1. I would like to draw your attention to the words "foolish man" (14:7) and "fools" (14:8,9).
2. Weeks ago many people acted very foolishly. Instead of being in church, many are lying in bed complaining about headaches.
3. The words "fool" or "foolishness" or "folly" appear over 200 times in the Bible.
4. These words are found all throughout the OT and the NT but the book where they appear the most is the book of Proverbs.
5. Indeed, the theme of the book of Proverbs is the wisdom of godliness and the folly of wickedness.
6. Webster’s Dictionary defines a fool as a "silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense."
7. Worldly people have a different outlook on life than Christians, and therefore they do not see themselves as foolish (14:12). But according to the Bible, "worldliness" and "foolishness" are practically synonymous.
8. For example, Webster defines a worldly person as one "devoted to the pleasures of this world, as contrasted with heaven." Wouldn’t you agree that a man who devotes his life to the pleasures of this world, and never gives any consideration to spiritual things is a fool?
9. That is certainly what our Lord said (Luke 12:16-21; cf. Mark 8:36,37).
10. People always seem to approach the new year with great hopes and aspirations. How often do we hear people say, "Things will be much better this year!"
11. And for some reason the year 2003 has people all excited about the future. Unfortunately, for far too many, they will be just as foolish in the year 2003 as they were in the year 2002.
12. Today, I want for us to look at the marks of a fool.

I. THE FOOL IS EASILY DECEIVED (Pro.14:7,8).

1. The Word of God instructs us to "Go from the presence of a foolish man" (Pro.14:7; cf. 9:6). The Bible says that if you associate with fools, you will start acting foolishly. God does not want us to be contaminated by the folly of foolish people.
2. The book of Proverbs is full of contrasts. In contrast to the man that is wise and prudent, the foolish man is prone to folly and deceit (14:8).
3. There is a principle found in the Word of God. And it is this: Deceitful people start out by deceiving others, and eventually they begin deceiving themselves (cf. II Tim.3:13).
4. And self-deception is the worse form of deception. It is practically impossible to reason with a man that is self-deceived. It is difficult to give him the Gospel because he is spiritually blind and he refuses to listen.

II. FOOLS MOCK AT SIN (Pro.14:9).

1. John Bunyan wrote these words:

"Fools make a mock of sin, will not believe;

It has a fearful dagger up its sleeve;

‘How can it be,’ they say, ‘that such a thing,

So full of sweetness, e’er should wear a sting?’

They know not that it is the very spell

Of sin, to make them laugh themselves to hell.

Look to thyself then, deal with sin no more.

Lest He who saves, against thee shuts the door."

2. One of the wickedest things about fools is the way they mock at sin. I was reading an article about Hugh Hefner in the newspaper months ago.
3. In this article Mr. Hefner gloats that he should get the credit for all the filth on TV and in the movies and on the internet. He even takes credit for the Clinton scandals.
4. Now he has a point. But it would be more accurate to say he should get much of the blame for the moral decline in America, not the credit. Only a fool would brag about America’s moral decline.

