What if You Gain the World but Lose Your Soul?

Posted on April 11, 2018 by dkoop

I think that one of the most powerful questions that Jesus ever asked is this:  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 

What can a man give in exchange for his soul? Judas Iscariot thought it was worth 30 pieces of silver.  What is your cost to sell out Jesus?

Some years back there was a movie called “Indecent Proposal.” I didn’t see it, but I understand the story consisted of a man who offered a woman $1 million to have sexual relations with him. That was the indecent proposal. As a follow-up to that movie, an interviewer was conducting some on-the-street interviews to get peoples’ opinion of the idea of such a proposal. He stopped and asked one young lady if he were to offer her $1 mil would she agree to the same proposal. Without much thought she said, “Yeah, for $1 million why not? Sure.” Then he asked if her answer would be the same if it was for $1/2 a million She thought a little longer and said yeah, she’d still do that. Then he said, “Well how about for $20?” She got indignant, “Well, no! What kind of a girl do you think I am?” she said. He said, “Well, we’ve already established that. Now we just have to settle on a price.”

What’s your price to sell out your morals?  What’s the price to sell out your soul?

Hopefully no amount of money is worth selling your soul, is it? Still, day after day, people affix their price. Jesus tells us to consider that there is no price to account for your life – not that man can pay. Jesus already paid it on the cross! Nothing you have is of greater value to you. Nothing you can hold in your hand, nothing for which you can write a check, nothing that can be marketed, exchanged, or tagged is worth the value of your life of which God has made you steward. If we truly realize it and believe it, then we’ll protect that life in every way we can. That means we’ll lose it in Jesus Christ, so that it can be ours forever.

Malcolm Forbes is the man remembered for coining the phrase “he who dies with the most toys wins.” That was the wisdom of Malcolm Forbes. In fact, that was his ambition. That’s why he collected scores of motorcycles. That’s why he would pay over a million dollars for a Faberge egg. That’s why he owned castles, hot air balloons and countless other toys that he can no longer play with. The real quote should be, “He who dies with the most toys, still dies…

Many people spend all their energy seeking possessions, power and pleasure. Jesus said, however, that a world centered on possessions, power and pleasure is ultimately worthless. Whatever a person has on earth is only temporary; it cannot be exchanged for his or her soul. If you work hard at getting what you want, you might eventually have a “pleasurable” life, but in the end you will find it hollow and empty. The answer to the question, then, is that nothing is of enough value that it can be exchanged for one’s soul. Even if a person were to gain the world, that person would lose his or her soul—and the soul counts for eternity. No amount of money, power, or status can buy back a lost soul. Believers must be willing to make the pursuit of God more important than the selfish pursuit of pleasure. If we follow Jesus, we will know what it means to live abundantly now and to have eternal life as well.

 A number of years ago a story appeared which told of a man who picked up a beautiful rock from a North Carolina stream bed and used it as his cabin doorstop. Years later a geologist who was hiking in the area stopped at the cabin and noticed the doorstop, which he immediately recognized as a huge lump of gold. In fact, it proved to be one of the largest gold nuggets ever found east of the Rockies.

Like the man who failed to recognize gold when he held it in his hands, many people fail to recognize the true nature and ultimate value of Jesus. The question is, “What about you? Do you know Jesus? Will you let him save your soul and live for him? Do you see His value as more precious than gold, more precious than your life itself?

Darrell

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What is the Cost of Following Jesus?

Posted on April 10, 2018 by dkoop

A dairy farmer went to buy a new pickup truck. He had seen an ad in the paper about discounts and factory rebates, so he decided to trade in his old clunker. He chose a new model and was ready to write the check for the full amount. The salesman said, “Wait, I haven’t given you the final cost yet.” The farmer said, “Isn’t it the price I saw in the paper?” The salesman said, “No, that’s for the basic model, all the options cost extra.” So after the options were added, the farmer reluctantly wrote a check and drove off in his new pick-up.

