Lesson for January 31, 2024
Fools for Christ
I Corinthians 3:18-19, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise (humanly speaking) in this age, let him become a fool (discarding his worldly pretensions and acknowledging his lack of (Godly) wisdom, so that he may become (truly) wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness (absurdity, stupidity) before God.”
There are many people who judge Christianity on who or what they see on television. There are also those who judge Christianity based on some person they know that is always throwing certain Scriptures in their faces and trying to convert them to their way of thinking. This approach is wrong and does not work on most people anyway. So, how are we to represent Christ so that others, even if they don’t believe in Christ, won’t come to the conclusion that all Christians are fools? The answer to the question is that we are to simply exhibit the character of Christ when dealing with anyone, believer or unbeliever.
Proverbs 28:26, “He who trusts confidently in his own heart is a [dull, thickheaded] fool, but he who walks in [skillful and godly] wisdom will be rescued.”
The world we live in often regards us as fools because of our faith in Jesus Christ. The word fool is defined as a person who acts unwisely or does not care about the consequences of their actions. The world system we live in is controlled by Satan and he is going to do everything he can to discredit us and make us look like fools. For this reason, it is important to make sure that others see us as “normal” and not “religious nuts.” In the course of one’s day, we will interact with others and leave either a positive or a negative impression on them. Never do we want to be regarded as fools because of our faith by leaving a negative impression of what a Christian is like. This would bring dishonor to Christ.
Philippians 2:3-5, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”
Humility is a mental attitude of grace. Being humble is being grace oriented to life. Humility recognizes that everything in life depends on Who God is and what He has done for us.
Humility causes believers to think correctly about themselves. For example, they know that their production as believers is by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit, which is a grace function. They also know that everything they are and everything they have is because of God’s matchless grace. Therefore, they can be relaxed, confident and single-minded about life. Humility recognizes the rights of others, eliminating both inferiority and superiority complexes, which means our attitude should be one of “live and let live.” (I Corinthians 4:7; Galatians 5:22-23; James 1:17)
Humility greatly increases the learning of Bible doctrine because it means that we are teachable. Arrogant believers think they already know all they need to know. Humble believers recognize that they will never know it all but will continue to study and learn in order to gain more and more spiritual maturity.
God is not impressed with our self-righteousness arrogance before or after salvation. God is impressed only with His own righteousness, which we possess, and this is the only means of blessing from Him. God blesses us based on His integrity, His righteousness, and His justice. If we want increased blessing from God, we must increase our capacity to receive blessing from God, by the consistent study and application of His Word. God’s blessings are always given by means of His grace. Understanding the grace of God, and how it works in our lives by being humble, eliminates all self-righteous arrogance.
How can we recognize self-righteousness in our lives? Our attitude towards others and towards God is an indicator. When our attitude towards others is one of criticism and/or judgment of others’ failures, whether real or imagined, we are exhibiting self-righteous arrogance. Remember, it is not our job as Christians to criticize or judge others. It is an arrogant attitude toward others that causes others to think of us as fools. We need to take care of our own spiritual lives and leave the lives of other believers in the hands of God.
I Thessalonians 4:11-12 says, “Make it your ambition to live quietly and peacefully, and to mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we directed you, so that you will behave properly toward unbelievers [exhibiting good character, personal integrity, and moral courage worthy of the respect of the outside world], and be dependent on no one and in need of nothing [be self-supporting].”
If our attitude toward God is “look what I have done for you,” we are exhibiting self-righteous arrogance. The reason this is true is that we are attempting to force God to love us or bless us based on our human works and efforts. The opposite of human good works is grace. Instead of trying to coerce God by our “good deeds,” we need to learn, believe, and apply the Word of God.
When God’s system of grace is properly applied to our lives, we realize that the only reason we are alive and sustained is due to the righteousness of God indwelling us. This is the only way that we are going to be able to relax and enjoy our lives as believers. When you are under pressure to “perform,” you are normally miserable, especially if you feel you will never measure up to God’s perfect standards. So, the key to victory over arrogance is humility.