In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He warns that those who do not believe in Jesus will face judgment at the great white throne. The preacher describes the anguish and regret of those who realize too late that they should have believed in Jesus. He also references the story of the rich young man in Luke, highlighting the missed opportunity for salvation. The sermon ultimately emphasizes the need for redemption and the eternal consequences of rejecting Jesus.

It's such a good singing you have a hard time getting down where you can talk a little bit, but it's good to see you tonight and it's good to be here. And I'd like to read a passage of Scripture to you out of the book of Acts, the 20th chapter. And the last few weeks as the Lord has been dealing with me in this particular area, I have been going through this passage and I hope this is not a prophetic passage for me. You'll understand after I read part of it. But Paul is here headed out to Jerusalem and he's talking to the church and he is telling them about his condition. Test of the 21st verse. Let's read the 21st. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repenting repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witness in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide in me. But none of these things move me, neither count I myself and my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify of the gospel of the grace of God. And now behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God shall see my face no more. Therefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. And you could see why I would think this may be the benediction instead of the introduction. But this particular passage, Paul is talking about the fact that he's now headed to Jerusalem and he, I think, is aware that he's headed to Rome, you know, the Lord let him know that he was going to end up in Rome. And I believe Paul is here aware of that and he's telling the people that he'll see their face no more. And there must be some moving time when he faces this life and not going to see his friends anymore. And of course he has a lot waiting for him in the future. And Paul is telling them, he said, I stand without the blood of any man on my hands. That is some particular, that is some statement that he is able to say that I have run the course, I've, you know, I fought the fight and now I stand thus far without the blood of any man on my hands. In the last few weeks the Lord has been dealing with me deeply about a matter, about the matter of a man's soul. And I have been dealt with it so deeply that it would be very hypocritical for me to try to go any kind of direction tonight other than the direction that's on my heart. Because I realize that this particular type of meeting is not a, I mean, this particular type of message is not a camp meeting sermon. But it's nevertheless the message that God has put on my heart. I was telling Brother Jimmy before service, I said, it looks like that all of my life I have been prepared for what God is doing in my life right now. And one of the things he's doing in my life is let me evaluate the nature of what I'm involved in. He's letting me evaluate what I'm seeing happen. And he's letting me see my place and responsibility in the redemption of man like I've never seen it before. And I want to share with you tonight something about a man and his need for redemption. I just want to talk to you about the soul of a man. Now in Genesis 2-7 we find that God reached down in the clay and picked up some clay and made a body. And there he breathed into that man the breath of life. And that man became a living soul. And when that man became a living soul, God created something that could never, never, never, never die. And man became that living soul and then God created woman out of man and placed them into the garden. And you know as well as I know how they sinned against God and how that soul became a fallen soul. They fell. They actually, it's known as the fall, but their soul did not die. Now I know technically you and I can break up the man in body, soul, and spirit. And it's a little difficult to follow the soul of man just as the spirit of man. We know the spirit of man never dies. But somehow, someway the spirit of man takes on a capacity of the soul and that being, and the being is what we're talking about tonight, that being never dies. Now when that being became separated from God, when became separated from God, every man that died without Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, was sent to hell. And it seems like that hell was not prepared properly because it's even been enlarged by people who have died without Jesus Christ. But every person that comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, that living soul is saved. And that living soul, when that body dies, that living soul goes to be with Jesus. And that living soul will be with Jesus forever. Now what I want to talk to you about more than anything else tonight, I think, I'll get into it, and I think this is what I want to talk to you about more than anything else in the world, is the fact that a living soul is a being. And that being is a person. And that person has a name. And that person, my friend, you and I are responsible for. Now you may not believe this tonight, you can't win every soul that's lost in the world. But you can be at the right place at the right time with the right message, right with God, so that you can come to the end of your life and say with Paul, I stand without the blood of any man on my hand. You can do that. Every one of us can do that. And we're involved in doing that if we're saved and if we're right with God. We're involved in being at the right place at the right time with the right message, right with God, so that we can stand without the blood of any man on our hand. Now if that's not the case, you're responsible for everyone in the world. That's right. If that's not the case, you're responsible for everyone. And there's no control there. I mean, it would produce absolute zaspiration in every one of us. We couldn't stand to be responsible for every man in the world. But we are responsible to be at the right place at the right time with the right message, right with God, so that we stand without the blood of any man on our