A few months later the car salesman called the farmer because he wanted to buy a cow for his son’s 4-H project. The farmer assured the car salesman he had several good milk cows for sale for $500. The salesman drove out and selected a cow and took out his checkbook. The farmer said, “Wait. I haven’t given you the final cost yet.” Then he handed the salesman a bill that read:

BASIC COW $500
Two-tone exterior $45
Extra stomach $75
Milk storage compartment $60
Straw recycle compartment $120
Four handy spigots @ $10 each $40
Leather upholstery $125
Dual horns $45
Automatic rear fly swatter $38
Natural fertilizer attachment $185

GRAND TOTAL $1233

Whether you’re buying cars or cows, it’s important to get to what we call “the bottom line.” What is the “bottom line” of following Jesus? You may go into sticker shock when you discover it.  Many people are only interested in the basic model of Christian living. They want just enough Christianity to keep them out of hell without intruding on their fun. We don’t find the full cost of discipleship advertised very often these days. Few preachers discuss it because it is unpleasant; it doesn’t fill churches.  It isn’t the prosperity gospel that says, “Believe and you will be rich and happy.” As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him to die.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

These words applied to the disciples and to all who would come after Jesus—that is, become a disciple and enter his fellowship. Recognizing and confessing belief in Jesus as the Messiah is only the beginning of discipleship. Jesus invites every person to follow, but those who desire to follow him must have three attitudes:

  1. a willingness to deny themselves,
  2. a willingness to take up the cross, and
  3. a willingness to follow.

To deny oneself means to surrender immediate selfish gratification in order to discover and secure one’s true self and God’s interests. It is a willingness to let go of selfish desires and earthly security. This attitude turns self-centeredness to God-centeredness. “Self” is no longer in charge; God is.

To take up the cross was a vivid illustration of the humility and submission that Jesus was asking of his followers. When Jesus used this example of his followers taking up their crosses to follow him, the disciples got the picture. Death on a cross was a form of execution used by Rome for what they considered dangerous criminals. A prisoner carried his own cross to the place of execution, signifying submission to Rome’s power. Following Jesus, therefore, meant identifying with Jesus and his followers, facing social and political oppression and ostracism, and no turning back. For some, taking up the cross might indeed mean death. But Jesus’ words meant that his followers had to be prepared to obey God’s Word and to follow his will no matter what the consequences. We must count the cost and be prepared to pay it. Soon after this, Jesus would take up his own cross. Jesus was speaking prophetically here as well.  To follow Christ is also a moment-by-moment decision, requiring compassion and service. Following Jesus doesn’t mean walking behind him, but taking the same road of sacrifice and service that he took.

Jesus asked for something unique and rare when he suggested that his disciples follow him or to be loyal to him.  What receives our loyalty today? Sports teams . . . as long as they’re winning. Career . . . as long as we’re advancing. Marriage . . . as long as one’s spouse remains attractive. Basically, the self alone seems to deserve the loyalty of the self. It’s each person looking out for number one.  In Christian faith, however, Jesus must be number one, and we must give him our loyalty. Stick with him despite the swift current you’re swimming through. Never think that switching loyalties will reckon to your personal advantage. Remain loyal to Jesus and follow him all the way to heaven!

 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

Jesus says to lose our lives for Him to find life.  What does that mean? We do it all the time when we board an airplane. We “lose yourself” in the belly of that plane when we entrust its controls to the trained pilot. Sure, it might be fun to fly that plane ourselves but it would also be a sure way to ruin our life and the lives of others. Likewise if we want to save our life, then lose it in Jesus. He becomes our pilot.   Entrust our life to him whose every word, every thought, and every deed was never for his comfort and convenience but for the benefit of others…and still is. That’s why we can deny ourselves and say “no” to our wants and desires. Jesus knows what we need and he will provide it.   In the next post we will see what is at stake if we don’t follow Jesus.

Darrell

Source: Life Application Bible Commentary – Life Application Bible Commentary – Matthew.
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Why Did Jesus Come? 

Posted on April 9, 2018 by dkoop

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

While I was in college, I will never forget all the news and coverage about Operation Desert Storm.  It was the code name for the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 1991.  Have you heard about Operation Moolah? It was a genuine military operation in the early ‘50’s aimed at enticing North Korean pilots to defect during the Korean War.  It was called Operation Moolah because the first pilot to defect with his Soviet-built MiG-15 fighter plane would be offered $100,000; A lot of moolah, or money in those days.

If we look up the names of other military operations, we will notice that most describe the mission’s objective or the mode in which the mission was to be carried out. Desert Storm, for example, was called that because the U.S. military was intent on whipping up a storm as it raced across the Iraqi desert to capture Baghdad, the capital city.

In our post text today Jesus defines the divine mission for both himself and for us, Christ followers. Had he given the mission an operational name it could have been the “Cross.” The Apostle Peter, however, objected to this.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Why would he do this?  Everyone still expected the Messiah to come as a conquering king, to remove their enemies the Romans and set up an earthly kingdom.  Peter certainly found it most unnerving that the King would soon be put to death. His actions show that he really didn’t know what he was saying. If Jesus were going to die, what did this mean for the disciples? If he were truly the Messiah, then what was all this talk about being killed? So Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. The word for “rebuke” is a strong term meaning that Peter was rejecting Jesus’ interpretation of the Messiah as a suffering figure.

