The Price of Your Soul

The Economic Questions 

1. What is the advantage or profit, if a man acquired the whole world but was sent to hell?
   1. This is how our Lord Jesus phrased it, measuring the whole world as worthless dung.
   2. No man in history, and certainly no reader here, can acquire anything of value at all.
   3. And the full truth of the matter, the best of this world is vanity and vexation of spirit.
2. What is the price or value of your soul, for you to know what must be paid to save it?
   1. This is how our Lord Jesus phrased it, measuring any price at all as worthless dung.
   2. The immortality of the soul, torment of hell, and riches of glory combine to infinity.
   3. No man can give to God a ransom for his soul or even come close by any measure.
3. What price would you pay to keep your soul out of hell and its eternal torment of you?
   1. If under heat of conviction you say, “Anything and everything,” why is it not true?
   2. Your life says otherwise, for the slightest things of human existence dominate you.
   3. If you could pay the price of the whole world, it would not be worth it now or then.
4.  What price would you pay to spend eternity in a new heaven and new earth with Christ?
   1. If under heat of conviction you say, “Anything and everything,” why is it not true?
   2. Your life says otherwise, for you never labor, speak, or even think of heaven above.
   3. If you could pay the price of the whole world, it would not be worth it now or then.
5.  Can you add the two previous prices together for an estimate of the value of your soul?
   1. Think of the thrill of eternal perfection instead of the torture of eternal punishment.
   2. The combination of these two blessings is a matter of value that annihilates all others.
   3. Shall we value your soul by the difference of eternal damnation and divine adoption?
   4. But God and we see you reject any affliction for Christ to chase vain pleasures now.
6.  How hot is hell? How long is eternity? Can you multiply these two facts by each other?
   1. If we value your soul by pain endured, what is the result of intensity times duration?
   2. If we value your soul by pleasure lost, what is the result of intensity times duration?
   3. Shall we value your soul by this combined and leveraged infinite measure of loss?
   4. But God and we see you choose instead little soap bubbles that last only a moment.
7.  What if we price your soul by God’s choice, His Son’s life, and Jesus’ suffering for you?
   1. The only infinitely good Being in the universe chose you to be His own for eternity.
   2. He paid the ultimate price by giving His beloved Son to Romans and Jews to torture.
   3. Jesus endured a combination of anguish and pain that cannot be fully comprehended.
   4. If you think of sin lightly, look at the cross. Song – Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted.

The Economic Gospel 

1. Elihu rescued Job’s soul by describing a rare messenger and a ransom (Job 33:22-24).
2. Paul described salvation as rich Jesus becoming poor to make us poor rich (II Cor 8:9).
3. Jesus paid a fabulous price for your soul causing God to highly exalt Him (Phil 2:5-11).
4. One Mediator paid a great ransom to reconcile the elect to the Holy God (I Tim 2:5-6).
5. A rich man only thought of his growing assets to the ruin of his soul (Luke 12:16-21).
6. Wise men know that the stress of acquiring wealth misses man’s end (Psalm 39:4-6).
7. There is no price that any man can pay to redeem himself or his brother (Ps 49:6-9,15).
8. David mocked Doeg the Edomite for the ruin of his soul in spite of riches (Ps 52:5-8).
9. One of Solomon’s axioms is for righteousness over riches on Judgment Day (Pr 11:4).
10. The love of money – costing men’s soul – is a terrible travesty of men (I Tim 6:6-10).
11. Satan vainly tried this diabolical economic analysis on Jesus (Matt 4:8-10; Luke 4:5-8).
12. What is the hope of they hypocrite, though he gains, when he loses his soul (Job 27:8).
13. The children of this world are wiser than we to prepare for the future (Luke 16:1-15).
14. The rich man should have traded places with Lazarus to save his soul (Luke 16:19-23).
15. The promises God offers are claimed by holy living in the fear of God (II Cor 7:1).
16. Jesus bought our bodies, not for us to sell them, but to glorify God (I Cor 6:12-20).
17. Martyrs overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb, not loving their lives (Rev 12:11).
18. Paul counted all assets dung for Christ, opposite belly worshippers (Phil 3:7-11,18-19).
19. God will soon despise and cast down the wicked no matter how rich (Ps 73:3,18-20).
20. The rich shall have assets dry up like grass, but the righteous abide forever (Jas 1:9-11).
21. Moses made the right, wise economic trade of riches for God’s reward (Heb 11:24-26).
22. God forgave you 10,000 talents, nothing in comparison of 100 pence (Matt 18:21-35).
23. God’s trade or transaction for your soul was costly but free (Romans 3:23-26; 5:15-18).
24. You broke God’s law many ways, but Jesus redeemed us from its claims (Gal 3:13).
25. The elect children of God sing about this glorious redemption in heaven (Rev 5:9).
26. Jesus was rewarded with great spoil and riches for this transaction (Is 53:12; Rev 5:12).

