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.
Next, we move onto the most obvious or popular misconception, which is that … “if we are rich, then we are destined for hell” … and we know that this is a big misconception, because being rich is not inherently wrong for us Christian. No, because the bible tells us that it is the pursuit of wealth that is sin, (more specially how we go about gathering this wealth), as is placing one's hope or trust in money, rather than in God himself.
Having money is not wrong … as our New Testament reading this morning in 1st Timothy 6:10 clearly says that “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, because in their eagerness to be rich, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains”. … The emphasis here is on the love of money, thus making money the goal, and thereby our Lord Jesus.
What the apostle Paul is saying here, is that instead of focusing on accumulating riches, we Christians are called to be "rich in good works," and generous too, ready to share, and to use our resources to advance the kingdom of God … and that … a Christian perspective on wealth … will involve the management of resources, as a steward for God; while avoiding arrogance, and the prioritizing of eternal treasures, over the accumulation of earthly wealth, unless that is, for the glory of God. We tend to be bit sore on ourselves over this one, but we all need money simply to live, so why should we wish to be poor?
Regardless, the real reason for this rich man being in hell was his:
? disregard of the word of God, and thus his rejection of God,
? which in turn resulted in his excessive self-indulgence, and a life focused on earthly possessions, rather than his own spiritual welfare;
? which further resulted in, a lack of compassion, and the continual failure to help others in need.
This parable then, clearly highlights life's true values, which is not in material wealth but in our relationship with God and his word, which can be demonstrated in our manner, in how we treat those less fortunate than ourselves; and yes I know, I personally feel that I could do a lot better, and it bothers me, (and possibly you do as well), but if you do feel that way … then believe that God is very much alive, and working in our hearts.
Misconception number 3. Hell is not real; it is put there to scare us.
Next, some people think that hell is not real, that it is simply put there to scare us, and we all know that some people have used that as an excuse to manipulate people … but the bible clearly tells us that hell is very real, and that this rich man was there and not dreaming, as he was conscious of his surroundings.
And there are many descriptions of hell in the bible, but in every description, there is suffering, torment and agony. In this parable alone we see the word “torment” used four times, telling us that Hell is most definitely real, but like I said before, I don’t think we need to dwell on this for now.
Misconception number 4. Hell won’t be so bad, I’ll be there with my pals.
Which leads us on to our final misconception this morning. that “Hell won’t be that bad, as many of our friends will be there”. … Well, I know that we may not think of hell that way, but there are many who do, but we don’t see the rich man revelling in fellowship with his friends. … In hell, he is very much alone. … and we certainly did not hear him say, “I will be glad when my brothers get here”. … No, quite the opposite, he loved his brothers and he wanted to warn them, to stay well clear.
The rich man also implied in the parable that Moses and the Prophets, and the word of God, was not enough, and he wasn’t sufficiently warned, otherwise he would not be here … but this parable tells us clearly, that it is very much up to us to recognise who God is … and how unworthy we are in comparison … and by doing so, we learn to repent and grow in his ways, and his truth, in a manner to become more like him, and acceptable to him. … We will never be perfect, but we will have changed, and our lives will be rooted in him, and his wants and his desires.
Conclusion
I know I am preaching to the converted here again, as we know how to heed the warnings from this parable, but we must still ask … how then do we communicate the unconditional love of our Lord Jesus, and the need for repentance to our loved ones, to our friends and then onto others who are unaware. … Yes, it is hard, because ultimately it is their decision to do so, it is not ours … we can only help or advise.
No one therefore is without responsibility or has a valid excuse in rejecting him and yes, this is pretty harsh, it is a harsh reading, with harsh lessons to learned, and although there are some understandable exceptions … God demands us to acknowledge who he is, and bow the knee towards him, and worship and grow in him, and his ways.
An I know that to encourage others is so difficult, and I sincerely worry about this, (and I am sure you do as well), especially with all the distractions of this modern world, but to God, this is not an excuse … everyone, in their own personal way, somehow, needs to make this decision for themselves, and follow him.
Amen.