hands. Now, as I look at this matter of the being of a man as the soul of man, I think about how priceless a soul really is. Now a soul is priceless because God created it. Now I don't think you have any trouble with that. The soul, the being of a person is priceless because it's God's creation. But beloved, there's some other things that makes it so priceless, like when, for instance, when you want to know the value of something, if you want to know the value of something, the thing you have to do is ask yourself, how long is it going to last? That's one way you can tell the value of something. Back years ago in my life, I had a great preacher, R.T. Strange. He pastored the Second Baptist Church, Marshall, Texas, when I was in college. And he later became an evangelist, and I had him in our church as an evangelist. And he said, now son, he was much older, and he said, now son, he said, what you want to do is realize that you attach your life to things that are worthwhile. And I said, well, how can you tell when things are worthwhile? He said, the first thing you do is determine how long it lasts. And he said, you can find the value of something by how long it lasts. Now, beloved, a soul, Bill, Joe, Mary, now you may just see them as a soul tonight in the abstract, but I think God wants you to take them down to the level to where it's a Bill, and a Joe, and a Mary, and a John. And my dear friend, you think about that soul that never, never, never, never, never, never dies. Can you believe that? Here is something, a soul that never dies. We got this high-powered mic on, and it's too powerful. And I'm going to tell you, Brother Paul, a little story. You have to put a banner in here occasionally to keep it going. This, you know, I get to use every kind of mic you can think of, and they've got more than you can think of. He's trying to just hand me one of those, and I'll just stand still. And so, most of the time, when they start popping like that, it's because they are, you know, getting low. And I don't know that that's the case. But I don't know if you have pondered this idea or not, that my dear friends, a soul never, never, never, never dies. I mean, never dies, but I don't know if you have pondered this idea or not, that my dear friends, a soul never, never, never, never dies. I mean, never dies, but I don't know if you have pondered this idea or not, that my dear friends, a soul never, never, never, never dies. I mean, never dies, but I don't know if you have pondered this idea or not, that my dear friends, a soul never, never, never, never dies. I mean, never dies, but I don't know if you have pondered this idea or not, that my dear friends never dies. You take, for instance, this illustration. A man said, if you took the world and it was a steel ball, 25,000 miles around it, and you let an angel, once a year, come down with that steel ball, to that steel ball with a feather in his hand, and he would touch that steel ball, when that steel ball was completely worn out, and it was not anymore, by the touch of an angel with a feather in his hand, once a year, the first day in eternity would not even be over. My dear friends, the worth of something is how long it lasts. A soul that is born into this world never, never, never, never, never, never dies. It never dies. When that little baby is born into this world, my friends, that living soul never, never, never, never dies. Can you believe it? That that soul never dies. And that soul, right this moment, is either in hell or in heaven that's died. And your soul will never die. It either spend eternity in heaven, or it will spend eternity in hell, my dear friends. It is going to live absolutely forever. And there's no way to get around it. It's absolutely going to live forever. Not only can you determine the value of something by how long it lasts, but there's another way you can determine the value of something, and that is by how much it costs. You can always tell how valuable something is by how it costs. And so, the soul of man, there is no way tonight to tell us just how much a soul, our being, how much a soul, a being, just genuinely costs. Now, I know it didn't seemingly cost God much when He reached down in the dirt and picked up some dirt and formed a body and breathed into that life, the breath of life, and that soul became a living being. It didn't seemingly cost God much at that time. But even when God created man, created man and breathed in him the breath of life, and He knew it was going to become a living soul, God Almighty had already committed His only begotten Son, my dear friends, to die on the cross and redeem that living soul. He's already committed. He did not commit Jesus after the fall. Jesus was already committed. Jesus Christ from the eternities on was the God of redemption, of salvation and grace, and Jesus was already committed to die on the cross of Calvary to save a living soul. And one day, Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, knowing that all Old Testament people that had died, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ had been carried to paradise below, Jesus Christ came into this world and took upon Him the body of flesh, and my dear friends, headed straight to Calvary. And as He got there that time before Calvary in that garden where He wrestled, my friends, He took a cup, and that cup was filled with your sins and my sins and the sins of the whole world, and Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Son of the living God, took that cup and drank that sin, that sin, your sin and my sin, into His own body, and He went straight to Calvary, and there, friends, as He hung on Calvary, His arms came out of joints, His bones came out of joints, and there He suffered and bled and died, and even there, He didn't die from the spikes in His hands. He didn't die from the spikes in His feet. My dear friends, He didn't die because of the suffering of the cross. He died of a broken heart because the sins of mankind literally just ripped His heart apart, and He died, my dear friends, because of the sins of man. You're talking about the cost. There is no way to tell you tonight what Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, had to pay for the soul of man, whereby man could be saved by the grace of God. My dear friends, listen, He didn't only suffer like