BATTLE FOR THE
SOUL
INTRODUCTION
Battle for the soul is ongoing in a world of iniquity; undermining of the soul of man, with destructive policies that attempt to eliminate godly influence. There is a flood of ungodliness, with a withdrawal from the common decency of man, towards entrapping the soul by acceptance of ungodly traits being extended that are condemned in God’s Word!
In Greek mythology a story is told of a box sent by the gods to Pandora, which she was forbidden to open. She opened the box out of curiosity that loosened a swarm of evils upon mankind; a prolific source of troubles. We are seeing such today as man indulges in the unfruitful works of darkness!
There is a pollution of the mind being enhanced by modern day technology; a reprogramming process to help nurture one towards acceptance of ill-conceived ways that would destroy basic morality of the past! There is a target of educating the young, with a cancel culture, to eliminate all that is of a moral and biblical value!
Battle for the Soul
Place of Abode
Definition of the soul is a word commonly used in the Bible to designate the non-material ego of man in its ordinary relationship with earthly and physical things; the immoral part of man! The body, which at death returns to the dust, awaits the resurrection, and non-material self (soul) which, if regenerate (a saved condition), goes to paradise of heaven; if not, to the abode of the wicked dead (Hell).
Jesus said: What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his own soul (Matthew 16:26)? There is an ongoing battle for the soul that would point man towards the wrong destiny! There is a politically motivated power struggle to control the masses with little recognition given towards the soul of man!
It was noted that there are those who are seeking their own profit; all that is precious and valuable to them: Power, pleasures, and riches. The lost of the soul of man is irrecoverable; a soul once lost and damned (committed to Hell) can never be retrieved!
The Soul Survives
the Body
Jesus said: Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Mathew 10:28). It was noted that the soul which is immoral, cannot be touched by instruments of violence; it is immoral, it survives the body, lives in a separate state, while the body is in a state of death!
Fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell is a description of the power of God; to torment and punish both body and soul in Hell, in everlasting burning, in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.
Onrush Towards
Destruction
We are living in an age as in the pre-Flood days of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Babylon which was the hold of every foul spirit. There is an onrush towards destruction of body and soul; unless realization comes forth to the reality of such! There is an inroad laid; that is being consumed, which is contrary to God’s Word! The Apostle John wrote: All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof; but he that does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:16-17).
World signifies the evil desire and sin that is so much a part of human existence. There is an enhancement towards the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, that far exceeds that of yesteryear! There is allowance being made towards the sinful nature of man; with the godliness of man no longer identified, as it once was through preaching and teaching of God’s Unadulterated (Pure) Word!
An Uncertain Sound
Apostle Paul wrote: If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to battle (1 Corinthians 14:8)? Prophet Joel, in speaking the words of the Lord, said: Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord comes and is near at hand (Joel 2:1).
The trumpet was used for various purposes but in this instance it was to be blown because of the seriousness of the crisis before the people. Today, the sound of the trumpet often has an uncertain sound; if blown at all! The battle for the soul is ongoing; but many have become immune to sounding the alarm because they relish the ways of the ungodly that is consuming the land!
Grown at Ease
There are those who have grown at ease in ill-conceived sin! They have had their conscience seared with the constant flow of immorality presented as being good for the soul. No wonder the younger generation has lost its sense of direction! No wonder many have lost their once held integrity!
Why, because of those who are holding back, not giving warning, as people continue to drift away from the moral compass of yesteryear, heading towards the wrath of God. Apostle Paul wrote: The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold (suppress) the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).
Flames of Wrath
Jonathan Edwards sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” contained these words: Consider the fearful danger that you are in: You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder. You have no interest in any mediator, and nothing to hold on to save yourself, nothing to keep the flames of wrath away, nothing of your own, nothing that you have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment.
Those words still ring loud and clear to endangered souls who are about to descend into eternity without the benefit of a Savior (the Lord Jesus Christ), unless repentance comes into focus prior to Judgment Day!
Concern for the Soul
of Man
One man noted: A man has to think of his soul before everything else (Leo Tolstoy). In the hour in which we live many have reversed that saying, by putting everything else before the salvation of the soul! We are bombarded by daily inactivity towards the eternal state of man; with the rewarding of sinfulness, rather than exposing its pathway to destruction! It was noted that we are suffering from the corrosive, immoral breath of the 21st century.
The secularism, humanism, materialism, liberalism, and commercialism of our day has devastated our resources of security. The home, once the primary source of stability has become a battleground. The church has forfeited its power because of worldliness. In the battle for the soul; many are losing out to the enemy of one’s soul, Satan, for the temporal pleasures of sin that would send one to a Devil’s Hell! One man stated: Every man decides the way his soul shall go (John Oxenham).
A man of God was asked: If given an hour to explain the Gospel to someone, how would he do so? He said he would spend the first fifty minutes on the bad news of judgment and the last ten minutes on the good news of salvation, because without the context of judgment one would not appreciate or even understand salvation. In his answer underlies the reality of a deep concern for the condition of the soul of man!
Wise and Foolish
Contrasted
In the Book of Proverbs the wise and foolish are contrasted in reference to the battle of the soul: The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; but he cast away the substance (desire) of the wicked (Proverbs 10:3). The righteous eats to the satisfying of the soul; but the belly of the wicked shall want (Proverbs 13:25). Apostle James wrote: Lay aside all filthiness and superfluity (abundance) of naughtiness (wickedness), and receive with meekness the engrafted (implanted) word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21).
Scripture reveals how Lot (the nephew of Abraham) made a bad decision, when given a choice where to abide, choosing to dwell in the cities of the plain, pitching his tent towards (as far as) Sodom. Scripture reveals: The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners (sinful) before the Lord exceedingly (Genesis 13:13). Apostle Peter revealed: God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemning them with an overflow (destruction), making them an example to those that after (afterward) should live ungodly (2 Peter 2:6).
Hindrance Towards
Walking with God
Jesus pointed to the battle for the soul category, in speaking of the Parable of the Rich Young Ruler: A young man came to Jesus, asking: What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? Jesus responded with: Keep the commandments. The young man answered: All these have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?
Jesus said: If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me. When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:21-22). Jesus showed him that his wealth and self-righteousness had blinded him to his real weakness; he loved his passions more than he loved God. The battle for the soul is real; what one places before God can hinder one's walk in Him!
Redeeming (Delivering)
the Soul
The Psalmist wrote: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). He restores my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake (Psalm 23:3). Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place; he that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul into vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and the righteousness from the God of his salvation (Psalm 24:3-5). The Lord redeems the soul of his servants; and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (held guilty) (Psalm 34:22). Today is the day of salvation; the eternal and final destiny of the soul depends on the decision made!
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