The Value of a Soul

It doesn't matter how much you've spent on it. It matters not how much you've painted it. It doesn't matter how much you have enjoyed it. What will that appraiser tell you is worth? What somebody will pay for? Is that not what determines worth? I mean as far as he's concerned, what will somebody pay for this? And on the basis of that, he makes his appraisal. You want to know how much you're worth? Go to Bloody Calvary. See, Jesus Christ, in agony, in blood, dying upon that cross. But Peter tells us you were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without spot. And without blemish, put your ear on the beating heart of God and hear God say, "I love you, and I want you come down, Lord, and see Jesus dying there upon the cross." Why? Because he wants your soul. Take the word of God, find Mark chapter 8 in just a moment. We're going to begin reading in verse 35. But let me tell you something about you, about your most valuable possession, really about you yourself, your soul. Your human soul is of infinite worth. Your soul will be in existence somewhere when this world is turned to dust. When the sun, moon, and stars have burned themselves out, if they ever will, your soul will still go on. Endless, dateless, measureless. Your soul, your soul made in the image of God is worth more than all of the rubies and diamonds and gold and silver that this world has to offer. It will go on endless, timeless, dateless, measureless. Now your body may be killed, and your body may dissolve, but your soul, wed to your spirit, and separably, will never ever cease to exist. Your human soul could no more cease to exist than God himself could cease to exist because you are made in the image of God. I want you to see what the Lord Jesus said about your soul. Look here in Mark chapter 8 and verse 35, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. Do you want to lose yours? Listen to Jesus. But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels, the gospel means the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, for our sins, the same shall save it for what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of Man be shamed when he cometh in the glory of his father with the holy angels. Jesus is saying, here is a pitiful and a bad bargain. If a man, if a man were to try to exchange his soul for all this wide world, I was in an automobile and I was behind another automobile that said it had a bumper sticker on it and said, if you are living like there is no God, you better hope you're right. You know, for in there is a God, and you do have a soul, and I want us to think first of all about the fabulous treasure, the fabulous treasure, that is your human soul. What makes a soul of such great worth? May I give you five things that makes anything valuable? You want to know what you're worth? You want to know why your one soul is worth more than all the stocks, the bonds, the buildings, the real estates, the schools, and the industry put together your one soul worth more than all the rubies and diamonds and gems. Every star in the universe, your one soul is worth more than that, your soul. Well, let me tell you five things that make anything worthwhile. Number one is creativity. Who made it? You see, the creator of anything adds to its worth. Who created the human soul? The Bible cells tells us in Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And Ephesians chapter 2 tells us we are His workmanship. Now you are the crowning work of Almighty God. Picasso would paint, and Picasso painting would sell for millions of dollars because of the crowns. I have been to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and very frankly I was not all that impressed but evidently it's worth so much because of its creator. You my friend are the handiwork of all mighty God.

You are the crowning work of God's creative genius. You are the last creative masterpiece of all mighty God. We are His workmanship, creativity. Think of your self friend. You are handcrafted by God. That's one thing that makes your soul worth so much. Let me tell you the second thing. Not only the creativity that's put into your soul but the potentiality that is in your soul. You see, a thing is worth much not only because of what it is but because of what it can be. You one day can be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? One day you can be made like Jesus Christ. That is the potentiality that there is in you. Sitting in your seat this morning are three, not one but three. The person you are now, the person you may become if you allow yourself to continue to go the same direction you're going till you finally drop into hell and the person you might be if you give your heart to Jesus Christ and let Him transform you by His glorious grace. Think of the potentiality that there is in one human soul. I'll tell you something else that makes something worthwhile and that is durability. How long will it last? Now if you have something that's not going to last very long then obviously it doesn't have as much value as something that will last longer. Your soul as I've told you will go on endless, dateless, measureless through all eternity. Your soul will be in existence somewhere when the sun, moon and stars have grown cold either in heaven or in hell. You could never cease to exist anymore than God Himself could cease to exist. And then last of all I'll tell you what else makes a thing valuable and I guess this is the bottom line and it is desirability, desirability. You realtor will tell you if He goes to do an estimate, an appraisal on a piece of property.

It doesn't matter how much you've spent on it. It matters not how much you've painted it. It doesn't matter how much you have enjoyed it. What will that appraiser tell you it's worth? What somebody will pay for it. Is that not what determines worth? I mean as far as he's concerned what will somebody pay for this and on the basis of that He makes his appraisal. You want to know how much you're worth? Go to Bloody Calvary. See Jesus Christ in agony and blood dying upon that cross but Peter tells us you were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without spot and without blemish put your ear on the beating heart of God and hear God say I love you and I want you to come down lower and see Jesus dying there upon the cross, why? Because He wants your soul. He paid that price for you. That's how desirable you are to Him. I have a friend. His name is Mike. He's an evangelist. Mike told how he got saved. He was just throwing his life away like so many kids are today. Just throwing a life away didn't care about anything. Somebody said Mike if you had something that you really didn't care about and really didn't want and didn't value at all. But somebody else wanted it very, very, very much. Mike, if you didn't want it and somebody else really did would you give it to them? They said sure. Mike Jesus wants your soul.

