Sermon snippet – What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul?
INTRODUCTION – Mark 8:34-38. Have you noticed that most of the titles of my messages lately have been questions? Did you notice that that is another question? We can hope for answers. What would you give in exchange for your soul? There is no more important question, for it is one that Jesus asked, and it pertains to eternity.
- THE QUESTION ANSWERS ITSELF
No reasonable person would make a trade for his soul; that is the point of this passage. Of course, we do struggle to adequately define the soul. Most theologians separate soul, spirit (not the Holy Spirit, but man’s spirit), heart, conscience, mind, and flesh (not the physical body, but the sin nature). To that list I would add will. Are we confused yet? Because “God is not the author of confusion” (I Corinthians 14:33a), we need His clarity from His Word. Romans 7:22, II Corinthians 4:16, and Ephesians 3:16 all speak of the “inward man” or “inner man.” This expression covers all aspects of the immaterial part of man; it is who we really are. What then would we trade in exchange for who we really are – who we really are eternally? The question answers itself.
- HOWEVER, IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THAT BAD DEAL
We know that it is possible to make this disastrous deal because Jesus warns us against this dire decision. The Bible is replete with sad examples. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery for 20 pieces of silver; Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins; and Delilah double-crossed Samson for 1,100 silver shekels (about 34 pounds). Really, all of these people were selling their souls. Joseph’s brothers repented, but they spent years in guilt and fear. Judas committed suicide. Delilah cast her lot with the pagan Philistines. The Biblical warning of Matthew 6:21-24 applied to all of them and applies to all of us. The “heart” is used as a synonym for the inner man, for the soul. Jesus tells us that we can exchange who we really are for what turns out to be nothing.
- SATAN WILL MAKE YOU AN OFFER THAT YOU CAN REFUSE
Matthew 4:8-10 shows us that Satan brazenly dared to tempt Jesus, God the Son, with the things of this world. Jesus, of course, refused. Remember, if you let the devil ride, he’s only going to want to drive. We can – and must – refuse Satan’s blandishments.
CONCLUSION – Matthew 4:10 is an absolute statement. We are to worship God by placing our faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ, Who died for our sins and rose from the dead, as He said He would, to give everlasting life. We must place our eternal souls in His nail-shattered hands. We must then continue to recognize the value of the soul and soberly and seriously evaluate how we are tending the innner man, how we are nourishing who we really are.