The Fool and God (Psalm 53) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Recently, Dan Brown best-selling author of Da Vinci Code and other novels stated that the emergence of artificial intelligence will eventually eliminate the need for what he terms, “an exterior god.” While meshing together Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as similar religions, and oddly claiming, that they all loosely share “a gospel,” he predicted, “Our need for that exterior god, that sits up there and judges us . . . will diminish and eventually disappear.” Instead, “We will start to find our spiritual experiences through our interconnections with each other” [Matt Drake, “God to be Replaced by AI: New Religion to be Created by Computers, Dan Brown claims,” Express, 10/13/17].

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

But Dan Brown is nothing new. He just happens to have a massive platform to express his ideas while making tens of millions of dollars in the process.

Most people around us wouldn’t go as far as Brown’s comment about God disappearing. They may tolerate the concept of the God of the Bible and in some strange ways appreciate that we have a spiritual/theological framework that holds our society and culture together. But that doesn’t mean that they follow this God through Christ or build their lives on the revelation of the gospel. Are they any different than Dan Brown?

Jesus told a little parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24–27) that helps us to see that there’s not a gulf between Brown’s shocking statements and the average person who sees no need for the gospel or kicks the can down the road to looking at eternity. The wise man, Jesus said, “built his house on the rock,” so that when the rains fell and floods and wind crashed against it, the house “did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

But of the one who hears the story of Jesus and His good news “and does not act on them,” He describes as “the foolish man who built his house on the sand.” The rain, floods, and winds “slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Only two types of people exist in the worldview of Jesus: the wise and the foolish. The wise build their lives on the gospel; the foolish do not. No comfortable middle exists.

Yet all that Jesus did in that parable was to repeat the truth of Psalm 53. Without Christ we remain in our sin living as fools who act as though there is no God. But the point of it is not to leave us in folly but to direct us to deliverance provided by God. The common lot of humanity necessitates the uncommon act of God’s grace in Christ. How does this psalm address the human condition and God’s grace?

I. Humanity at rebellion

If Psalm 53 sounds familiar that’s because it is a virtual repetition of Psalm 14. The only difference to speak of is found in the superscript and in verse five. Otherwise, we’re looking at the same psalm. Both psalms are attributed to David, which may give us a hint that early in his life David saw the folly of human sinfulness widespread. He saw the same later on so that his message didn’t change. He adds this one as a Maskil or a contemplative, teaching psalm. So the message of humanity at rebellion against God is unchanging, and it is something that we need to regularly think upon lest we become complacent with the revelation of God in Christ.

1. Analysis of the fool

We may find it off-putting in our day to hear such stark language, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Yet what do we call someone who, despite hearing about God the Creator and Redeemer, just rocks along in life as though the living God doesn’t really make any difference? He or she may have lots of academic titles, plenty of accolades for accomplishments, and even a track record as a nice person. But if his/her life is not established on the Creator and Redeemer then the declaration of David and later Jesus is, that person is a fool.

Now, we must understand that by fool, the psalmi[...]