“Professing to be wise, they became fools,” Romans 1:22 NKJV
In the Bible, a fool is defined as someone who “despises” wisdom. If you look up the word despise in the dictionary you will find that it says it means to “regard with contempt”. As I thought about that this week, it occurred to me that in order to regard something with contempt, I would first have to at least consider its merits in order to make the decision to accept or reject. If this is true, then someone who chooses to despise, or regard with contempt the gospel of Christ, would first have to listen and consider before making that decision. In other words, a fool is someone who hears the truth of God's Word and then chooses to reject it.
As I look around at the state of this country, as well as the rest of the world and examine the positions, beliefs, and convictions of most of the leaders today I can’t help but believe the best word I could choose to describe them would be the word “fools”. Does that seem harsh? Many might believe that to be the case but I would contend that any belief or conviction an individual holds that directly opposes the truth revealed in God’s Word labels them a fool. That being the case, do what I did and and compare the “wisdom” of many of the positions we are being told to adopt with the wisdom of what God has already proclaimed and you will begin to see what I see.
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15 NKJV
Some might disagree, but if you were to ask me what the largest, most obvious sign that we have arrived at the end of the Church age would be, it is the insistence that we reject the wisdom of God’s revealed truth and adopt a more “enlightened” view. Make no mistake, by insistence I mean the growing intolerance and persecution of those who choose to hold a biblical view and resist abandoning positions based on the Word of God. Unfortunately, we can see that many of the churches today are adopting views that can be more accurately described as more socially acceptable rather than holding fast to the truth of the Word. This may come as a surprise to many but in truth, a study of the first three chapters of the book of Revelation reveals this is exactly what one should expect as we approach the end of the world as we know it.
“A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.” Proverbs 18:2 NKJV
While we as believers watch the world turn against us and observe the direction many churches today seem to be heading, the thought occurred to me that quite possibly we should consider something the apostle Paul had to say about the end of this age. In his letter to the Romans, Paul speaks of the rapture of the Church in a rather interesting way. He tells his readers that Israel will suffer from a temporary partial blindness until the full number of Gentile believers has “come in”.
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Romans 11:25 NKJV
The interesting thing about this statement is that it is a nautical term used to describe the full number of crew and passengers aboard a ship. When the full number comes in, the ship then sails to its destination. As I thought about the true Church filling up, and the apostate church also filling, I couldn’t help but remember the old saying; “ship of fools.” Wikipedia defines it this way; “The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Plato that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory depicts a vessel without a pilot, populated by human inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, and seemingly ignorant of their course.”
“The great God who formed everything gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.” Proverbs 26:10 NKJV
Looking at the health of the Church today, and considering the description of the Laodicean church in Revelation, could you really call it healthy? Or might it be a better description to call it a ship of fools? While we might hesitate to call someone a fool, the God of this universe has no such qualms. The Word of God is full of passages which contrast the foolish and the wise, and also make it very clear what the destiny of each will be. Even though God has made the way of salvation so simple to understand and so easy to attain, man in his “wisdom” rejects the Gospel for a different way.
“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, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:20-21 NKJV
What the leaders of these churches seem unable to admit is that although the way of salvation is made plain in the Gospel of Christ, when they choose to lead their congregations down a different path, they are in essence, arguing with the God who created everything out of nothing and implying that He doesn’t know what He is talking about! It also goes without saying that they are also somehow believe they are smarter than God because they possess a wisdom which shows an easier, better way to salvation than the one ordained by God. This, in my opinion, does nothing but create a ship of fools rather than a healthy church teaching the true gospel of Christ and the wisdom revealed by God's Word.
“Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” 1 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV
Anyone who would choose to ignore the simplicity and clarity of the Bible is a fool. Unfortunately, the ship of fools is not only large; it’s getting larger at an incredible pace. Yet the ship of the wise, with Jesus as its captain, is the only one which will reach its destination at the rapture of the Church. Do you want to know if you are on the right ship? According to Paul, simply check the direction your ship is sailing.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 NKJV
The word “hold fast” is the Greek word katechō which is also used as a nautical term meaning “to check a ship's headway i.e. to hold or head the ship”. Our compass is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is this Gospel which we use to check our course. Does your church preach this gospel or another “seeker friendly” one? Be careful not to sail on the ship of fools.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:8-9 NKJV
If the rapture of the church is indeed based on the number of members in the body of Christ, then it is logical to assume that the rapture will occur at the moment the last person makes his or her decision to accept Christ into their heart. That said, it is entirely possible any one of us could be the person sharing the Gospel with that individual at that particular time. Many of us are disappointed to still be here given all the signs that the rapture is indeed imminent, yet if Paul is telling us that there is a number that has to be reached for the “fullness of the Gentiles” to “come in”, it is reasonable to conclude that it's our fault we are still here. As a body of believers, we need to remember our first love and share the Gospel with everyone we meet so God can “fill the boat” to completeness.
If you are reading this and have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered you by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.
Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Keep watching.
