What does it mean to sell your soul?
Many people think it is possible to “sell your soul to the Devil.” By this they mean that you can actually “make a deal with Satan” by agreeing to serve him completely (with body and soul) in exchange for supernatural powers, wealth, fame, or earthly pleasures. But the fact is the Bible never speaks of such a “transaction between a soul and the Devil,” and the truth is the Devil doesn’t have the power to make such a bargain with any human being. That is not to say that the Devil doesn’t have any power over mankind, for he certainly does. Let’s explore a few scriptures to see what we can learn about this.
In Ephesians 2:2 we read, “In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (NKJV). This verse teaches us that the Devil, who is referred to here as “the prince of the power of the air,” does have POWER TO INFLUENCE SOULS. Jesus spoke of his influence over souls in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” Until one is saved, they are indeed under Satan’s influence and this leads one into slavery to sin. But again, it isn’t because one willingly “sells their soul to the Devil” that this happens. Rather, it is due to our being born sinners and when Satan tempts us to sin we often succumb to his temptations to gratify the lusts of our fallen nature.
2nd Corinthians 4:3-4 states, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (NASB). Here we that Satan, the “god of this world,” has the POWER TO DECEIVE SOULS. He often uses false teachings to blind sinners to the gospel. The apostle Paul spoke of this in 2nd Corinthians 11:13-14, “for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”
In Acts 16:16 we have yet another case of Satan’s power. It says, “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us.” We have already seen that the Devil has to the power to influence souls for evil and to deceive them with a false gospel, but here is an extreme case where we see his POWER TO CONTROL SOULS through demonic possession. But even here, we have no reason to believe this young girl “sold her soul to the Devil.” One may be open to this type of control, like Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8:9-11, but we never read of an actual bargain being made between a sinner and Satan.
We can thank God that Satan’s power is limited and that there is no such thing as an irrevocable selling of one’s soul to the Devil. In the case of the young girl in Acts 16, we read in verse 18, “But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” This girl, who for a time was enslaved to the Devil, was set free by the power of God. And so it is with every soul that turns to the Lord Jesus Christ in true repentance and faith. The moment we believe the gospel, we are set free from Satan’s power and slavery to sin. We had referred to John 8:44 earlier to show the sinner’s bondage to the Devil and sin. Now let’s close by reading a precious promise that Jesus gave in John 8:34-36, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son MAKES YOU FREE, YOU SHALL BE FREE INDEED.” (207.1) (DO)