Before we consider what the Bible says about calling someone a fool, we think it would be helpful to define the meaning of the terms fool and foolish. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a fool is “a person with little or no judgment, common sense, wisdom, etc.” and foolish means “without good sense.”
Now we will focus on the verse of scripture that probably is most frequently associated with calling someone else a fool. [Note: When we quote Scripture in this article, we use the wording in the New King James Version of the Bible.]
In Matthew 5:22, Jesus Christ declares, “[W]hoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” This may seem to indicate that any person who calls another person a fool is at risk of being sent to eternal hell for making such a derogatory statement, but the following Bible commentaries do not provide a consensus as to the nature of the punishment incurred by someone who calls another person a fool, nor do they indicate if Christians will be punished in the same manner as non-Christians.
Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible does not indicate whether or not this admonishment by Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:22 is applicable to Christians, as well as to other people, but Barnes seems to imply that the punishment for people who are guilty of this sin, like those who commit murder, will be eternal hell. According to Barnes,
Among the Jews there were three degrees of condemnation: that by the “judgment,” the “council,” and the “fire of Hinnom.” Jesus says likewise there shall be grades of condemnation for the different ways of violating the sixth commandment. Not only murder shall be punished by God, but anger and contempt shall be regarded by him as a violation of the law, and punished according to the offence. As these offences were not actually cognizable before the Jewish tribunals, he must mean that they will be punished hereafter, and all these expressions therefore relate to degrees of punishment proportionate to crime in the future world – the world of justice and of woe.
John Calvin’s Commentaries on the Bible also does not indicate whether or not Matthew 5:22 is applicable to Christians, as well as to other people but, like Barnes, Calvin seems to indicate that the punishment for calling someone a fool could be eternal hell (or eternal death) for people who are guilty of this sin. Calvin states,
Those . . . who break out into reproaches are adjudged to the hell of fire: which implies, that hatred, and every thing that is contrary to love, is enough to expose them to eternal death, though they may have committed no acts of violence.
The Pulpit Commentaries suggests that the eternal punishment described in Matthew 5:22 is symbolic, but like the previous Bible commentaries, this commentary does not state whether Christians may face the same potential punishment that non-Christians face, if they are guilty of this sin. According to this commentary,
“[T]he Gehenna of fire” primarily means the Valley of Hinnom, where the last processes of judgment seem to have taken place. . . . Christ does not say that the sins spoken of render a man liable to any of these earthly processes of law; he says that they render him liable to processes of Divine law which are fittingly symbolized by these expressions.
Like the preceding Bible commentaries, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible does not address the issue of whether or not the possible fiery punishment mentioned in Matthew 5:22 is applicable to both Christians and non-Christians who call someone a fool, but like The Pulpit Commentaries, Pett intimates that the Gehenna of fire in the Valley of Hinnom could be the punishment for doing so. Pett’s viewpoint is as follows:
How we see this will depend on the meaning we give to the word ‘fool’ (moros). It could refer to someone being seen as ‘foolish’ or ‘lacking in common sense’ (the usual meaning of the Greek word), or it could be seen as a transliteration of the Hebrew ‘moreh’ signifying ‘God-despiser’, ‘rebel.’. . . In this latter case it is therefore the equivalent of declaring them to be worthy of Hellfire, which helps to explain the severity of the punishment. They are receiving what they wished on others.
[Another possibility is that Jesus] may be saying that as the person’s anger has built up, and has then moved on to insult and contempt, it has now finally boiled over into an accusation which in that society would have been seen as the height of insult, or even worse. It was a suggestion that the person was godless and a rebel against God in a society where to be that was to be despised and even hated. Thus the person responsible for these words is now in even greater danger; he is in danger of the Gehenna of fire.
Adam Clarke Commentary also fails to indicate whether or not the punishment pertains to both Christians and non-Christians, but implies that the punishment may be only temporary, rather than eternal. Clarke declares,
It is very probable that our Lord means no more here than this: if a man charge another with apostasy from the Jewish religion, or rebellion against God, and cannot prove his charge, then he is exposed to that punishment (burning alive) which the other must have suffered, if the charge had been substantiated.
In contrast with all the preceding Bible commentaries, Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary on the Bible indicates that calling someone a fool is not always sinful, but like all the other commentaries that we have cited, Henry does not state whether or not there is a difference in punishment for Christians than for non-Christians, if punishment is warranted. According to Henry,
[Jesus Christ] tells them, that given opprobrious [disgraceful] language to our brother is tongue-murder, calling him, Raca, and, Thou fool. When this is done with mildness and for a good end, to convince others of their vanity and folly, it is not sinful. Thus James says, O vain man and Paul, Thou fool and Christ himself, O fools, and slow of heart.
Conclusion
The reference to “hell fire” in Matthew 5:22 is a translation of the Greek word Gehenna, which pertains to the terrestrial fire that constantly burned all kinds of refuse outside Jerusalem in a nearby valley. Therefore, Gehenna does not necessarily pertain to the so-called “hell fire” that burns in eternal hell, but that is the way it generally is interpreted with regard to this verse of scripture.
Although the Bible commentaries that we have cited do not express an opinion as to whether or not Christians, as well as non-Christians, who call someone a fool are in danger of being punished, possibly by being sent to eternal hell, we believe that other scriptures in the Bible indicate that Christians who continue to trust in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation are not in danger of going to eternal hell, regardless of whether or not they call someone a fool. [For a discussion of why true Christians are not in danger of going to eternal hell if they call someone a fool or commit some other type of sin against someone, click on “What Must a Person Do to Be Assured of Eternal Salvation?”]
As for the eternal outlook for people who are not Christians, if they call someone a fool, there is ample biblical evidence that doing so is not sufficient by itself to cause God to condemn them to everlasting punishment in eternal hell. Calling someone a fool is certainly not the so-called “unpardonable sin,” so it is a sin that God will forgive if the person who committed this sin subsequently becomes a Christian, because all of their past sins of every person who becomes a Christian are forgiven. [For a discussion of the unpardonable sin, click on “What Is the Unpardonable Sin?”]
Therefore, we believe that it is not necessary to assume that anyone who calls someone else a fool is automatically condemned to spend eternity in hell. In this regard, note that the wording in Matthew 5:22 is that the person who calls someone a fool “is in danger of hell fire,” not “is condemned to hell fire.” Therefore, although the person who calls someone else a fool may ultimately experience hell fire, it will be because that person has not trusted in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation, not because he (or she) has called someone a fool.
In any case, there are a number of scriptures in the Bible that refer to certain types of people as fools or foolish. For example, both Psalm 14:1a and Psalm 53:1a declare, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Therefore, if the reason for calling a person a fool is supported by scripture, there seems to be adequate reason to believe that calling someone a fool is justified. Conversely, if our reason for calling someone a fool is derision rather than justified criticism, we should refrain from calling a person a fool. Thus, we who are Christians should carefully consider the validity of our reason for believing that we have biblical justification to refer to someone as a fool.