Psalm 8:3-4—"What is Man That You Are Mindful of Him?"

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him?" (Psalm 8:3-4 NKJV)

Here we have one of the toughest questions in life to answer, what is man?  Then the follow-up, that you, God, are mindful of him.  There was a time when you and I did not exist.  Birth is like a person who has been in a deep dreamless sleep and suddenly he is awakened.  We are thrust into the world; we have no choice in the matter.  How did we get here?  Why are we here?  What is it we are supposed to do or be?  All is a mystery but at that early stage of life, at birth, we are spared from having to think of such things.

We enter the world naked, helpless, in poverty, having no knowledge or understanding, and unless someone has pity upon us and shows us mercy and gives us care and assistance we cannot live but briefly.  Someone must care for us. 

Man comes into the world a frail creature made of flesh and blood and in a body that is destined for only a limited number of years of life on earth at best.  “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10 NKJV)   Man can no more prevent his death than he could have prevented his birth.  This is the story of human life but the question remains, what is it all about; what is life about? 

God made man out of dust (Gen. 2:7).  In speaking to Adam, after the fall, God says to him, "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return." (Gen 3:19 NKJV)  David, the Psalmist, says, "For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103:14 NKJV)

Yet, God gave to man a spirit, not just a body.  "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness."  (Gen. 1:26 NKJV)  "So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him." (Gen 1:27 NKJV)  Jesus said, "God is Spirit." (John 4:24 NKJV)  So man has a spirit in the image of God, or like God, but enclosed in a frame of dust.    

In the Psalm at hand, Psalm 8:3-4, David the Psalmist in thinking about man and his frailty could look up into the heavens and stand amazed, awestruck, at what his eyes beheld.  Comparatively few people living in America today live in an area where they can get a clear view of the heavens on a cloudless, moonless, night.  City lights, smog, and just the atmosphere itself obscures what is in the heavens to be seen but when you do get a chance to see the sky on a perfectly clear night it leaves you speechless.  What do you say when you look up and see millions to billions of stars?

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.   There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." (Psalm 19:1-4 NKJV)

What you see is what God meant for you to see—the glory of God declared.  The New American Standard Bible (1977) starts Psalm 19 verse 1 as follows:  "The heavens are telling of the glory of God."

On a perfectly clear night when you look up into the night sky how many stars do you see?  Here is a report from a website called ESA Space Science:

"Stars are not scattered randomly through space, they are gathered together into vast groups known as galaxies. The Sun belongs to a galaxy called the Milky Way. Astronomers estimate there are about 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone. Outside that, there are millions upon millions of other galaxies also!"

From a site called wiki.answers.com I got this answer when looking for the number of stars that exist:

"The newest estimates gained by the Hubble space telescope places the estimate of 500 billion Galaxies each with about 300 billion stars for each galaxy."

And yet the Psalmist said of God, their creator, "He counts the number of the stars; he calls them all by name." (Psalm 147:4 NKJV)

David could look up into the night sky and see the stars so vast in number as to overwhelm the mind.  It is more than the human mind can take in and comprehend and we are left awe-struck.  Figuratively speaking it brought David to his knees by its magnificence and the glory and might it portrayed—the glory and might of God.  What was, what is, man to such a God?  God is God Almighty truly and beyond doubt!

Have the heavens man can see failed in telling the story of the glory of God?  No!  "For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." (Rom. 1:20 NKJV)

Paul by inspiration in this passage teaches that man knows there is a God which does not mean, however, that he is willing to admit it or accept it.  There are reasons for not accepting the fact that your child is causing problems in school, or that your spouse is cheating on you, or that your smoking may well lead to cancer, or a hundred other things.  Likewise, there are many reasons people have for not wanting to believe in God and thus not allowing themselves to do so despite clear evidence of his existence.  There is enough evidence that God has shown to man to prove his existence that God said, "They are without excuse." (Rom. 1:20 NKJV)

So what is a man to such an astounding God?  Human reasoning might well conclude that to such a mighty God we would be nothing, no more than the equivalent of a mite on a leaf, but that is not God's view of the matter.  Man is the object of God's love.  This was the thing David was puzzling over.  How can such a great and mighty God care about something as lowly as a man?  It is a thing we may never understand but we must come to believe and accept it and what a wonderful thing it is whether it is understood or not.

