I Sold My Body And Soul
I am not exaggerating and this is not a metaphor, I’m speaking literally. I was offered a deal that was too good to pass up, but it was all or nothing. After carefully weighing the costs and benefits, I accepted. It was a deal that demanded both my body and my soul. Now, many years later, I’m still glad I took it, because I’m convinced I got the better end of the bargain.
My original body and soul were so broken that they were beyond repair. I learned that I could never be religious enough to fix the condition of my original soul, it was dead. Nothing within human power can restore life to what is dead. Therefore, I needed help from a source beyond human ability. I needed the same power that raised Jesus from the grave to raise my dead soul back to life. It was because of Jesus’s resurrection power that I was willing to give Him my soul.
However, my body required profound redemption. Sin had so thoroughly corrupted my flesh that I could find no goodness within myself. My sinful condition was so pervasive that no amount of prayer could remove the sin nature within me. Nor could any amount of religious activity atone for even a single sinful act from my past. The full extent of my sin is precisely why my body needed to be redeemed by someone untouched by that same sinful condition.
My original body and soul were so broken that they were beyond repair. I learned that I could never be religious enough to fix the condition of my original soul, it was dead. Nothing within human power can restore life to what is dead. Therefore, I needed help from a source beyond human ability. I needed the same power that raised Jesus from the grave to raise my dead soul back to life. It was because of Jesus’s resurrection power that I was willing to give Him my soul.
However, my body required profound redemption. Sin had so thoroughly corrupted my flesh that I could find no goodness within myself. My sinful condition was so pervasive that no amount of prayer could remove the sin nature within me. Nor could any amount of religious activity atone for even a single sinful act from my past. The full extent of my sin is precisely why my body needed to be redeemed by someone untouched by that same sinful condition.
He owns both
I’m writing this article today to describe the full scope of the transaction that took place when I surrendered my body and soul to Jesus. He required that I give my sinful body and my broken soul entirely to Him as my part of the transaction. It was an extreme, all-or-nothing demand, one that left no room for me to retain any control over either my body or my soul.
I want to challenge the misconception that all Jesus asks of someone is to believe. Belief is a prerequisite for a relationship with Jesus Christ; however, it is far from all that He asks of His followers. Jesus demands lordship over His followers. Lordship means that both my body and my soul are under His domain. Because He is my King, and everything within His domain belongs to Him, He alone determines what happens to my body and my soul.
I want to challenge the misconception that all Jesus asks of someone is to believe. Belief is a prerequisite for a relationship with Jesus Christ; however, it is far from all that He asks of His followers. Jesus demands lordship over His followers. Lordship means that both my body and my soul are under His domain. Because He is my King, and everything within His domain belongs to Him, He alone determines what happens to my body and my soul.
He determines here and hereafter
His domain does not exist only in the spiritual realm. Although I have never seen Jesus with my physical eyes or touched Him with my hands, I have been radically transformed by Him, both physically and spiritually.
By this statement, I want to challenge the notion that faith is purely spiritual. While there is certainly a spiritual component to faith, one that governs my eternity after life on earth ends—genuine faith must also have a tangible impact on life here and now. If I claim to believe something about my existence but it has no effect on the way I live, can I truly say I “believe” it? By purchasing my body, He determines how I live in this life. By purchasing my soul, He determines what happens to me in the life to come.
By this statement, I want to challenge the notion that faith is purely spiritual. While there is certainly a spiritual component to faith, one that governs my eternity after life on earth ends—genuine faith must also have a tangible impact on life here and now. If I claim to believe something about my existence but it has no effect on the way I live, can I truly say I “believe” it? By purchasing my body, He determines how I live in this life. By purchasing my soul, He determines what happens to me in the life to come.
Protection and Peace
If you’re wondering what I gained by selling both my body and soul, the short answer is… JESUS! He promised Himself to me in exchange for my surrender. This was the transaction that took place at His crucifixion. He gave up His body on the cross to address my sin condition, and He gave His Spirit into God’s hands when He purchased my soul on the cross as He breathed His last.
Jesus paid far more for my body and soul than they were worth through His death on the cross. In this all-or-nothing transaction, I received far more from Him than He received from me. Because He is my King, I now have His protection in this life and the peace of knowing I will be with Him forever in the life to come. That deal is so good, I can’t understand why anyone would ever turn down Jesus’s offer.
Jesus paid far more for my body and soul than they were worth through His death on the cross. In this all-or-nothing transaction, I received far more from Him than He received from me. Because He is my King, I now have His protection in this life and the peace of knowing I will be with Him forever in the life to come. That deal is so good, I can’t understand why anyone would ever turn down Jesus’s offer.
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