How To Answer A Fool

The speaker discusses the importance of tact and discretion when interacting with others, especially when discussing matters of faith. They share a personal experience of not handling a conversation well and highlight the need to be prepared and discerning. They also explore different types of fools mentioned in Proverbs and emphasize the importance of not wasting time and effort on those who are not receptive to the message. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the need for wisdom and discernment in all interactions. Good afternoon, brethren, for those in the United States and the United Kingdom, and good evening for those down under in Australia. And I'll give you thanks for the opportunity to be able to speak to you on GoToMeeting. It's an opportunity to learn more of the Word of God and to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We live in a world that is very negative as far as God is concerned. We live in a godless society, which is increasingly more that way. And there are skeptics that believe that the Bible contradicts itself, and it's written by men who have philosophies and no idea of what is right and what is wrong. And one of the scriptures that they often resent, that the Bible contradicts itself, is in Proverbs 26. So we'll come to Proverbs 26, where in verse 4 it says, Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. And in the very next verse, in verse 5, it says, Answer a fool according to his folly, so that he may not be wise in his own conceit. And the skeptics would say, well, isn't that blatant, quite blatant, that first you answer a fool, and then the next verse you don't answer a fool? Which one is it? Well, I want to emphasise here the importance of tact and discretion, because those verses are very important, and they are relevant to the right circumstances. And whether we like it or not, we've been called into God's church as firstfruits, and whether we like it or not, we have to interact with people in the world during our calling, during our lifetime, and we have to answer them in the right way as far as our calling is concerned, according to God's purpose. So I want to emphasise in this message the importance of tact and discretion. And we interact with all types of people in all circumstances, all different backgrounds, all cultures, and their potential, the potential for all these people is that they are going to eventually be called and become spirit beings, and it's all a matter in God's time. And in Matthew 22, verse 39, it says, shall love your neighbour as yourself. So that's still part of the way that we should be, as being called in God's church. Okay, so we can answer questions. People ask us questions about the Bible, about God, or about what you believe, and we can answer either the right way or the wrong way. And what I want to do here is just present an example of myself when I happen to answer a person the wrong way. And this was when I was new in the church, pretty new in the church, and I'd only just started getting established with her, getting to know a few friends. And I went out with a couple of friends to his ex-brother-in-law's place. So we happened to go there for a certain reason. I think I wanted to buy something there. And he told me, well, his ex-brother-in-law used to make these things. So I went there, and lo and behold, there were about 30 or 40 people there. They were having a barbecue. And we weren't expected to be there, but he didn't expect us, but he invited us in anyway. And there was a barbecue, so he offered us meat, salad, and drinks, and it was very hospitable of him to do that. And we had a discussion, and we were talking about things, and it was very lighthearted to start off with. But as time went on, it gradually got more and more involved. Somehow the church came into it. And my friend in the church at that time, his ex-brother-in-law, knew that he was in the church, so he knew a bit about it. So anyway, we got talking about the church, talking about God's ways, talking about the Bible, talking about what got into God's plan. And it got more and more involved as time went on. But suddenly it became heavy, and I wasn't prepared for what was going to come, what was coming. But I didn't know what this person was like. But anyway, out of the blue came the bombshell. And he said, the question came, and what do you do? And I was sort of stuck at the time. It sort of hit me by surprise, the way he asked the question. So he allowed time, but he asked the question again, and what do you do to promote goodness on earth? When did you last serve wheels on wheels? How many drunks have you picked up off the street? How many campaigns, how many charities have you organized? What have you done? And I couldn't really answer him, because I just wasn't prepared for the way he asked questions. And then he eventually said, look, you're welcome to come here at any time, but if you promote this religion, if you promote this church of yours, and don't do anything physically to follow it up, I'm not interested. So, well, I didn't handle it very well, because I went down to his level, because I asked him the question, and what have you done? And he said, I've done my bit, without any information as to what he has actually done. But this person, the way the situation was, I wanted to get out of there fast. And it was made all the more embarrassing by the fact that he was the host, and he invited us to have meal and drinks there. So it was very embarrassing. It was made all the more embarrassing by the fact that we were his guest in that scenario. So it goes back to, it reminds me of Matthew 7, verse 6. I'll just go there briefly, Matthew 7, in verse 6, where it says, Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn around and tear you in pieces. And that is exactly what Satan the Devil wants, to be torn in pieces by, when we can't give a proper answer back. We don't give them that what's holy