...from the desk of Rande Wayne Smith D.Min., Th.M., M.Div.

Heaven – 5

HELL

Luke 16:19-31

“There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man’s door, hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!’ But Abraham said, ‘Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.’ “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’ Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’ The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’ But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’”
 

May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion to His glory and our edification.  Amen.

Kathy and I moved here from Brown Co., IN. It’s a wonderful area, and actually it’s on our short list of retirement possibilities. Now one of the fun things about Brown Co. are the names of the little towns that are located there: Bean Blossom, Gnaw Bone, Fruitdale, Story, Needmore, Sweetwater, Stone Head.

And Indiana isn’t the only state that has communities with interesting names, when we were in Tennesee last year we drove through Stinking Creek.
(Imagine getting up every morning, making yourself some chai, going out on the back porch, and taking a deep breath! … Stinking Creek)

With that in mind, I decided to look on the internet to see what other communities had interesting names. Guess what I found? Hell, Michigan. Imagine driving along and seeing a sign … “Welcome to Hell.” Imagine getting sent there on business. Your boss tells you, “I want you to go to Hell, Michigan.”

We come to the 5th message in this series on Heaven, and this morning’s topic is the alternative. Scripture speaks of 2 destinations … there is Heaven, and there is Hell. And this morning we’re going to look at a story that Jesus told which covers both of those locations in detail. But our primary focus is going to be on what Jesus taught about Hell.

People have argued about this story ever since Jesus 1st told it. The debate is whether this is a parable or a true story. Parable, meaning this is a story that Jesus made-up in order to illustrate a very important spiritual truth. True story, meaning, no, it’s not a made-up story; it’s about real people and events that actually happened.

Now those who argue that it’s a true story offer the following pieces of evidence … 1st, it’s never referred to in Scripture as a parable, as most other parables are.
The 2nd piece of evidence that it’s a true story is that Jesus refers to the man by his proper name, Lazarus. There are no other parables where a proper name is used. We never learn the name of the Good Samaritan. We never learn the name of the Prodigal Son. Real names are reserved for true stories.

On the other hand, there are certain aspects of this narrative that make it feel more like a parable. For example, there are certain details that are just unrealistic. Here’s a rich man in Hell and he’s talking to Abraham up in Heaven … yet there is a deep pit that separates them. How can they have this conversation? Understand, that doesn’t matter if this is a parable; if it’s made-up simply to illustrate a point.

2ndly, the language seems to be intentionally symbolic. The rich man describes himself as being in a fire … and yet he doesn’t burn up. Parables use symbolic language.

The 3rd evidence that this is a parable is the timing is a bit off. If you’re telling a true story, chronology is important; but if you’re telling a parable, it doesn’t really matter. Now when I say the timing is off, what I mean is that the 2 guys have already passed through God’s judgment as evidenced by where they end up. But the rest of Scripture teaches the Final Judgment of God is still in the future … it hasn’t yet occurred. So, is this a true story, or is it a parable?
I kind of think it’s a mix of the 2. Like a parable, Jesus probably made the story up to illustrate a very significant spiritual truth. But just like a true story, there are details in this account that are established facts. Heaven and Hell are literal places. People really do go there. And you don’t want to end up in Hell.

Now this story exposes 3 myths that people often believe about the afterlife.

Myth #1 … no judgment. Now this story itself doesn’t describe God’s judgment, it just tells us that there were 2 guys who lived, who died, and who ended up in drastically different places. How’d that happen? How was it determined where their eternal locations should be? … God’s judgment.

You see, even though that particular event, God’s judgment, isn’t mentioned in the story, it’s certainly taken for granted. We see it between the lines. And if we live as though the Final Judgment were a myth, we’re going to be as shocked someday as the rich man was.

Scripture tells us that a day of reckoning is coming. A report card of sorts will be handed to you, and it will seal your eternal destination. God’s Final Judgment resulted in Heaven for Lazarus … and Hell for the rich man. Now let’s see if we can figure out why one of them passed and the other flunked God’s Final Judgment.

I see 3 contrasts between the rich man and Lazarus. The 1st contrast is what they relied on. “There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.” This guy bought his clothes at “Nordstroms” or “Lord & Taylor”. And he didn’t even care if they were on sale. Now there’s nothing wrong with nice clothes, per se. There’s nothing wrong with personal wealth. But Scripture does warn that material possessions can blind us to our need of God. Our material possessions can lead us to feel self-sufficient and secure and satisfied.

