| November 14, 1999 |
Vol. II, No. 29
|
In the early 1800's, Alexander Stephens challenged Benjamin Hill, another Georgia statesman, to a duel. Hill declined, telling Stephens, "I have a family to support and a soul to save."
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus tells the story of a rich farmer whose fields produced so plentifully that his barns wouldn't hold what he grew. As he contemplated his problem, he determined to tear down his small barns and build bigger barns and lay up much produce to last for many years. But God interrupted his thinking, "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" The man was lost, not because he was rich, but because he neglected the salvation of his soul. Not because he was rich, but because he was not rich toward God. "Your soul will be required," he was told. Think about it. Your soul.
WHAT IS YOUR SOUL?
The Hebrew and Greek words translated "soul" have several meanings and shades of meaning, as does the English word. But most commonly, we use the term to describe the immaterial part of man -- the part of man that thinks, believes, hopes, loves, hates, etc.
The soul survives death. Jesus said, "My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear; Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:4-5).
The soul is the inner man. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man [the body] is perishing, yet the inward man [the soul, or spirit] is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent [the body] is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life" (2 Cor. 4:16 through 5:4).
We frequently say -- even the Bible says, we have a soul. But the more literal expression would be that we ARE a soul, and that we have a body. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36), or as Luke states it, "What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:25).
These verses show us the supreme value of a human soul. It is worth more than the whole world. What have we profited if we lose it? And in the day of judgment, what would we give if we could buy it back? Another indication of the value of the human soul is the price that Jesus paid to redeem it. "You were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).
THE DANGER THAT THREATENS OUR SOULS -- SIN.
In the beginning of human history, Adam, in effect, was told, "Don't eat. You eat, you die." Death always involves a separation. One whose sins have separated him from God is described in the Scriptures as being "dead in sin." See Eph. 2:1, etc. On the other hand, one who separates himself from a life of sin is said to be "dead TO sin," (Rom. 6:2, etc.). Death always involves separation. Adam, thus, was warned that sin would separate (alienate) him from God. When you eat that which is sinful, you will die.
Ezekiel reiterated to his generation the truth that Adam and Eve learned in the dawn of time, by writing, "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (Ezek. 18:20). In other words -- You sin, you die.
In Romans 6:23, the apostle Paul shows that in this gospel age the eternal truth is still true -- the wages of sin is death. You sin, you die.
James, the brother of Jesus, also underscores the same truth. "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:14-15). Or in other words -- You sin, you die.
It is not the number of sins that determines it wages, nor is it the category of sins, or the amount of time we spend sinning. I may have committed few sins, or many. But the wages of sin is death. I may have committed sins that society considers horrible, or I may have committed only sins that society finds acceptable. But the wages of sin is death. I may have sinned for months and years on end, or I may have only plunged into it fairly recently. But the wages of sin is death. The danger that threatens our souls is sin. You sin, you die.
JESUS CAME TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST, MARRED, "DESTROYED" BY SIN.
He came to seek and save the lost, Luke 19:10. He came to dispense life in abundance, John 10:10. He came to preach and bear witness to the truth, Mark 1:38. And the truth first preached by Him was passed on to His apostles to pass on the world at large. "And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16). And He meant it!
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and they began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance. When certain ones in the audience came to believe that the Jesus they had crucified was indeed both Lord and Christ, they asked what they needed to do. And the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of the apostle Peter, told them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit meant it!
The wages of sin haven't changed. You sin, you die. But the grace of God hasn't changed either. If we 20th and 21st century sinners will meet the same conditions that first century sinners were told to meet, we, too will have the forgiveness of our sins. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Will some be lost because they don't believe? Will some be lost because they won't repent? Will some be lost because they fail to be baptized? In reality, those who are lost will be lost because they sinned. You sin, you die. The gospel and God's plan of salvation is not their problem. It is the SOLUTION to their problem. Their problem is SIN.
Let us illustrate. In years past, from time to time the disease of malaria has taken many lives. Medical scientists discovered that quinine could be used to successfully treat that disease. There were, of course, some who did not receive the remedy, and they died. They died of malaria. As doctors were called to pronounce them dead and fill out the necessary death certificates, they filled in the blank for "cause of death" -- "malaria." They NEVER attributed the death to "lack of quinine." The death was caused by malaria. Quinine was the remedy. It was in no way responsible for the death.
SIN is the disease. The gospel is the remedy. Faith -- repentance -- baptism. Our soul is the most valuable commodity we have anything to do with. It is severely threatened and endangered by our sins. But Jesus came to seek and save lost souls. His gospel is the remedy we need. But the remedy must be applied, or else we will die in our sins, John 8:21
--CRJ
In Matt. 12:40, Jesus said, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." This passage has long troubled those who attempt to determine exactly how long Jesus' body was in the tomb. Traditionally, it has been held that Jesus was crucified and buried on Friday; His body was in the tomb all of Saturday and a very small part of Sunday. This would involve a part of three days. Non-traditionalists insist on a more literal application of Matt. 12:40 and seek to back the crucifixion up to Thursday, or even Wednesday in some cases.
First, we need to realize that the ancients were not as clock-conscious as we. It was not unusual for them to count a small part of a year as if it were a whole year, or a part of a day as if it were an entire 24-hour period. They might well use the expression "three days and three nights" to refer to a time period somewhat short of 72 hours. They would not, however, use such a term to indicate a time period that did not include at least a part of three different days.
There are 13 passages of Scripture that shed light on this question. Eleven passages say Jesus would, or did rise the third day. Two passages say "after three days." One verse says after three days and three nights. In the common usage of that day, these three expressions meant exactly the same thing. To 21st century Americans, they do not suggest the same thing. We would think of "after three days" as meaning "on the fourth day," but such was not the case in first century Palestine. "On the third day" and "after three days" were used by them to mean exactly the same thing! Here is the proof: (1) The terms are used interchangeably in the same passage. The chief priests and Pharisees said to Pilate, "Sir, we remember while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.' Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day...'" They recognized the terms "after three days" and "until the third day" to mean the same thing!
Perhaps the clearest way to note what the Bible teaches with regard to the length of time Jesus' body remained in the tomb is to read Luke's account in its entirety, beginning with 23:52, reading straight through verse 21 or chapter 24. There you will see that Jesus was crucified on Friday (the day the Jews prepared for the Sabbath). He remained in the tomb through the Sabbath (Saturday), and arose early on Sunday (the first day of the week).
--CRJ