III. FOOLS DO NOT CONSIDER THE END (Pro.14:12; 16:25).

1. Time and time again I have heard people say that as long as one is sincere, everything will turn out alright. A man’s views may be contrary to the Bible; he may be as lost as can be and as wicked as the devil – but as long as he sincerely believes he is going to heaven, then who is to say he will not? How many of us have heard this before? It certainly appeals to the carnal mind of man.
2. Unsaved friend, if you are on the road that leads to destruction, it matters not how sincere you may be, you will still end up in hell!
3. Your opinion that the road is right does not make it right. Your sincerity in that erroneous opinion does not exempt you from its consequences.
4. This is true in the physical realm and is certainly true in the spiritual realm. For example, a man may buy a leaky boat, and he may sincerely believes it is a good boat, but he will still sink nevertheless.
5. This principle which men accept quite readily when it concerns things they can see, is quickly abandoned when it concerns things they cannot see. Such is the folly of unbelief.
6. Not all fools are stupid and not all fools are ignorant. In fact, some fools are quite intelligent and well-educated. They have been shown that their views are contrary to the Bible, but they put their trust in their church instead of in God’s infallible Word.
7. They have heard about the untimely deaths of other unsaved people, but they always think that somehow their end will be different.
8. Fools do not believe in eternal damnation. They have convinced themselves that hell is not real. I mentioned Hugh Hefner. Listen to this quote from America’s most famous libertine, "It’s perfectly clear to me that religion is a myth. It’s something we have invented to explain the inexplicable."
9. Well, it’s perfectly clear to me that not all religions are myths. Christianity is not a myth. The Bible is not a book of myths. And Jesus Christ is not a myth.
10. Heaven is not a myth and hell is not a myth.
11. And it is also perfectly clear to me that since Mr. Hefner is 73 years old he will soon be leaving this world and heading off into eternity. And unless he repents and has an amazing conversion, which seems highly unlikely, he will soon discover firsthand that hell is not a myth.
12. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Pro.14:12). John R. Rice told this true story: "On a narrow road approaching a hill a reckless motorist dashed out to go around the car in front of him. Just as he came to the crest of the hill and parallel to the other car, he saw too late a car approaching from the opposite side. He careened head-on into the approaching car and was killed instantly. That man was a fool because he raced on when he was not able to see what was in front of him."
13. Beloved, we are not always able to see what is up around the bend. But if we believe the Bible, and if we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can have peace and rest knowing that He will take care of us.
14. Dr. Rice gave another similar illustration of the folly of unbelief. "Ten miles from Elmira, New York, a man got in his car and started down an icy hill toward the highway. At the foot of the hill ran the Erie Railroad. He did not see the approaching train until he was already headed down the icy hill. He tried desperately to stop but could not. The car slid onto the railroad tracks and the man was instantly killed. How foolish he was not to have looked for the train before he started down the hill! In that tragedy there is a double lesson. The man lost his life because he did not look ahead to see how his trip down the hill would end. But the same man the preceding Sunday heard me preach. I pleaded with him personally to take the Saviour but he would not. He lost his life by starting in his car down the hill without looking ahead. But he lost his poor soul forever because he turned down Jesus and neglected his opportunity without looking ahead to see where it would end! Dear sinner, look before you leap! Find out how sin ends before you go on in it!"
15. When the Bible speaks here of "death" (Pro.14:12), it means more than just physical death; it means eternal separation from God. It means eternal torment in hell (cf. Rev.20:14,15; 21:8).
16. And after this serious warning, we are told: "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness" (Pro.14:13). Many lost souls were out this weekend laughing and celebrating. The devil knows how to give sinners a good time.
17. The Bible says Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, "than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Heb.11:25). There is pleasure in sin but it only lasts for a season. Mark this: any good time the devil gives always ends in sorrow. "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful…" (Pro.14:13).
18. The prodigal son went out and had a big time. But he wound up in a hog pen. Many a young person has gone out into deep sin and wound up in Satan’s filthy hog pen. They looked with admiration at people like Hugh Hefner and thought they’d wind up like him.
19. They will – in hell. They will have all eternity to weep and wail with people like Hugh Hefner.

CONCLUSION:

1. Way back on New Year’s Eve in 1865, C.H. Spurgeon preached a message entitled "Last Things."
2. He compared the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year to Janus, the ancient Roman god, who had two faces. One looked forward and one looked backward.
3. He said: "This period, like Janus, hath two faces, looking back on the year that is past, and looking forward to the year that is to come, and my four-sided lamp will perhaps gleam afar."
4. His four-sided lamp was death, judgment, heaven, and hell. These are his words: "Let us look at all things in the light of HELL, that dread and dismal light, the glare of the fiery abyss. Bring that lantern here. Hold my light up. There you are without God, without hope, with the great iron gate of death shut upon you and barred for ever, your body in the flames of Tophet, and your soul in the yet more horrible flames of the wrath of God. Who is the fool now?"