He desires you and somehow Mike's eyes were opened and he gave his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm telling you you are desirable to him. Now I want us to move to the second thing. Not only do I want us to think about this fabulous treasure, your soul, but I want us to think about a foolish transaction. Look if you will now in verse 36, "For what should it profit a man? If he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Now he's talking here about a transaction and exchange. Now you have a treasure. It is a fabulous treasure. It is your soul. But now notice the foolish transaction. Now this is Jesus the master teacher talking. He's talking about a man who bargains away his soul in the vain hope of gaining the world. Let me give you three reasons why that is so pitiful. Number one, nobody gains the whole world anyway. Nobody has ever done that. Not one person has ever gained this world. I am amazed how cheaply some people will sell out for Jesus Christ, Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. I believe there are people sitting in this congregation who would give up Jesus before they give up getting a new refrigerator. It is amazing. I mean, there are people who say, "You know, I don't want to go down to that church. Man, if I go down to that church, there won't some of my money."

You're wrong. God doesn't need your money, mister. He doesn't need your money, he owns this world. But people are so motivated by this. Nobody has ever gained the whole world. Secondly, that would be so foolish because what part of the world you gain, you can't keep the gnawing tooth of time, the foul breath of decay will take your treasures one day and disintegrate them. You can't gain the world. And if you gain the world, you can't keep it. And I'm going to tell you something else. If you could gain it, and if you could keep it, it would never satisfy you. It would never satisfy you. That's why it's such a bad bargain. You were made for God. God made you to know Him, to love Him, and to satisfy Him. Pleasures cannot satisfy. Possessions cannot satisfy. Philosophy cannot satisfy. God made you for Him. God made a bird to fly in the sky. God made a fish to swim in the sea. God made you to know Him and to love Him. If you take a bird out of the sky and put him underwater, he's an unhappy bird. Take a fish out of the sea and put him in a tree.

He's an unhappy fish. Your element is God. And if you don't know Him, you're going to be like a round peg in a square hole. You're going to be like a fish in a tree, like a bird under the water. God made you for Him. In Him we live and move and have our being. This world cannot satisfy you, friend. Let me tell you why it's such a tragic loss. We're talking about a tragic loss. Well, number one, if you lose your soul, it is an irreversible loss. Don't get the idea that one day you can step out of hell back into heaven. No, there's a great golf fix. And it'll be when you come to the judgment day, and I'm going to be preaching in this series of messages on the final judgment. It'll be too late when you come to the judgment to plead for mercy. There'll be no mercy there. If you want mercy, you may have it, but you must have it in this lifetime. The Bible says it's appointed on the man once to die, and after this, the judgment. And you will be standing before God, and the recording angel will be there. And you'll have no Jesus. You'll have no salvation.

Your sin will not be forgiven. And that recording angel will say, "Watch all the right." With a broken heart, God will say, "Right, lost, L-O-S-T, beyond time, beyond hope." It is an irreversible loss. Ezekiel chapter 18, verse four, "Behold, all souls are mine. As the soul of the Father, so also the soul of the Son is mine. The soul that sineth, it shall die." But not only is it an irreversible loss. Friend, if you lose your soul, it is an immeasurable loss, an immeasurable loss. I mean, all of the wealth of the world can not compare to the value of your soul. It is an irreplaceable loss. If you lose other things, you can replace them. We've lost things. We've replaced them. But you can't replace your soul. There's no substitute for your soul. There's no replacement for your soul. An early wed couple. It just moved into their little apartment. He came home to find his wife in tears. He said, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She said, "I baked you some biscuits." The dog got up on the table and ate them. They said, "No, sweetheart, don't cry.

We can get another dog." (congregation laughs) There's some things you can replace. But if you lose your soul, it's an irreplaceable loss. It's an irreversible loss. But here's the main thing, listen. Jesus said, "What should a profitable man if he gained the whole world and loses his own soul?" Now think with me, you can't gain the world. If you could gain it and keep it, it wouldn't satisfy you. And then he says, why would you trade your soul of immeasurable value for the things of this world because it is an inexcusable loss? You don't have to lose your soul. It's absolutely totally inexcusable. Three men were in a restaurant. So I'm told one, a believer, two were unbelievers. The two unbelievers got in an argument. And one believer put his finger in the face, or one unbeliever put his finger in the face of the other man who was held down and said to him, you go to hell. The Christian was sitting there listening to that. He leaned over to the man who'd just been told to go to hell and said, listen, I have been reading the instructions. You don't have to go if you don't want to. You don't have to go. There's no reason that you should go. It is inexcusable for you to go to hell. Now, think with me. Jesus is talking.

