Add correct line breaks, correct capitalisation, correct punctuation, correct Australian English spelling, and correct KJV Bible verse quotations and references to my paragraphs where applicable. But do NOT — I repeat — do NOT alter or change ANY words from my paragraphs under ALL circumstances.
37:36 Intro
40:06 I. The Danger Of Apostasy
49:37 II. The Threat Of Eternal Death
51:03 The most valuable thing on this earth is our soul
57:05 Once the soul is lost, it can never be replaced
58:53 The never ending pain of eternal hell
1:02:14 III. The Blessing Of Conversion
1:03:02 The Gospel of Salvation
1:05:46 The greatest work we can do on this earth
1:12:30 Closing Prayer
Introduction
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Today, we have come to the concluding part of the Book of James. As we consider this last section, I would like to draw your attention to the theme of this book: it is about true, genuine faith, and it is the opposite of a false, professing faith.
If you remember what James had discussed throughout his letter, he talked about many needs: the need to understand trials and how to deal with them; the need for wisdom to deal with trials; the need to understand how to speak and how to respond to the Word of God; the need to understand how to treat the people in the church, not to show favouritism; the need to control the tongue; the need for heavenly wisdom as opposed to earthly wisdom; the need to draw near to God and not to be a friend of the world; the need to respond to the will of God; the need to understand that life is short — it is like a vapour that “appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14); the need to speak the truth at all times. But to someone who is still outside the kingdom of God, these are not his greatest needs. His greatest need is salvation. It is his greatest need because he is in the greatest danger — the danger of losing his soul. This is what we want to learn from today's passage in James 5:19–20.
The title of our message is "The Value of the Soul."
I. The Danger Of Apostasy
Our first point is: the danger of apostasy. Apostasy means a falling away from the truth. Let us begin with verse 19: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth.” Here, James was dealing with two groups of people. The word “brethren” is a reference to the genuine believers. “If any of you” is a reference to those who profess salvation but were not genuine believers. It indicates a possibility most likely to happen. These people were amongst you in the church; they were in your fellowship. They could even be baptised members, but they had erred from the truth.
The original Greek word for “err” is from where we get the English word ‘planet’. Just like a wandering planet which has strayed away from the orbit, this person has strayed away from the truth. “Truth” refers to the Word of God, primarily the Gospel of salvation. In other words, he has wandered away, or fallen away, from the truth which was once delivered unto the saints. When a person strays from God's saving truth, he enters into a path of sin, which verse 20 calls "the error of his way."
Here, it does not mean that the person is saved and then loses his salvation. A true believer will never lose his salvation. Jesus said, ‘No man can pluck you out of my hand’ (John 10:28). It takes someone greater than the Lord Jesus Christ to snatch us out of His hand. The reality is that this person is not saved in the first place.
Remember Jesus shared about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. The sower scattered the seeds: some seeds fell by the wayside - the birds of the air came and devoured them; some seeds fell upon stony places, they sprung up very quickly but there was no soil and they died; some seeds fell among thorns, and they were choked by the thorns; and finally some seeds fell on good ground, and produced much fruit — a reference to genuine believers.
The person who errs from the truth is like the first three kinds of seeds. He had a heart that was hard, where the gospel could not penetrate, and Satan snatched it away. A heart that was shallow where there was no foundation; for a while he professed his faith in the gospel, but when tribulations and persecutions came, he quickly denounced his faith. A heart that was choked with the cares and riches of the world.
Tragically, we do have these kinds of people in the church today. Some have attended the church for years, listening to hundreds — if not thousands — of sermons, but their hearts were so hard that the Word of God could not penetrate through. Others would profess their faith and show some signs of enthusiasm; they were excited about spiritual things, they were active in the church but only for a while, and then they disappeared. Yet others would remain in the church, but their hearts were not interested in the things of God—only in the things of the world.
Right doctrine & Right Living—they go hand in hand!
Dear friend, are you such a person? How can we tell the difference between a true, genuine faith and a false, professing faith? By the way the person lives his life. He may be able to hide it for a while, but eventually, he will show his true colours through his actions, his words, his behaviour, his lifestyle. His false profession of faith will be revealed in the path he takes.