to the dogs, when they're not ready to receive it. And I can tell you that this person certainly wasn't ready to receive it. So we're going back to Proverbs 26, and a lot of this message is going to be on, based on Proverbs, in the book of Proverbs. So in Proverbs 26, in verse 4, where it says, Do not answer at all according to his folly, lest you also be like him. Well, this sort of person, it's not going to do him any good, when he's not ready to receive the word of God, or God's truth, it's not going to do him any good at all. The self-confident fool thinks too highly of himself, and his opinions, to learn anything from it, from us. He won't take advice. And there are several verses in Proverbs, in this chapter of Proverbs 26, that I like to go into as well, in verse 1, where it says, As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, honour is not becoming for a fool. So praise and honour, not only, okay, honour is not becoming for a fool. Okay, honour is not becoming for a fool. So it confirms this person in his conceit, and they take the credit for it. It reminds me of Parliament in politics today. The people in politics who are conceited, they take the credit for anything that happens in their favour. In verse 7, As the legs of the lame hang limp, so is the parable in the mouth of fools. So it's just no use at all. In verse 8, As he who ties a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honour to a fool. And it's useless in his development. And verse 12, Do you see a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope for a fool than for him. So, self-opinionated person. And there's many examples of fools in this life and in the world, people who have not being called. And verse 10, The great God who formed all things both rewards the fool and rewards transgressors. So every human being on earth is responsible for their actions and it's all going to pan out in the finish, one way or the other. And it's not going to be easy. Now, just as a matter of interest, I looked up the words fool to see how many times it is mentioned in Scripture. And in the King James, it's mentioned 66 times and 36 times along the way. So it's not just a matter of interest. It's a matter of understanding. It's a matter of understanding. And in the King James, it's mentioned 66 times and 36 times alone is in the book of Proverbs. So, and looking further into it, I also found that in the Hebrew, there are five variations of the word fool. So there are five different types of fools. And what I want to go through is listing them one to five in order of seriousness. The first one is the simple fool, which is spelt P-T-H-I-Y, pronounced as Pepe. And that type of fool is open to any passing thought. A person who has any passing thought, and they open up to any stranger, they have a lack of discernment, they have an oversimplified view of life, and they think that everything's going to work out. And they're very naive. And one example I can think of with this is, I saw a movie years ago, Pollyanna. Pollyanna was a girl who was preteen. She was a very nice girl, but she was very naive. And she thought in terms of, with every person she sees, she used to say to them, think of the glad times. Think of glad times. But unfortunately, she was naive to every circumstance in life, the reality of life, and all the unfortunate things that happen to people. Okay, just go to Proverbs 22. And in verse three, it says, The prudent one foresees the evil and hides himself, but the thoughtless plow ahead and are punished. So they, well, they get mistakes. They learn from their mistakes. Very often, the simple fools do learn from their mistakes. Next in progression comes the silly fool. It is a bit more serious. So number two is the silly fool. Okay, and the word there is E-B-I-Y-L, which is pronounced as E-B-V-E-L. And that is to be perverse and silly. And they often open up their mouth and it gets them into trouble. In Proverbs 10, verse 14, in chapter 10 and verse 14, it says, Wise ones store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish, E-B-I-Y-L, is near ruin. When things go wrong, he can get frustrated and angry, and he loses control. In chapter 27, and verse 3, A stone is heavy and sand is weighty. Have you ever had a wheelbarrow full of wet sand? How heavy that is. But a fool's broth is heavier than them both. He believes his own way of thinking is right. So, in Proverbs 12, 15, it leads to this scripture, and verse 15, The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise. But he who listens to advice is wise. So, until you listen to advice, you are a fool. Okay, and in chapter 1, verse 7, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. So, a fool certainly does not fear the Lord, and he despises the wisdom and instruction. Okay, so it's hard to convince anyone that they're wrong if they don't listen to, if they don't fear the Lord. So, we come to number three. Number three is essential fool. So, it's getting more serious here. Essential fool, which is, it's, the wording is, it's spelled K-E-C-I-Y-L, which is pronounced as Kaseel. And that is one who rejects the correction of parents, and is selfish, fat, stupid, and silly. Many of these classifications do overlap one into another, but this is gradually getting more serious. And a Kaseel is determined to make the wrong choices, and they want to have, they want to get immediate pleasure out of what they want to do. We go to Proverbs 10, verse 23. In verse 23, to work out evil devices is as sport to a fool, Kaseel, but a man of understanding has wisdom. So, we see the contrast there between this fool, this type of fool, and a man who listens, who has understanding, who wants to go, wants to know the right thing to do. He wants to go, wants to know the right thing to do. Okay, in chapter 13, verse 19, the desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to turn from evil. So, it's an abomination to them to turn from evil, except they do. He who walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. So, there is severe punishment is prescribed to a sensual fool. And we go back to Proverbs 26, but this time it's verse 3. Verse 3, a whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the fool's back. So, it is very pretty severe, the punishment that is for this fool, if he doesn't turn from his evil way. We now progress to number four, which is the scorning fool. Or, another word would be the cynic. And this word is spelt L-U-W-T-S. Incidentally, I don't know Hebrew very well, so I do assume that what I've looked up is more or less correct. L-U-W-T-S, and it's pronounced as lutes. So, they make the mouth, they make mouths at, they scoff. They scoff, they have facial expressions of scorn, and disdain and have contempt for anyone who disagrees with them. And they have contempt for authorities, like governments or any civil authorities, parents, those sort of authorities. So, it is pretty serious. They reject truth, and they embrace what is vulnerable to God. So, in Psalm 1, verse 1, so we deviate from Proverbs this time. In Psalm, verse 1, it progresses from blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, the counsel of the wicked, and then we have the way of sinners, and then we finally have in the seat of the scornful. So, it gets more and more serious as time goes on. They utterly detest people and ideas that contradict and express scorn through derisive attitudes. So, this is to remind you of the woke attitude of people today, and they have a death here to rebuke. In Proverbs 13, verse 1, Proverbs 13, verse 1, a wise son heeds his father's instruction but a scorner or a lutz does not hear rebuke. They don't hear it, and they don't listen to it. And those who attempt to lead him away, they will suffer his wrath. In chapter 15, verse 12, a scorner or a lutz does not love one who corrects him, nor will he go to the wise. So, the direction that he's going is obviously in the wrong direction. He doesn't want to go God's way. He doesn't want to go God's way. In chapter 9, verse 7 and 8, the one who rebukes a scorner gets shame to himself. So, you don't even attempt it, you don't even go there. And the one who rebukes the wicked one gets himself an insult. And following on, do not reprove a scorner lest he hate you. Give rebuke to a wise man and he will love you. So, that's the contrast there. And we are to have the discretion, learned discretion, to be able to know which one is which. So, the woke society will not love anyone who tries to correct him. But there is a positive side. You can look at a positive side of this in chapter 21. Chapter 21, verse 11. Chapter 21, verse 11. When the scorner is punished, the simple or class B, in other words, the first category of fool, is made wise. And when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge. So, there is always there the potential. The potential is always there to change, to go God's way, to learn to do the right thing and become wise. So, that potential is always there. And then we come on to category five, which is the steadfast fool. And that is the, well, this type of fool is downright mean. And the Hebrew word for it is spelt N-A-B-A-L. And I always thought of it as Nabal, but the correct pronunciation of it apparently is Nabal. It is the most dangerous, stupid, wicked and vile person that one can imagine. We think of, we go to, in Psalm 14, and verse 1. Psalm 14, verse 1. Where it says, the fool says in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good. And this verse is repeated almost word for word in Psalm 53, verse 1. They are self-confident, closed-minded, and he is his own God. An attempt to change this sort of attitude would be futile. It would only be God who can change such a mind. Now, in Romans, chapter 1, where we have something of this type of fool, and in verse 22, it says, while professing themselves to be the wise ones. So, this type of fool and Nabal profess themselves to be wise, they became fools. And in verse 24, you exchange the truth of God for the lie, and they worship and serve the created thing more than the one who is creator. And perhaps this type of fool might worship themselves, who is blessed into the ages. Okay, so, now it reminds me of, we go to an example of this type of fool in 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel, verse 25, there was a person who fits this sort of category. Okay, we pick it up here in verse 3. And the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. Now, she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful form, but the man was cruel and evil in his dealings. And he was of Caleb. In other words, he was descended from Caleb. Now, at that time, David was on the run from King Saul. He was hiding from Saul, because Saul was after him and wanted to take his life. And David had a band of men who followed him, who joined him as virtually outlaws from King Saul. And David knew of this person, Nabal, and he knew that he was quite wealthy. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. And David decided that he and his men would look after his livestock and make sure that they were all right. And he helped him and his, and Nabal's shearers, so that they didn't lose anything. And what happened was, it got to a stage where David and his men, they were short of supplies. They needed food, they needed other things. And David said, well, David would have thought that, well, since we helped this person so much, perhaps they can give something in return for us, for our good deeds. So, in verse 5, David sent out 10 young men. And David said to the young men, go up to Camel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. And you will say this, you shall say this, long life and peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have. And that I have heard that you have shearers, and we did not hurt your shepherds who were with us, neither was there anything missing to them all