Matthew 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Like many, I read today’s headlines that described the passing of Apple founder Steve Jobs, with great interest. Although my interest was not in his financial fortune or how he rose to the top of his field. My interest was to scan the words describing his life to see if there was any evidence that he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Jesus said that if we gain the whole world and loose our own soul, what good was our success?
In the end, although the co-founder of Apple was perhaps one of the wealthiest men in the world, without Jesus Christ, it was all a complete loss for him. I want to be clear that I do not know the final outcome of Steve Jobs eternal state, and whether or not he receive Jesus as his Savior before the moment of his death. When I was a newly born Christian in the 70′s, I learned a phrase that came to mind in these moments of contemplation this morning.
“If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
In the final word on Steve Jobs, was there ever any evidence that he knew Jesus or had surrendered his life to Him?
Today’s articles about the life of Steve Jobs reported that the evidence is that he was “a natural food lover who embraced Buddhism and New Age Philosophy…” (Reuters) If you go to the grave of Buddha today, his bones are still in the ground where they have remained since his death. If you go to the burial place of Jesus Christ, they will tell you that He is not there anymore, He rose from the dead. No other person can give us the hope of eternal life other than Jesus, because only He rose from the dead to promise us that if we trusted in Him, we would also raise to eternal life.
Neither Buddha or any doctrine from the New Age can save a person from their sins. Only the precious Blood of Jesus Christ has the eternal power to cleanse a man of all his sins and make him acceptable in the sight of God.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Jesus warned that if we do not repent of our sins while alive in these bodies, that we will die in those sins and have no hope of eternal life after death.
John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
John was the disciple that was always close to Jesus. Even when the Lord was dying upon the cross, John stood at the feet of His cross and never left Him. John said this about Jesus:
1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
At the time of his death, Steve Jobs was worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $351 Billion Dollars. You could spend about a billion dollars a day and it would take you almost an entire year to spend your fortune. By the world’s standards, Steve Jobs was a complete success story. But what if he accumulated all of that money, power and fame, only to leave it all behind and spend eternity in hell? What was the world’s success worth? What do you suppose that all this money, power and fame is worth to Steve Jobs today, if hell became his final destination?
Solomon was perhaps the wealthiest man who ever lived. At the end of all his financial success and the end of his life, he wrote these words:
Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 “Vanity (Emtiness) of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
A person could live their entire life in object poverty, without ever one day of fame, while knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, at the moment of their death, they enter into the glory of their Lord and become wealthy beyond imagination. For all those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they are “Joint Heirs” with Jesus Christ and will share in all of the treasures of the universe that the Father has given to His Son.
Romans 8:17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Luke 18:22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Or a person can live their whole life without Jesus and become wealthy beyond all other men on this earth, and at the moment of death, they inherit decay, corruption, misery and regret.
The rich man who Jesus described in hell in the gospel of Luke, longed for another opportunity to return to earth and at least tell his family that hell was real and that God’s promise of eternal life was true for all those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Luke 16:19-31 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
The rich man was conscious, filled with regret for the decision that brought him to this terrible place of torment, and was suffering immensely. He wanted that someone could go back to tell his family that hell was real and to believe what God said. He claimed that “If someone comes back from the dead to tell them about hell, they will believe…” Jesus told him that someone has come back from hell and has told the whole world that it is real and they do not believe.
Jesus died and descended into hell to free all those who had died prior to his death on the cross, to release them from their prison and take them back to heaven when he rose from the dead. These souls had been held in a place of comfort, in a chamber described by Jesus in Luke chapter 16 above, waiting for the Savior who would release them from Abraham’s bosom and take them to heaven with him.
It is important to realize that Jesus is the one that is narrating this story. Many people do not realize that Jesus spoke more about hell than He did about heaven. Hell is a real place created for the devil and his angels, but not for man. If a person persistently rejects the only provision that God has made for a person’s salvation, God has no choice but to honor that persons desire and grant than they not be forced to live forever with God. The only other eternal dwelling place other than heaven is hell, where all those who have decided to reject God also will dwell together for eternity.
You may have lived your entire life without Jesus Christ and feel that it is too late for you now. The truth is that if you are able to read these words, then there is still time for you. Anywhere on this side of death a person can receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and have the forgiveness of all their sins and eternal life. That is God’s promise to you, that is the reason that Jesus came to earth.
If you sincerely repent of your sins and turn to Jesus right not, He will forgive you and give you eternal life. Your entire life’s purpose will be realized and your life will really count for something at the moment you make that decision. You can change your entire past in a single moment by receiving Jesus Christ into your heart by Faith.
The process is very simple: Believe that Jesus died for you, confess your sins to Him, receive Him into your heart as your Savior, confess to others that you believe, and you will be saved.
Romans 10:9-11 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Our hearts and prayer go out to the family of Steve Jobs. May you be comforted by the God of all comfort in your hour of loss. Jesus died to give us the hope of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. That hope and that promise is available to anyone who sincerely and diligently asks God for it.
Rob Robinson
