“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:1-3 NASB1995)

I find it interesting here that this speaks of those who say in their hearts, “There is no God.” So this is evidently not something spoken verbally, although it certainly could be. But rather it is something expressed and felt and believed in one’s inner being, in the center of their inner life, in their thoughts, emotions, desires, and will, which is then evident by the things which they do and say and are in person, in practice, and in character.

So, in truth, this could include those who make verbal professions of faith in God, in Jesus Christ, but who deny him by their actions, by what they really believe and perform, as a matter of life practice. So, even if outwardly they express faith in God, in Jesus Christ, inwardly they deny him by the things they think and feel and do, deliberately and habitually. For if they really believed in him, they would submit to his will and obey his commands.

And what are the characteristic traits of people who are regarded as “a fool”? They are those who deny God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – as the Lord of their lives. They do not bow to God in genuine worship of him in surrender to his will and in walks of obedience to his commands. Instead, they are corrupt. They commit abominable deeds. They do not seek after God. But they have turned aside to do what pleases their flesh, instead.

Instead of doing the good that they ought to do, they are corrupt, and they commit abominable (detestable) deeds. They deny the Lordship of Christ over their lives and they do what their flesh leads them to do, instead. They lie, cheat, and commit adultery, and they are engaged in sexual immorality. And they alter the gospel message to give themselves permission to keep making sin their practice and to ignore having to obey God’s commands.

But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

So, a verbal confession of Christ as Lord is not enough to secure for any of us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. We must deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. But if, instead, we go our own way, doing our own thing, living however we want, regardless of what the Scriptures teach, then biblically we are acting as fools, and we are saying in our hearts, “There is no God,” if we refuse to bow to him as Lord.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Seek My Face

An Original Work / June 10, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Seek My face; hear My voice
Calling you, “Make the choice.
Won’t you hear Me just now?
Turn from sin; humbly bow.
Trust in Me as your Lord,
Walk in fellowship with Me.
I will enter your heart,
Give you life eternally.

“Won’t you sit at My feet;
Hear Me teach; daily meet?
Won’t you pray; share your heart;
Let My grace now impart;
Comfort you with My love,
Give you peace from up above?
I will tenderly say,
‘You are Mine, I’m yours always.’

“One day I will return
To receive you, My bride;
Relieve you from your fears;
Wipe the tears from your eyes.
Watch for Me; be prepared
To meet Me up in the air.
I will give you a crown,
And you’ll wear a pure white gown.”

The Fool Says in His Heart…
An Original Work / April 1, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love