YOUR MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
This is the most important question you will ever answer
All the Wealth in the World
Here is the question for you: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” Seriously. Think about it. In 2023, Forbes magazine listed ten billionaires as the richest men on earth. The wealthiest man is from the United States and is worth more than $248 billion dollars. Yet we know that death comes to all – not even the richest man on earth will escape death: “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”1
So what if you owned it all – all of the wealth in the world? Estimates indicate that you would then be worth more than $1540 trillion dollars! You would be the most wealthy, most famous, most powerful person on earth! But you would still be faced with these questions from Jesus Christ:
“What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” and “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”2
Lose His Soul? What does it mean to say a man “loses his own soul?” Having a soul means that you continue to exist beyond the death of your body.
You will be somewhere forever.
The Word of God teaches that there is a place of everlasting life and blessing as well as a place of eternal shame and contempt. For instance, in the Old Testament, God used the prophet Daniel to write, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”3 Those who will be imprisoned in this horrible place will be sentenced justly by God to this eternal fate with the words, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:”4 The Bible refers to this as “the second death.”5
To lose your soul means that you would be eternally separated from God in that horrible place of eternal torment – the Lake of Fire.
Is There Any Hope?
There is hope. God’s Good News is hinted at in the question, “… or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Jesus Christ asked that question and it is the most important question you will ever answer. Remember that you have an appointment at the judgment (“it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”1) What could you possibly give in exchange for your human soul?
To answer this question, we must first answer another question: why is it necessary for anything to be given in exchange for a man’s soul? The answer is that man is a rebel against God. Created by God, and blessed with glorious freedom, man disobeys God’s commands and chooses his own way. In so doing, man shakes his fist in the face of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”6
The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, wrote, “your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”7 Every one is a sinner 8 and this separates every person from the God of life. As the Lord told Ezekiel, “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.”9 Separated from the God of life, you are headed for death and the eternal fires of the second death.
The Exchange
Do you see how urgent this question becomes, “what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
“What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The Good News is that God has given you a way – He has provided an exchange for you. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 10
This is very Good News! God offered Someone who was completely righteous as a Substitute for sinners. He offers to exchange His righteousness for your sin! Who is this Person whom God has offered to exchange places with us? The Lord used the Apostle John to give a glorious answer to this question: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 11
Will You Accept the Exchange?
God offered His Son, Jesus Christ the Righteous, as a Substitute for your sin. God’s Son, Jesus, became a man. He lived the righteous life you should have lived, fulfilling everything that God requires of you. Then, on the cross, He died the rebel’s death you should have died. After three days, He was raised from the dead to show His victory over sin and death.
How Is This Exchange Applied?
The Bible portrays this exchange as a life-changing event founded on the promise that God will save you if you trust Him. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The promise for you is that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 12
Do you believe that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, was put to death for your sins? And will you repent of your sin and rebellion and trust Christ as your Lord today? Why not call upon Him right now? With the Words of Scripture call out to the Lord, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” 13 For eternal life, trust Jesus Christ the Righteous as your Lord today. If you will call on Him, He promised to exchange your sin for His Righteousness!
For more information, go to www.glimpsesofcalvary.com or email office@cbcfindlay.org. We would like to help you draw close to the Lord. Please let us know how we can help you.
Calvary Baptist Church
Pastor Gordon Dickson
2000 Broad Ave.
Findlay, OH 45840
office@cbcfindlay.org
419.422.6842