Lesson 7: Human Beings and the Purpose of Life
"Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth:  where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal.  But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven:  Where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal.  For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also."   (Matthew 6:19-21)

  1. What is a human being?

    2.     A creature who has a body and soul.
    "Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor."    (Psalm 8:6)

  2. What is the soul?

    3.     It is the spiritual part of man, that part which will never die.
    "God said, 'Let us make man to our image and likeness.'"    (Genesis 1:26)

  3. Where is your soul?

    4.     In every part of you that is alive.

  4. Is your soul real?

    5.     Yes, just as real as your body.

  5. How do you know you have a soul?

    6.     You can do spiritual things:  You can think, do things without being forced, decide not to do things, make things, enjoy a joke or a book or a party, talk, work out mathematical problems, etc...  An animal cannot do any of these things.  That which makes you able to do them is your soul.

  6. Where did your soul come from?

    7.     God created your soul and joined it to the tiny body in your mother's womb.
    "And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth:  and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul."    (Genesis 2:7)

  7. How long will your soul and body stay together?

    8.     Until death, which is the separation of body and soul.
    "And the dust return into its earth, from whence it was, and the spirit return to God Who gave it."    (Ecclesiastes 12:7)


    "Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour."    (Matthew 28:13)

  8. What will happen to your body when you die?

    9.     It will rot away to the earth from which it came.
    "For dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return."    (Genesis 3:19)

  9. What will happen to your soul when you die?

    10.     It will be judged by God and will go to Heaven, to Purgatory or to Hell.
    "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment."    (Hebrews 9:27)

  10. Will your soul ever be joined to your body again?

    11.     Yes, on Judgment Day God will call your body back from the earth and join it to your soul.  This will be the resurrection of the body at the end of the world.
    "Behold, I tell you a mystery.  We shall all indeed rise again:  but we shall not all be changed.  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet:  for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible."    (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

  11. After the Resurrection, will your soul and body be always together?

    12.     Yes, both body and soul will be together forever, either in Heaven or Hell.
    "For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil."    (2 Corinthians 5:10)

  12.   When will Judgment Day be?

    13.     Nobody but God knows this.
    "But of that day and hour no one knoweth, no not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone."    (Matthew 24:36)

  13. How should you prepare for Judgment Day?

    14.     Pray constantly, obey all of God's commandments, and do penance for your sins.
    "And take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly.  For as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth.  Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man."    (Luke 21:36)

  14. What, then is the true purpose of life?

    15.     To live your life according to God's plan and thus to save your soul.
    "For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"    (Mark 8:36-37)

    "Behold now you that say:  Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will traffic, and make our gain.  Whereas you know not what shall happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is a vapor which appears for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away.  For that you should say:  If the Lord will, and if we shall live, we will do this or that."    (James 4:13-15)