Those who play chess know that decisions made early in the game may very well have an irreversible effect on the outcome of the game. Decisions have lasting results. Too often those who make a decision to sample some drugs at the urging of another over time become addicted to drugs. Decisions have lasting results. Of course not all decisions in life fall under the category of serious lasting consequences. Should I wear a white shirt or a blue shirt? My decision most likely will not make a really significant difference in my life. But many decisions we make are of serious significance. The sad truth is that many people give more attention to the rather mundane decisions of life than those decisions that have very serious lasting results.
Today we begin a series for this month of February entitled, Decisions, Decisions. As we continue in the Gospel as recorded by Luke we will be seeing the importance of decisions in life. Those who came into contact with Jesus most often made a decision concerning Him. Today, when people are brought into contact with Jesus through God’s word, through the Gospel, they too come to a decision point concerning Him. This is a decision of extreme importance.
Jesus frequently taught by use of story – or parable. A parable has been defined as an “earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” Some say the story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus was not a parable but a true story. They point out that Jesus gave the poor man a name which was not something Jesus did in His parables. Whether this is a parable or a true story, the teaching is the same. The name Lazarus was the Greek version of the Hebrew name Eleazar which means “whom God has helped.” It may be that Jesus gave this name intentionally so those hearing Him talk, especially the Pharisees whom we are told in verse 14, “ . . . were lovers of money.” Not only the Pharisees, but others as well, thought that earthly wealth was a sign of God’s love and blessing for certain people. Those who thought this way also believed that those who were poor were not pleasing to God or were being punished by God. Lazarus died extremely poor while the rich man died extremely wealthy. We learn that neither earthly wealth nor poverty is permanent.
Jesus tells His followers while the Pharisees were also listening . . .
Luke 16:19-26
19 "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
20 "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
22 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'
25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'
Let’s pause in the story at this point and give some attention to . . .
I. Earthly Wealth Is Not Permanent
Jesus taught this truth in other places. You remember the parable of the rich farmer who thought he was in good condition forever because he had such great wealth. We learn how temporary that wealth was for him as Jesus told that the rich farmer died and all that wealth would belong to another. Why did Jesus need to point this out to His hearers? There were those in the crowd, and there are those today, who think personal wealth indicates God’s favor with a person and poverty a lack of His favor. The truth is there are those who are rich and there are those who are poor are living within God’s will. There are those who are rich and those who are poor who are living contrary to God’s will. How we use our wealth, our material blessings, is more an evidence of our relationship with the Lord than simply having wealth.
The rich man came to the realization at his death that his wealth was TEMPORARY. It served him well while he was on earth, but now in death he had left that wealth. That wealth he had on earth was now of no use to him as he was suffering terribly in Hades. How many people today are leaving this earth and their wealth and are going into eternity completely unprepared? What is your attitude toward wealth? Is it your primary concern in life? Is it your primary security in life? Some today think the only thing that matters is attaining wealth in this life because when this life is over – it is over. Some do not believe in life after death. Jesus talked about both the rich man and Lazarus having life after death. One had an enjoyable life, the other a very miserable life. While death is the end of life in our physical body, it is not the end of life. In Hebrews we read that judgment follows death.
Hebrews 9:27
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.
NASU
Before we continue, we need to also note that even though Lazarus was extremely poor in this life, he was not poor in eternity. His being poor was not a permanent condition. Our decisions in this life must not be based solely on how those decisions will affect our temporary wealth. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount . . .
Matthew 6:19-21
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
NASU
How you value physical wealth is your decision. Be careful not to follow in the footsteps of the rich man who left this life unprepared for eternity.
II. Decide Now – Later May Be Too Late
In the story Jesus told we see that the rich man had decided for the wrong values in his life. He was living for the present and ignoring the eternal. Then he came to the point where he reaped what he had sown. He then becomes concerned for others in his family. He does not want them to be as foolish as he was in his life. Jesus continues in the story as the rich man is speaking to Abraham.
Luke 16:27-31
27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him [Lazarus] to my father's house —
28 for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'
30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'
31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"
NASU
The rich man came to his senses, but it was too late. I remember certain professors who were very serious about term papers being completed and turned in by a certain time. This certain date was made known during the first week of class. He would explain the deadline and it was printed quite clearly on the course syllabus. The term paper would not be accepted after the due date. Of course that could be very detrimental to the final grade! Some did not follow the instructions. Some students thought they could be an exception to the rule. They learned, however, that “no late papers” meant “no late papers.”
The rich man asked to have Lazarus go to his brothers so they would repent of their ways and not follow him to eternal suffering. His request was denied. The brothers had ample opportunity to make the right decision in their lives. They had the writings of Moses and the prophets. It was up to them to listen, and to make the decision to do God’s will. Today we have the word of God which tells us of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. We have His word which clearly tells us we are guilty of sin and the wages of sin is everlasting death. The good news is we have the opportunity in Christ to know forgiveness as we come to Him in faith and repent of our sin. We are to confess Him as our Lord and Savior and be immersed into Christ for the forgiveness of our sin and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The sad thing is many people are very familiar with that gospel message, but have not made the decision to become a faithful follower of Christ. Some think, I can do that later. Some actually want to wait until they think they are close to death and then come to Christ. There is a real problem with such thinking. That spirit of procrastination actually is a rejection of Christ as Lord. Another thing to consider – none of us know when that day will come for us to leave this life. All our decisions should be based on the realization that today could be the final day of our physical life. We neither know the day of our death or the day of the Lord’s return. Today’s decisions can have eternal results.
What about others? While we, who are Christians, are on this earth we have the glorious opportunity to share the good news of Christ with others so they can make the decision that will have eternal results.
[Prayer]