God's love for his creation was such that even before creation he determined that man would have eternal life.  "In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began." (Titus 1:2 NKJV)  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world." (Eph. 1:3-4 NKJV)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 NKJV)  It is true that eternal life, in the sense of awareness, can be found both in heaven and hell but, "The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  God wants us with him in heaven where "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Rev. 21:4 NKJV) 

In John 17 Jesus prays.  He starts out praying, so it seems, for the apostles but then he says in verse 20, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word." (John 17:20 NKJV)  Jesus goes on in prayer, "Father, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me; for you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24 NKJV)  God's desire is that all men be with him in heaven and live there with him throughout eternity.  God "desires all men to be saved." (1 Tim. 2:4 NKJV)

Jesus was sent into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world (John 12:47).  Jesus is off now preparing a place for God's faithful children (John 14:2-3).  What we learn from all of this is that God created man, God loves man, and God's intent or desire is that all men be saved and join with him in heaven for eternity.  Who can understand or explain the love of God for man? 

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39 NKJV)

Man was made to love and be loved by God, created a spiritual being in a body of flesh with the plan being to transform at the proper time into a heavenly body.  "And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man." (1 Cor. 15:49 NKJV)

That is the future that God has decreed for those of his human creation who choose of their own free will to follow God and obey his commands by faith.  Not only did God create us but he has also told us why.  There are certain things he wants out of us.  This may not be an exhaustive list but it comes close to being a good summary.

God wants man's love.  "'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment." (Mark 12:30 NKJV)

God also wants man to love his fellow man.  "'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Mark 12: 31 NKJV)

This love God desires of man demands obedience to God.  "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15 NKJV)  "'He who does not love me does not keep my words.'" (John 14:24 NKJV)

God wants man to have faith in him.  "But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)

God desires man's worship.  "'But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth; for the father is seeking such to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'" (John 4:23-24 NKJV)  Note the phrase "the father is seeking such to worship him" thus God desires that of man.  "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve.'" (Matt. 4:10 NKJV) 

God desires that man glorify him in both body and spirit.  "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:20 NKJV)  The great sin of the Gentiles that Paul talks about in Romans 1 was that "although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful." (Rom. 1:21 NKJV)

To glorify God demands that man treat God as God which means, among other things, reverence, thanksgiving, and giving praise to his name.  It demands a holy and reverent life of faithful obedience from a humble and a thankful heart.  It has to be from the heart.  It must be that my heart drives me to it.

Perhaps we could add to this list but I think for the most part everything that God desires of us could be put in one or the other of the above categories I have listed.  God wants our love, our faith, our obedience, our worship, and our reverence or respect.  He wants to be treated like God and honored as such.

What is man that God is mindful of him?  Man is the creation of God's love and because of that love, God is mindful of him.  If God has loved us so much should we not reciprocate that love?  Does not our heart drive us to do so?  I hope we never harden our hearts against the love of God for that would be cruelty against one who cares for us.  In reference to God’s children the scripture declares “he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV)  “He himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Heb. 13:5 NKJV)  God is not willing that any perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Who could be so cruel as to harden his heart against such a God, our God?

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Psalms 1:1-2--Blessed is the Man

The book of Psalms is likely the most read book of the Old Testament among Christians.  It begins on a high note giving us instructions on how to live a good life away from those things that would drag us down and destroy us.  It begins:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:1-2 NKJV)

To really get a good grasp on a passage it is often good to read it from more than one translation so I want to quote the passage here from two other versions—the New Revised Standard Version and the New Living Translation.

"Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night." (NRSV)

"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.  But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night." (NLT)

The Old Testament Hebrew word translated "blessed" or "happy" in this passage ("joys" in the NLT) means, according to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, happy or favored.  The Hebrew can legitimately be rendered "happy" according to most commentators.  It is not a state of emotional ecstasy as in "I am so, so happy" but a state of being in which one could say he has been blessed by being saved from all the troubles and trials sinners bring upon themselves unnecessarily by the lives they live.