Peter, Jesus’ friend and devoted follower who had just eloquently proclaimed Jesus’ true identity, sought to protect him from the suffering he prophesied. But if Jesus hadn’t suffered and died, Peter would have died in his sins. Great temptations can come from those who love us and seek to protect us.

Be cautious of advice from a friend who says, “Surely God doesn’t want you to face this.” Often our most difficult temptations come from those who try to protect us from discomfort.

Peter felt that the divine mission should instead be called something less frightening than “Operation Cross” like “Operation Couch.” He would help rule and make decisions not watch his leader die.  But it is the cross, and not the couch, that defines the divine mission for Christ and Christians. Those who don’t accept this are allies of Satan and will lose their life for eternity.

Jesus replies to Peter,  “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Cephas was now a Satan? Wasn’t Jesus overreacting? Hadn’t Peter meant well by insisting that Jesus didn’t have to suffer and die? He may have meant well but Peter had inadvertently lobbed at Jesus one of the temptations Satan himself had used in the wilderness after Jesus’ baptism. At that time Satan had told Jesus that if he wanted to receive glory and honor from all the nations, he didn’t have to bloody himself on the cross. He could just bow down to him instead. Satan was offering Jesus a crown without the cross. But Jesus knew that there would be no crown for us if he did not endure the cross.

“You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men,” Jesus told Peter. That’s still true of those who are offended by the cross of Jesus and think that a suffering savior is overkill. Why, “Just be good!” Isn’t that enough to gain entrance into heaven? Did you notice, however, that Jesus equated “the things of men” with the thoughts of Satan?

Whenever someone thinks that he just needs to follow the Golden Rule and “do unto others as he would have them do unto him,” these seemingly pious thoughts cause great delight in hell. Satan’s goal is not to make this world a living hell where murderers and child molesters roam the streets uncontested. He’s quite content to have a world full of law-abiding citizens who mow the lawn for the shut-in down the street and who return dropped $20 bills instead of pocketing them as long as these people think that by doing these good acts they don’t need the cross of Christ.

But telling Jesus that he didn’t need to suffer and die would be like telling your insurance company that it doesn’t need to pay for the damage you did to your car. If the insurance company isn’t going to pay, then who is? Someone has to if your car is going to get fixed. Likewise if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross, we would still be on the hook for our sins. Ditch the cross and leave us sinners to fend for ourselves? Aren’t you glad Jesus put Peter in his place? Aren’t you glad that Jesus understood well that the divine mission outlined for him was defined by the cross and not the couch?

The cross, not the couch! That’s the divine mission.

Back to Desert Storm, I read about young man who’d been called up to go to Iraq, because our nation had declared war on Saddam Hussein.

The problem for this young man was – he didn’t want to go.  He explained that he hadn’t joined the army to go to war, he’d joined because of the benefits: the pay, the college tuition, the insurance, etc.   How does that sound to you?  To me, I understand that one of the primary functions of the military is to prepare for war.  Surely it’s somewhere in the job description.

Armies do not only exist to pass out benefits, those are perks.  Armies exist to deal with conflicts, to defend their people, to fight the enemy.  But there are people who actually join up hoping for a free ride.  And that kind of mentality undermines the military of any nation.  That same kind of mentality can also undermine the mission of the church.

Too often believers sign up for the benefits. They expect Jesus to “be there” for them… but they don’t expect to “be there” for Him.   But’s that’s not what Jesus has called us to do.

We’ll look at this in more detail in the next post.

Darrell

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Who is Jesus? 

Posted on April 9, 2018 by dkoop

Can you trust what people say about you that don’t really know you? Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him. Theories still abound concerning the identity of Jesus: good man, remarkable teacher, founder a religion, martyr, etc. All of them are lacking.  Where Jesus is recognized as Lord and Savior, faith grows and the gospel prospers. Where Jesus is considered one among many others, a “religious buffet” is being served.  Pick any entree besides the living Lord, and we’ll discover that they are all spoiled and laced with salmonella that will eventually lead to death.

