[0:00] I shall tell no one with God's help. Consider all the words in the chapter that we have read. The gospel according to Matthew chapter 16, verse 24.
[0:19] 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. For as whoever will save his life shall lose it, and as whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
[0:37] For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
[0:50] A few thoughts arising from those words. Jesus teaches his disciples concerning salvation, the necessity of salvation.
[1:13] And he tells them that they must, to attain to salvation, work out that salvation in fear and trembling.
[1:31] It is by effort, by striving, that they will attain to salvation.
[1:46] It is obvious that this teaching is foreign to their understanding. For even up to this moment in time, they were convinced that Jesus would come to reign over them as a temporal king.
[2:10] And that he would overcome their enemies, the Roman Empire and the armies, that at this time were in their country.
[2:25] They could never, they did not accept up until this time, that the Lord Jesus Christ had come to purchase a spiritual kingdom.
[2:42] Not an earthly kingdom.
[3:12] Not an earthly kingdom.
[3:42] Not an earthly kingdom.
[4:12] Not an earthly kingdom.
[4:42] Not an earthly kingdom. Not an earthly kingdom.
[5:12] our Lord. And then he goes on to teach that those who will attain salvation must be prepared to fight, to strive, to work on this earth. There are a few thoughts in connection, first of all, with salvation that our Lord emphasises in those words. Salvation is a change of state from a state of guilt and therefore liable to the wrath of God, to a state of innocency, freedom from guilt. Salvation is a change of condition from that of sorrow to joy. And salvation is a change of character from sin to holiness. And we must emphasise especially the change of character regarding salvation. Because it is a misconnection that our Lord teaches us in the epistle to the Romans chapter 8. That salvation is holiness, moral perfection, a change of character. And that change is embodied especially in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we might think simply of his work by reasoning concerning, first of all, that without holiness, no man shall be able to see God. That is to have fellowship with God.
[7:47] That is what scripture teaches. And that is what scripture emphasizes. And we see therefore the importance in the attaining of salvation, the importance of holiness. And we see therefore the importance of God. Adam's condition and state before God in Eden. You see, in the highest sense of all, no being is lovely but God. Any loveliness that is outside of God, God comes from God. And we are speaking especially not of temporal but physical loveliness. That too comes from God.
[8:59] God is spirit. And he demands of all his creatures this loveliness. And this is why he has given the image, his own image, his own image to Adam in the Garden of Eden. He was made lovely, spiritually, able to communicate with God. God and Adam and Eve walked in fellowship. The role of fellowship, the law.
[9:54] God and Eve walked in fellowship. The role of fellowship, the law. And they were together. And the image of God and man was perfect. Now perhaps I should explain what we mean by image.
[10:09] The knowledge of God. The knowledge of God. The knowledge of God. The knowledge of God. To know God. A fact and an experience. Knowledge. Walking with God. Righteousness. The act of one on the law. A righteous person fulfilling law.
[10:39] And holiness. And holiness. Perfection. Moral perfection. And the law. This was what made Adam and Eve lovely. And this is why they had fellowship with God.
[10:57] In that state of God. In that state of innocence. Of joy in his presence. But they lost knowledge. And righteousness. And holiness. When they sinned.
[11:16] Now this is how God. In love and wisdom. Restored that image. He gave it to Christ.
[11:31] Christ is perfectly holy. To receive from the Father. A true body. And a reasonable soul. And a true body. And a reasonable soul. We have the moral image. Of a morally perfect being. God.
[11:55] And this is salvation. To be like him. And nothing short of that will satisfy our making.
[12:07] That is why. That is why Paul teaches. In the episode of the Romans. That they might be conformed. To the image. Of a son.
[12:19] Now you and I must remember this. That salvation. Is not to. Alone to escape. Penalty.
[12:30] In Gehenna. Due to us. For our sin. That salvation. Is to be like Christ. And.
[12:41] That is why providence. And grace. Is at work on this earth. To make us. Christ.
