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 an aging, decaying, dying physical and material body. The soul is the part of you that lives on after the physical body dies— which it will. We will all die physically one day. Everybody does (except the prophets Enoch and the Elijah). Your soul is who you are in this life and who you will be in the next. It 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.” — from the 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 eternal 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. People sin because they want to.
“Men loved the darkness rather than the Light…”
People reject Christ because they love sin.
Money and Wealth (Matthew 19:24) – Trusting riches instead of God.
“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 eternity.
Power and Influence (Matthew 20:25–28) – Desiring control over submission to God.
Pleasure and Entertainment (2 Timothy 3:4) – Living only for comfort and enjoyment.
Sexual Immorality (of all kinds) (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) Refusing God’s design for purity.
Pride (James 4:6) Refusing to humble oneself before God.
Self-Rule (Luke 9:23) Wanting to be one’s own master rather than Christ’s servant.
Popularity and Approval (John 12:43) Fearing what people think more than fearing God.
False Religion (Matthew 7:22-23) Trusting rituals, good works, or another religion instead of Christ.
Intellectual Pride (Romans 1:21-22) Refusing to believe because of unbelief or skepticism.
Family or Relationships (Matthew 10:37) Loving others more than Christ.
Possessions (Luke 12:15) Living for material things.
Fame and Recognition (John 5:44) Seeking personal glory rather than God’s glory.
Comfort and Security (Luke 9:57-62) Avoiding the cost of following Jesus.
Addictions (1 Corinthians 6:12) Being enslaved to alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, or many other destructive habits.
Bitterness and Unforgiveness (Ephesians 4:31-32) Refusing to surrender one’s heart to God.
Fear (Matthew 10:28) Fear of persecution, rejection, or losing one’s lifestyle.
Time and Busyness (Hebrews 3:15) Continually putting off responding to Christ.
Self-Righteousness (Isaiah 64:6) Believing one is “good enough” without the Savior.
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.
When Adam, the first man of creation, disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, he brought sin and death into God’s perfect world and passed on the curse of his sin nature to all of mankind. So we are all born separated from God, lost, condemned and without hope apart from the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Turn to, hope in and rely on Jesus for your salvation. Put your faith and trust in Him today.
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