The Value of a Human Soul

Story of Cow Pile and Flies Sitting on a tractor, waiting for Ronnie with hay. Observed flies getting sustenance from a cow pile. Led to reflection on God’s greatness and self insignificance. God can do without us, but we cannot do without Him. The tendency to think and act small, despite God’s greatness. Mark 8:31-38 Jesus teaches about his suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. Peter rebukes Jesus, but Jesus rebukes Peter, calling him Satan. Peter is focused on human perspectives, not God’s. Following Jesus requires self-denial, taking up one’s cross. Saving one’s life leads to losing it, but losing it for Jesus’ sake saves it. The worthlessness of gaining the whole world but losing one’s soul. What can a man give in exchange for his soul? The Value of a Human Soul The value of something is determined by what the buyer is willing to pay. Example: A cow may be valued at $3,000 by the seller, but its true value is what someone will pay. Examining the value of a human soul through Jesus’ words. Two perspectives: God’s valuation of a soul. Personal valuation of a soul. God’s Valuation of the Soul Overwhelmed by the price God paid for the soul. God values the human soul above everything else. God created man from the dust and breathed life into him, making him a living soul. Humans are unique from animals, as only humans have souls. Animals have life but no eternal soul. Belief that the soul has infinite value based on what God has paid. Difficulty in explaining something spiritual/eternal with a finite mind. Consequences of Sin God warned Adam and Eve about the consequences of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil: death. 100% of people born into this world will die. The flesh will die, but the soul will live on eternally. God was willing to pay a price for the soul that no one else could pay. After Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God. Like people today, who run from God when they sin. God had to kill an animal to provide coverings for Adam and Eve. Symbolic of the value of a soul. Desensitization to the Value of Human Life Disturbed by society’s desensitization to the value of human life. The most innocent (unborn babies) should have the greatest protection. Society’s inability to ponder the essence of life and its inception. Something is wrong when people don’t value human life. Cain and Abel God accepted Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. Cain slew Abel, the first murder in the Bible. God knew what happened and confronted Cain. Cain’s response: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God heard the voice of Abel’s blood crying out. The Wickedness of the Heart Terrible things happen because people are wicked. Every imagination of the heart is continually evil. Without the influence of the Holy Spirit, anyone is capable of terrible acts. The sin nature remains in the flesh. Old Testament Offerings Throughout the Old Testament, offerings were given to cover sin. Millions of animals were slain as blood was shed. These offerings covered sin but did not remove it. God removed sin with the blood of His only begotten Son. The Tree of Life After Adam and Eve sinned, God put them out of the garden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and living forever. Jesus Christ is the tree of life. The solution (Jesus) was present before the problem (sin) occurred. God highly values the soul, which will live forever. The Birth of Jesus Angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. The multitude of heavenly hosts praised God. From the foundations of the world, God determined that Jesus would give His life as the sin-debt of man. Jesus would become a man and give His life as the perfect, sinless Lamb of God. The Ultimate Price There is no greater value than Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection. God established the value of the soul by sending His Son to suffer. Would not give one of his own sons, but God gave His only Son. God demonstrated His love by sending Christ to die for sinners (Romans 5). Everything is about Jesus Christ. Without the cross, shed blood, and resurrected body of Jesus Christ, all are lost. The Simplicity of the Gospel The gospel is not about religion, theologies, or doctrines. Only God can get you to heaven. God established the value of the soul to be infinitely higher than anyone else. Jesus Christ took on the flesh of man to become the sacrifice for human souls. The Angels’ Understanding The angels understood the value of a human soul. They knew that the one in Mary’s womb was the eternal Son of God. God gave His Son because human souls were worth more to Him than even His own Son. Personal Testimony Everything shared is proven fact, not conjecture. Jesus Christ has already paid the price. God gave everything when Jesus came into the world. God saw the value of the soul to be greater than anything else, so He sent His Son. Bought with a price. God’s Proven Value God has already proven what the soul is worth to Him by paying the price. He established the ticket price 2,000 years ago. Jesus was nailed to the cross, beaten, and bled out. He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This was the greatest price that could have been paid for mankind. God forever established the value of the human soul that day on Calvary’s hill when Jesus Christ died. 2 Corinthians 5: Be ye reconciled to God, for He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Not debating, but declaring what He paid. The Uniqueness of God’s Offering Not trying to convince anyone that this is a better market. Not only did He pay the price that nobody could pay, but there wasn’t even anybody else bidding. The song: “You ask me why I’m happy? Well, I’ll just tell you why, because my sins are gone.” Sometimes we sit here like knots on a log, knowing all along what He paid for us. Saw the Jim Perry