Like many others I’ve somehow come across the teaching that I could sell my soul to get whatever my heart desires--I don’t know if everybody knows about this belief or if I’m a part of some exclusive club now, and now maybe you are too, welcome! But I digress; according to this dogma in order to sell your soul you have to make pact with the Devil detailing what you want in exchange for your soul. These things are usually: wealth, skill, fame, sexual partners, and wisdom or knowledge--again they could be whatever your heart desires. The only downside is that if you do decide to sell your soul there’s no turning back being there’s absolutely no hope for salvation thereafter! I was terrified, thinking that if I sold my soul I would be destined for Hell--even if I did repent. How could such a thing be possible? How could God not forgive someone who did that or not be able to get their soul back?
I’ve heard quite a few stories of people out there who’ve supposedly offered their soul in a pact with the Devil to become famous; whether those stories are true or not I’m sure they ask the same questions, and whether you’ve sold your soul or not I’m sure you still have questions concerning it too. I’ve questioned this myself especially since it was being pass off as a Christian belief. So I went on a research adventure. After an adequate study and in relief, I’ve come to find out that The Bible never specifically says anything about the literal ability to sell one’s soul to the Devil as we would think of it today. There are only two passages in the Bible that come relatively close in giving the impression that people can sell their soul--yet they never really denote it. These are: Mark 8:36 and 37, and Matthew 16:26. Both of them imply the same thing. They read:
Mark 8:36, 37
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Matthew 16:26
“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
While these passages may suggest the possibility of selling one’s soul, they don’t say what many people think they mean. The belief of selling one’s soul to the Devil to gain temporary pleasures doesn’t come Christianity at all. In fact no one seems to know where it originally came from, but the oldest story of someone offering their soul in a pact with the Devil roughly dates back to sometime in between early 400AD to early 500AD, and it was done by a man named Theophilus who was from Adana, Turkey. In it Theophilus seeks Satan for his help, but to acquire his aid Satan demands that Theophilus must seal the deal by signing a contract, with his own blood, that states he renounces Jesus and the Virgin Mary--he complied, and the Devil gave him what he wanted. Obviously this story isn’t true, we can understand this by certain details mentioned in the story. For example, in the story the Devil needs Theophilus to sign a contract to make things official--given that God can understand the hearts of his creation a contract isn’t needed for God to understand that the seller is being serious, upon understanding this it wouldn’t make any sense for the Devil to need a contract to be signed--in blood--to show to The Judge on judgement day that someone officially sold their soul to him.
So does that mean people can’t sell their soul? Well not really, Jesus does indicate that people can, what He describes as, forfeit their soul, and this act of forfeiting one’s soul has more to do with the way one lives their life, rather than the making of a declaration to exchange their soul for whatever their hearts desire. To forfeit your soul is to give up your salvation and give in to the temporary desires of this world; it doesn’t require signing a contract, or proclaiming the dominion of your soul over to a demon in exchange for your desires. Rather the heart of it would be the chasing of one’s own ambitions while neglecting the saving matter of following Christ.
The best example I can give you of someone forfeiting their soul in modern times is the life of a celebrity, I’m by no means saying that all celebrities have forfeited their soul, but rather I’m using the titleistic life of a major celebrity as an example to give a clearer understand as to what Jesus meant when He said: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” We all know well that many celebrities live a overt lavish lifestyle; the only time they’re not enjoying their luxuries is when their out making money (or sleeping) only to further indulge in that same lifestyle (Keep in mind that not only famous people live like this.). If we too live in such a way that we have a greater emphasis on the luxuries around us rather than following Christ, then it is evident that we have forfeited our soul.
Some might still be in question on the validity of the whether one can verbally pass possession of their soul over to The Devil, as this is why people who feel they have “sold” their soul believe they can no longer get it back and are bound to Hell unless The Devil gave it back, and who is the Devil to give back something of such importance. Well, you can verbally pass possession of your soul over to Satan in a figurative sense, but not in a literal sense. Your soul is a part of you and will always be, you can never really give The Devil possession of your soul. Figuratively you can pass dominion of their soul over to someone else by devoting your life to them, but as for whether the proclamation is damning and whether verbally passing possession of your soul to someone else is a valid way in doing so (in a literal sense), the answer to both is no.
What is damning is the condition of the heart in choosing not to follow Christ but to rather chase after one’s own desires, and that condition can only last as long as one wants it. If your life looks like it matches that description, know that it’s not too late to turn back to Christ and receive mercy!
