Scripture:

Matt 16:26　For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life?

I. Life makes man valuable:

  1. Man is the highest creature in the universe. Why? It is because man possesses a life that surpasses every other created life.
  2. The human life is commonly known as the soul. Man is precious because he has a soul, a human life.
  3. Show how real the soul is and speak of its nature. (For example, the conscience is a proof of the existence of the soul as part of the heart. Describe how man’s conscience condemns him when he does wrong. Prove the existence of the soul by using love as an example. Love is something that cannot be seen, but there is no question that love exists. Last, show that the soul is intangible and inward.)

II. The value of life:

  1. The one thing that man neglects most in himself is his own life. Some may think that they are taking good care of their life, but they are actually only taking care of their physical bodies, not their life. Others care for the education of their mentality. This education is only for their mentality, their psychological faculty. Although man cares for his body and his mind, he neglects his real life, which is his soul.
  2. According to the appraisal of the Lord Jesus, the life, or the soul, that man neglects is more valuable than the whole world. Quote Matthew 16:26: “What shall a man be profited if he should gain the whole world, but forfeit his soul-life?” Nothing in the universe can be compared with the life of man’s soul.

III.  How man can lose the life of his soul:

  1. Man loses the life of his soul due to his negligence. Man cares only for the body and his mentality, and he neglects life. This causes him to lose the life of his soul.
  2. Man loses his soul also because he cares too much for the material things. Because he cares for the body and the mind, he gives his full attention to the material things which the body and the mind require. Man pays his soul for wealth, advancement, savings, knowledge, position, fame, and riches.

IV. How man’s soul can be saved:

  1. Explain that he must despise the material things; that is, he must despise this age and the needs of the body and the mind.
  2. He must then treasure his soul and the future. Just as the body and the mind are related to this age, so the soul is related to the future.
  3. Receive the Lord Jesus as the Savior. Only He is the Savior of our soul. He can forgive our sins, and He can cause man’s soul to be saved, because He can give eternal life to man.