What Shall It Profit a Man To Gain the Whole World And Lose His Own Soul?

Hi, everyone, thanks for watching. In today’s video I’d like to talk about the ultimate rhetorical question – one that’s been asked millions and millions of times over the centuries: what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul?

It’s not only a profound question in and of itself, but the biblical meaning behind this question goes much deeper than we might suspect, from portending the final Antichrist, to serving as a stern warning to each and every one of us.

To better explain what that warning is, we need to first make a slight detour. I’d like to take you back to the early 1980’s, and reference a movie that was the epitome of a man desiring the entire world, and everything in it, only to lose his own soul in the end.

That movie was from 1983, nearly 40 years ago now, and called Scarface. Now, if you haven’t seen this movie, I certainly do not recommend that you do so. It’s extremely violent and certainly not Christian in the slightest.

There are, however, a couple of scenes in the movie that bring home the danger of what’s commonly referred to as “wanting it all.” That is, a desire for all the things that this world has to offer: the money, the possessions, the fame, and the power.

In the film, the character Tony Montana is played by Al Pacino. Tony Montana is a young, brash, violent thug, with a ton of ambition to get everything he wants in life, and to do whatever is necessary to get it.

In an early scene, his friend Chico asks him what he wants, and Tony tells him exactly what that is.

Movie clip

A bit later, as Tony is on the verge of becoming a drug kingpin, another scene shows him walking out to a balcony, looking up, and seeing a blimp with exactly the kind of message he believes was meant for him.

Movie clip

In the movie, Tony Montana did indeed get everything he wanted: the money, the fancy cars, the big house, the jewelry, the woman he desired, and the power and control over other people. In the end, though, he died in a hale of gunfire, a pathetically lost and evil man meeting a fiery end.

Had Tony Montana been a real person, he wouldn’t have just lost his life, he would have lost his soul, as well. And for no other reason than because he so desperately craved the things of this world.

Ironically, a few years later Al Pacino would portray Satan himself in the movie, The Devil’s Advocate.

On that note, let’s talk about a few verses related to this idea of gaining the whole world, but losing one’s own soul.

In the 4^th chapter of Matthew we read a story we know well: that Jesus had fasted for forty days and nights. Shortly thereafter, Satan came to tempt Jesus, first by challenging him that if he was REALLY the Son of God, He could turn the stones into bread.

Satan, of course, already knew that Jesus was the Son of God, but was trying to tempt Jesus into proving it. Jesus simply rebuked him, saying “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Then Satan took Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple, and again mocked him, saying that if He was REALLY the Son of God, He could throw himself down and the angels would protect Him from even hurting his foot against a stone. Jesus again quickly rebuked him, saying “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Finally, in one last ultimate temptation, Satan led Jesus up to the highest mountain, and offered him all the kingdoms of the world if He would only worship him. See if you can notice what Jesus DIDN’T say in response to Satan’s offer. Here’s the verse:

“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Did you notice that Jesus didn’t dispute Satan’s authority to give the world’s kingdoms to Him? That is because Satan IS the god of this world, and Satan DOES have dominion over the kingdoms of earth. They are his to give to whomever he pleases, for now.

Jesus would allude to His temptation by Satan in another story that we read of in the 8^th chapter of Mark. In this account, Jesus had asked his disciples what was being said about Him.

“And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
“And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
“And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

“And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

“And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

“And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

“But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

“Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

In the first story, we saw Jesus rebuking Satan when Satan offered Him the whole world in exchange for His worship. In this story, we have Jesus rebuking Satan for not valuing the things of God, but instead choosing the things of men.

However, Jesus connects these two different stories by asking his disciples what shall it profit a man if should gain the whole world, but lose his own soul. He is alluding to his own temptation by Satan when he was offered the entire world in exchange for worshiping Satan.

Just as importantly, Jesus is specifically referring to someone with what he said. Let’s take a closer look at this verse: For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul?

Think about this: What man could Jesus be talking about? Indeed, there is only one person in the bible that could legitimately be described as gaining the whole world before losing his soul. That person is the Antichrist.

While Jesus rebuked Satan’s offer of gaining the entire world in exchange for worshiping him, the Antichrist will accept it. For the Antichrist, it is ALL about the things of this world.

The Antichrist is prophesied to be in a position where all nations will bow down to him. He will have power over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.

He will also, as the bible states, eventually be tossed into the Lake of Fire, ending his reign of terror for once and for all. A pathetically evil man meeting his fiery end.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? That verse is not only speaking of the one man who DOES gain the whole world, the Antichrist, but it’s also a message for us and our own smaller, more individual worlds.

It’s a message that our wanting the things of this world is wrought with danger. Our desire for the new car, the bigger house, the lucrative job, the money, the fame, the power, and everything else that goes along with those things – all lie on the road that leads to perdition.

Those are all things that, in our own little world, seem to be so important. But are they, really? Do they really matter in the end, or make us a better person in any way? Will any of these things help us gain the kingdom of God?

And the next verse, which reads “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” tells us of the finality of our decision. That if we decide to travel down that road lined with the things of this world, we risk surrendering our soul once and for all.

And if that happens, there’s nothing we can do to get it back. Our soul is of infinite value, so extraordinarily beyond what the things of this world are worth that we cannot even conceive of its value. There is simply nothing we can give to get it back.

We should heed the warning that Jesus is giving us. And we can do that by looking at the man that Jesus was referring to when he asked what good will it do to gain the whole world, but lose your own soul.

The Antichrist is the personification of what we should NOT do. He will gain so much more of THIS world than we ever will, even the ENTIRE world, and yet he will lose his soul in the end, a lost and evil man meeting a fiery end.

How much more, then, will our gaining just a FEW things in our own small little world be even more of a tragedy if we lose our souls in the end? Will our chasing all that money and all of those possessions REALLY be worth it in the end?

The message for us is that we shouldn’t be distracted by the temptations of this world, for while each and every one of them calls out to us to chase them, in the end the cost is more than we could ever imagine.

Chasing after the things of this world will cost us something of infinite value: our own souls.

That’s all for today. Thank you for watching, and if you care to leave a comment, please do. As always, kindly be respectful in any comment you leave, especially toward those with whom you disagree. I’ll talk to you guys soon. ♦