In fact, Jesus wanted to show His disciples what a big concern that was so He exaggerated by using a word picture saying that it would be easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a person who is well off materially to get into Heaven. Luke 18:25 Watch out for affluence. And let’s be honest, there’s not a person in this room this morning who is not affluent by the world’s standards. Beware of a life that’s preoccupied with making money and spending money, which leaves limited time and passion for pursuing God; limited time and passion for serving God.

This rich man relied on his material possessions and not on God for his joy in life. Are you relying on your affluence and material wealth, things you can purchase to make you happy?

What did Lazarus rely on? For starters, let me point out the obvious. Lazarus was keenly aware that he couldn’t rely on himself. “There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man’s door.” Somebody had to place Lazarus there. He had to be brought each day. Evidently he was so crippled He couldn’t get there on his own. But it turns out that Lazarus’ physical incapacity wasn’t a liability in the long run. It taught him to rely on someone other than himself, someone outside of himself.

In fact, his very name, underscores this point. The name Lazarus means … “God helps”. I have a sneaky suspicion that when Jesus was creating this parable He chose the name Lazarus for His central character very deliberately … God helps. The reason Lazarus was in Heaven, the reason Lazarus passed the Final Judgment was because his reliance was not on himself or his personal wealth … but wholly upon God.

A 2nd contrast between these 2 has to do with how they lived. Notice that Jesus’ story says absolutely nothing about any major sins in the life of the rich man. We don’t read that he broke any of the 10 Commandments by profaning God’s name, or cheating on his wife, or murdering someone. In fact, we can probably assume that he was well respected in his community. So what’s the big offense that caused him to end up in Hell?
Once again it had something to do with his wealth … but not his wealth in-and-of itself. Scripture never condemns wealth. But it warns repeatedly about what wealth can do.

One commentator writes, “The rich man is not condemned because he’s rich, but because he’s slipped into the coma of callousness that wealth often produces. He became consumed with his own joy and leisure, and failed to respond to the suffering needs of those around him.” And you don’t have to have a lot of money for this to happen … to fall into the coma of callousness … to spend all your money on your own joy and leisure, and forget about the needs of others.

Scripture makes it clear that the very reason God prospers our lives is so we can be generous; that through our giving we can meet the needs of people around us. And if we fail to use our resources to that end, Scripture calls into question whether we really know God. “If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God?” 1 John 3:17

Think about this … the rich man, who’s now in Hell, asks Abraham to send him Lazarus with some water. How did he know Lazarus’ name? How did he know to ask Abraham to send Lazarus? Evidently the rich man was not as oblivious to Lazarus in this life as we might think.

He probably saw him every day at the gate to his house. Lazarus was his opportunity to practice generosity.

But the rich man chose to live a very selfish; a very “me” centered life, where everything he made was spent on himself and his family. Please don’t miss this … that was enough to land him in Hell.

Here’s a 3rd contrast between the rich man and Lazarus. We talked about what they relied on. We talked about how they lived. What about where they were known.
I have no doubt that the rich man was well known in his hometown. But in Jesus’ story … he’s a nobody. In Jesus’ story he’s just a generic rich guy.

Who gets the name in Jesus’ story? … Lazarus, the fellow who ends up in Heaven. I wonder if this point isn’t somehow connected to what we read about the Final Judgment in The Revelation. At the Final Judgment Jesus Himself will be the Judge. That’s important to keep in mind. We like to think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, or the Gracious Savior … warm titles. But

Scripture teaches that He is also the Righteous Judge.

And Scripture teaches at the end of time, every person who has ever lived will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And as we stand there, 2 books will be opened.

The 1st book will be an accurate record of everything we have ever done in this life. There will be some good deeds in there. But it will also include every act of anger, every act of lust, every act of greed, every act of selfishness, every act of bitterness, every act of pride. It’s all there … and that’s not good news. Because Scripture says that based on the evidence of that book, every one of us stands condemned. But then a 2nd book is opened. Scripture calls it the book of the living.

Now if your name is not in the book of the living you will stand condemned and you pass into Hell. But, if your name is there you pass through judgment into Heaven. Lazarus’ name was in the book of the living. The rich man had made a name for himself on earth … but he was nameless as far as Heaven was concerned.

Is your name in the book of the living? It doesn’t really matter where your name is known on this planet. It doesn’t really matter if your name makes it into the newspaper because of something you’ve accomplished; or whether you get your name on a plaque on the wall, or a nameplate on the door.

