https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/07\/SellingYourself.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tText: I Kings 21:1-26<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Have you heard the old phrase that someone had sold his soul to the Devil?<\/p>\n
A. Unfortunately, it is not just some mythological idea. It has some biblical basis.<\/p>\n B. Elijah, in I Kings 21:20, accuses Ahab of selling himself when he took possession\nof Naboth’s vineyard.\n 1. Notice though that Ahab did not murder the man. He did not even order\nthe man’s death.\n
2. However, he allowed his wife to “take care of the problem.”<\/p>\n 3. When he learned how the problem was solved, he did accepted possession\nof the land anyway.\n C. Ahab sold away his honor and his dignity as king just to own a piece of property. \nHe gravely sinned against Naboth, his country, and God by not upholding the law.\nII. Ahab did not reach this miserable state all at once. You could say Ahab mortgaged his\nsoul and made payments bit by bit throughout his life.\n
A. I Kings 16:30-33<\/p>\n
1. When Ahab was made king, he continued the sins of Jeroboam. <\/p>\n a. Jeroboam did not want the Israelites going to Jerusalem to worship.\nJerusalem was a part of the Southern Kingdom, not his kingdom.\n b. Jeroboam established two centers of idol worship within his\nkingdom and used ex-priests of God to operate them.\n
2. But this was nothing to Ahab’s next payment on his soul, he married a non-Israelite who worshiped the idols Baal and Asheroth. <\/p>\n a. He even established temples for these idols, and worship there\nhimself.\n b. It is not that Ahab totally abandoned God, but God became just one\nof many gods that Ahab worshiped.\n
3. We don’t realize the danger of mixed religious marriages.<\/p>\n a. It is true, that some marriages work out in the end, but most cause\na child of God to leave the faith.\n
b. Abraham would not let Isaac marry the unbelievers in his area.<\/p>\n
c. During the times of the Judges – Ps 106:33-39<\/p>\n
d. Solomon strayed because of his idolatrous wives – I Kings 11:1-8<\/p>\n e. The wisest man was brought down by those whom he married –\nNeh 13:23-27\n
4. Paul warns about committing ourselves to non-believers – II Cor 6:14-7:1<\/p>\n a. Some say, that Paul is not talking about marriage here, but they are\nwrong.\n
b. Paul is talking more than just marriages here.<\/p>\n c. Anytime we commit ourselves in a relationship that causes us to\ncompromise our values, there is a danger for the Christian, whether\nit is a business relationship or a marriage covenant.\n
5. It happens so often. Why do we think we are immune?<\/p>\n B. Therefore, Ahab sold himself, making another payment with his soul, by doing the\nevil his wife incited him to do – I Kings 21:25-26\n C. Finally, Ahab went so far as to allow a murder to happen in his name, just for a\nplace to plant his vegetables!\n
III. People don’t realize the power of sin<\/p>\n
A. Too many treat sin like a cookie – I’ll only eat just this one.<\/p>\n
B. Sin is progressive. It starts small and builds up.<\/p>\n
C. Sin is a fetter that will not let you go<\/p>\n
1. Pr 5:22 – Our sins hold us in bondage<\/p>\n
2. Rom 7:14 – Our yielding to sin, sells us into slavery<\/p>\n
3. John 8:34 – We become slaves of sin.<\/p>\n D. Far too many people don’t care. They push the envelope to see how much they\ncan get away with.\n
1. Isa 50:1 – When we insist, God gives us up and sells us to our sins<\/p>\n 2. Rom 1:22-32 – As society decades, God allows us to move farther and\nfarther into sin.\n
E. What is unfortunate is that Satan gets a bargain when we sell ourselves to sin.<\/p>\n 1. Isa 52:1-3 – Unlike the prostitute, most sinners do not profit from the sale. \nSure they gain a moments pleasure, but then it is gone.\n
IV. But God in His mercy wants to buy us back – and He will do it at no cost<\/p>\n
A. Isa 50:2 – We sold ourselves into slavery, but God is willing to purchase us back.<\/p>\n
B. It didn’t cost us anything, but it doesn’t mean the price was cheap.<\/p>\n
C. God payed the redemption price with the life of His own Son – Eph 1:7-8<\/p>\n D. Can you understand the value that God places on the souls of you and me? – I\nPeter 1:18-19\n
E. We become the possession of God – Tit 2:14<\/p>\nV. We have sold ourselves into sin, but God has loved us so much that He has paid a price\nbeyond imagining for our souls. Will you not leave your sins behind and be washed in the\nprecious blood of the Lamb?\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: I Kings 21:1-26 I. Have you heard the old phrase that someone had sold his soul to the Devil? A. Unfortunately, it is not just some mythological idea. It has some biblical basis. B. Elijah, in I Kings 21:20, accuses Ahab of selling himself when he took possession of Naboth’s vineyard. 1. Notice though that Ahab did…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1571,1335,179],"class_list":["post-6870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-forgiveness","tag-selling-your-soul","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23696,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-worried-about-selling-my-soul\/","url_meta":{"origin":6870,"position":0},"title":"I’m worried about selling my soul","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question for you. Over the past couple of weeks I have these thoughts that keep coming into my mind about selling my soul. I would never do that because I love Jesus and I want to live through him. Yesterday, I had these thoughts and said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34906,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-cant-get-the-idea-of-selling-my-soul-to-the-devil-out-of-my-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":6870,"position":1},"title":"I can’t get the idea of “selling my soul to the devil” out of my head","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am not a Christian, but I was just reading for curiosity about selling your soul to the devil. I came across your website in which someone mentioned thinking about 'selling their soul to get a video tutorial working' and they thought they sold their soul. I already have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44609,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-be-saved-after-selling-my-soul\/","url_meta":{"origin":6870,"position":2},"title":"Can I be saved after selling my soul?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read the article about\u00a0selling your soul. It makes me feel better but I am concerned still. As a child, I was saved. But I signed a contract in blood denouncing Christ forever almost a year ago. I was a dedicated Satanist. I was angry at God for my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28177,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-sell-your-soul\/","url_meta":{"origin":6870,"position":3},"title":"Can you sell your soul?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was on my computer about a while ago trying to load a video tutorial. However, it wasn't working well and I was getting irritated. I then thought to myself \"God get this working...even Satan get this working. I would sell my soul to get this working.\" Upon having\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85772,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-value-of-your-soul\/","url_meta":{"origin":6870,"position":4},"title":"The Value of Your Soul","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores There is no pile of money, no hoard of jewels, no parcel of land you could trade that would be worth your ever-living soul. And yet, we've all sold it for far less: A momentary pleasure, a brief sensation, a passing gratification that leaves us unfulfilled and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-sell-yourself-to-the-devil-is-this-an-unforgivable-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":6870,"position":5},"title":"If you sell yourself to the devil, is this an unforgivable sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I had a question after reading some of your site.\u00a0\u00a0You say it is possible to sell your soul to the devil.\u00a0 So is that an example of a sin that is unforgivable by God?\u00a0 And even if it is forgivable does the devil now own your soul anyway so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}