What a sad and solemn word! It was spoken of Judas primarily, but is he the only one of whom these words can be said?
Let us see. What was Judas by profession? A disciple, a follower of Christ. One who had listened to all His wonderful words of grace and truth, who had seen all His wonderful works in blessing upon man. He was one who seemed to be trusted by others. Judas carried “the bag”; he was their treasurer, but he loved money better than Christ. He sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, then died and went to his own place, and the epitaph on his tombstone is this: “Good were it for that man if he had never been born”!
And to think it may be true of you! Are you, like Judas, merely a professed disciple of Christ? Have you received Him as your own personal Saviour? Or are you perhaps selling Christ for a little gain? For a little pleasure? Fame?
Beware! Your day will end here, and if you die without having received Christ as your Saviour, the same epitaph will be true of you: “Good were it for that man if he had never been born”!
We find a second fool in Luke 12:16-2116And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16‑21). This was a rich man, one that no doubt many envied. His “ground . . . brought forth plentifully,” so much that he had not room to store all his goods. His mind solved the problem: I will pull down my barns and build greater and enjoy my goods for many years—eat, drink and be merry. But he had made plans without taking God into account. (Is that what you are doing? Are you putting temporal pleasures between you and eternal blessings?)
But God speaks: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee”! So he dies, and we go to the funeral. It is large; the preacher delivers a flowery sermon, but the rich man’s record is on high and there is no adding to it nor taking from it now. God’s verdict is, “Thou fool”! “Good were it for that man if he had never been born.”
The third fool is a man high in the political world. How many would like his position? He is a governor. He heard “concerning the faith in Christ. And as he [Paul] reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled” (Acts 24:24-2524And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. (Acts 24:24‑25)). He trembled, as well he might. He was not righteous, so the only thing that Felix could look forward to was the judgment to come. What was his answer to this question? “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
Poor man, he passes off the stage. The “convenient season” never came that we read of. His power passed to another; he died, and God’s verdict of him is the same: “Good were it for that man if he had never been born.” (Are you putting it off like Felix for a “convenient season” that may never come?)
One more fool. Higher yet, this is a crowned king, Agrippa. He is surrounded by his courtiers, and before him is Paul, a prisoner in chains. Permitted to speak for himself, Paul tells how God saved his soul; he is full of Christ and the joy that comes through believing. He asks the king, “Believest thou the prophets?” The king replies, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:2828Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (Acts 26:28)).
Almost? What is it to be a Christian that we require such pleading and persuasion before we will become one? Do you know that a Christian is a child of God, an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven—a joint-heir with Jesus Christ? Must you be persuaded?
Where is King Agrippa’s glory now? All gone. Where is Paul? With the Lord in glory. So the king passes off the scene; and if not fully persuaded before he died to “become a Christian,” though he was a king, “good were it for that man if he had never been born.”