Matthew 16: 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
We all have experience with making transactions when buying something. My first job was laying block—didn’t like that at all. The next job was at a clothing store. We’d help customers and ring up sales. I never was really good at selling anything. I didn’t do too badly with shoes for some reason. Now if I have something to sell I seem to get beat by the whole transaction.
The devil is a salesman, a successful one. He knows what you like by what you say and do. He can’t read your heart; only God can do that, but the devil knows us better than we know ourselves. He has us all under surveillance. He observes and studies us to figure out what to do. If you are lost he’ll throw this and that in your way to keep you from God. Until the conviction of God reveals who and what the devil is, a person plays a fool’s transaction with the devil.
We’re each born with a soul. As descendants of Adam and Eve the corrupted nature comes with us at birth. Until faith is put in God we are under the control of Satan. God respected Abel’s offering. He gave of all he had. You have to open your all to the Lord and stop believing the lies of the devil. See yourself with a life of waste without God. As sure as you have a soul, you were born with a Savior for it. Adam and Eve died with faith in God. They understood they couldn’t make up for the transaction they made with the serpent. God taught them a sacrifice would come for them. Jesus died on the cross, not for himself, but for our sins. Until that point those who lived and died were looking for a Savior.
People have sold their soul to Satan and the only relief is a Savior, not a salesman. God sells nothing. Even his own son is the gift of God. We don’t come to God to bargain with him. The only way to be released from the transaction with the devil is through God and his son.
You don’t have to be in the occult for the devil to have your soul. If you ignore what God offers as a free gift, you’ve sold your soul to the devil. Our sins should have put us on that cross. You know you’ve done wrong. Jesus came to appease and redeem us from the debt to the devil and its consequences. A salesman is slick. They can talk you unto buying things. You’ll never win over Satan. He even tells people they can go to Jesus and still live how they want. Yes. He’s slick.
If you’re not where you should be with God it means you are listening to the devil instead of God. You’re taking it for granted. You’re saying God isn’t enough. The world can convince you to leave sensibility behind. The devil will tell you that you won’t lose your soul. You can profess believe in God but keep your soul. Lost people think they can sell it all to the world and still keep their soul. Hollywood tells us to live this way, accept this way, and every time you give in you lose something. God has done his best by giving his son for you. The devil speaks through Hollywood, television and fashion. He says things are not sin. His biggest lie is you can do whatever you want and keep your soul.
Christians, shame on us if we think we can keep God and stay in tune with the world. Jesus gave his all to redeem us from the curse upon us. The devil will take you down the road to hell. That’s not a deal. The gift of God has a high price but if you don’t accept the gift, you’ll pay in hell for time and eternity. Sin exacted a price we cannot pay. Jesus willingly paid it in full. We are bought with a price to glorify God.
If you’re lost, it’s costing you. Your soul goes farther from God. Maybe you think you can turn it around. There is no amount of possession by the devil that God can’t deliver you from and he’s the only one who can break that contract you have with Satan. He’ll take his nail-scarred hands and tear up the contract. As soon as Jesus died the veil in the temple was torn signifying God was available to man. Contracts can be torn up by God. He can reach down through it all and give you the gift of eternal life. The wages of sin is death but God’s gift—Jesus—brings eternal life. If a person confesses Jesus and believes in his heart he can be saved.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? You can get what you want and lose what you have—your soul. You can’t get it back by yourself. The only way is through Jesus. Don’t make a fool’s transaction by keeping the devil. Come to God.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 