It is the kind of blessing or happiness that one can easily fail to recognize for it is related to things like peace, contentment, and joy rather than the momentary and fleeting ecstasy that a single solitary joyous event might bring on.  It has permanence.  It is an abiding quiet type of happiness that lies deep within the soul.

There are things a godly person will never experience which are wonderful blessings within themselves.  The godly person is not going to experience the loss of the love of a loving wife and children because of his cheating on his wife.  He is not going to experience anger and bitterness against himself because of his deceitfulness, lying, and slander.  People are not going to avoid him and disrespect him because of his vulgarity, his foul mouth.  He will not be known as an unloving, unkind, and bitter man.  Because we do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly nor stand in the path of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful and we do follow God's counsel we miss the trouble, pain, and sorrow that comes as a direct result of ungodliness.    

If we want to enjoy this blessing then we cannot walk in the counsel of the ungodly.  Who we associate with and whose counsel we take can make all the difference in the world.  "Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'" (1 Cor. 15:33 NKJV)  Good parents have always been concerned about the company their teenage children keep and with good scriptural reason to back it up.  It is just a fact if you hang around with the wrong people long enough and get into a close relationship with them it is going to rub off on you.  Run with the wrong crowd, avoid the righteous, and it will catch up with you in due time.

There are people out in the world whose advice or counsel needs to be ignored for it is ungodly and ultimately leads to suffering and sorrow.  Gross ungodliness is easy enough to recognize but ungodliness today is often cloaked in what the world perceives to be a mantle of righteousness and can easily draw the uninformed into its grasp.  Paul said, "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." (2 Cor. 11:14-15 NKJV)

Homosexual marriage is the latest such thing.  The Bible is clear that homosexual relationships are ungodly but the counsel of the wicked says it is bigoted, unloving, and intolerant even unchristian to prohibit these relationships.  Two generations ago when my grandparents were still living and my parents were yet young all recognized this sin as immorality.  Nowadays it is unloving and bigoted to be critical and some mainstream denominations are beginning to accept gay marriage as righteous.  We cast the word of God aside and say society, not God, is the ultimate judge of godliness, righteousness, or whatever similar term you wish to use.  It seems crazy but who can deny but what we are doing that today? 

When I was growing up it was still immoral and frowned upon for a person to leave their husband or wife.  Nowadays you can have 3, 4, or 5 marriages, all unscriptural, and nobody bats an eye.  In fact, marriage itself is now optional, just move in together.  Adultery in America means nothing to anyone except it seems to the spouse against whom it was committed and to Christians who still refuse to take the advice of the ungodly and who have not been deceived by the one who has transformed himself into an angel of light.

What I am getting at is that it is becoming harder all the time, especially for the young and immature, to discern good from evil, godliness from ungodliness, in a secular and politically correct world where these false ministers of righteousness have gained sway over the public mind.  I know of one case where a woman who attends denominational services on a regular basis, an educated woman, gave her son and his girlfriend a hotel room for the weekend to relax.  Can you imagine?  But that is the world we live in today and people do not seem to be able to distinguish godliness from ungodliness.   Fornication is no longer considered to be ungodliness or sin but just an accepted part of growing up in America in the times in which we live.  Few see it as sin.   

What will become of those who give ungodly counsel?  "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isa. 5:20 NKJV)  If you can make wickedness look good and make it seem to be the charitable and reasonable thing to do and make the Bible appear to be outdated, bound to ancient societies long since buried in history, leaving the word with little to no applicability for today then it is all the easier to get people to walk in ungodly counsel, especially the young who lack life experience.  People today are being poisoned against God's counsel.

Anything that draws boundaries that makes a clear cut line between right and wrong is considered judgmental today no matter how many scriptures you can quote to uphold a doctrine.  Why?  Because Satan has done his work and discredited a conservative reading of the scriptures.  People have lost faith that the word of God means what it literally says or that they will have to give an account to a God who will hold them accountable.  "Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, "You will not require an account." (Psalms 10:13 NKJV)

The only way to know what constitutes ungodliness is by knowing what the Bible says and believing it but when people reach the point that their faith has been destroyed in the word what then?  "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalms 11:3 NKJV)  I find it interesting that the Psalmist David left the question unanswered for I think we all know the answer instinctively.  We are getting close to the point in America where the foundations will have been destroyed in terms of faith in the word of God as having any real meaning for us as a guide for daily life. 

