Chris' Corner -- Sunday, October 10, 2021
Ancient Egyptians and Greeks believed once people passed from this life into the realm of the dead, their souls are weighed to determine their fate in the afterlife. In medieval times, the Archangel Michael was depicted as holding scales on which to weigh people's souls on the Day of Judgement. Neither of these doctrines is found in scripture.
God sees our soul as invaluable because He made it "in His image and after His likeness" (Genesis 1:26, 27). God made the spirit to be our inner person and placed it within our physical bodies at the moment of conception. What matters as we grow into adulthood is how much value we place on our soul. Jesus said, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26).
Yes, there was a time when God told the king of Babylon he had been "weighed in the balances and found wanting." But the eternal destiny of the king was determined already by his own corrupt life.
As we learn about sin and fall into temptation, our soul becomes tarnished. There are no exceptions! "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Every soul who sins stands condemned until the blood of Jesus Christ washes those sins away (Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23).
"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:2). "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).
The very reason God's Son came to this earth was to save every soul He could. "...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He grieves over every lost soul and takes no pleasure in condemning the wicked (Ezekiel 18:4, 23). "The Lord...is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
In Matthew 16:26, Jesus implied the soul of just one person is worth more than the whole world. He also made it clear that our soul's value is not something to be determined after our death. It's something we must consider for ourselves while our soul remains in our bodies.
So, the question is, “What is my soul worth to me?” What is yours worth to you? The value we place on our soul's salvation will determine how we live our lives here and now. Because once we die, our destiny is sealed. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Hebrews 9:27-28).
When we consider just how priceless our soul is, it helps us to place a higher value on our life with God here in this life. For this reason, Paul said, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).
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