As James describes it, the one who errs from the truth will be revealed from the error of his ways. To err from the truth has to do with doctrines, and error from his ways has to do with behaviour. Eventually, both these two things will meet: good theology and good behaviour, sound doctrine and godly living. They go hand in hand. You reject one; you reject the other. When you reject God's word, you also reject the principles of godly living.
Remember our Lord Jesus, who said ‘Why do you call me Lord, Lord but do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). The person may mouth the name of Jesus Christ, but his actions will reveal that he does not really believe because he does not do what Jesus said. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Again, why is his calling "Lord, Lord" not genuine? Because he does not obey the will of the Father which is in heaven. Similarly, the Apostle John writes: “ He that committeth sin is of the devil… Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” (1 John 3:8-9).
It does not mean that the believers are perfect and we will no longer sin. That is impossible. As long as we live in this mortal body, we will still be molested by sin. We will still sin from time to time. He was speaking about habitual sins. Sin will not habitually, continuously, be the pattern of a believer's life. It will not characterise his life. However, the sinner, on the other hand, is someone who continuously and habitually practises sin. The danger of apostasy is the threat of eternal death.
II. The Threat Of Eternal Death
This brings us to our second point. Every human being, whether believer or unbeliever, has to die once. Unless our Lord Jesus comes in the clouds for the rapture, and we who are believers will then be caught up to meet Him in the air. Otherwise, all of us sitting in this room will have to die once.
This is the second death: eternal death — where the soul will be cast into the lake of fire and be tormented for all eternity. A place where, the Bible says, the fire never stops burning. Some people get so offended whenever the preacher speaks about hell. ‘Why must the preacher always talk about hell?’ Do you know that our Lord Jesus spoke about hell more than He did about heaven? The danger of hell cannot be overstated.
The most valuable thing on this earth is our soul
Dear friend, what is the most valuable thing in this world to you? What would you say it is? Perhaps some people would say it is wealth. Others would say it is good health. Yet others would say it is relationships. Though these things may be necessary and important, none of them can be considered the most valuable thing. The Bible says our days on this earth is about 70 years, if by way of strength, it may be 80 years and then we die. Our wealth, our health, and all our relationships are only good and effective as long as we live on this earth. Seventy or eighty years — that’s it. Our soul is most valuable because it is that part of us that will last forever.
Oftentimes, we tend to value the wrong thing, like the illustration I used to give:
On their wedding, a man presented his wife with a beautiful box, and inside the box was a diamond ring — the wedding ring. The man spent everything he had to purchase that ring.
Some years later, one day, the wife said to her husband, ‘Dear, do you know that I’m still keeping that beautiful box you gave me?’
The husband replied, ‘Oh, that is great! But what about the ring that was in the box?’
The wife said, ‘Oh, that funny little thing? I threw it away. I just love the box.’
That may sound foolish and ridiculous, but that is exactly how people tend to value the wrong thing. They value the box and throw away that which is valuable.
By way of illustration, the box is this thing we call the body. We pamper it, take all kinds of vitamins to protect it, we exercise to keep it, we put on cosmetics to beautify it. We spend all our time and money working on this body. The body is just the box. The soul is that which is valuable. Yet, we would take the things of this body — whether it be our minds, our attitudes, our ideas, our feelings, our emotions, our energy and strength — to override the most important possession we have, and that is our soul. We throw our soul away and never value it.
This attitude and behaviour is so pervasive; that is why we have the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel — to keep us focusing on the box, the body. When you lose your soul, you lose everything. One life to live, and people are willing to spend all their time trying to make more money and accumulate more things in this world, build bigger houses, drive expensive cars, eat, drink, and be merry to make this physical life a little bit more comfortable.
Some even claim that ‘Well, after all, God is the one who blesses us with all these things.’ But at the same time, they will not come to church, they will not worship and serve Him because they are too busy with those material things. They simply do not understand that at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is for the soul to be made right with God. If your soul is not right with God, it doesn’t matter how much you have accumulated in this world — you have lost everything.
