Our texts of devotion are taking from Matthew 26 verse 15, chapter 27 verses 3 to 5 and it reads:

[15] and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.

Matthew 27:3-5

[3] Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

[4] saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

[5] Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

MESSAGE

In today's world, many people are selling their salvation for all kinds of mundane things. Some have sold their salvation for money, while others have sold it for fame or positions. There is, however, nothing in this world that is worth trading your salvation for. Anything that a person wants to acquire that will require the person to commit a sin is a trap of the enemy to get the fellow to sell his or her salvation and end up in hell. In Matthew 16:26, Jesus asked His disciples, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" These questions still apply to us today. There is no gain in trading the salvation of your soul for anything because nothing in this world is as precious as your soul.

Esau is an example of someone who traded something precious for something mundane and temporary. In Genesis 25:29-34, he chose to despise his privileged position in his father's house for just a bowl of pottage. He sold his birthright so cheaply just because he was hungry, and in Hebrews 12:17, the Bible says that he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. In like manner, Judas sold his salvation for money in today's Bible reading. He threw everything he had learnt from Jesus down the drain for 30 pieces of silver. Whatever lures a person to trade his or her salvation only wants to destroy the fellow. It might offer immediate pleasure and instant gratification, but the devil ultimately aims to use it to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

One way the devil tries to lure believers into trading their salvation is by making them believe that some sins are not as important as others and telling them that such sins do not matter. However, there is no act of sin that is not significant; every sinful act matters in God's sight. Every little compromise is a step out of His protective and merciful covering. Ecclesiastes 10:8 says that a serpent will bite whoever breaks a hedge. In other words, sin exposes a fellow to the attack of the enemy.

Beloved, do not toy with sin because it only offers a one-way ticket to hell. I pray that you will not trade the salvation of your soul for anything in the world, in Jesus' name.