The Human Soul - By Jim Tharp

As a preacher of the Gospel, I want to write about an especially important subject today—THE HUMAN SOUL! I realize that this is a subject to which many people do not wish to give serious concern. In fact, the soul of man is not something that most philosophers want to discuss. And, unfortunately, it is a subject that many theologians are hesitant to address. So, as a preacher of the Gospel for 74 years, but now as an old man of 90, I feel the need to write about the importance of the human soul and its destiny. I could not afford to ignore this important subject while pastoring for 46 years and then evangelizing throughout the world for 27 more years. And now, since I am confined to printing the Gospel messages instead of preaching the Gospel, I cannot be silent on the importance of the human soul.

Please read and consider what our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered and died to save our souls, had to say about the soul of man:

Mark 8:35-38: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit 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 whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Matthew 10:28: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

John 3:16-21: “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. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

I want to stress this important truth: The soul of man is an internal spiritual gift by our Divine Creator. This fact speaks clearly and loudly to the importance of human life. The soul of man is a serious subject. We can see the seriousness of the soul when we realize that God foreknew the invasion Satan would make on Adam’s race and the tragic results. He knew that His own remedy for the salvation of fallen souls would have to be His sacrifice of His one-and-only righteous Son, who would become incarnate. The Son of God would become the Son of Man and suffer and pay the debt of any lost soul who would believe in Him, repent of sin, and become a true Christian believer. From the beginning, God decreed that the wages of sin would be death. And since all have sinned, death would come to all. But what a glorious destiny awaits the soul at death who has believed in the only plan of salvation through Jesus Christ; the heart ceases to beat and the brain dies, but the human soul’s consciousness shifts immediately from the cerebral to the celestial, adapting instantly to the soul’s eternal existence in heaven.

How important it is that every human soul hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ as described by the apostle Paul in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..." 

Let us consider some of the things our Bible has to say to us who will give an account of our response to God’s loving provisions for our salvation. In Deuteronomy 4:9, Moses says: “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” In this Old Testament passage, Moses is being faithful to the members of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, by instructing them to take precautions concerning their never-dying souls and urging their preparation for giving a good account to God in the day of judgment as to how they have obeyed His Word.

Let us also consider a New Testament passage in Matthew 11:28-30. Here Jesus is urging all His New Testament followers and all of the redeemed souls throughout the church age to prepare during their entire time on earth to be ready for a glorious entrance: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heaven laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Before I close this message today, I have a question for my readers: How is it with your soul? What are your interests and concerns in life at this particular time? Of course, we need to be concerned about our health. We all must be careful to manage our time and our money and keep aware of the needs of our loved ones. But all too many of us give so little thought to the condition of our souls. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Has there been a time when you heard the Gospel and believed it was time for you to ask God to forgive your sins and make the confession of faith in Jesus Christ? Are you living with the assurance that if you were to die right now, you would wake up in heaven? Do you pray? Do you attend worship services and enjoy hearing the Word of God proclaimed? What controls your thoughts, your heart, your devotion, and your time? Whatever your answers are to these questions, I can assure you that, despite your external circumstances or intentions or even your thoughts just now, it is your soul that is in charge of your life. A wise Christian man has put it this way “The soul is that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything that is going on in the various dimensions of your inner life.” I believe he is right, at least to this extent—the soul is the life-center of every human being. Knowing that we will live somewhere forever and knowing that God’s Word declares that Jesus Christ is the only hope for heaven, should we not prepare the soul to meet God’s conditions?

Jesus Christ is making the same promises to His followers today that He made during His time on earth with His disciples: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

Closing Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, please hear my prayer for those reading this message who have not yet accepted Your only plan of salvation whereby a human soul can be forgiven of sin, experience a change of heart, and be adopted into Your redeemed family to live the Christian life. May the Holy Spirit convict needy hearts very soon, leading them to repentance; a new life of faith, prayer, and worship; and the joy of knowing that either in death or in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ they will be ready for heaven! Help them know that NOW is the accepted time and to no longer tarry. Help them pray the prayer, asking for forgiveness for sin, placing their trust in Jesus, and then allowing the Holy Spirit to help them live a life of fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ! I pray this prayer in Jesus’ Name! Amen!

Note: All scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.