You don’t have to believe any of this if you don’t want to, but if you have heard the Good News and reject the saving grace of Jesus Christ, you are literally choosing to forfeit your soul for eternity and you are without excuse.
Your soul is what makes you a living being. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes life into Adam, making him a “living soul.” It is the essence of who you are — your true, unique, one-of-a-kind self, the eternal, immaterial part of a person—the real “you” temporarily packaged in a wretched, vile, decaying physical and material body until the day you receive you new glorified, heavenly body. The soul is the part of you that lives on after the physical body dies— which it will. It is who you are in this life, and who you will be in the next. You soul is unique to all other souls; one of a kind— created in the image of God.
- The body is temporary, but the soul endures forever. (Matthew 10:28).
- The soul is the seat of your mind, your will, your emotions, and your spiritual life — the “you” that makes choices and relates to God.
- Because it is eternal, your soul will experience everlasting life with God or eternal separation from Him, depending on what you do with Christ.
“Whatever is the object for which men forsake Christ, that is the price at which Satan buys their souls. Yet one soul is worth more than all the world.” — Matthew Henry Commentary
What is the object in your life for which you forsake Christ?
No object, no sin, no temporary pleasure is worth the eternal price that must be paid for them… your soul.
Anything that a person values more than Jesus Christ can become the price at which Satan “buys” their soul. In other words, whatever keeps a person from repenting and trusting Christ has become their idol.
Here are common “objects” for which people forsake Christ:
The Love of Sin (John 3:19-20) The unwillingness to give up a sinful lifestyle.
“Men loved the darkness rather than the Light…” People reject Christ because they love sin.
And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed.
Money and Wealth (Matthew 19:24) Trusting riches instead of God.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…” Wealth can become a person’s master.
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Career and Success (Mark 8:36) Making achievement life’s highest priority.
“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Earthly success is worthless if it costs your soul.
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
Power and Influence (Matthew 20:25–28) Desiring control over submission to God.
Jesus taught that greatness comes through serving, not ruling over others.
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Pleasure and Entertainment (2 Timothy 3:4) Living only for comfort and enjoyment.
“Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Sexual Immorality (of all kinds) (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) Refusing God’s design for purity.
“Flee sexual immorality… you are not your own.”
Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Pride (James 4:6) Refusing to humble oneself before God.
“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Self-Rule (Luke 9:23) Wanting to be one’s own master rather than Christ’s servant.
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself…”
Popularity and Approval (John 12:43) Fearing what people think more than fearing God.
“They loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”
False Religion (Matthew 7:22-23) Trusting rituals, good works, or another religion instead of Christ.
Many trusted their religious works, but Jesus said, “I never knew you.”
Intellectual Pride (Romans 1:21-22) Refusing to believe because of unbelief or skepticism.
“Claiming to be wise, they became fools.”
Family or Relationships (Matthew 10:37) Loving others more than Christ.
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
Possessions (Luke 12:15) Living for material things.
“Be on your guard against every form of greed.”
Fame and Recognition (John 5:44) Seeking personal glory rather than God’s glory.
“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another?”
Comfort and Security (Luke 9:57-62) Avoiding the cost of following Jesus.
Jesus taught that following Him may require leaving earthly security behind.
Addictions (1 Corinthians 6:12) Being enslaved to alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, or many other destructive habits.
“I will not be mastered by anything.”
Bitterness and Unforgiveness (Ephesians 4:31-32) Refusing to surrender one’s heart to God.
“Let all bitterness… be put away… forgiving one another.”
Fear (Matthew 10:28) Fear of persecution, rejection, or losing one’s lifestyle.
“Do not fear those who kill the body…” Fear of man must never overweight fear of God.
Time and Busyness (Hebrews 3:15) Continually putting off responding to Christ.
“Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Don’t delay responding to God.
Self-Righteousness (Isaiah 64:6) Believing one is “good enough” without the Savior.
“All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” Our own goodness cannot save us.
Don’t let these things become idols.
“Little children, guard yourselves from idols.” — 1 John 5:21
An idol is anything you love, trust, fear, desire, or obey more than God. It doesn’t have to be a carved statue. It can be money, success, relationships, pleasure, reputation, or even your own goodness if those things take the place that belongs to Christ alone.
Jesus summarized the issue this way:
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” — Mark 8:36
The rich young ruler is a vivid example. He wanted eternal life, but he loved his wealth more than he loved Christ (Matthew 19:16–22). His possessions became the object for which he walked away from Jesus.
Likewise, Demas “loved this present world” and abandoned Paul (2 Timothy 4:10). The religious leaders in Jesus’ day often refused to believe because they “loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43).
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