Once the soul is lost, it can never be replaced
When you lose your soul, it is a terrible loss because it can never be replaced. When you buy something from the supermarket or shopping centre, you break it and you bring it back. Sometimes you can still have it replaced, but you have only one soul. It cannot be replaced; it cannot be reversed. Once you die in your sin, you cannot reverse back and cry for another chance, another sermon, another minute, or another opportunity. You have only one chance, and it is this life.
Dear friend, if you want peace, you can have it. If you want mercy, you can have it. If you want forgiveness and salvation, you can have it. But the key is, you have to have it now. You will never get it on the other side of the grave. Once you draw your last breath, you have lost that opportunity. The pain of eternal hell, eternal death, cannot be measured.
The never ending pain of eternal hell
Have you ever been really sick in the night and you wonder ‘When will the early morning sun ever come up?’ Time seems to go by so slowly. An hour goes by quicker when you are enjoying yourself than when you are suffering great pain and affliction, right? You take the worst pain you have ever experienced in your entire life. Imagine that pain - never, ever getting relief. It never leaves you; it continues forever. And then consider this: the pain the Bible describes when the soul meets God unprepared it goes beyond anything you and I have ever experienced.
Most of the pain that we experience, we experience with the hope that one day it will go away. Mothers, when they go through childbirth, it is excruciating pain. But they know that, on the other side of childbirth, comes the blessing of the child, and they endure the pain. Pain lasts for a little while and then it stops. But the pain in hell never stops. It goes on forever and ever. It cannot be measured.
When the unbelieving soul ends up in hell, he has no one else to blame but himself. There will be no excuse. The gospel has been preached to you. You may not like the way the gospel was preached or the way it was presented. You may try to destroy the arguments. You may try to mock the claims of Jesus Christ. But one thing you need to know: come judgment day, you will never be able to look back and say, ‘They did not tell me how I could be saved. They did not give me a gospel tract to read. They did not tell me that I could repent of my sins and believe in the only Saviour of the world. That is why I’m lost.’ There will be no excuse.
III. The Blessing Of Conversion
Our final point is the blessing of conversion. The soul is so precious and valuable; therefore, James says: ‘If anyone of you has erred from the truth, living in the error of his ways, you - the believer - must convert him.’ To convert is to turn him back to God. As Jesus said: “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3, KJV).
The Gospel of Salvation
The only way to convert a person is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tell him that there is a consequence for sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) — not just the physical death, but the eternal death. For it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
But our soul is so precious and valuable to God that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into this world. He lived a perfect life. He was without sin. He kept all the laws of God on our behalf, which we cannot keep. He suffered. He was crucified. He died, shedding His precious blood on the cross of Calvary. Not for His own sins - He had none - but to pay the penalty of our sins. Jesus died to redeem us from the pit of hell. But death could not consume Him. On the third day, He rose again from the dead. And Jesus said: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”(John 11:25).
Only His precious blood can wash away all our sins. Only His precious blood can cover all our sins, as James calls it, ‘hide the multitude of sins’ (James 5:20). One single sin can send us into eternal damnation. One single sin is sufficient. How much more throughout our entire lives we have accumulated these multitude of sins? It is a weight that will pull us into hell. Who can save us? Only Jesus Christ.
The greatest work we can do on this earth
Today, there are many wars being fought on many fronts — between Russia and Ukraine, between Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah, in Myanmar, and so forth. Often, we hear of heroic stories of people saving the lives of others in such times. That is a noble thing. But to be a part of saving a soul from eternal death is the greatest thing that one human being can ever do for another. When you save a physical life, you save the person to live his life perhaps for another 30 or 40 years. But when you save a spiritual life, you save his soul forever. A million upon a million years, he will still be alive in heaven.
That is why James said, “Let him know” (James 5:20). This is the greatest thing you can ever do; when you share the Gospel to convert someone, to turn him back to God, to save his soul from death, and hide the multitude of his sins. It is the greatest thing one human being can ever do for another.
Some years back, a great biblical scholar and theologian died. Throughout his lifetime, he had written many Bible commentaries which influenced thousands and thousands of pastors and Bible students, including myself. I often would read his writings.
