What's A Soul Worth

Several years ago, I began to listen to a
program on the radio produced by an
evangelical Lutheran group, if I remember
right. Yes, I see they now have a web
site.

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/


There was a book that they used to promote
on the broadcast, and I sent for a copy.
What the book and the broadcast helped me
see the position that I am in regarding
the law and grace. Their teaching on law
and grace, is nothing new. It's as old as
the text of scripture. I just hadn't heard
it put that way before.


Like so many other christians in modern
Amerika, I really didn't know much about
what I believed. From church attendance,
I had heard the bare bones gospel of
salvation by faith in Christ. But I really
didn't understand the place of the Old
Testament in the larger scheme of things.
In fact, if you had pressed me with some
tough questions, I may not have been able
to defend even the basic doctrines of the
Old Testament like Creation. My thinking
at the time was, What difference does it
make? I didn't see the scripture as a
whole. I saw that Jesus died for my sins
and that was all I needed to know, because
I saw myself as a sinner. I knew I had
done something wrong, somewhere in my past
that needed forgiveness. I vaguely
understood that I had offended G-d by some
of the things that I'd done.


somewhere along the line I got more serious
about what I believed. Not that my
behavior improved greatly. I just had a
need to know more about the Christ of
scripture. There sure seemed to be enough
disagreement over the teaching of the
Bible. I had to ask myself, Is it really
that hard to understnad, or is it like so
many other things in life that others
purposely make harder than it has to be,
for reasons that I never was able to
understand. Well, I realize now, that one
reason people want to make it hard to
understand is because they just don't want
to do what it really says. Like the
passage from yesterday.


John 8:12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to

them, saying, "I am the light of the world.

He who follows me will not walk in the

darkness, but will have the light of life."

13 The Pharisees therefore said to him,

"You testify about yourself. Your witness

is not valid."

14 Jesus answered them, "Even if I testify

about myself, my witness is true, for I

know where I came from, and where I am

going; but you don`t know where I came

from, or where I am going.

15 You judge according to the flesh. I

judge no one.

16 Even if I do judge, my judgment is true,

for I am not alone, but I am with the

Father who sent me.

17 It`s also written in your law that the

testimony of two men is valid.

18 I am he who testifies about myself, and

the Father who sent me testifies about me."

19 They said therefore to him, "Where is

your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know

neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me,

you would know my Father also."

20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury,

as he taught in the temple. No one took

him, because his hour had not yet come.

21 Jesus said therefore again to them, "I

am going away, and you will seek me, and

will die in your sins. Where I go, you

can`t come."

22 The Jews therefore said, "Will he kill

himself, that he says, `Where I am going,

you can`t come?`"

23 He said to them, "You are from beneath.

I am from above. You are of this world. I

am not of this world.

24 I said therefore to you that you will

die in your sins; for unless you believe

that I am he, you will die in your sins."

25 They said therefore to him, "Who are

you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have

been saying to you from the beginning.

26 I have many things to speak and to judge

concerning you. However he who sent me is

true; and the things which I heard from

him, these I say to the world."

27 They didn`t perceive that he spoke to

them about the Father.

28 Jesus therefore said to them, "When you

have lifted up the Son of Man, then will

you know that I am he, and that I do

nothing of myself, but as my Father taught

me, I say these things.

29 He who sent me is with me. The Father

hasn`t left me alone, for I always do the

things that are pleasing to him."

30 As he spoke these things, many believed

in him.

31 Jesus therefore said to those Jews who

had believed him, "If you remain in my

word, then you are truly my disciples.


After reading through this passage, you
have to ask whether or not those who
opposed Jesus had any desire to know that
there was something false about what they
believed. It looks like they were mostly
interested in attacking Jesus, rather than
defending their views. This leads me to
believe that there was, in their minds, the
perception that their own vested interest
in authority and political power were at
stake here.


The only reason I point out what Jesus'
opponents are doing is because it seems to
me that things have not changed alot in
the past 2000 years or so of religious
institutionalization. It's the same stuff,
different day routine of making sure the
hierarchy is not disturbed. Which means
that emphasis is not placed on 'truth'.
In fact, truth has nothing to do with it.
It's all about making sure that nothing
changes the power structure. People are
disinclined to lose what they have spent
most of their life trying to achieve. Yet,
they don't see that the only thing that
they, eventually, won't lose is the truth.
At the end of the day, the question begs,
Is that stuff that you are trying with
every effort to achieve, is it worth the
loss of everything else?


Jesus put it this way:

Matt 16:26 For what will it profit a man,

if he will gain the whole world, and

forfeit his life? Or what will a man give

in exchange for his life?


Or in the KJV:

For what is a man profited, if he shall

gain the whole world, and lose his own

SOUL? or what shall a man give in exchange

for his SOUL?


What's a soul worth? Jesus thought that it
was the most important possession that a
person has. That's what Jesus implies
here.


If your soul is worth more than anything
else, then you will want to follow Jesus'
instructions to other believers:

31 Jesus therefore said to those Jews who

had believed him, "If you remain in my

word, then you are truly my disciples.


If you are on the Jesus Bus, you want to
'remain in my word'. You will want to
know what Jesus said. You will probably
want to let others know what Jesus said.
In a world of many voices, only Jesus told
the truth about G-d. Read the passage
again if you missed it. It's not about
money and power and pleasure, it's all
about Jesus. That's the truth.