The great desire in our time is to have every religion known to man serve as a route to eternal salvation.  That is why the Bible can no longer be accepted by modern liberal thinkers for it says, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 NKJV)  This is, of course, a reference to Christ.  We have gone from one church being as good as another, which was never true as Christ only built one church, to the point now where one religion is as good as another.  Where does it end?  Again, I think we all know the answer to that question as well. 

Note the progression in ungodliness in this passage in Psalms 1.  First, you take counsel of the ungodly, next you become one with him taking his side, standing with him, and finally, you become scornful of righteousness, you are now the one giving out ungodly counsel yourself.  As the expression goes "who would have thought it" when you first started down that road?  Ungodliness leads to more ungodliness.  Paul says, "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Tim. 3:13 NKJV)

One can become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  "But exhort one another daily, while it is called 'TODAY,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb. 3:13 NKJV)  This passage has always scared me for it tells me such a thing can happen and if it happens to a person what then?  You no longer care.  How can you repent?  If you cannot repent, what then?  We all know the answer.

At the close of this first Psalm David says, "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." (Psalms 1:5-6 NKJV)

The good news is there is a blessed man in this Psalm, the one who ignores the wicked and ungodly, who will not take their advice, nor stand with them, nor sit in their seat, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night." (Psalms 1:2 NKJV)

People who are not faithful Christians cannot understand how a person could delight in the law of the Lord nor how a person could be interested enough to meditate on it day and night.  When my Dad died he did not leave me a book he had written to me, for me.  I wish he had.  If I had such a book I would rejoice in it and read it and reread it and reread it again and think about it often.  I would find great joy in that.

God, our eternal father, has left us all a book and while that book is for all mankind it is also personally written to each one of us as individual children of his, or at least we can be his children if we will.  This is his letter to us, his way of communicating with us, the only thing we have that truly contains his thoughts, tells us of his love, reveals his nature, and tells us what he wants us to do, and what our future will be like. 

God is going to take care of you and make you eternally happy, at least that is his desire.  Why would you not want to read about that and meditate on it?  Why would you not take an intense interest in what he has to say to you in his word?  Why would you not delight in it?  Speaking on a personal level it is the one place I have found peace in my life.  I cannot tell you how that works, you will have to get to the point where you experience it for yourself, but there is peace to be found in reading and meditating on the word of God. 

There is no space here for me to go on for there is too much to say about the value the word of God has to every person who is willing to reach down and pick his Bible up and begin the long journey of learning about God.  The 119th Psalm will tell you all about the word and its value.  Read it.  But, until you have time to do that remember there is a blessed man in the world—the one who heeds Psalms 1:1-2.

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On Matt. 5:22-24—Part 4—Reconciling With a Brother

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.  If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." (Matt. 5:22-24 NAS)

(This will conclude a series of 4 articles on this passage having already covered verse 22 in the prior 3 articles.)

Can a man be saved who has contempt for and mistreats his fellowman?  John says no when he says, "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." (1 John 3:10 NAS)  Contempt for and mistreatment of a brother are the opposite of love and places one in the devil's camp.  Four verses later John says, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death." (1 John 3:14 NAS)

One is either a child of God or a child of the devil, there is no middle ground, and John declares that the man who does not love his brother is not of God.  Such a man abides in death.  Thus verse 23 of this passage begins with the words "if therefore" tying what is to come with what has just been said in verse 22 about various attitudes towards and words spoken against a brother.

One cannot on the one hand worship God and on the other hand mistreat his fellowman whom God created and gave a soul to and for whom Christ also died.  God does not show partiality, "there is no partiality with God." (Rom. 2:11 NAS)  "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23 NAS)  "There is none righteous, not even one." (Rom. 3:10 NAS)  The man whose vanity and pride has led him to see himself as being in a better position before God than others, say for example the Pharisee who went up to pray in Luke 18:10-14, fools only himself.  Any and all who are saved are saved by grace. 