that, but He suffered because we hear Him in the Old Testament saying, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me, the Son of the living God? One of the most crucial moments in His life was when, my friends, God the Father had to turn His back on His own Son, and we hear Him crying, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Because God the Father could not look upon the Son with sin in His life. Why are you talking about suffering, friend? He had to suffer. He suffered the pains of hell. He literally went to paradise below and delivered those that were in prison and brought them out of prison to paradise on high. He suffered that soul, the souls of men, might be saved. The price of a soul is illustrated somewhat in the suffering and the price that Jesus Christ had to pay. Let me tell you something, folks, that's not all. That's not all. Jesus was not the only one that suffered. Listen, Jesus Christ lets us see the bag of a soul in a man's life by the name of Paul. And you just look, just one little glimpse, just one little glimpse I want to show you. This man, Paul, in the first five chapters of the book of Romans, he talks about how to be saved by the grace of God. He talks about how to be saved. But in Romans 6, 7, and 8, he talks about how to be filled with the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. But in Romans 9, my dear friends, you hear him saying, I lie not, the Holy Ghost bearing me witness. Listen to me carefully now. My dear friends, you hear him saying, I am willing to die and go to hell for my kinsmen. You can get somewhat of the bag of a soul when you realize that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, is so able to take over a man like you and me. And my dear friends, so fill us with Himself that we are literally willing to go to hell for lost people. By the bag of a soul. Paul naturally did not go to hell, but I'll guarantee you the Word of God said he was willing. Yes sir. Now that's not a lie, that's the Word of God, the Holy Ghost bearing him witness. I'm telling you, the flesh of man, a man just like you, willing to go to hell that his kinsmen might be saved by the grace of God. I get so disturbed in this hour with these super spiritual saints. My dear friends, they're talking about how many languages they've talked in, how many pews they've jumped, how many chandeliers they've hung from, and all of that stuff, and yet my dear friends, when I look in and see a man like Paul, and see him full of God, I hear him saying, My God, I'm willing to go to hell for my kinsmen. You can see something of a price of a soul in that. God would not make a false provision, folk. And if God can so provide a compassion for the lost and dying world, where a man's willing to change his heavenly home for a fire grave, brother, it lets you see something of the value of a soul. But that's not all. We can see the value of a soul in the fact that our God, who runs this thing, who's the Lord of the living and the Lord of the dead. And my dear friends, down through the centuries, not only does the Bible but history show us that God has in essence folded his hands and let people he loves so dearly suffer and bleed and die. You know why? It was necessary to show the world the adequacy, the sufficiency, the love of Jesus from one generation to another. You say, What are you talking about? I'm talking about a man like Polycarp that would refuse to deny the Son of the living God and who was taken to a stake and burned to death. And my friends, you and I are not even, I mean tonight we're not even worthy to sit at that man's table. And yet God folded his hands and let that man burn to death. You know why that the gospel might go forth. We have, out of the book, the Fox's Book of Martyrs, we have the stories of how saints, how saints of God, women and men, would be turned out into the arena at Rome and how they'd be turned out there in that arena and women holding little boys and girls by the hand, just like some of these little boys and girls here tonight. Some of those women even pregnant, expecting. And dads would all walk into that arena. And my friends, they would turn the wild beast on those people. And they would come into that arena and literally tear those people apart. Bite by bite and limb for limb they would tear those people apart. And while they were tearing those people apart, they were singing the praises to God. And people would jump out of their seats in those arenas and say, My God, I can't stand this. I too must become a Christian. And they would pile over the sides to become saved by the grace of God. And God Almighty folded His hand, my dear friend, and let that happen to people that He loved. You know why? Because He loved souls. And it gives us somewhat of an idea of just how much a soul is genuinely worth when God would let that happen. Amen. That soul, my friend, it shall never die. And it's worth so much. If God had ever wanted to back out on man, you know where it would have been? It would have been at Calvary. And you can be assured, folk, if He didn't back out on that time, He will never back out on you in any way, in anything He wants to do. The amazing thing about a soul is this. Not only its worth, not only the fact of its being, but the fact that you and I are responsible and we're going to have to face our responsibility. Now, I personally don't think you're going to face your responsibility in relationship to souls at the judgment seat of Christ. I think you'll face your works at the judgment seat of Christ. But my dear friends, I want to take you to another judgment. There's a judgment mentioned in the Bible. It says, "...Death and hell shall deliver up the dead, which are in them." The Bible tells us that we're going to be at a judgment. And I want to read you that judgment tonight. The 20th chapter, the 11th verse, "...And I saw a great white throne in Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is a second death, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Would you let me take you through a trip of a soul tonight, just for a few moments? I want to take you through the trip of a soul. I want you to look in the book of Luke, and we won't turn there, I just want to remind you. There's a rich young man who comes to Jesus and has all his wealth, and Jesus puts his hand on that