Just before he died, he wrote: ‘For many years, the greater part of my life has been devoted to the study and interpretation of the Bible. I regard this as a most worthwhile and rewarding occupation. But there is one form of ministry which I would rate higher than this, and that is the work of an evangelist, to which I have not been called.’
Though it is true that some people are specially called to be evangelists full-time, however all believers are called to preach the Gospel — whether it be to our unbelieving grandparents, parents, children, colleagues, friends, or the person we meet in the street. We evangelise and share the Gospel, which is able to save the soul from death and hide the multitude of sins. That is the greatest work.
Dear friend, if you are an unbeliever, still lingering outside the kingdom of God, and you realise that all these years, ‘I have just been professing my faith outwardly, but inwardly I do not believe — inwardly, I’m not transformed’ — today is the day to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Him. He is able to save you.
You must realise that your soul is so precious and valuable. That is why God sends Christians by the millions to testify to you the love of Jesus Christ. If that is not enough, God plants churches all around the world to remind you that He loves you. If that is not enough, God calls preachers. Preachers would die, and He will call others to minister to you. If that is not enough, God would raise up hymn writers to write songs to captivate your attention. And then God will bring you to a worship service like this, where the Gospel message is preached to you.
Why did God do so much for you? Because He loves you. He wants to save your soul. Once lost, you will be eternally lost. Today is the day of salvation. Come and believe in Jesus Christ before it is too late. Don’t be like those people who say, ‘Perhaps tomorrow.’ Because tomorrow may never come. For all you know, tonight may be your last day on this earth. Reject Jesus Christ, you reject the only way.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, indeed Thou hast been with us in our study of the book of James. How we have learned valuable lessons about many needs. Indeed, we need many things, especially when we face trials and sufferings and we have been ministered by the study of this book. But Thou hast taught us that the greatest need is salvation.
Indeed, our Lord Jesus said: “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). The soul is that which is most valuable. It is that part of us that will last forever and ever. Teach us to value our souls. Even as we live our days on this earth, we want to build up our spiritual life. We want to be strong. We want to live our lives for Thee.
For those who are still lingering outside Thy kingdom, rejecting the Gospel of Christ, O Lord, be gracious, be merciful, and be patient. May the Spirit of God convict their hearts, that they will realise there is no other Saviour. Only the One who died on the cross, shedding His precious blood, can cover the multitude of our sins. Convict their hearts so that they will cry out to Jesus: ‘Come, Lord Jesus! Save me! I need You. Be my Saviour and be my Lord.’
We pray that Thou wilt continue to use this church, whereby the Gospel of Jesus Christ will always be preached in all its purity, and we will not shy away from it. We want to be sharing the Gospel with our unbelieving loved ones and friends. It is the greatest thing one human being can ever do for another — the saving of souls from death.
We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Add correct line breaks, correct capitalisation, correct punctuation, correct Australian English spelling, and correct KJV Bible verse quotations and references to my paragraphs where applicable. But do NOT — I repeat — do NOT alter or change ANY words from my paragraphs under ALL circumstances.