[12:52] Life. In our lives. In our word. To make us. Holy. Not to make us. Comfortable. Or happy.
[13:04] Here on earth. That is not the end. Of God's dealings. With us. Here. It is. To make us. Holy.
[13:15] And therefore. Providence. And grace. Is at work. And to that end. And that is why. Jesus. Jesus. Here.
[13:25] Here. Teaches. If. You are to attain. To heaven. You must. Work. You must.
[13:36] Work at it. If you are to attain. To heaven. You must. Suffer. And I think. That. In the epistle.
[13:46] To the Philippians. Chapter 4. That Paul. There. Explains. What Jesus. Means. Here. When he says.
[13:59] Brethren. I have not yet attained. That I run the race. That is set. Before me. That I might.
[14:11] Attain. To the crown. He runs. Towards. Perfection. In life. That is what he looks to. And.
[14:22] He comes short. He realizes. That he is sinning. That he has come short. And he is troubled. He is cast down. And he cries. O wretched man.
[14:34] That I am. You shall see me. From this body of death. And therefore. He teaches us. That we must. Lose.
[14:46] Our lives. On this earth. That we might. Attain. To heaven. That we. Must exercise. Self-denial.
[14:57] That we must. Take up our cross. And follow. Our Lord. This is the way. The only way. To attain.
[15:08] To salvation. Now remember again. It is not what we know. It is what we are.
[15:21] It is what we are. And if we are. To be saved. Then. We must be holy.
[15:31] As he is holy. Now you see. That is an impossible combination. How. Can I attain. To the moral perfection. That our Lord.
[15:44] Demands. God. To the moral. That our Lord. But the answer. That our Lord. That our Lord. That our Lord. He will work. In you. To will.
[15:55] And to do. His good pleasure. No one is left alone. No one is left. To work out. Their own salvation. Alone.
[16:05] Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ. In you. You remember the words. Of the apostle. Christ. Lives. In me.
[16:18] And remember. How he goes on to teach us. Christ. In you. The hope. Of glory. Now that is very important.
[16:29] It is not yet the glory. It is the hope. Of glory. That is the Christ. In you. Hope.
[16:41] Does that not tell us also. That the one. To whom we are conformed. Exercised hope. In our nature.
[16:52] As we are taught. In the second chapter. Of the epistle to the Hebrews. Christ. In you. The hope. Of glory. And that gives us another picture.
[17:03] Of the way. To attain salvation. Exercising faith. Exercising hope. Exercising love.
[17:15] In this world. Attaining eventually. To moral perfection. To be with God. To be with Christ.
[17:27] Which is. Far better. Far better. Far better. Now those. Of the claims. In the teaching. Of our Lord. Take up.
[17:38] The cross. Bear the heat. And burden. Of the day. Run the race. Witness. Pray. Strive.
[17:49] Overcome. The world. And the flesh. And the devil. And the truth. And the truth. And the truth. And the truth. And the truth. And the truth. And the truth. And the truth.
[18:00] The importance. Of that teaching. He then comes to this. Verse 26. For what is a man. Profited. For what is a man.
[18:10] Profited. He shall gain. The whole world. And lose his own soul. For what shall a man give. In exchange. For his soul.
[18:23] Now in a word. Our Lord. Our Lord. Uses. The language. Of everyday commerce. And he compares.
[18:35] Like. With like. In order to teach. The importance. Of the individual. The importance.
[18:47] And the first thought. That we have. In connection. With the words of our Lord. Is that. The real.
[18:59] Human being. Dwells. In his. Body. His. Body. Is.
[19:11] But part. Of. A human being. Now that is most important. And as brought before us. In the second epistle.
[19:21] To the Corinthians. Chapter 5. We know. We know. If our earthly house. Of this tabernacle. Is dissolved. We have an house.
[19:33] An art made with hands. Eternal. In the heavens. Now what do those. Those words convey. Those words convey. Surely this teaching.