Christians need to be very aware of the great danger they are in at all times as regards this matter.  They try their best to be faithful and obedient in all things.  There is much evil they would not think of partaking in.  We see sin and protest against it as we should.  The Pharisee that went up to pray to God and went back unjustified in Luke 18 was not wrong in saying there were swindlers, unjust, and adulterous people in the world for that there were and always will be.  The Pharisee saw that.  He did not partake in those things.  He seemed to be faithfully obeying the commands of God so what was his problem?

He had lost sight of the fact that he too was but a mere mortal, a man in need of God's grace and forgiveness.  His obedience in commandment keeping had blinded his eyes to his own sins of his heart.  He had forgotten or ignored what Jesus called the second greatest commandment of the Law of Moses, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” (Mat. 22:39 NAS)

Pride had grown up in his heart and so much so that he was feeling sorry for other sinners who needed forgiveness unlike himself who he felt no longer needed it.  He had become his own judge.  He would judge not only himself but also his fellowman.  How did he know this tax-gatherer who was also praying was a sinner extraordinaire?  He was ready to take God's place as judge of all.  His outward commandment-keeping, the outward observances of such, had led him to judge himself a righteous man in need of no forgiveness. 

God judges a man's heart.  "But the LORD said to Samuel, '…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'" (1 Sam. 16:7 NAS)  "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds." (Jer. 17:10 NAS)  "My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart." (Psalms 7:10 NAS)  It is the pure in heart that shall see God (Matt. 5:8).  The Pharisee had a heart problem.

All Christians today who are trying to live faithful obedient lives need to beware of the tendency we all have to become like this Pharisee.  If we are faithful in the outward observances of Christianity the first thing we know we can find ourselves finding fault in others rather easily.  We become the standard by which people are to be judged.  We can end up worshipping ourselves rather than God.  The Bible says of that particular Pharisee that when he prayed he was "praying thus to himself." (Luke 18:11 NAS)  

The man who would do such things as Jesus spoke of in our text in Matt. 5:22 seems to be a man much like the Pharisee of Luke 18 in his attitude toward his fellowman and towards himself.  Jesus is telling us in verses 23 and 24 of our text if we have been this way toward our fellowman, have been disrespectful, hurtful, degraded him, or done him wrong in anyway go take care of that problem now.  Go to him, own up to your sin, and be reconciled.  That has top priority.  Do not delay.  What a wonderful world it would be if we would all obey God's golden rule—Matt. 7:12--(man gave it the name "golden" but the rule is God's).

"He who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (1 John 4:20 ESV) 

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On Matt. 5:22-24—Part 3—Calling Another a Fool

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.  If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." (Matt. 5:22-24 NAS)

In this article, I will be dealing with the last of the three declarations or warnings Jesus gave as found in Matt. 5:22 regarding man's attitude and speech toward his fellowman.  Jesus says that to say to one's fellowman "you fool" puts him in danger of going to hell itself.  That is a frightful thought that the words out of one's mouth are enough to condemn a man for eternity and yet the Bible teaches that.

"You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil.  And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Matt. 12:34-37 NAS)

It is important that we remember what was just quoted.  If we did so we would be slow to speak thinking about what we are about to say before we say it.  We would not just blather out thoughtlessly the very first words that come to mind.  James tells us, "Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger." (James 1:19 NAS)

Words not spoken ordinarily cause no trouble nor lead to condemnation.  However, certainly, there are times and places where it is appropriate to speak up and sinful not to.  But, words spoken that would have been best left unspoken have resulted in murders, hatred, anger, strife, bitterness, and condemnation before God.

For the moment I want to put emphasis on what Jesus said in Matt. 12 quoted above when he said, "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." (Matt. 12:34 NAS)  Elsewhere Jesus said, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts." (Matt. 15:19 NAS)  It is the pure in heart that shall see God (Matt. 5:8).  It is the heart that loves God and loves man that is blessed with eternal life and happiness.  "He who does not love abides in death." (James 3:14 NAS)

The words we direct to our fellowman are a reflection of how our heart feels towards the one to whom we speak.  Do we love him/her?  Are we kind to the person, compassionate, caring?  The words that roll off our tongue are a reflection of the inner attitude we have toward that individual.