Terrible Economic Trades 

1. What do you hope to achieve that leads you to lose your soul? What is your soul’s price?
   1.  If you believed Jesus holds your soul’s future, you would live all out for Him today.
   2.  The economic question is simple – what do you value over living all out for Christ?
   3. Some are the fools that desire riches, which the Bible repeatedly mocks as damning.
   4. Some are the fools that are job workaholics, which stresses your soul for only vanity.
   5. Some are the fools that adore family, which the Bible often mocks as quite worthless.
   6. Some are the fools that adore friends, which the Bible warns about as a grave danger.
   7. Some are the fools that crave pleasure, though short, frustrating, and damns the soul.
2. Your actions show the value you put on your soul, which should slow your every choice.
   1. This is a terrible indictment of all men for stupidity, but much worse for Christians.
   2. If you sacrifice spiritual duties or options for carnal pleasure – it is your soul’s price.
   3. If you choose to deny Jesus for job, then He and your soul are only worth it paycheck.
   4. If you choose to honor family over Him, you are not worthy and sell your soul cheap.
3. When you try to save your life by withholding service to Christ, you will lose your life.
   1. God will blow against you, because He loves His Son, and you will be frustrated.
   2. But if you will give your life to Him, lose it for His sake, then you find fulfillment.
4. Loving earthly things over His death makes you an enemy of His cross (Phil 3:18-19).
5. Jesus knew men would not pay the cost of discipleship, like building (Luke 14:25-33).
6. A rich young ruler would not pay the cost of discipleship and lost out (Mark 10:17-31).Will you think the pain of discipleship too much? The pleasures of life and sin too great?
7. Any professing Christian living less than all-out for Christ indicates they sold their soul.

The Great Economic Trade 

1. You have nothing to exchange for your soul, so God exchanged His Son’s soul for you.
   1. God delivered up His only begotten Son to Jewish and Roman tormenters for you.
   2. The whole world is not close to a soul’s value, so you know Jesus trumps all things.
   3. This is the greatest economic trade in the history of the world – God’s Son for you!
   4. Instead of you exchanging the world for your soul … God killed Jesus for your soul.
   5. Instead of you suffering torment worth the world … God tormented His Son for you.
   6. God saw you loving an inconsequential crumb of the world while hating His laws.
   7. But instead of letting you sell your soul to hellfire, He intervened to buy justice off.
2. Jesus had to pay such a great price that He begged God for a cheaper (Luke 22:41-44).
3.  Jesus bought us from God’s wrath on our souls by His precious blood (I Pet 1:18-20).
4.  Jesus endured God’s wrath for you, so you could inherit His heaven; measure the value!
5. The Unsearchable Riches of Christ … https://letgodbetrue.com/sermons/index/year-2015/unsearchable-riches/.

Economic theory helps us estimate Christ’s riches. 

1. The thing considered and estimated here is God’s grace in Jesus Christ to eternal life.
2. The value of a thing … is what is given in exchange for it … God gave His only Son!
3. The value of a thing … is your cost for not having it … eternal torment or heaven!
4. The value of a thing … is what you can get for it … Jesus saved from earth and death!
5. The value of a thing … is its intrinsic value less your cost … but it cost you nothing!
6. The value of a thing … is what greater experts think of it … angels desire to grasp it!
7. The value of a thing … is what it cost the supplier of it … God gave His beloved Son!
8. The value of a thing … is the benefit you gain by it … joint-heir with King of heaven!
9. The value of a thing … is its rarity and supply … one, one-of-a-kind event, forever! 
10. The value of a thing … is its complexity and difficulty … power and wisdom of God!
11. The value of a thing … is how easily others may get it … no means or cost can get it!
12. The value of a thing … is its certainty of implied benefits … guaranteed over all foes!
13. The value of a thing … is what you must pay for it … eternal torture without sonship!
14. The value of a thing … is the profit to the seller … designed glory of an infinite God!

The parties involved help us estimate Christ’s riches. 

1. Who demanded payment of you? Jehovah God, perfect, unmoved in burning holiness!
2. What if the penalty is not paid? Eternal torment in lake of fire designed for the devil!
3. Does He deserve such fear? He only can send body and soul into hell (Luke 12:4-5)!
4. What was the payment He needed? The humiliation, torment, and death of His Son!
5. What did you contribute to the deal? Less than nothing, demerited enemy rebel scum!
6. What did you get out of the deal? Pardon for capital crimes and an eternity in heaven!
7. How many obtained this benefit? A multitude of all nations that no man can number!
8. How long will the benefit last? Ten thousand eternities and will then have just begun!
9. What is its rate of depreciation? No decay or reduction by supplies of infinite Deity!
10. What cannot be known about it? Most everything, since God is infinite and we finite!
11. What can be known about it? The price paid, the penalty avoided, the glory obtained!
12. How high does God consider it? The result of infinite wisdom applied for His glory!
13. What did Jesus get for making payment? Promotion of a Man to throne of universe!