“What would a man give, in exchange for his soul?”

 

That’s a question that Jesus asked a multitude of people one day.  Just prior to asking that question, Jesus asked this one;  “For what does it profit a man, if he were to gain the whole world, and forfeit his own soul? (Mark 8:36-37).  The question speaks for itself, there is nothing more valuable than you soul!  Can you imagine the value of possessing the whole world?  That’s almost more than a person can imagine.  But yet, Jesus says that your soul, is more valuable than that!

Do you know what makes your soul more valuable than the whole world?  There’s several scriptures that will give us the answer, but here’s one of them..  1 John 2:17;  “And the world is passing away, and it’s lusts. But the one who does the will of God, abides forever.”  Everything in the world is temporary. It’s passing away, even while we speak. But the soul will never cease to exist.  Your soul will exist eternally!

How long is eternally?  It’s longer than we can comprehend.  Sometimes you’ll hear an older person joke around, and say;  “If I had known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself”.  No one knows how long their body will last, but even if it lasts a hundred years, it’s like the blink of an eye, compared to eternity.  In speaking about our physical existence, it says in  James 4:14;  “You are a vapor, that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away.”

When the “vapor” of your physical life vanishes, do you know what remains?  Your soul remains, and it will remain eternally.  If you truly understood how long your soul will exist, would you take better care of it?  Now this might not be pleasant, but think about the greatest pain that your body has ever experienced. How long did it last?  How would you like that to last eternally?  Now multiply that ‘till it’s more than you can imagine.  Not a nice thought, is it?  But yet, that’s what you’re soul will experience eternally, if you don’t take care of it now.

Now think about the greatest joy, the greatest happiness you’ve ever experienced.  And now multiply that ‘till it’s more joy than you can imagine.  How would you like that to last eternally?  Yeah, me too!  I’d love it!  If you will just take care of your soul today, and every day, that’s what you’ll experience eternally!

OK, so how do you take care of your soul?  First of all, you’ve got to stop sinning, because  “The soul that sinneth, it shall die!”  (Ezekiel 18:20).  (That means your soul will experience that eternal agony that we talked about)  And after you stop sinning, you’ve got to start obeying.  “And having been made perfect, He (Jesus) became the author of salvation to all those who obey Him.”  (Hebrews 5:9).

And how do you obey?

You start by acquiring faith.  “Faith comes by hearing the word of God.”  (Romans 10:17).

Then you believe those words, and believe in Christ .  “If you believe not that I am He, you will die in your sins.”  (John 8:24). 

Then you repent of your sins.  “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”  (Luke 13:3).

Next are you willing to confess your faith?  “If you confess Me before men, I will confess you before My Father who is in heaven. But if you deny Me before men, I will deny you before My Father who is in heaven,”  (Mathew 10:32-33).

And are you willing to be immersed in water?  “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins..”  (Acts 22:16).

Now that you’ve obeyed enough to initially “save your soul” make sure that you remain saved, by obeying ALL that the new testament has to say?  “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”  (Rev 2:10).

Would you give that much, in exchange for your soul?  If you’ll give God your obedience, then God will give you eternal life for your soul.  It’s the “deal of a lifetime”, or should I say, “eternity”.  “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”  (Job 1:21)

 

“The church of Christ in Buffalo Wyoming prays for you to realize the value of your soul”