(This article isn’t to suggest that The Devil can’t give, or help others acquire status, or possessions, but rather it’s to tackle the common belief that people have behind the of selling one’s soul and whether that view is Biblical or not. Also, this article was written to explain what it means for someone to forfeit their soul and whether doing so will make them bound to Hell or not.)
I’ve heard quite a few stories of people out there who’ve supposedly offered their soul in a pact with the Devil to become famous; whether those stories are true or not I’m sure they ask the same questions, and whether you’ve sold your soul or not I’m sure you still have questions concerning it too. I’ve questioned this myself especially since it was being pass off as a Christian belief. So I went on a research adventure. After an adequate study and in relief, I’ve come to find out that The Bible never specifically says anything about the literal ability to sell one’s soul to the Devil as we would think of it today. There are only two passages in the Bible that come relatively close in giving the impression that people can sell their soul--yet they never really denote it. These are: Mark 8:36 and 37, and Matthew 16:26. Both of them imply the same thing. They read:
Mark 8:36, 37
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Matthew 16:26
“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
While these passages may suggest the possibility of selling one’s soul, they don’t say what many people think they mean. The belief of selling one’s soul to the Devil to gain temporary pleasures doesn’t come Christianity at all. In fact no one seems to know where it originally came from, but the oldest story of someone offering their soul in a pact with the Devil roughly dates back to sometime in between early 400AD to early 500AD, and it was done by a man named Theophilus who was from Adana, Turkey. In it Theophilus seeks Satan for his help, but to acquire his aid Satan demands that Theophilus must seal the deal by signing a contract, with his own blood, that states he renounces Jesus and the Virgin Mary--he complied, and the Devil gave him what he wanted. Obviously this story isn’t true, we can understand this by certain details mentioned in the story. For example, in the story the Devil needs Theophilus to sign a contract to make things official--given that God can understand the hearts of his creation a contract isn’t needed for God to understand that the seller is being serious, upon understanding this it wouldn’t make any sense for the Devil to need a contract to be signed--in blood--to show to The Judge on judgement day that someone officially sold their soul to him.
So does that mean people can’t sell their soul? Well not really, Jesus does indicate that people can, what He describes as, forfeit their soul, and this act of forfeiting one’s soul has more to do with the way one lives their life, rather than the making of a declaration to exchange their soul for whatever their hearts desire. To forfeit your soul is to give up your salvation and give in to the temporary desires of this world; it doesn’t require signing a contract, or proclaiming the dominion of your soul over to a demon in exchange for your desires. Rather the heart of it would be the chasing of one’s own ambitions while neglecting the saving matter of following Christ.
The best example I can give you of someone forfeiting their soul in modern times is the life of a celebrity, I’m by no means saying that all celebrities have forfeited their soul, but rather I’m using the titleistic life of a major celebrity as an example to give a clearer understand as to what Jesus meant when He said: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” We all know well that many celebrities live a overt lavish lifestyle; the only time they’re not enjoying their luxuries is when their out making money (or sleeping) only to further indulge in that same lifestyle (Keep in mind that not only famous people live like this.). If we too live in such a way that we have a greater emphasis on the luxuries around us rather than following Christ, then it is evident that we have forfeited our soul.
Some might still be in question on the validity of the whether one can verbally pass possession of their soul over to The Devil, as this is why people who feel they have “sold” their soul believe they can no longer get it back and are bound to Hell unless The Devil gave it back, and who is the Devil to give back something of such importance. Well, you can verbally pass possession of your soul over to Satan in a figurative sense, but not in a literal sense. Your soul is a part of you and will always be, you can never really give The Devil possession of your soul. Figuratively you can pass dominion of their soul over to someone else by devoting your life to them, but as for whether the proclamation is damning and whether verbally passing possession of your soul to someone else is a valid way in doing so (in a literal sense), the answer to both is no.
What is damning is the condition of the heart in choosing not to follow Christ but to rather chase after one’s own desires, and that condition can only last as long as one wants it. If your life looks like it matches that description, know that it’s not too late to turn back to Christ and receive mercy!
(This article isn’t to suggest that The Devil can’t give, or help others acquire status, or possessions, but rather it’s to tackle the common belief that people have behind the of selling one’s soul and whether that view is Biblical or not. Also, this article was written to explain what it means for someone to forfeit their soul and whether doing so will make them bound to Hell or not.)
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