Are You Careless with Your Soul?
Introduction. (Matthew
16:24-27). Care for the soul is important because the soul can be lost. There
is a song we sing, written by James H. Stanley in 1909 which focuses on this
fact. The first verse asks:
Careless soul, why will you linger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God?
Hear you not the invitation?
Oh, prepare to meet thy God.
Chorus: Careless
soul, oh, heed the warning,
For your life will soon be gone;
Oh, how sad to face the judgment,
Unprepared to meet thy God.
This morning I want to ask you the
question: are you careless with your soul?
I. If You are Not a Christian You are Careless with
Your Soul When...
A. You
follow your natural inclinations.
1. Some
speak of this as “following your gut” or “living out your own truth!”
a.
That is a mistake because we don’t have it within us to direct our own
lives unto eternity (Jer. 10:23).
b.
Men can often believe they are doing right when they actually do
wrong—cf. Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, Joseph Stalin, etc. (Prov. 14:12).
B. Neglect
your opportunities for salvation.
1. Man
or woman on parole who violates the terms of parole—value freedom?
2. Criminal
disrespectful to one they have wronged—remorseful?
3. Sinner
indifferent to the terms and payment that grants pardon? (Heb. 2:1-4).
II. If You are a Christian You are Careless with Your
Soul When...
A. You
lack spiritual focus.
1. Jesus
taught that we should seek submission to His kingship (Matt. 6:33).
2. Our
mind should be set on heaven (Col. 3:1-4).
B. You
lack biblical interest.
1. The
Christian should know how to use the Bible (2 Tim. 2:15-16).
a.
You can't know and use properly something that bores you.
b.
You can’t know and use properly what you spend little time studying.
2. Christians
are to grow in the knowledge of God (2 Pet. 3:14-18).
a.
The Bible is the only way we can know God’s will.
b.
The Bible is the only way we can know what pleases Him.
C. You
increase in worldliness.
1. Of thought.
a.
Our thoughts must be “captive” to the Lord (2 Cor. 10:3-6).
b.
We must think about godly things (Phil. 4:8-9).
2. Of speech.
a.
Our speech must “always” be with grace (Col. 4:6). To family? To a
waitress? To our enemy?
b.
We should speak “as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). You must know
the oracles of God to speak as the oracles of God.
3. Of action,
a.
Our conduct must be worthy of the gospel (Phil. 1:27).
b. Would
we be ashamed to be in Christ’s presence while doing some of the things in our
life? This is being careless with our soul.
Conclusion. The Gospel calls
us to stop being careless with our soul. We must start addressing the needs of our
soul. It starts with obedience to the gospel. “Careless soul, why will you
linger?”—“Careless soul, oh heed the warning!”—“Prepare to meet thy God.”