It doesn’t matter if people know your name because you are such a good _______. What matters is … is your name known where it counts? Is it known in Heaven? Is it in the book of the living? The rich man’s name was not there, only Lazarus’ name.
And before we conclude this morning I’m going to tell you how you can know for certain that your name is in the book of the living.

Myth #1 … no judgment, the rich man found out differently. He discovered tragically, and too late to do anything about it, that the one with the most toys does not win.

Myth #2 … no Hell. I read a survey recently that reported 97% of Americans believe in Heaven; just 5% believe in Hell; and, only 2% believe there’s any chance that they’re going there. (I’d be willing to bet that 100% would say they know someone who is going there!)

Amazing … 97% believe in Heaven, 5% believe in Hell, and just 2% believe that they’ll go there. Do you know who in Scripture says more about Hell than anybody else? … Jesus. Jesus refers to Hell again and again and again. He refers to it as a literal place. He describes it in graphic terms. He says people are going there. In fact, He says the road that leads there is wide and there are many people on it. Matthew 7:13 It seems to me, it’s pretty hard to believe in Jesus … and not believe in Hell.

Now I agree with what Randy Alcorn says in his book on Heaven. “If I had a choice, and if Scripture were not so clear, I would certainly not believe in Hell. Trust me when I say, I do not want to believe in it.
“But if I make what I want or what others want as the basis for my beliefs, then I am a follower of myself and my culture and not a follower of Christ.”

You see, you’re free to believe whatever you want about Hell. But if you believe in no Hell, then you’re a follower of yourself, because Jesus teaches that there is Hell.

In the story, from my translation, you heard the word “Hades”. That’s the word Jesus used here, even though it’s translated “Hell” in many of our Bibles. Actually, this is not the word that Jesus typically used when talking about Hell. He usually used “Gehenna”. But on occasion Hades is used to refer to a “pre-final judgment place” where unbelievers go.

So what can learn about Hell from these verses? “The rich man died and was buried, and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire.’”

Let’s circle some words that are associated with Hell. If you want to know what Hell is like according to the teachings of Jesus, here you have it. Circle the words “great pain.” (They’re in there twice.)
Now this great pain is not only physical, but emotional and mental as well.

Then the rich man wants Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool off his tongue. Circle the word “water.” Sometimes Scripture uses the imagery of intense thirst to describe a longing for God. David wrote:
“O God, you are my God,
and I long for you.
My whole being desires you;
like a dry, worn-out and
waterless land,
my soul is thirsty for you.” The Psalms 63:1

Hell is a place where people are desperate for God, but their thirst goes unquenched forever.

Then circle the word “fire.” What the rich man is going through is not nice. He feels as if he’s burning up. Have you ever had a bad burn? You know what that feels like. Hell is not a place where you want to go.

Recently U.S. News & World Report had a cover story … “Hell Hath No Fury.” The subtitle of the article said, “With fire and brimstone out of fashion modern thinking says the nether world is not so hot after all.”
Well, that’s good to know. According to popular opinion, Hell is really not so hot. The article said that Hell is no longer seen as a pit of fire … but as a deep funk.
A deep funk! How bad can that be? I mean, if that’s the worst we can expect from Hell, no wonder so many people are willing to risk it. I’ve actually had people say to me, “most of my friends are going to be in Hell, I think I’d rather go there.” Don’t even think that.

Or, we joke about it. And I have to admit that I laughed at the Far Side cartoon. There are 2 frames. Frame #1 has a sign, “Welcome To Heaven” … and there’s a picture of St. Peter passing out harps. And Frame #2 has a sign, “Welcome To Hell” … and there’s a picture of the Devil passing out accordions. Is that the worst that Hell is going to be? Lawrence Welk music.

Not according to Scripture, not according to Jesus. Look at the words you circled. Hell is great pain. Hell is quenchless thirst. Pain, fire … it’s no myth.

Myth #3 … no finality. “There is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.”

Jesus uses the better part of His story to drive home this point, that there is finality. “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’
“Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’ The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’ But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’”

Jesus’ point is that those who think, after arriving in Hell and finding it unsuitable, that they will be able to change their reservations to Heaven … they’ll be tragically mistaken. There is a finality about our eternal destination. That’s underscored by a couple of phrases … “a deep pit” … get that picture in your mind. “Nor can anyone cross over.”