I greet all of you in the Blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today we have come to the conclus cluding part of the Book of James as we consider this last section I would like to draw your attention to the theme of this book it is about true genuine faith and it is the opposite of a false professing faith if you remember what James had discussed throughout his letter he talk about many needs the need to understand trials and how to deal with them the need of wisdom to deal with trials the need to understand how to speak and how to respond to the word of God the need to understand how to treat the people in the church not to show favoritism the need to control the tongue the need of heav Heavenly wisdom as opposed to Earthly wisdom the need to draw near to God and not to be Afra of the world the need to respond to the will of God the need to understand that life is short it is like a vapor that appear for a little time and then vanishes away the need to speak the truth at all times but to someone who is still outside the kingdom of God these are not his greatest needs his greatest need is salvation it is his greatest need because he is in the greatest danger the danger of losing his soul this is what we want to learn from today's passage in James 5 verse 19- 20 the title of our message is the value of the Soul our first point is the danger of apostasy apostasy means a falling away from the truth let us begin with verse 19 Brethren if any of you do ear from the truth here James was dealing with two groups of people the word brethren is a reference to the genuine Believers if any of you is a reference to those who profess salvation but were not genuine Believers it indicates a possibility most likely to happen this people were amongst you in the church they were in your fellowship they could even be baptized members but they had ear from the truth the original Greek word for ear is from where we get the English word for Planet just like a wondering Planet which has straight away from the orbit this person has straight away from the truth truth refers to the word of God primarily the gospel of Salvation in other words he has wandered away or Fallen away from the truth which was once delivered unto the Saints when a a person Strays away from God's saving truth he enters into a path of sin which verse 20 calls it the error of his way here it does not mean that the person is safe and then loses his salvation a True Believer will never lose his salvation Jesus said no man can pluck you out of my hand it takes someone greater than the Lord Jesus Christ to snatch us out of his hand the reality is that this person is not safe in the first place remember Jesus shared about the parable of the so in Matthew Chapter 13 the so scattered the seats some seeds fell by the wayside the birds of the air came and devoured them some seeds fell upon Stony places they sprung up very quickly but there was no soil and they died some seeds fell among TS and they were choked by the TS and finally some SS fell on good ground and produced much fruit a reference to genuine Believers the person who ears from the truth is like the first three kinds of seeds he had a heart that was hot where the gospel could not penetrate and Satan snatch it away a heart that was shallow where there was no foundation for the while he professed his faith in the gospel but when tribulations and persecutions came he quickly denounced his faith a heart that was choked with the cares and Riches of the world tragically we do have these kinds of people in the church today some have attended the church for years listen to hundreds if not thousands of sermons but their hearts were so hot that the word of God could not penetrate through others would profess their faith and show some signs of enthusiasm they were excited about spiritual things they were active in the church but only for a while and then they disappeared yet others would remain in the church but their hearts were not interested in the things of God only in the things of the world dear friend are you such a person how can we tell the difference between a true genuine faith and a false professing Faith by the way the person lives his life he may be able to hide it for a while but eventually he will show his true colors through his actions his work his behavior his lifestyle his false profession of faith will be revealed in the path he takes as James describes it the one who ears from the truth will be revealed from the error of his ways ear from the truth has to do do with doctrines and error from his ways has to do with behavior eventually both these two things will meet good Theology and good behavior sound Doctrine and godly living they go hand in hand you reject one you reject the other when you reject God's word you also reject the principles of Godly living remember our lord Jesus who said why do you call me Lord Lord but do not the things which I say Luke 6: 46 the person may mouth the name of Jesus Christ but his actions will reveal that he does not really believe because he does not do what Jesus said in Matthew 7: 211 Jesus said not everyone that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven again why his calling Lord Lord is not genuine because he does not obey the will of the Father which is in heaven similarly the Apostle John writes he that committeth sin is of the devil whosoever is born of God does not commit sin thir John 3: 8-9 it does not mean that the Believers are perfect and we will no longer sin that is impossible as long as we live in this Mortal body we will still be molested by sin we will still sin from time to time he was speaking about habitual sins sin will not be habitually continuously be the pattern of a believer's life it will not characterize his life
Add correct line breaks, correct capitalisation, correct punctuation, correct Australian English spelling, and correct KJV Bible verse quotations and references to my paragraphs where applicable. But do NOT — I repeat — do NOT alter or change ANY words from my paragraphs under ALL circumstances.
