“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36, 37)
One moment spent in fellowship with Jesus Christ is worth much more than a million years spent in the pursuit and pleasures of this dying world. How much better to live for eternity! Jesus himself asked, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36, 37) Men and women everywhere need to soberly reflect upon this question.
How many of us have our whole focus centered on this life, all the while neglecting our souls? We assume we will live for many years, and do not habitually prepare for death. We may be rich outwardly, yet our souls are “poor, miserable, blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:17) “If a man has Christ, he has all for eternity; and if he has not Christ, he is poor, and blind, and naked, and will be miserable for ever.” (Charles Spurgeon)
“There are two things that characterize the teachings of our Lord. Number one is this: the worth, the infinite, heavenly, eternal worth of the soul. And the second one: the transitory, temporal, ephemeral, ultimate worthlessness of everything else.” (Dr. W. A. Criswell) Christ knew perfectly well the value of the soul, and the value of the world; for he was the creator of both. The worth of the soul is evident from the price paid for its redemption. What was this price?
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18,19)
All the treasures of the universe were not sufficient to pay the ransom. Hebrews 9: 22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” However, the sacrifice of no created being, no matter how exalted, would answer the purpose. “Would you then learn the worth of the soul, see it in the humiliation, sufferings, and death of the Son of God. See the Eternal Father giving up His Son, and laying upon him the sins of the world. See the Saviour voluntarily assuming our nature, becoming a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and submitting to the ignominy and agonies of the cross;— and remember all this was necessary for the redemption of the soul. Surely if the soul had not been of infinite value, this sacrifice never would have been made.” (Bennet Tyler)
You and I shall live forever. We shall be praising God and the Lamb in Heaven, or uttering the groans and blasphemies of hell. Let me ask again, “What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” “One soul is precious. One soul is worth more than ten thousand worlds. One soul is worth all the wealth of the universe— and far more than that, but you trifle with God, and God shall require thy soul; it is an awful thing to fall into the hands of a sovereign and angry God, who shall consign men to Hell.”(Wayne Cox)
To close this, I will post an excerpt from a sermon by Dr. R. G. Lee (1886-1978). It is from his sermon, Paths of Disappointment, and based on Ecclesiastes 1:2. “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
what shall it profit a man if…
What shall it profit a man if he be a great artist and know not Jesus, the one altogether lovely?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great architect and know not Jesus, the Chief Corner Stone?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great baker and know not Jesus, the Living Bread?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great banker and know not Jesus, the Priceless Possession?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great biologist and know not Jesus, the Life?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great builder and know not Jesus, the Sure Foundation?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great carpenter and know not Jesus, the Door?
What shall it profit a man if be be a great doctor and know not Jesus, the Great Physician?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great educator and know not Jesus, the Teacher?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great engineer and know not Jesus, the New and Living Way?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great farmer and know not Jesus, the Sower and Lord of Harvests?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great florist and know not Jesus, the Rose of Sharon?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great geologist and know not Jesus, the Rock of Ages?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great astronomer and know not Jesus, the Star of Bethlehem?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great horticulturist and know not Jesus, the True Vine?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great judge and know not Jesus, the Righteous judge?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great jurist and know not Jesus, the True Witness?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great jeweler and know not Jesus, the Pearl of Great Price?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great lawyer and know not Jesus, the Sinner’s Advocate?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great philanthropist and know not Jesus, the Unspeakable Gift?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great philosopher and know not Jesus, the Wisdom of God?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great sculptor and know not Jesus, the Living Stone?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great student and know not Jesus, the Incarnate Truth?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great sinner and know not Jesus, the Lamb of God?
Knowing the Time 