A “Fool” By Any Other Name…

Biblegems #299

Question: Why does Jesus say that calling someone a fool puts the name-caller in danger of hell, even though Jesus does so Himself, as does the book of Proverbs?

Jesus’ actual words are: “anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matt. 5:22c). Later, Jesus refers to a fictitious man who built his house upon sand as “foolish” (Matt. 7:26). Proverbs also gives numerous examples of fools:

         Prov. 10:18  Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.

So why this stern admonition from Jesus?

First, it is a warning, not a command. Jesus is saying, ‘If you are going to call someone a fool, make sure you use the term appropriately—otherwise, you “will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

“Hell” (Gk. gehenna) is the “lake of fire” reserved for those not found in the “book of life” at the Final Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). That should be sufficient warning by itself to give anyone pause before calling someone a fool. To do so is literally playing with fire—only this “fire never goes out” (Mk. 9:33)!

Second, the context makes it clear that Jesus is addressing the attitude of the person using the term, not the term itself. There is no power associated with the word “fool,” as if it were some kind of incantation. This is a heart issue, not a vocabulary issue.

Jesus had just finished explaining that entering the kingdom of heaven hinges on a right heart towards God, not on external behavior:

         Matt. 5:20  “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

To make His point clear, Jesus gives three examples (vv. 21-22), including the matter of calling someone a fool. All three examples contrast the courtrooms of human justice with the courtroom of God’s justice. Human courts can only condemn a person to punishment based upon behavior, whereas God judges the attitude of the heart. At God’s judgment seat, anger that could lead to murder is enough to make that person “subject to judgment” (Matt. 5:22a). The same is true with an attitude of contempt towards another human being (Matt. 5:22b-c). It’s not just the insulting words, such as “raca” (Aramaic: “empty-headed”) or “mora” (Gk.: “fool,” “stupid,” or “imbecile”); it’s the condescending attitude behind the words.

Jesus’ point is that a contemptuous, judgmental attitude has no place in the kingdom of heaven. God knows the heart.

We are all quite capable of doing and saying foolish things. It is possible to name a person “a fool” as a matter of description without a condescending attitude. A fool is as a fool does. Even so, we are seldom the best judges of our own true motives and attitudes. When tempted to call someone a fool it is far better to say instead only that which builds a person up.

         Eph. 4:29  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

A Judgment Day For Christians?

Biblegems #270

Question: Why does Jesus say in John 5:24 that Christians will not be judged, whereas Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that “we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ”?  

Here are the two verses in question:

Jesus:

         John 5:24  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

Paul

         2Cor. 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

These passages refer to two different kinds of Judgment. John 5:24 refers to what is also known as the Great White Throne Judgment. Those who die without having their names recorded in the book of life must appear before the Lord at this judgment to hear the verdict of eternity in hell (i.e., “the lake of fire”):

         Rev. 20:11-12, 15  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it… 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

        

John 5:24 teaches that those who trust in Jesus now have already “crossed over from death to life.” Jesus’ followers will not have to face the Great White Throne Judgment at all! In full agreement with this teaching, 1 Corinthians 6:2 points out that Jesus’ followers will sit with Jesus, exercising judgment over unsaved humanity and rebellious angels:

1Cor. 6:2  Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

“The judgment seat of Christ”  (2Cor. 5:10) is where Jesus’ followers must account for the way we put our earthly lives to use, good or bad.

         Rom. 14:10c—12  …For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. …“ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

This judgment for believers is not about eternal life or eternal damnation, but about how we manage the resources God entrusts to us in this life. This has a direct bearing on the level of responsibility entrusted to us in the Kingdom of Heaven. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:15-46), here is what Jesus says of those who invested the resources entrusted to them by the Master while he was away—

Matt. 25:23  ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The judgment seat of Christ” is where Jesus’ followers will be appointed to their roles and responsibilities for eternal life in heaven, based upon the way we conducted our lives here—after we put our faith in Jesus.

Contradicting Creation Accounts?

Biblegems #255

Question: Genesis states that all vegetation was created on day three and Adam on day six (Gen. 1:11-12; 1:26-27). Yet Gen. 2:5-7 seems to contradict this by teaching that vegetation was created after man. Why the apparent discrepancy?

The confusion stems largely from difficulties in translating some generalizations from Hebrew to English. Below, my translation aims at reducing the confusion.

Gen. 2:5 [So there was a time] before any shrubs appeared on the earth and before any grass of the fields began to grow (because the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to work the ground, (6) but a mist came up from the earth that irrigated the entire surface). (7) So the Lord God formed the man from the earth and breathed life into his nostrils and the man became a living soul.                                                                

Genesis 2:1-4 provides a conclusion for the order of creation events in chapter one.

Verses 5-7 introduce a shift in focus away from the order of creation in general to the creation of Adam and Eve in particular. They set the scene for Adam and Eve’s role as caretakers of earth, beginning in the Valley of Eden (2:8-17).  The scene is also set for how destructive Adam and Eve’s disobedience will prove to be to God’s creation. The “shrubs” and grain fields (“grass of the fields,” v. 5) God freely provided for their pleasure and their food, irrigated by a perpetual mist, would shrivel up, grow weeds and thorns and require constant effort against hostile elements as a result of their sin:

Gen. 3:17-19  …“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Even the lack of rain in those early days is noted, because rain was not yet a necessity. Later, rain would become a much-needed blessing:

         Ps. 147:8  He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.

It would also become a source of devastation:

         Gen. 7:17, 24  For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.   The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 2:5-7provides a segue from the “why” and “how” of creation (chapter 1) to the tragic impact of Adam and Eve’s sin (chapter 2). Together, they reveal God’s total sovereignty over His created universe as He provides both judgment for sin and salvation from what would otherwise be eternal consequences of that judgment.

         Rom. 6:22-23  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.