The Mortal Soul

Matthew 10:26-33 (ESV)
"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [27] What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. [28] And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. [30] But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. [32] So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, [33] but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Oscar Cullman in his great little book “Resurrection from the dead or Immortality of the Soul?” does a great job of illustrating the basic problem with the resurrection from the dead. It is incompatibly with the idea of the immortality of the soul, as conceived in Greek thought. Most people today believe their spirit or soul will live forever. But this is not the idea of the New Testament or the Old Testament for that matter. The soul is mortal. It may not die at the same time as the body dies, but it is mortal. It is capable of dying. At the resurrection all are raised, some to eternal life, some to eternal damnation or death.
We are to fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. This is God the Father. It sounds harsh. We don’t like to think of God, the author of life, as being one that would put body and soul to death. But he is the one who can do it. It isn’t that he necessarily wants to. He doesn’t. But he will. He has done, and continues to do all he can to save you from this fate. He sent his only begotten Son to die for you, to atone for your sins! He has sent pastors and preachers to tell you about Him. He sends his Holy Spirit through such people and their preaching, through baptism, the word preached, printed, proclaimed, and spoken so that you would come to the faith. And yet…. Not all will believe, not all will be saved, those who do not fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell, will learn that they should have. At the heart of faith is this fear.
Fear isn’t quite the first thing we think of today when we think of faith. But as Lutherans it is the first thing we confess when we discuss faith. “We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.” Fear is at the heart of faith making one strand of that threefold unbreakable cord. It should not be ignored. Because finally when we learn to fear God, there is nothing else left for us to fear in this world or the one to come, but with the fear of God comes love and trust too. When we learn to fear God, we learn to also love and trust him who values us more that many sparrows, who numbers the hairs on our head, who sent his only begotten son to ransom you from death.