What Is The Value of Your Soul?


Let us pretend that we are in the crowd that is addressed by Jesus in the below Bible verses.
Let us pretend that, though we are in the crowd, Jesus is speaking directly to each one of us individually.

Mark 8:34-38 English Standard Version 
(modified by this author for emphasis)

And calling the crowd to Him with His disciples, Jesus said to them, 
  • “If anyone would come after Me, 
  • ... let him deny himself and    
  • ... let him take up his cross and  
  • ... let him follow Me.  
  • For whoever would save his life will lose it, 
  • But whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 
  • For what does it profit a man 
  • ... to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 
  • For what can a man give 
  • ... in return for his soul? 
  • For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words 
  • ... in this adulterous and sinful generation, 
  • ... of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed 
  • ... ... when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Lately, I have been challenged to look at my life and consider where I have fallen short in what God has required of me, and what He is now requiring of me.  Why?  Because there are verses in the Bible that talk about a great falling away of believers, a great deception of people.  I must ask, "Do those verses apply to me?"  Have I fallen away from where He took me?  Have I been deceived to think I am doing all right and Heaven awaits me when I leave this body, when my soul leaves my body?  Those are scary thoughts to consider.

Consider this.  What is it like to be in a horrible place or situation with no hope of escape, no hope of cure?  In life, when we are sick and have pain, unless we are terminally ill, we have hope of being well again.  We have hope that there is an end to what we are suffering.  Hope.  Hope brings some comfort for the expectation of relief from what we suffer.

What if we were in a horrible place or situation where there is no possibility of hope for release now or ever, never to be free from pain and suffering . . . . never, ever, ever?  We would likely say, "That would be Hell."  And we would be right, because that is exactly what Hell is - no hope of ever being released from pain and suffering for eternity, never, ever, ever.  To consider that is . . . . scary.

I must ask myself, and you must ask yourself, "What does God require of me? Have I fallen away from Him so far that when I leave my body, I would not be accepted through the heavenly gates, and be turned away and released into Hell, never to be released from there, forever, and ever, and ever."

God wants everything from us, everything, absolutely everything.  He wants total commitment, total obedience, total repentance.  We have a Savior who gives forgiveness with our repentance.

Jesus Christ gave everything of Himself, everything.  Does God expect any less of us?  

I think that many of us have lived such a cushy life that we have no idea of what is truly expected of us by God.  We've lived in comfort.  We've expected peace.  We've expected retirement.  We've expected to be free from pain and suffering.  We've expected to live a comfortable life.  Have we been fooled, deceived?  Have we not been taught what God really requires of us?  Have we not been taught to seek God's face on our own?  Have we been spoon fed in our church buildings?  Have we been deceived?  Have we been deceived that we have an automatic ticket into Heaven without giving up ourselves and following the Savior who gave up Himself, totally and unmercifully?  Very possibly, the answer could be, "Yes".

So, what are we going to do about this situation of ours?  How are we going to assure our salvation and work it out with fear and trembling, as the Bible tells us?

Jesus tells us that there are conditions to following Him.  Some of those conditions are ... let us deny ourselves... let us take up our cross ... let us follow Him ... let us lose our lives ... for His sake ... for the gospel's sake ... not to be ashamed of Him and of His words ... IF we do those things, He will save our souls.  If we don't do those things, what will happen then?

The end is near, much nearer than we know.  Are we ready?  Are you ready?  Have we given Him our all, or some of us, or just a little of us, or none of us?

Let us pray - - Father, God, do not let us be deceived.  Do not let us be falsely secure in our own selves.  Teach us, show us the way to do what You require of us.  Our souls depend on it.  The souls of others depend on it.  Wake us up to the realities of what You expect of us.  Thank you for revealing Your truth to us. Amen.

What is the value of your soul?  You could gain the whole world and all that is in it, but if your soul was lost to eternity in Hell, you would suffer loss that is valued more than the whole world and all that is in it.  You would profit nothing.


We started this article with pretending something.  Well, it is not pretend.  It is real.  Jesus speaks to the crown and every one of us in the crowd.  Jesus is addressing us, each and every one of us, individually.  Are we listening?  Are we hearing?  Are we believing what Jesus says?  Our eternity depends on listening, hearing, and believing Jesus.

James Eugene Barbush
2021 Blue Mountain Parkway
Harrisburg, PA  17112
(717) 514-5549
JamesEBarbush@GMail.com
The Shepherd's Voice






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