the while they were in Camel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you, and let these young men find favour in your eyes. For we come in a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your son David. Well, they were polite enough, and they were polite to ask what they wanted, what they needed. Comprehensive enough in their description, and they were polite. But the question is, what would you expect? What would you expect from a steadfast fool? What sort of response would you get from a steadfast fool? Well, we pick it up here in verse 10. And Nate answered David's servants and said, who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? The servants who have broken away, each man from his master, have multiplied. Shall I then take bread, take my bread, and my water, and my meat that I have killed from my shearers, and give it to men about whom I know not where they have come from? And, well, it's interesting because Nobor would have heard of David, because from the time that he was with Saul, where it got around that Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands, David would not have been somebody who was totally unknown to him. Anyway, the response from this was not very favourable, as you can imagine. In verse 12, and David's young men turned their way and went again and came and told him all these things. And David was not very impressed. He was not happy with this response. And David said to his men, let each man gird on his sword, and they each one gird on his sword. And David also girder on his sword. And about 400 men went up with David, and 200 stayed by the provisions. And it's very fortunate that one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, because something had to be done here to prevent bloodshed. Okay, and she made preparations for this. She made provisions and was prepared to meet David. And from verse 23 through to 31, she made a heartfelt plea to David. And mention in verse 25, to David when she confronted him, she said, please do not let my Lord regard this man of worthlessness, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. So she knew the meaning of the name. Nabal is his name, and foolishness is with him. And I, your handmaid, did not see the young men of my Lord whom you sent. David's response in verse 32, David said to Abigail, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me. And blessed is your advice, and blessed are you who have kept me from coming to shed blood today, and from avenging myself with my own hand. Now truly, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from doing evil to you, for unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely they would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light, even one who pisses against the wall. So, and David received from her hand that which she had brought him, and said to her, go up in peace to your house. See, I have listened to your voice, and have accepted your person. So Abigail accomplished his wisdom, with wisdom and with great discretion. And she was certainly very discreet in how she approached this. Okay, and as a result of this, in verse 36, And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk, and she did not tell him anything, little or much, until the morning light. Well, again, she was discreet in this. And in verse 37, And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. And it came to pass about ten days afterward, the Lord struck Nabal, so that he died. And once David found out about what happened to Nabal, he followed it up with Abigail, and she eventually became his wife. So we go back to Proverbs 26. Go back to Proverbs 26, verse 4. Again, it says, Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. So you don't engage anyone on his own terms. And in a situation like that, they have an attitude problem. You don't approach anyone with an attitude problem to try and change them. But we go to the next verse, in verse 5, where it says, Answer a fool according to his folly, so that he may not be wise in his own conceit. This sort of person does not have an attitude problem, but it's an attitude of condition that they are in. And if they don't have a bad attitude, they can change from that. Now, Jesus Christ had many confrontations, and he had many examples that he had interactions with people which related to both of these verses. And I'll just go to one example now, in Mark chapter 12. In Mark chapter 12, we begin here in verse 18. Okay, so he had interaction with people, and he had the insight, the wisdom, and the discretion to make the right response. Here we have Sadducees in verse 18. Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and they questioned him, saying, Master, Moses wrote for us that if the brother of anyone should die and leave behind a wife, but leave no children, then his brother should take his wife and raise up seed for his brother. Now, there were seven brothers. Now, just think of some far-fetched scenario which, in real life, is never likely to happen. But this is a scenario that they took. There were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died, leaving no seed. And the second took her and died, and neither did he leave seed, and the third likewise. And the seven had her and left no seed. Last of all, the woman died also. And now comes the question. Now, in the resurrection, when they shall arise, to which of them shall she be wife? For all seven, all seven had her as wife. And, well, how did they want Jesus to respond to this? They wanted him to go down to their level. And this scenario with seven brothers. And they wanted him to make this sort of argument, saying, oh, perhaps the first one, either the first one, or the last one, or maybe the one that she loved the most, or the one who loved her the most. And then they would enter into an all-out argument. But this is what happened. Jesus answered and said to them, in asking this, do you not