The Dilemma of Conquering the World and Losing Your Soul (Part 1) by Dr. Rod Mattoon

About this sermon

Luke 9:23-26 ...And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? In this portion of Scripture, our Lord addresses the issue of the cost in following Him and what it really involves. The description and requirements of what He states sends shock waves into the hearts of carnal, worldly, backslidden Christians. Jesus points out what is truly valuable and what is worthless and damaging. For those who strive to get their own way at the expense of submitting to God’s way, will end up losing what they tried to gain or achieve. Those who make sacrifices to follow Christ will be blessed. They will actually save what they sacrificed or surrendered over to the Lord. There is no advantage in gaining all that this world has to offer at the expense of losing your soul for eternity in the pits of Hell or being cast away. The phrase “cast away” is from the word zemioo {dzay-mee-o'-o} which means “to damage, receive injury, or suffer loss.” Multitudes today have lived for this world and its accolades, but have died, lost in sin, without Christ, because they rejected Him. Their master was this world. Many Christians have followed the same pattern of making this world system their master and have ended up damaging their lives and testimonies. They have suffered spiritual defeats and lost spiritual rewards. John warned in 2 John 1:8, “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.” How do we avoid spiritual loss or damage in our Christian lives. How do we avoid being “cast away, defeated, damaged?” Jesus laid out the answers here: deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. This message explains these truths. This 26-minute message was preached on Wednesday night July 27, 2022, at Lincoln Land Baptist Church.

Topics

• Suffering & Trials