TOPIC:‌"The Lostness of the Soul"

                 by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌St. Mark 8:34-38

 

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

 

‌Have you ever considered the unpleasant ways that the word "lost" can be experienced in human life? Let me mention a few of the ways the word "lost" has come across my life. A submarine lost in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A young boy lost in the White Mountains of new Hampshire. A child lost in a crowd from their parents. A sister who lost her health because of cancer. Money lost because of a wrong investment.

 

‌I am certain that each one of you have had your own individual experiences with the word "lost." But I say to you there is nothing in all of these usages of the word "lost" as compared to the tragedy of the lostness of the human soul. This is the greatest lostness of them all. And here Jesus in the words before us uses penetrating language to show the eternal and supreme value of the soul. Hear again the words of Jesus as I read them from the New Living Translation: "And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" (vv. 36, 37).

 

‌Regarding the subject of the lostness of man and his soul, let us now come to grips with the words of our Lord as found in the text.

 

I.

 

‌Consider, to begin with, the DENIAL of man's lostness. Notice the words: "and lose his own soul" (v. 36). Now that raises several questions: Is modern man lost? Is the whole of the human race adrift from God's family, fellowship, and forgiveness? Is the whole human family so ignorant, selfish, and wicked that no amount of education, human effort or morality can bring this needed change about within man's life?

 

‌There are those that would answer no to those questions. They deny that man is lost and that there is nothing seriously wrong with him. They believe that man is inherently good and does not need saving. The scientist who holds to the evolutionary process of man's existence believes that man is only behaving like the animal he happens to be. The cultist who believes there is no such thing as sin. It is an allusion of the mind and it should be eliminated as soon as possible from one's vocabulary.

 

‌But the Holy Scriptures disagree with all of this nonsense. The Word of God teaches that there is something demonic in human nature that needs to be radically changed and completely redeemed. It declares that modern man needs to be found and forgiven. Give ear to . . .