Jackson auctions on vacation. The prices paid for the cars were amazing. Father owns it all. God’s Creation When God surveyed all of His creation, He said that souls were worth more than all of it. The only way this would work is for the Son to go. Crazy Christians love Christmas and Easter because they tell about the price that was paid for the soul. Jesus had to be born of flesh to die of flesh as an offering for sin. It had to be God’s Son because the value of it had to satisfy God’s unquenchable requirement for justice over sin. Personal Conversion In 1976, as a nine-year-old, was saved in the back of the church. The Holy Ghost opened up the heart and showed that he was a sinner and needed to be saved. Without Christ, one is without God. Without God, the human soul is in jeopardy of the claims of hell. God made a way to escape that place. It is not His will that any man should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God wants to save you from that destiny you’re headed for and the pits of that torment. You’re going to go there if you live without Christ. You’ve got to be born again. The Real Question: What’s It Worth to You? The price of the human soul has been established because God paid it. Therefore, we know the value of the human soul now. It’s worth Christ because that’s what God paid for it. The real question is not necessarily what God paid for the soul. The real question comes down to: Will you think it’s worth it? At nine years old, there was nothing in the way. Every year you miss, every year you go on, it becomes harder and more difficult. There used to be at some point a whole lot of stuff in your way to God. At nine years old, there was nothing in the way. Had a Hot Wheel that night. Wasn’t hooked on dope, or alcohol, or pornography. Just a kid. The Holy Ghost worked on him enough to get him up. Walked around there, slid in about the fifth pitch where his mother was, held on to that bench. She looked down and said, “What’s the matter with you?” Said, “I’m lost and I need to be saved.” She just got out of the way and said, “I can’t lift it” and pointed to the Lord. Got saved right about there. It took five minutes. That’s the difference between a child who ain’t got nothing in the way and a dog who took on a dog for the booze. It took the same Christ to save me as it did anybody else. It took just as much to save my soul as it did yours. Gaining the World, Losing the Soul What would it profit a man if he gained the entire world but lost his soul? Comparing the greatest earthly value to what God paid for you. What’s going to happen if you die without Christ? Do you have a value of yourself? Pile everything in this world that has any kind of value into one gigantic pile. Let’s say you could have it all. Let’s say you even had a guarantee of living some 75 years with it all. What did that profit you the instant you breathed your last breath and your soul was in hell? The Rich Man in Hell The rich man died and in hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. He cried out to Abraham and prayed for some relief. There’s no relief in hell. That same rich man is still there. He wished he was dead, but he can’t die. He’s immortal. His soul went somewhere. There are two places your soul can go: heaven or hell. Hell’s real. Got saved that night because knew where was headed. It wasn’t heaven. That’s why got saved. The rich man went to hell, crying, screaming, calling for Abraham. He said, “Lazarus, just let him put a drop on my tongue.” Abraham said, “There’s a great gulf fixed between you and me.” The price was given, but you didn’t accept it. You’re going to hell. It won’t be because God didn’t try. He paid the price to save you, but you’re going to have to accept it. The Futility of Chasing Material Things People chase after material things and do everything but God so they can get more of it. You know what they’ll bury me with? It won’t be no higher for me where I’m headed. I’m going to be walking on the streets of gold. Chasing material things is a waste of time. If that’s getting in between you and God, what’s that going to profit you on the day you leave here? What’s that going to profit you when you face God? There was a day that when I weighed in the balances, like God was a kid. Hope every young one gets saved. They wouldn’t have had my way. They’d very little of my way. It didn’t take nothing. Was out of there, and got saved that night because He came for me. Losing Your Life to Save It In the first verse, He said, “What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world?” He lost his soul. There ain’t nothing worth losing the soul. What God thought was great about you paid the ultimate price that you have to make Christ his first. Remember the verse read first? He said, “Whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Are you willing to lose it today? All I’m asking is to weigh in the balance. Everything you do, everything that you know is wrong, but you don’t want to get… All I’m asking you to do is think about what’s going on. The question that Jesus asked is what did that profit teach? Because right here you are, and you don’t have me, and you’re in hell, and you can’t get out. Ever. The Exchange for the Soul What would a man give in exchange for his soul’s life? What would you give in that moment to have one more chance, one more second on this earth, one more opportunity to say yes to Christ? What would you give what God gave you? What would you give up to get Christ? Give it all. Whoever will lose his life will save him. If a sinner wants to keep it, they’re going to lose it. In the end, nothing matters but Jesus. I gave it all up for you. As a matter of fact, you have to. Whatever you think you’ve got, it ain’t worth nothing. In light of eternity, where are you going to spend it? That ain’t worth nothing. I trade with God. Wouldn’t risk not one more second. Would come to Him.