[19:46] That. In every human being. In every body. There is the real. Human being. Dwelling. As if.
[19:58] He dwelt. Or she dwelt. In a house. The body. The body. Is. But the house. The real.
[20:09] Human being. That dwells in that house. Lives. In that house. And lives.
[20:20] Therefore. Separated. From that house. What does that tell us. It tells us. That the soul.
[20:31] Will outlive the body. It tells us. Of a disembodied state. It tells us. Of immortality.
[20:44] And. The importance. Therefore. Of eternity. We shall live. Forever. You know how.
[20:56] And it is right. And rightly so. We feel pain. Or sickness. We begin to worry. Regarding. Our health. And.
[21:08] We think of life. As. Three. As 70 years. Three score and 10. We worry.
[21:19] If we shall attain. To three score and 10. Well. We should. We should cease to reason. Concerning.
[21:32] The length of our days. And think of. A disembodied state. And. An eternal existence.
[21:45] We shall. Live. As long. As God. Exists. We shall live. And he is.
[21:56] Eternal. And this is. The. The terrible. We can use that word. The terrible condition. Of a sinner.
[22:08] Before God. That he will live forever. And there are only. Two conditions. That await him.
[22:20] In eternity. Either. Either. Fellowship. With God. Or. Separation. From God. Either.
[22:31] With him. Or without him. In that. Eternal state. And. There are arguments.
[22:45] That scripture. Proposes. And brings. Before us. To underline. The importance. Of this state.
[22:57] First of all. The attributes. That make up. A human soul. Or a human being. We think of them.
[23:08] First of all. As. Reason. The philosophers. When they speak. Of reason. They tell us. That man.
[23:21] Is. But a straw. He is. But grass. Then they go on. Yes. But he thinks. He reason.
[23:32] And therefore. Because he reasons. He is superior. To that. Which would. Destroy him.
[23:45] And they. To emphasize. Their teaching. They speak. About bullet. And they tell us. The bullet. That kills. That man. Is superior.
[23:56] To that bullet. Because. He knows. What the bullet. Has done. The bullet. Does not know. Cannot reason. Concerning.
[24:08] What it has done. It has destroyed. A life. But that is no. But that is no. Comfort. To the one. Who loses life.
[24:19] But it teaches. This lesson. That man. Thinks. That is no. No. That is one of the. The sins. The sins.
[24:30] Of our day. That. We have ceased to think. We should begin to think. To meditate. And. God has given us this ability.
[24:43] The ability. To reason. Think of. What this ability. Has given to man. The ability. The ability.
[24:53] To reach the moon. And the stars. The ability. The ability. And yet. He does not have the ability. To know.
[25:04] His maker. The fool. Says. In his heart. That there is no God. Imagine. The technology.
[25:16] That will take a man. To the moon. That cannot discern. In creation. The work. Of a creator. And that is the.
[25:29] Awful condition. Of man. Before God. In a state of sin. He is surrounded. In the world. With evidence. That calls.
[25:40] To him. That demands. From. Faith. And he refuses. You have that ability. The ability.
[25:52] To think. To reason. And that is also. You have also. This ability. Conscience. The ability.
[26:04] To judge. The ability. To pass. Judgment. Upon yourself. Either condemning. Yourself. Or.
[26:16] On the other hand. Setting yourself. Free. From condemnation. Condemnation. God is the ability.
[26:26] That you have. By nature. As an immortal soul. You have reason. You have. Conscience.
[26:38] And let us go back again. To. Reason. Why do you have it? It is. It is to know God. It is to grow.
[26:50] In knowledge of God. It is. To advance. In fellowship with him. That is why we have reason.
[27:02] And it is with shame. And confusion. Of faith. That you and I. Must say. That we do not use. Our reason.
[27:14] Our ability. As we should use it. Before God. And God. Will demand. Of us. The misuse.
[27:25] That we have made. Of what he has given. Unto us. And. We see again. That.