Beginning in the 1930s, scientists began their search for a 9th planet they expected to exist somewhere past Neptune until a scientifically hungry farm boy named Clyde Tombaugh made the pleasant sighting while peering into his handmade 9 inch telescope on a clear Kansas night. After the discovery, elementary school students in English speaking countries began the memorization pattern for the nine planets for decades later such as “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas!”

Then, sadly in 2006, the International Astronomical Union took a vote and decided to no longer classify Pluto as a planet. Despite the fact that Pluto orbits around the sun, despite the fact that Pluto has its own gravitational force, and despite the fact that Disney has made a cartooned dog to accompany their ever popular mouse, Pluto has been declassified. The name “dwarf planet” has such an inferior name to it.

Some believe that the IAU has no real authority to declassify Pluto as a planet. Though it may be okay for an organization to explain to others what they feel a word is supposed to be, I believe it is not acceptable to alter the meaning of the word “planet” once it has already been well-defined.

The same thing that happened to Pluto is I believe continues to happen to the Lord Jesus Christ. This man, whose overwhelming historical records indicated that he lived, died, and resurrected continues to be declassified and discredited.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples two questions. “Who do the people say the Son of Man is?” There were many answers to this question. Some thought John the Baptist, others thought Elijiah.  But when the disciples were asked “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responded back with the correct answer. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

To everyone who accepts Jesus as their Messiah, He is the savior of their life. But to those who are unsure of who Jesus is, please do not accept the world’s attempt at his declassification as something other than Savior. Do not be pluto’ed by those lies. He loves you, He died for you, and He wants to live in you and through you with resurrection power.  And he wants you to go with him someday to a place thats out of this world.

Jesus told Peter that God had revealed the great spiritual truth to him. Often we wonder where certain people get their insight, their faith.  If we knew where faith comes from, we could give credit for being faithful.   If it comes from inside us, we get the credit. Jesus did the work that enabled our salvation, but then we could get credit for believing in it.  If it comes from outside us, then God gets the credit. Jesus both did the work that enables our salvation and provides the means of our accepting it. As blind people need help to “see” the world, so spiritually dead people need help to find spiritual life. Jesus gives us that help.  When it comes to bragging about your faith, brag about God. He is the one who gives us faith.

Next, Jesus says something extraordinary about Peter’s confession.  It’s the first time that the word “church is used in the New Testament. “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

The word “church” (ekklesia) is found in the Gospels only in Matthew, but the concept is throughout all four Gospels. Jesus’ words reveal that there would be a definite interim period between his death and second coming—the “church age.” “Church” means “the called-out people of God.”

The church is the only N.T. institution that Jesus specifically promised to bless and to build. Think about that. Jesus never specifically promised to build the Rotary Club or Lion’s Club. He didn’t promise the build the VFW. He never promised to build the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. Jesus never promised to bless and build Christian colleges. These organizations are great but they never specifically received Jesus’ promise.

The church is eternal and bigger than any earthly king or country.  Countries come and go, the church is here to stay!  What that means for us is that church and the Kingdom of God are not always defined by “American” values. Now don’t get me wrong. America can be a blessing, but it is not the institution Jesus promised to bless or to build.

Jesus says, “the gates of Hades will not stand against it.”

The “gates of Hades” represents Satan and all his minions. These words may be interpreted, in light of other passages on the power of Satan, as Satan’s domain in struggle against the church. Christ promises that Satan will not defeat the church; instead, his sphere of operation (death) will be defeated. In these words Jesus gave the promise of the indestructibility of the church and protection for all who believe in him and become part of his church.

The church is Jesus choice of offensive weapons. Gates are primarily for defense. And where does Jesus say the gates are attached? Hades, not on the church. If this is true, then our job as the church is to sharpen and use our offensive skills. As the church we are an offensive weapon.  We know who Jesus is, we are sharing who He is and what He has done and we are moving forward in victory!

Then Jesus said, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”  The meaning of this verse has been a subject of debate for centuries.  Some say the “keys of the kingdom” represents the authority to carry out church discipline, legislation, and administration; others say the keys give the authority to announce the forgiveness of sins.  Most likely, the “keys” are the kingdom authority given to the church, including the opportunity to bring people to the kingdom of heaven by presenting them with the message of salvation found in God’s Word.

Do you know who Jesus is? Is He your Lord and Savior?  Do you see yourself as a victor not a victim?  I hope that you will join me will receiving him, living for him and participating in a movement that is bigger and more blessed than any other, the church.

Darrell

In the next post we will look at what else Jesus says about following Him.

Source:  Life Application Bible Commentary – Life Application Bible Commentary – Matthew.
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