I’m picturing the Grand Canyon. When I was pastoring in Niagara Falls I did a funeral for a young man in his early 20’s. He was an illegal immigrant, who had come from Cuba, over into the Florida Keys and made his way up the east coast to Niagara Falls, NY. He had a brother who lived in Toronto. Now there was no way he could cross the bridges at the border. If you’ve been there you know that the lower Niagara River separates the U.S. and Canada. There are steep cliffs on both sides, and the river is rapids. This young man tried to swim across, but he couldn’t. He didn’t make it.

Heaven and Hell are cut off from each other. Nobody changes destinations in the afterlife. And when the rich man realized this truth he pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus to his 5 brothers who were still living on earth to warn them about Hell. He thought surely if someone came back from the dead his brothers would listen.

What was Abraham’s response? … They have the Scriptures, they have Moses, they have the prophets. They had the same sort of message you’re hearing today … don’t ignore the message.

Even miraculous signs don’t convince people who don’t want to be convinced. And if they don’t want to be convinced, even someone coming back from the dead won’t do it.

Isn’t it interesting that just weeks after Jesus told this story, He was in a little town called Bethany, where He raised from the dead a good friend who had passed away. A friend who had 2 sisters: Martha and Mary. A friend whose name was … Lazarus. Do you think that maybe Jesus, anticipating that event, chose “Lazarus” deliberately for the name of the man in this story?

“Even if someone were to rise from death.” Do you know what happened when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? Did everyone immediately become believers? No. In fact, we read that those who were opposed to Jesus were even angrier than before, and determined to kill Him. John 11:53 You see, we don’t need stronger evidence … we need a willing heart.

There are 2 camps of people. There are those who have a hard time believing this stuff. They’re skeptical about what Scripture says about Hell, and about the possibility of going there. I guarantee that one minute into eternity they will no longer be a skeptic, but by then their eternal location will be determined. Someone has said that “Hell is truth known too late.” And it doesn’t have to be too late for anyone here. You can know today that your name is in the book of the living. You can know for certain.

This is what the Scriptures teach. “Sin pays its wage – death.” Romans 6:23 When Paul talks about death, he’s talking about eternal death, spiritual death, separation from God for all eternity. “But God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.” You don’t have to choose death. You can choose life, it’s found in Christ Jesus. “God has given us eternal life, and this life has its source in his Son. Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

“I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life – you that believe in the Son of God.” 1 John 5:11-13
So that you may what? … Know; know that you have eternal life. People wonder, “Can you really be certain? Isn’t it arrogant to assume that you know?” Well, yes, if it’s based on what you’ve done. But, if it’s based on what Jesus has done on your behalf…. Do you know that Christ died on the cross to bear the penalty for your sins so that you won’t have to flunk the Final Judgment? He took your penalty. And if you put your hope and trust in Him, He offers the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. But like every gift it must be received. It requires an act of faith.

And let me tell you what faith is. Because sometimes we get this erroneous notion that faith is just believing the right things in our heads. Faith is an act of the mind, the heart, and the will.

It’s an act of the mind in that it requires you believe certain truths about Jesus … that He’s the eternal Son of God; that His sacrifice on the cross pays the penalty for all those who place their hope and trust in Him.

But it takes the heart too. It’s an emotional tug; it’s a love for this God who would go to such great lengths to bring you to Himself. It’s a sadness, a remorse, over the sin in your life that occasioned Jesus’ death.

And it’s an act of the will. It’s your surrender. It’s you coming to Jesus and saying, “You’re the boss.”
It’s promising that from this day forward, to the best of your ability, you will follow Him. Have you ever put your faith in Jesus? Have you ever given Him mind, heart, and will? It doesn’t matter if you’re in worship every Sunday, and you know it all in your mind, if it’s never traveled the 18 inches to your heart, if it’s never found its way into your obedience through your will … it’s not genuine faith.

Now the other camp of people are those who call themselves believers. They believe the stuff about God. They believe the stuff about Jesus. They believe about Heaven and Hell. They believe in saving grace. But, how seriously do they/we believe if we keep the message to ourselves? Let’s be honest with each other, we have a lot of empty seats here. What are we doing with empty seats when we have a message that has to do with people’s eternal destinations?

Why do we get more excited about who ends up in the Super Bowl, than we do about who ends up in Heaven? Let me challenge you today to begin praying for a passion for those who are spiritually lost, because so much is at stake. Make it your aim to invite someone during the Lenten Season to Community Church. We have to pray. We have to invite. We have to tell our story, because Heaven or Hell is at stake.
 

MARANA THA