man's problem and said, Go sell all that you have and come follow me. And that man went away sorrowful. And we see a man reacting to Jesus, a man that could have been saved. Also in Luke, and it could have been the same man, some theologians said it was the same man, some say it wasn't. But it could have been the same man. He looked out on his fields and he said, Boy, I've got so much I have to tear down my old barns. And he tore down his old barns, he built new barns, and he got all of his harvest in, and he said, I'll sit down now, eat, drink, and be merry. And when he said that, there was a knock on the door. And it was a knock, he had forgotten he had an appointment with death. And my friend, every person in this building tonight has an appointment with death. And one day, all the people you know and all the friends you know, one day they've got an appointment with death. Every one of them. Now, when this, obviously this man died. Now in Luke, another passage in Luke, there was a rich man and a poor man. And the rich man died, and the poor man died. The poor man was taken to Abraham's bosom. The rich man went to hell. And when he went to hell, my friends, he is still in hell right tonight. That man is still in hell right tonight. Are you still with me? He is still in hell right tonight. He is still crying out. His thirst never was quenched. His memory never was silenced. His desires were never met. That's right. He's still crying out of hell tonight. He's still crying tonight. But let me tell you something. That man with every other person that's died without Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, is going to be delivered up. Death and hell shall be delivered up. And they shall be delivered up at the great white throne judgment. The Bible says in Corinthians that we that are saints shall judge the world and judge angels. And as far as I can tell, this is the place where it's going to take place. These people will be brought up out of hell. A living soul. A being. That being's name may be John, Joe, Mary, Jill. My friends, it's not just going to be some abstract something. It's going to be a person. And they're going to be brought up out of hell. And we that are saints, as far as I'm concerned, are going to be here. I'm glad he put in the next chapter, God shall wipe away all tears. And as far as I can tell, the tears are not wiped away until that 21st chapter of the book of Revelation. That's right. They're crying out from under the altar in heaven. During the tribulation period, they're crying out to God. And my dear friends, as far as I know, at this judgment, after this judgment, the tears shall be wiped away. But look at this. Death and hell are going to be delivered up. These souls haven't died, folk. These souls have not died. They're going to be delivered up. And they're going to be here at this judgment. I believe you're going to be there. I believe I'm going to be there. I believe God the Father is going to be there. I believe God the Son is going to be there. I believe God the Holy Ghost is going to be there. And I do not know whether they'll be there in one or separate. I somehow believe they'll be separate. And the reason I believe that is that God is so just with man, and He has worked with man on the basis of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, that I believe that they will very definitely be present there. And here comes that lost man that you know. Here comes that lost woman that you know. Here comes that little boy or little girl that you know. Do you know one of the most sobering thoughts about the soul of man I've ever had in my life in all these years? I realized one day that a seven-year-old child could be saved by the grace of God. And when I realized that, I realized that a seven-year-old child could die and go to hell without Jesus forever. That's the most sobering thing I have ever run across in all my days. My friends, they'll be brought up out of hell. Now we're going to hear some of the Old Testament says, Summer's ended, and harvest is past, and we are not saved. No man careth for my soul. They'll fall down then, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And either we do that here, or my dear friends, that lost person will do it at the great white throne of judgment. And they'll fall down and say, Jesus, Father, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And that lost man may cry, no man careth for my soul. Damascus, what could God say to this man? What could God say to that little blonde-headed, blue-eyed girl? What can God say to this woman when she cries, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? What can He say? God can say, I loved you. I gave you my son. The Son can say, I loved you. I gave you my life. What can the Holy Spirit say? He can say, I loved you. I loved you so much. I loved you as much as Jesus loved you. I loved you as much as God loved you. But you see, the person I lived in down at Milldale, or Dallas, or wherever, the person I lived in, I couldn't pray for you. I couldn't reach out for you. Because that person would not let me have my way in your life. Then, friend, what can you say? They're crying now, Jesus, I do believe that you're the Christ, the Son of the living God. The old black preacher that wrote God's trombones put it like this. He said the angels of the Lord will take these screaming, crying, howling people and have to literally, by force, cast them in to the lake of fire. And he said like howling, howling, howling dogs, they'll be screaming as they fall headlong into the bottomless pit of hell. Jesus, I do believe, I do believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. But they'll go to hell. And they will go to hell forever. And ever, and ever, and ever. God has adequately provided, the Son has adequately provided, the Holy Spirit is quite capable if He can find someone that can stand and sing what the songwriter said in the song that we sing tonight. The songwriter said, but drops of grief I can never repay. The debt of love I owe. Lord, dear Lord, I give myself away. Tis all that I can do. Beloved, tonight, if you can come to that place that you give yourself away, you can sing the song of another songwriter that said, Others, others, others let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, that I may live like thee.