The Importance of the Human Soul - By James Tharp

In our 21st century culture there is an enormous temptation to focus on the present and ignore the future. Comparatively few people seem interested in the view of life that Jesus came to offer. But, we would all be wise to hear what Jesus had to say about the present and the future: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matthew 16:24-28, NKJV)

We also read in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God has put eternity in the hearts of we human beings. Of course, Jesus Christ came to shed His blood and suffer crucifixion on calvary’s cross to pay our debt of sin that we might be forgiven. And we read this good news in John’s Gospel chapter 3, “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:16-19, NKJV)
Our divine Creator has made us responsible free agents to choose His offer for living life His way and spending eternity with Him in Heaven; or we are free to ignore the suffering price that Jesus paid to purchase our salvation and thus spend eternity in Hell.

 

Anthropologists have been reporting for centuries that in all cultures there exists a haunting belief in life after death. Australian Aborigines pictured Heaven as a distant island beyond the horizon. Mexicans, Peruvians, and Polynesians believed they would go to the moon when they died. Our Native Americans of long ago dreamed of going to their “happy hunting grounds.” The sense that we shall live forever has shaped every civilization until the times we are living in. In this 21st century, cynics and scoffers are being multiplied who deny eternal existence. Not long ago a man who considered himself brilliant and successful in life came to me, knowing me to be a preacher of the Gospel, and declared that I was wrong about man’s eternal destiny. “When a man or a woman dies, whether they are a Christian or a sinner, they are dead, done for, and will never know or feel another thing.” I responded, “Sir, I’m sorry that you have allowed your unbelief to destroy your faith in God’s sense of eternity that He wants to put in your heart. I hope you do not wait until it’s too late to change your mind.” He walked away, not wanting to hear more.
But let us be sure that those anthropologists have never reported any guidelines for the way lost souls were to prepare for the moon, the distant horizons, or “The Happy Hunting Grounds.” But our loving and gracious Heavenly Father loved lost souls so much that He was not willing that any one of us would miss Heaven and be condemned to Hell for all eternity. It cost Him greatly, but He was willing to sacrifice His one and only righteous Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that we might be justly forgiven if we would believe in Jesus as the Son of God risen from the dead.

This is why Jesus could tell His disciples and all of us today “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, NKJV). For every mortal human being there will come a moment of death. Now I know we don’t like to think about it, but throughout the world 3 people die every second; 180 die every minute; 10,800 die every hour. Now, can any of us grasp the significance that in every 24-hour day around the world more than a quarter million people die and go either to Heaven or to Hell—depending on whether or not they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior, confessed their sins to Him, and began living the Christian life. If not, they will hear the sad words at the judgment seat of Christ, “Depart from Me….” (Matthew 26;41, NIV)

I recently saw the report of a survey in which people were asked if they thought they would go to Heaven or to Hell when they died. Most exclaimed “YES” they would go to Heaven, and only a few said “NO.” To my readers I must say that Jesus’ warning in His Word is a stark contrast to the report in that survey. I fear that most of the people in the world today—and I’m including some church members—are unprepared for death and God’s judgment that follows.

In closing, I ask my readers these questions: “Have you asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sins? And are you living the Christian life of prayer and obedience? If not, do more than just think about it. Because we know from Scripture that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved!” (Acts 4:12, NIV)

Heaven is for believers! Hell is for Satan, his fallen angels, and all human beings who have reached the age of accountability and have not trusted in Christ for forgiveness of sin and for faith and obedience to His Word in living the Christian life.

But the good news is that the door is still open. According to the signs of the times, the church age could end at any moment. As Jesus said, only the Heavenly Father knows the day and hour when that will happen. But if one is reading this who has not put his or her trust in Jesus, the clock is still ticking, and there’s still time. “…Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7, NIV)

I’ll always be thankful for that night almost 76 years ago when God’s gracious Holy Spirit kindly helped me change my mind about living in sin and selfishness. I decided to trust in Him and repent of my sins. I dropped to my knees and prayed, “O God, forgive my sins, help me live my life the way you want me to, and show me what I need to do throughout life.” I immediately felt peace in my heart and that I had been forgiven. I was relieved to know that I would not go to Hell when I died, if I kept faithful.

Please, dear readers, God is a God of love, not willing that any be lost for eternity. You’ll never regret trusting Jesus Christ as Savior—not in this life and certainly not in all the centuries of eternity as you live in Heaven with Him.