[27:37] Our actions. That there is. Eternity. Stamped. Upon our thoughts. And upon our actions.
[27:47] In this life. Galatians. Chapter 6. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. But whatsoever a man saw.
[27:58] For. That shall he also reap. Matthew chapter 12. But I say unto you. That every idle word. That man shall speak.
[28:08] They shall give. An account thereof. In the day. Of judgment. He says this concerning. Our souls.
[28:21] And remember. Although we use that word. We are speaking especially. Of a human being. That you would give an account.
[28:33] To God. Because you are special. And because you are different. From. The natural life. That is.
[28:43] In this world. And. We see again. The importance of the soul. In the preparation. That God has made.
[28:55] For it. In heaven. I remember. The late Professor Findersen. Who taught.
[29:07] Systematic theology. In Edinburgh. Speaking of. The mount of transfiguration. This is what he said. All.
[29:19] That God. Did. On that mountain. Was to. Open the curtain. He opened the curtain.
[29:31] He showed us. Another life. A life. That was. Perfect. A life. That. Surrounds us.
[29:41] Here. In this world. The spirit. The spirit. And the eternal. And this is how. He put it.
[29:52] He opened the curtain. And he showed us. Now Jesus came. From that place. From eternity.
[30:03] Into time. And he spoke. Very familiar. In connection with it. You remember his words. In my father's house.
[30:16] Are many mansions. If it were not so. I would have told you. Now think for a moment. Of his description.
[30:28] The description that he gave. Of the invisible. And the eternal state. And condition. That is very near us. And he compares it.
[30:39] To a home. And to use that comparison. Because when we think of a home. We think of happiness.
[30:51] And all things been in order. There is no place on this earth. Like home. Because. Because.
[31:01] Parents and children. They are. In fellowship. Together. At rest. In.
[31:13] Their homes. And this is. The example. The illustration. That Jesus used. To teach us. Concerning.
[31:24] Eternity. That there is a place. Prepared. For his children. For his people.
[31:36] That place is prepared. For the believer. When he leaves. This world. Before. Thy face. At thy right hand.
[31:49] There are pleasures. Forevermore. That is the preparation. That God. That God. Has made. For your soul. In eternity.
[32:01] And we see again. How the gospel. Has been prepared. How holy. Men of God. Speak.
[32:12] As they were led. By. The Holy Spirit. God. Has. Given us.
[32:22] His gospel. And through. The preaching. The teaching. Of the gospel. He has. Prepared. A place.
[32:33] And a state. For us. Faith. Cometh. By hearing. Hearing. By the word. Of God. Faith. Is the. Soul.
[32:45] Saving. Act. And it comes. To us. Through the gospel. By the. By the preaching. Of the gospel. And by the. Hearing.
[32:55] Of the gospel. And by. Our response. To the claims. Of the gospel. He makes.
[33:06] Us. Teachable. And he. Teaches. Us. And he. Prepares. Us. For. Eternity. And we see.
[33:18] The value. Of the. Soul. Again. When we think. Of. The pearls. That are at work. That desire. The soul. Of man.
[33:29] Satan. A foreign angel. Desires. Man.
[33:42] That. He. May. Be. With. Him. Where. He. Is. You know. What. Scripture. Teaches. Concerning. The state.
[33:54] That Satan. Will. Eventually. Be in. Jesus. Was. One. Day. Walking. Outside. The walls.
[34:05] Of. Jerusalem. And he. Saw. There. A. Midden. What we. Would. Call. A. Midden. A. Place. Where.
[34:16] Carcasses. Were. Thrown. And the. Rubish. Of. The city. Where. Fire. Burnt. And. Where.
[34:27] Warrers. Were. At. Work. This. Is. What. Jesus. Said. You know. He. Said. There. Is. A. Place. Like. This.
[34:38] In. Eternity. It. Is. Symbolized. By. This. Midden. The. Fire. Is.
[34:48] Not. Quenched. And. The. Warm. Does. Not. Die. A. Sin. Hating. God.