Jesus is talking about a transaction. He said, watch it, it's profit a man. If he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul. Now, watch this, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Now, think with me. Suppose somebody comes to you and says, I have an offer. I have a transaction I want to make. And this person has the authority and the ability to do this, and you know that he does. And he says, I will give you anything and everything you want. You want money, you can have it. You want pleasure, you can have it. You want influence and prestige and power, you can have it. But there's something I want from you. Well, all right, what is it? What is the exchange? It says, I want your little finger. I want to have your little finger amputated. That's what it'll cost. But you can have all of the wealth of the world. You can have all of the power you want, all of the influence, all of the pleasure, all of the fun, all of the friends that it cost your finger. Would you take him up on that deal? Maybe you wouldn't, but I'm telling you, there are millions in this world who say that? Sure, it's a deal. But now, wait a minute, let's change. Let's move the ante up a little bit. Suppose he would have said to you, other time, "No, it's not your finger. It's your arm. I want the entire arm." But remember, you have everything you want. Would you take that deal? Some would. But wait a minute, what if he says, "Not your finger, not your arm? I want your ability to hear. You will never be able to hear another thing, but you can have everything." Or what if he said, "I want your eyes. You'll never be able to see.

I want your eyes and your ears, but you can have everything." And say, "Wait a minute. What good is everything? You want my eyes. You want my ears. You want this and that. And you're going to give me everything? No! I don't care if you give me the whole world. There's a place in thinking reasonable person would draw the line and say, "I will not pay." Is that not right? Obviously. Listen to me. I am preaching this morning to people who are giving far more to gain far less. I mean, you are giving your soul, not your eyes, your ears, your hands, your soul. And you're not gaining all of the pleasures of this world. You see, listen to what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying, "What should it profit a man? If he should gain the whole world and lose his soul, how what should a man give in exchange for his soul?" Now, let's move to the third and final thing. I want you to think of the fatal tragedy. This is the story of tragedy. Notice again, Jesus is saying in verse 36, "The man loses his soul." I mean, he loses his soul. Have you counted the cost? If your soul should be lost, though you gain the whole world for your own, even now it may be, by the line you've crossed. The devil doesn't want you to think about what I'm saying today. The devil wants you to lose your soul. Old time preachers used to tell the story. I've heard it many times. You've probably heard it. Probably based in some truth. Of a man who was leaving the old country to come to this country. He didn't know how to transfer all of his wealth so he could get a new start.

And he thought, well, there's something that always holds value. It's a diamond. And so he took all of his assets, bought one precious stone, a diamond. He intended to come to the United States, sell that diamond, and begin his business, his life anew. He was on the steamer coming over. He took his diamond from his pocket and looked at it. Very beautiful. Friends around looked at it. And he enjoyed the notoriety of holding that and looking at it. He tried that casual like he was a very wealthy man. He acted casual about it. Of course, it was all that he had. And then people began to talk about his diamond and how wealthy he must be. So he took his diamond and held it out like that and held it over the edge of the briny blue ocean. Everybody kind of gave a gas. He put it back in his pocket. He was feeling like a very important person. The next day he happened to saunter out on the deck and people gathered around it. He took it, tossed it up and caught it. Tossed it up and caught it. They would gasp every time this would happen. And he kind of enjoyed the notoriety. He was sort of a big man on the deck. And you know what happened? Tossed it one time. He reached for it. It bounced. He reached for it again. It bounced out of his hand. Sunk to the ocean floor.

The ship sailed on. He said, "What a fool. What a fool I am. All that I had and I lost it." He said, "Adrian, that's probably not a true story. Nobody could be that ignorant. Some of you are playing more carelessly with your own soul. All that I have. All that I have." And people sinned in churches, haughty, unbroken, unbound, unbent. When their eternal destiny is at hand, I'm not talking to you about what Adrian is saying. I'm talking to you about what Jesus is saying when he said, "What should it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lose his own soul?" And friend, your soul is worth billions of worlds like this one. And I want to call you to a decision this morning. From my heart, and I prayed all my knees about it. And very simply, I'm going to ask you today to do something. I'm going to ask you today to do what you would be glad you did when you stand in the presence of God. I'm going to ask you to put your faith where God has put your sins on Jesus. Receive him as your Lord and Savior, and I promise you on the authority of the Word of God. He will save you, and he will keep you saved for all eternity. You don't have to lose your soul. Do you bow your heads in prayer? The heads about and eyes are closed. And I'm going to lead you in a prayer. And in this prayer, I want you to pray and ask Jesus Christ to come into your life, for give your sin, and save you. Pray this prayer if you're not absolutely certain that you're saved, or if you're absolutely certain that you're not saved. Pray this prayer. Dear God, I know that you love me.

I know that you want to save me. Jesus, you died to save me and promised to save me if I would trust you. I do trust you. Young man, pray that prayer. Don't play foolishly with your soul. Pray that prayer, Lord Jesus, I do trust you right now with all of my heart. Young lady, ask him into your heart. Business man, your money will not help you at the judgment. Ask him into your heart. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, forgive my sin. Save me, Lord Jesus. Pray it from your heart. Save me, Lord Jesus. Then by faith, pray this way, thank you for saving me. I receive it by faith like a little child. You're now my Lord, my Savior, my God, and my friend. Thank you for saving me. I'm weak, you're strong. So begin now to make me the person you want me to be, because I've got to grow. I know you'll help me, and help me, Lord Jesus, never to be ashamed of you. In your holy name I pray, amen. (gentle music)