A Very Frightening Reading About Hell, How Then To We Avoid It.

Introduction: “This is a frightening reading”

What a horrible, and frightening reading that was. For me, this is one of the worst passages in the whole bible, partly because we do not understand it in full, and partly because we do. … No matter where we are in our spiritual journey with the Lord, this parable will quickly return us to earth with a bang.

I will therefore proceed with some trepidation, because the subject of hell is one of those things in the bible that we all believe, yet it is a subject that none of us likes to talk or hear about or even learn more about, we simply push it away as soon as it is mentioned. … I mean, there are thousands and thousands of different books about Jesus, and God, there are even many books about heaven itself, but how many books have you seen on the subject of hell, because I am sure, (you like me), don’t want anything to do with it, now or ever.

Unfortunately, we cannot avoid it this morning, it is at the very heart of today’s parable, although the parable is more about avoiding hell, rather than looking forward to it, and so Jesus naturally divides the parable into three distinct parts:

• First, we have the comparison of two men, before death,

• Second, we have the comparison of these men after death, and then

• the correction or the misconceptions that we have of hell itself.

I. THE COMPARISON BEFORE DEATH (verses 19-21)

First of all, we have the comparison before death, where we notice the contrast between the two men in this story, one was very rich, dressed in fine clothes, and lived a life of total luxury, blessed in many things, much like the luxury many people today boast, and even strive for. … Now notice, Jesus doesn’t say whether this was a good man or a bad man, just that he was rich, and by not saying anything on those lines … makes this parable even more scary.

Now the second man called Lazarus, lay at this rich man’s gate, in other words, they knew each other, albeit from afar … and Lazarus was quite the opposite … he was a starving beggar, and he longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Rather than fine clothes, Lazarus’ body was covered with sores and ulcers, but notice … again, that Jesus does not tell us if Lazarus was a good or evil man, and whether his misfortune was a punishment of some past deed, and who is now paying a penitence. … No, it just says that he is poor.

II. THE COMPARISON AFTER DEATH (verses 22-23)

Next, we move on now to the comparison after death, because death had changed everything, because we then read that the angels no less, “carried Lazarus to Abraham’s side in heaven, and the rich man to hell”. … When Lazarus died his body was probably carted away somewhere, and without ceremony, probably burned or covered in stones or soil, or dumped in a shallow grave … whereas the rich man probably died with dignity, with a full-blown ceremony, the best that money could buy; and probably with great honours too. You all know what I mean here … however and regardless, it is God who decides someone’s fate, as somewhere when passing through the valley of death, an amazing reversal occurred, with the poor man receiving great honours, and the rich man receiving eternal torment”.

What happens at death?

Now, before we proceed onto the misconceptions about hell, I must make it clear that most scholars, including Christian scholars believe that death takes place only when our human spirit leaves our body, according to James 2:26, and that death is not the end; but a beginning of a whole new existence in another world, or other realm; that when we die, it is only our earthly bodies that go into the grave, (or are cremated), whereas the real us, our real soul or spirit, departs into eternal life.

III - THE CORRECTION or MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HELL (verses. 24-31)

Misconception number 1. It is God who decides our fate.

And so, we now move onto the first misconception, which I have just spoke … that it is God who decides our eternal fate, and not those whom we have left behind, … (although it would be a comfort to know that we would be missed), however, life is a personal … spiritual journey that we are travelling through here on earth … in preparation for life the next. It is a personal journey, our personal where we are accountable for ourselves … more especially … in how we respond to the Lord Jesus himself.

Misconception number 2. If we are rich, then we are destined for hell.