[34:59] Will. Punish. And. He. Will. Punish. The. Sinner. And. Satan. You.
[35:09] Remember. The. Words. Of. Milton. The. Puritan. Poet. Better. To. Rain. Hell. Than. Serve.
[35:20] In. Heaven. And. Satan. Desires. You. That. He. Might. Sift. You. As. Wheat. He.
[35:30] Desires. Your soul. And. Think. Then. Of. The. Value. That. Is. Placed. Upon. You. As. A. Human. Being. When. All. Those.
[35:41] Influences. Day. By. Day. Are. Got. To. Bear. Upon. You. And. You. Are. Perhaps. Unaware. Of. Them. One. Other. Thought. In.
[35:51] Connection. With. The. Tempting. Of. Satan. You. Remember. Peter. On. The. Night. Of. The. Betrayal. And. Peter.
[36:02] Was. Lable. To. Think. Of. Something. That. Was. Taking. Place. In. His. Own. Mind. That. Was. In. His. Own. Experience.
[36:13] Alone. It. Was. Something. That. He. Felt. Within. Himself. Close. Influences. Of. What. To. Bear. Upon. And. Then. Jesus.
[36:24] Revealed. That. There. Is. Another. Pearl. At. Work. Outside. Of. Peter. And. Before. The. Throne. Of. God. In.
[36:34] Heaven. And. Peter. Is. Feeling. Experiencing. The. Effect. Of. Those. Pearls.
[36:45] That. Are. At. Work. Now. Surely. What. We. Have. Tried. And. That. Is. All. We. Are. Doing. Attempting. To. See. How. Valuable.
[36:55] You. Are. As. A. Human. Being. You. Have. Desire. On. Every. Side. And. Now. Think.
[37:05] Of. This. As. One. As. Said. That. The. Human. That. One. Human. Being. Is. More. Precious.
[37:17] Valuable. Than. This. World. With. All. Its. Animal. Life. And.
[37:28] Vegetable. Life. With. All. That. It. Contains. Now. Think. For. A. Moment. What. Jesus. Wisdom.
[37:39] Teaches. That. You. Are. More. Valuable. Than. The. World. And. The. Worlds. because if you are lost it is the greatest calamity the greatest tragedy of all there is no tragedy like it the loss of happiness and the beginning of sorrow now we all know what sorrow is to a degree and we also know to a degree what happiness is but let me put this to you the only true happiness true happiness is in Christ and with Christ St Augustine said long ago thou hast made me for thyself and I can have no rest until I find my rest in thee now you might do what you like you might search heaven and earth in seeking happiness and every human being seeks happiness not sorrow happiness is here with God in his fellowship make your peace with him and all will be well and if you do not make your peace with him through Christ you will and this is what is meant you will have sorrow that is to lose your soul but we do not know the capacity of a human being regarding happiness the resurrection alone will reveal what that capacity is but think of not a capacity to happiness but a capacity to pain and sorrow and that shall be eternal if we have not made our peace with God remember he is at work in order to make us morally perfect and surely we can have patience patience and surely we can exercise grace until that work is complete and when that work is complete he will not be here he will be there with him that is the meaning of life remember what one foolish individual said what is life it is a noise signified nothing life is much more than you and I understand this is life and this is life eternal to know thee the only the true the living God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent and may he grant that all of us might attain to eternal life that we might run the race that we might take up our cross that we might exercise self-denial for this is the end of all the reason for all that we might be with him where he is let us pray thank you thank you
[41:55] Lord for the gospel for all that thou has taught us in this world enable us to learn of thee and when we come short in our reasoning be merciful unto us and apply to our hearts the truth that we might attain to life enable us to put our trust in thee and enable us to realise the enormity of our responsibilities as those whom thou hast made for thyself and as those who have sinned against thee and come short of thy glory watch over us and keep us during this week we pray go before us pardon our sins for Jesus' sake Amen Amen