To call a man a fool reflects the speaker's heart and lack of love.  Even if he was right about the man to whom he was speaking and that man was indeed a fool it would not get the speaker off the hook for violating the law of love toward one's fellowman.

The Greek word translated "fool" in Matt. 5:22 has been and is highly debated as to its exact meaning.  You and I know what the English meaning of the English word fool is without being told but is that what the Greek meant that lies behind the English translation in our Bibles.  That is the debated question.

Most of the old commentators I consulted (Barnes, Clarke, and Gill) believe it means a wicked reprobate man.  Gill says, "The word 'fool' does not signify a man of weak parts, one that is very ignorant in things natural; this the word Raca imports; but a wicked reprobate man; in which sense Solomon often uses the word. The Persic version renders it here 'wicked'." (Gill's Commentary)  The translation notes from the NET Bible say, "The meaning of the term…is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the Syriac versions, 'you fool,' although some have argued that it represents a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew term…'rebel.'"  Young's Literal Translation uses the word "rebel" rather than the word "fool."

Be all that as it may Matt. 5:22 makes it clear that God has not relinquished his right to be God and handed that right over to me to make me the judge and make proclamation over others.  When I call someone a fool I have proclaimed that I myself am not a fool and I am able to judge others for I am superior.  I know these things and you don't is the idea and I know because I am superior.  It is pride and it is arrogance and it is the placing of oneself on God's judgment seat.

Is it true there are no fools on the earth?  No, it is not.  The book of Proverbs speaks of fools time after time (the word “fool” is mentioned in 40 verses in that book in the NAS and the word “fools” in 21 verses) and enough is said about them so that we can learn quite a bit about who is and who is not a fool.  There are many who do not believe in God’s existence.  David by inspiration of the Holy Spirit said, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalms 14:1, 53:1 NAS) 

God has not asked us to be naïve and go around acting like we cannot discern foolish things from things that are rational and he has certainly not asked us to give up discerning righteousness from unrighteousness.  We are not asked to be dummies and see no evil and refuse to recognize evil or foolishness.  We know there are evil men in the world; we know there are foolish men in the world.  Jesus in the New Testament addressed a certain class of men as "fools and blind men." (Matt. 23:17 NAS)  Paul did the same thing in Rom. 1:22.  We are told by Solomon, "Do not be a fool." (Eccl. 7:17 NAS)  Surely we can know what foolishness is.

That does not mean, however, that we are to take God's place and declare a man a fool implying we are not.  Have we not all played the role of the fool at one or more points in time in our life?  I doubt I could find a man who would deny it if he has any honesty about himself at all.  If we are and always have been so perfect what need do we have for Jesus?  Paul said, "For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another." (Titus 3:3 NAS)  We have no room to speak of others as being fools.

While the New Testament only uses the words fool and fools 3 times each in the New American Standard Version (1977) it uses the word foolish in 25 different verses.  The first instance is found in Matt. 7:26, "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand." (NAS)  It is not hard to be foolish, not obeying the commands (one or more) of Jesus will do it.  Jesus and Paul both spoke of foolish men and foolish acts.  One of the problems of the man who is inclined to call his brother, his fellowman, a fool is his failure to see that he too falls into the same category.  His disregard for Jesus' words spoken in Matt. 5:22 clearly places him in the classification of being "a foolish man" according to Matt. 7:26.

What is needed is mercy and grace, kindness and love, and taking the speck out of our own eye.  "And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matt. 7:3-5 NAS)      

There is a "fiery hell."  Jesus said so in the passage before us and he told us of one personality headed there.  It is our choice as to whether or not we make the decision to heed the teachings of Matt. 5:22 or disregard them.  There is a path that leads away from the fiery hell.  Jesus described it when he said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock." (Matt. 7:24-25 NAS)  That is the rock that is higher than I.

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