more for that. Or do you become defensive and attacking? Because if you do, you're the scoffer. You see, the scoffer hates to have their folly pointed out by anybody. You know, there's a little scoffer in all of us.

And that's what he says right there. The naive are unwise. The fool is unwise and the scoffer is unwise. But you don't have to stay there.

Let's go back to where we started then. Proverbs 1 and verse 20. Now the appeal to all of us to seek wisdom. Wisdom shouts in the street. She lifts up her voice in the square at the head of the noisy street. She cries out at the entrance of the gates in the city.

She utters her sayings. How long, oh naive ones, will you love being simple minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing. And fools hate knowledge. How long, wisdom says. Another way of saying it to all of us. Don't you ever get tired of learning everything the hard way? Don't you get tired of it? You see, that's what wisdom is saying.

You don't have to learn that way. Wow. In verse 23, wisdom says, Turn to my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. And I will make my words known to you. Turn to my reproof. Repent. Look, if you're naive or a fool or a scoffer, admit it.

That's what it's saying. Just turn and admit what your problem is. Notice if you respond the last verse in the chapter. But he who listens to me shall live securely and shall be at ease in the dread of evil. You want a stable life, be wise. Apply wisdom and you'll have a stable life. Every day will be better if you apply wisdom to your life.

We all should be tired of learning the hard way. And so if you're a mocker, maybe you should start admitting that you're not the smartest guy in the room. Maybe you should admit that because, by the way, everyone else in the room already knows that. Secondly, if you're a fool, you have to realize that it's not just about you. Your life touches everybody who loves you.

Everybody who's close to you. And the collateral damage that you're doing is not good for any of them, as well as for yourself. And if you're naive, you have the opportunity of a lifetime. For the naive, there's the most hope for the young people. Do you realize that you can both be young and wise?

Boy, how many of us would have liked that as our experience? But a teenager right now, you have the opportunity to be young and wise, to live life with skill, but you have to seek it. Many of us wouldn't be labeled as naive or a fool or a scoffer, but we must admit we all have moments of that. Think of Solomon for a moment. Solomon is said in the Word of God to be the wisest man who ever lived.

But you know what? He did a lot of foolish things. He did a lot of really foolish things. I've said in the past that probably my favorite book in the Old Testament is Ecclesiastes.

And the reason I love it is this brilliant, brilliant man is writing, looking back over his life. And basically he says, you know what? Almost everything that I thought was important in my life isn't important. He said, and I tried everything. He said, look, you can learn from me because there's nothing I haven't tried. He said, I was a committed hedonist, committed. There was no pleasure I withheld from my own experience. Anything that you could try to give you pleasure, Solomon said, I tried that.

I tried it. He said, talk about materialism. He said, I accrued more wealth than anyone else in my world. I was the richest man in my world.

He said, and you talk about achievement and counting to do something constructive. I built cities. I built buildings. I built gardens. I built farms.

I built all kinds of stuff. And you know what? It's all vanity. He said, I'm wise enough to realize, looking back, it was all vanity. It's all vapor. It's all smoke.

It's all a moment, and then it's gone. He said, that's what I did. He said, I've come to this conclusion late in my life that it's all vanity. He writes at one time in the book of Ecclesiastes that for him all things became wearisome.

Ever been there? You know, I'm weary. I'm weary of everything.

I don't need another project around the house to feel better about myself. I'm tired of those. I don't need another promotion of work. I'm tired of that. I'm tired of all this.

I'm just weary. He says, the reason is, is you gave it value that it doesn't have. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. And then he said this, a poor, wise lad is better than a foolish king. A poor, wise lad is better than a foolish king. He says, learn from me. Think of all those things that you're so important and you pursue life with such a foolish perspective.

He said, I did that. It doesn't work. Wisdom. One of the most important things you can have as a companion of yours day in and day out, the next time you make a choice, the very next time, you ask yourself the question, what is the wise thing to do in light of my past experiences, in light of my present circumstances, in light of my future hopes and dreams?

If you do that, you may make the wise choice. Not the naive one, not the foolish one, not the one of the scoffer, but the one of the wise man. Let's pray. Father, these words are so practical for us. You're simply asking us to consider wisdom, to look at life from the point of view in which you look at life and be able to make our choices and decisions on that basis. Father, we know just how susceptible we are to naivety and foolishness and scoffing.

It's everywhere around us and there's a lot of it within us. Father, I pray that we own up to our own deficiencies, that we turn from them, that we seek wisdom. We seek it from your word and we seek it from people we know to be wise. And then, Father, as we begin to make wise choices in our life, we will reap what we sow. A life of peace, not fear. A life of hope, not worry. A life, Father, of happiness, not turmoil. This we pray in Christ's name.

Amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

At that website, you will find not only today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as well. At Fellowship in the Word, we are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help this radio ministry continue its broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly or with just a one-time gift. Support for our ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word 4600 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, Louisiana 7006. If you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format, that is as a sermon that Pastor Bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible Church, then you should visit our website, fbcnola.org.

That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word. .