err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels who are in heaven. In other words, of the same composition as spirit beings. Okay, now, in verse 26. But concerning the dead that they do rise, have you not read, so in the book of Moses, so how many times has he asked this to authorities? Have they not read? Many of them never did read. About the burning bush, how God spoke to him saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living, therefore you err greatly. And another example here is in Luke chapter 20. And this is where Proverbs 26, verse 4 was applied. In Luke 20 and in verse 1. Now it came to pass on one of those days, as he was teaching people in the temple, as he so often did, and proclaiming the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes came up and the chief priests and the scribes came up with the elders. So how many times did this happen? When they tried to, they tried to trap him. And he spoke to him and spoke to him saying, tell us by what authority you do these things. And who gave you this authority? Okay, well, Jesus, Jesus, we know that Jesus could do nothing, unless God the Father give it to him, in John 5, verse 19. In verse 3, he answered and said to them, I will also ask you one thing, and you tell me, the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or was it from men? And they reasoned among themselves saying, if we say from heaven, he will say, why then did you not believe him? But if we say from men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. And they replied that they did not know where it was from. Well, they looked at it from every angle, they looked at it from every angle except the word of God. And they replied, they did not know where it was from. And then Jesus responded to them, said to them, neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. We come to another example in John chapter 4. And this is an example where it's looking at more of Proverbs 26, verse 5. Where we have the woman at the well. And in verse 13. We pick it up in verse 13. Jesus answered and said to her, everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst. Rather, the water that I will give him shall become a fountain of water within him, springing up into eternal life. Well, this is a spiritual application here. And the woman said to him, sir, give me this water, so that I will not thirst or need to come here to draw water. Well, she had limited understanding. But she had a right attitude. She wanted to find out. She wanted to learn more. So she wanted to learn. And she kept this interaction for quite a while. And it was very interesting because she was a Samaritan woman, who was a Gentile. And Jesus, in verse 26, said to her, I who speak to you and he, referring to that he was the Messiah. And this is the first time in Scripture that this has been mentioned, that Jesus mentioned that he was the Messiah. So she had a very good attitude. And certain things came from this, as we go further down in the chapter. To verse 39, she obviously talked to the Samaritans about this interaction that she had with Christ. In verse 39, now many of the Samaritans from that city believed on him because the word woman, who testified, he told me everything that I have done. Therefore, when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to remain with them, and he remained with them for two days. So, and many more believed because of his word. So they believed from the heart. Okay, and in verse 42, they said to the woman, we no longer believe because of your word, but we have heard in ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Christ, the Savior of the world. So, this is tremendous that, you know, Gentile people like this, this is, it's showing indirectly that it's going to be true. It's showing indirectly that it's going to be open, it's open to the world, the whole world, that Jesus Christ as being the Messiah and the Savior of the world, through his death and resurrection, it's going to be, it's open to the world at God's appointed time. Firstly, to us now, we are blessed to be in the, to be in the, as part of the firstfruits, and then during the millennium, then it's going to go to the last, the last great day. Now, back to my personal example, in Proverbs 26, verse 4, it was that scenario. This person would have been far better not to have opened out about him, about the church whatsoever, because I classify him as more towards being one of the scornful type, where anything you say to him, he would not believe it, it would be treated in a negative way. But this person will have his chance in the future, and I assume it will be in the second resurrection, it will be at the Great White Throne Judgment, when there will not be any Satan the devil around to deceive him, he will have his opportunity to open out, and anyone who can teach him, who will teach him with discretion and with love and compassion. So we are blessed to have this knowledge now, beforehand, and we are in training to learn to be discreet, to learn how to treat people in the right way, in the right reaction, to have the right reaction to them. Okay, so we are in 2 Peter 3.18, we are to be growing in grace and knowledge. Isaiah 11, verse 9, and it says, So the knowledge of God will be taught during the millennium, and everyone will have that opportunity to make the choice, the right choice, without being deceived by Satan the devil. And we go further, when we go further beyond that, we go into Revelation, in Revelation chapter 22, and in Revelation 22, verse 14. Where it says, Blessed are those who keep his commandments, that they may have the right to eat the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. And in verse 15, but excluded are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and devises a lie. Well, in God's kingdom, there will not be any sin. No traces of any sin, because God would not accept that. And I can certainly guarantee that in God's kingdom, there will not be any fools.