however the sinner on the other hand is someone who continuously and habitually practices sin the danger of apostasy is the threat of Eternal death this brings us to our second point every human being whether believer or unbeliever has to die once unless our lord Jesus comes in the cloud for the rapture and we who are believers will then be caught up to meet him in the air otherwise all of us sitting in this room would have to die [Music] once this is the second death Eternal death where the soul will be cast into the Lake of Fire and be tormented for all eternity a place where the fire the Bible says the fire never stops burning some people get so offended whenever the preacher speaks about hell why must the preacher always talk about hell do you know that our lord Jesus spoke about hell more than he did about heaven the danger of Hell cannot be overstated dear friend what is the most valuable thing in this world to you what would you say it is perhaps some people would say it is wealth others will say it is good health yet others will say it is relationship though these things may be necessary and important but none of them can be considered the most valuable thing the Bible says our days on this Earth is about 70 years if by way of strength it may be 80 years and then we die our wealth our health and all our relationships are only good and effective as long as we live on this Earth 70 or 80 years that's it our soul is most valuable because it is that part of us that will last forever often times we tend to Value the wrong thing like the illustration I used to give on their wedding a man presented his wife with a beautiful box and inside the box was a diamond ring the wedding ring The Man spent everything he had to purchase that ring some years later one day the wife said to her husband dear do you know that I'm still keeping that beautiful box you have given to me the husband replied oh that is great but what about the ring that is in the Box the wife said oh that funny little thing I threw it away I just love the box that may sound foolish and ridiculous but that is exactly how people tend to Value the wrong thing they value the box and throw away that which is valuable by way of illustration the box is this thing we call the body we pamper it we take all kinds of vitamins to protect it we exercise to keep it we put on Cosmetics to beautify it we spend all our time and money working on this body the body is just the Box the soul is that which is valuable yet we will take the things of this body whether it be our minds our attitudes our ideas our feelings our emotions our energy and strength to override the most important possession we have and that is our soul we throw our soul away and never value it this attitude and behavior is so pervasive that is why we have the health weal health and prosperity gospel to keep us focusing on the box the body when you lose your soul you lose everything One Life to Live and people are willing to spend all their time trying to make more money and accumulate more things in this world build bigger houses Drive expensive cars eat drink and be merry to make this physical life a little bit more comfortable some even claim that well after all God is the one who bless us with all these things by the same time they will not come to church they will not work worship and serve him because they are too busy with those material things they simply do not understand that at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is for the soul to be made right with God if your soul is not right with God it doesn't matter how much you have accumulated in this world you have lost everything when you lose your soul it is a terrible loss because it can never be replaced when you buy something from the supermarket or shopping center you break it and you bring it back sometimes you you can still have it replaced but you have only one Soul it cannot be replaced it cannot be reversed once you die in your sin you cannot reverse back and cry for another chance another sermon another minute or another opportunity you have only one chance and it is this life dear friend if you want peace you can have it if you want Mercy you can have it if you want forgiveness and salvation you can have it but the key is you have to have it now you will never get it on the other side of the Grave once you draw your last breath you have lost that opportunity the pain of eternal hell Eternal death cannot be measured have you ever been really sick in the night and you wonder when will The Early Morning Sun ever come up time seems to go by so slowly an hour goes by quicker when you are enjoying yourself than when you are suffering great pain and affliction right you take the worst pain you have ever experienced in your entire life imagine that pain never ever getting relief it never leaves you it continues forever and then consider this the pain the Bible describes when the Soul Meets God unprepared it goes beyond anything you and I have ever experienced most of the pain that we experience we experience it with a hope that one day it will go away mothers when they go through child birth it is excruciating pain but they know that on the other side of child birth comes the blessing of the child and they endure the pain pain last for a little while and then it stops but the pain in Hell never stops it goes on forever and ever it cannot be measured when the unbelieving soul ends up in hell he has no one else to blame but himself there will be no excuse the gospel has been preached to you you may not like the way the gospel was preached or the way it was presented you may try to destroy the arguments you may try to mock the claims of Jesus Christ but one thing you need to know calm judgment de though you will never be able to look back and say they did not tell me how I could be Sav they did not give me a gospel track to read they did not tell me that I could repent of my sins and believe in the only savior of the world that is why I'm lost there will be no excuse our final point is the blessing of conversion the soul is so precious and valuable therefore James says if any one of you has heard from the truth leaving in the error of his ways you the believer must convert him to convert is to turn him back to God as Jesus said verily I say unto you unless ye be converted and become as little children ye shall shall not enter the kingdom of God Matthew 18:3
Add correct line breaks, correct capitalisation, correct punctuation, correct Australian English spelling, and correct KJV Bible verse quotations and references to my paragraphs where applicable. But do NOT — I repeat — do NOT alter or change ANY words from my paragraphs under ALL circumstances.
