<\/p>\n
\nWhy are people called fools in Scripture even though Jesus told us not to call people fools?<\/p>\n
Jesus proclaimed that \u201cwhoever says, \u2018You fool!\u2019 will be liable to the hell of fire\u201d (Matthew 5:22). However, there are instances throughout Scripture where people are called fools. For example, David wrote, \u201cThe fool says in his heart, \u2018There is no God\u2019\u201d (Psalm 14:1). Paul told the Galatians they were foolish (Galatians 3:1). Jesus even said the Pharisees and scribes were fools in Matthew 23:17.<\/p>\n
So does the Lord\u2019s claim in Matthew 5:22 contradict these other passages where people are actually called fools?<\/p>\n
When studying Scripture, one of the first principles to keep in mind is the context. Therefore, let us consider the entire context of what Jesus said while considering this alleged contradiction.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You have heard that it was said to those of old, \u201cYou shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.\u201d But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, \u201cYou fool!\u201d will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:21\u201322)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jesus referred to the generally understood fact that murderers will be judged; however, he revealed the deeper issue by saying that not just murderers but anyone \u201cwho is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.\u201d Furthermore, Christ continued by mentioning that those who insult their brother or call their brother a fool would be held liable for those words.<\/p>\n
Jesus<\/span> did not focus just on an individual\u2019s actions such as murder but also on the heart and attitude behind those actions. A heart full of anger toward someone can lead to insults, name-calling, and even murder. In other words, murder is not the only symptom of a corrupted heart, which is the main point Jesus<\/span> made.<\/p>\n He demonstrated that sin is an issue of the heart rather than just the actions.<\/p>\n Does this mean that calling people foolish is always wrong? Jesus<\/span> emphasized the fact that not just murderers will be judged by saying that those who call people fools will also be judged. He demonstrated that sin is an issue of the heart rather than just the actions.<\/p>\n If you were to study each biblical example where God calls someone a fool, you will find a righteous reason behind it. When Jesus called the Pharisees and scribes fools in Matthew 23:17, he explained that they were satisfying themselves instead of giving glory to God. They glorified the gold in the temple rather than the temple of God<\/span> that housed the gold, which is foolish.<\/p>\n Also, keep in mind that Jesus is the judge and the lawgiver with perfect knowledge, so he is able to do what humanity cannot do (James 4:11\u201312). And in everything, we must make sure we are basing our actions and words on the principles of Scripture, and if we are to judge others, we judge righteously from God\u2019s Word (John 7:24).<\/p>\n Matthew 5:21\u201322 serves as a reminder for us to \u201cabstain from every form of evil\u201d (1 Thessalonians 5:22), which includes issues of the heart and not just evil deeds. When we understand the words of Jesus<\/span> in their full context, there is clearly no contradiction. When we take one statement out of context in an attempt to prove an unfounded idea, we fail to interpret God<\/span>\u2019s Word correctly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why are people called fools in Scripture even though Jesus told us not to call people fools? The \u201cProblem\u201d Jesus proclaimed that \u201cwhoever says, \u2018You fool!\u2019 will be liable to the hell of fire\u201d (Matthew 5:22). However, there are instances throughout Scripture where people are called fools. For example, David wrote, \u201cThe fool says in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[4715,8272,8273,481,214],"class_list":{"0":"post-24867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jesus","8":"tag-calling","9":"tag-contradict","10":"tag-fools","11":"tag-jesus","12":"tag-people"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Conclusion<\/h2>\n