the only way to convert a person is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ tell him that there is a consequence for sin the wages of sin is death not just the physical death but the Eternal death for it is appointed unto man once to die but after this the Judgment but our soul is so precious and valuable to God that he sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ into this world he lived a perfect life he was without sin he kept all the laws of God on our behalf which we cannot keep he suffered he was crucified he died shedding his Precious Blood on the cross of Calvary not for his own sins he had none but to pay the penalty of our sins Jesus died to redeem us from from the pit of Hell but death cannot consume him on the third day he rose again from the dead and Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live John 11:25 only his precious blood can wash away all our sins only his Precious Blood can cover all our sins as James calls it HDE the multitude of sins one single sin can send us into Eternal dnation one single sin is sufficient how much more to our entire lives we have accumulated this multitude of sins it is a weight that will pull us into hell who can save us only Jesus Christ today there are many wars being fought on many fronts between Russia R and Ukraine between Israel Hamas and Hezbollah in myar and so forth often we hear of heroic stories of people saving the lives of others in such times that is a noble thing but to be a part of Saving a soul from Eternal death is the greatest thing that one human being can ever do for another when you save a physical life you save the person to live his life perhaps for another 30 or 40 years when you save a spiritual life you save his soul forever a million upon a million years he will still be alive in heaven that is why James said let him know this is the greatest thing you can ever do when you share the gospel to convert someone to turn him back to God to save his soul from death and hide the multitude of his sins it is the greatest thing one human being can ever do for another some years back a great biblical scholar and theologian died throughout his lifetime he had written many Bible commentaries which influence thousands and thousands of pastors and Bible students including myself I often would read his writings just before he died he wrote for many years the greater part of my life has been devoted to the study and interpretation of the Bible I regard this as a most worthwhile and rewarding occupation but there is one form of ministry which I would rate higher than this and that is the work of an evangelist to which I have not been called though it is true that some people are specially called to be evangelist full-time however all believers are called to preach the gospel whether it be to our unbelieving grandparents parents children colleagues friends or the person we meet in the street we is evangelize and share the gospel which is able to save the soul from death and hide the multitude of sins that is the greatest work dear friend if you are an unbeliever still lingering outside the kingdom of God and you realize that all these years I have just been professing my faith outwardly but inwardly I do not believe inwardly I'm not transformed today is the day to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ turn to him he's able to save you you must realize that your soul is so precious and valuable that is why God sends Christians by the millions to testify to you the love of Jesus Christ if that is not enough God plants churches all around the world to remind you that he loves you if that is not enough God calls preachers preachers would die and he will call others to minister to you if that is not enough God would raise up him writers to write songs to Captivate your attention and then God will bring you you to a worship service like this where the gospel message is preached to you why did God do so much for you because he loves you he wants to save your soul once lost you will be eternally lost today is the day of salvation come and believe in Jesus Christ before it is too late don't be like those people who say perhaps tomorrow because tomorrow may never come for all you know tonight may be your last day on this Earth reject Jesus Christ you reject the only way let us pray Our Father in Heaven indeed thou has been with us in our study of the Book of James how we have learned valuable lessons about many needs indeed we need many things especially when we Face trial and sufferings and we have been ministered by the study of this book but thou has has taught us that the greatest need is salvation indeed our lord Jesus said what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul the soul is that which is most valuable it is that part of us that will last forever and ever teach us to value our souls and even as we live our days on this Earth we want to build up our spiritual life we want to be strong we want to live our lives for thee for those who are still lingering outside thy kingdom rejecting the gospel of Christ oh Lord be gracious be merciful and be patient may the spirit of God convict their hearts that they will realize that there is no other savior only the one who died on the cross shedding his Precious Blood can and cover the multitude of our sins convict their hearts so that they will cried out to Jesus come Lord Jesus save me I need you be my savior and be my Lord and we pray that thou will continue to use this church whereby the Gospel of Jesus Christ will always be preached in all this Purity and we will not Shi away from it we want to be sharing the gospel with our unbelieving loved ones and Friends it is the greatest thing one human being can ever do for another the saving of souls from Death we pray all this in Jesus name amen