4 THINGS EVERYONE SHULD KNOW ABOUT HELL!!l
Luke 16:19-16:31
Introduction: Set off a smoke alarm
1. The sound you just heard is very unpleasant.
2. It is loud, it is annoying, and you probably would rather not hear it
3. Nevertheless, this noise can save your life because it comes from a smoke alarm, which is intended to make a clear warning of impending
danger so that you will take actions to save your life.
Read Luke 16:19-31
In this text I see four things everyone to know about Hell. The first thing everyone should know about Hell is that. .
1. Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering. Jesus is speaking to Pharises (note v-14)The first
spiritual truth we learn is that. . .
2. Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering.
Luke 16:19 19“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
A. Jesus notes that the man who ended up in Hell was living the good life. He was wealthy, living in luxury, and eating the best foods, and according
to Jesus this went on "every day."
B. There was nothing in his life on earth that indicated the terrible future that he faced.
1. In that culture, the rich man would have been considered blessed, spiritual, and destined for heaven.
2. The people of that time reasoned that if a person was doing all right in this life, there was no reason to worry about the future life.
3. After all, if God was angry with them he would not prosper them.
People tend to think that way today. People think that if judgment has not come already, it will not come in the future. Let me give you an example of that type of thinking.
President Clinton named Kristine Gebbie, a lesbian, as the new AIDS czar. Four months later she spelled out her perceptions on traditional morality. She said, [The United States] needs to view human sexuality as an essentially important and pleasurable thing. [Until it does so], we will continue to be a repressed, Victorian society that misrepresents information, denies homosexual sexuality, particularly in teens, and leaves people abandoned with no place to go. I can help just a little bit in my job, standing on the White House lawn talking about sex with no lightning bolts falling on my head."
This lady reasoned that since she was doing all right at the moment, then everything must be all right. That’s the same thing the rich man in today’s story would have assumed, but Jesus teaches us differently.
1. Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering.
A. Today you may be healthy, prosperous, and Successful but that does not mean everything is ok with God.
1. You may live in a two-story house and go on extravagant vacations around the world but your final trip may still be to Hell.
2.You can be a member of the church, a deacon, elder, or even a pastor and still go to hell. Your present status is no indicator of your future
destiny.
B. Did the rich man and up in Hell because he was rich?
1. Abraham was rich and yet he is in heaven.
2. Then, why did the rich man end up in Hell?
Read Luke 16:20-22
20But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21desiring to be fed with £the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
C. The rich man was in Hell because he was not right with God.
1.Though he was religious, and we know he was because he addressed Abraham as "Father Abraham", he still was not in a right
relationship with God.
D. We know he was not right with God because of the way he treated poor Lazarus.
1.The rich man ignored the hunger and hurt of Lazarus even though he was aware and able to meet his needs easily.
2.Nobody who is right with God would be so a loving toward their neighbor.
E. In a surprising twist, the poor beggar, who would Have been considered cursed by God, is carried to Abraham’s side which is a way of saying
that he went to Heaven.
1.Earthly status had nothing to do with eternal destiny.
Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering.
Look at Luke 16:23-24
23And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented
I. Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering
II. The second thing everyone needs to know is that Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony.
A. This is the popular conception of Jesus; one who never offends or disturbs us with troubling things ike the unending and real torment of Hell.
The idea of hell and judgment are nowhere to be found in Betty Eadie’s bestseller, Embraced By The Light, on the N.Y. Times bestseller list for more than 40 weeks, including 5 weeks as #1. In November 1973 Eadie allegedly died after undergoing a hysterectomy, and returned five hours later with the secrets of heaven revealed by Jesus. Eadie says that esus "never wanted to do or say anything that would offend me" while she visited heaven.
B. Even in churches, many pastors try and tone down what Jesus said so clearly about the agonies of Hell because such teachings are not good
for filling the pews
1.Despite our desires for less troubling Jesus, he did say some very disturbing things about Hell.
2.If we’re to take Jesus seriously we must also take seriously what he said about Hell.
One thing that Jesus told us about Hell is that. . . Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony.
1. The rich man is said to be in "torment." (Verse 23)
2. He begged for even the smallest amount of water to relieve his suffering. (Verse 24)
3. He himself says in verse 24, "I am in agony in this fire."
4. In verse 25 Abraham also uses the word "agony" to describe the man’s condition in Hell.
5. In verses 27 and 28 the rich man begs to warn his family about this place so that "They will not come to this place of torment."
6. The words "torment" and "agony" are used repeatedly by Jesus in the story.
Clearly there is a point to this. Jesus wants everyone to know the real truth about the suffering of Hell. This is meant to be disturbing so that we will do everything necessary to avoid Hell.
2. Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony.
C. This is not the only place where the Bible uses such frightening language to describe Hell.
1. Matthew 25:30 Jesus described Hell as a place of "outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth."
2. Described in Mark 9:48 Hell is also described n the Bible as a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
3. Revelation the Final Judgment is described as a "Lake of Fire."
4.In other places of Scripture, Jesus said that it would be better to have of millstone hung around your neck and thrown into the sea that to go
into the unquenchable fire. (Mark 9:43)
D. Here’s the point, every description of hell that we have is one of suffering, torment and agony.
1. Some people have an image of Hell that is not based on reality.
E. For instance Mark Twain said, "I’ll take Heaven or the climate and Hell for the society."
F. Ted Turner once said, "I’m looking for to dying and going to Hell because I know that is where I’m headed."
. Jerome Butler who is a convicted killer and scheduled to be executed told one of his death row companions, "I’ll wait for you in Hell!"
People would not be so flippant or joke about Hell if they understood the reality.
What is the reality about Hell? Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony.
D. Abraham’s words in verse 25 (read) do not infer that the rich man is being punished in Hell and the poor man blessed in heaven because of
their financial status in life.
Abraham is reminding the rich man that he is going to Hell because he’s being punished for his own sins.
Lazarus to heaven because he was right with God
Sometimes people wonder, "How could a good God send some people to Hell?"
We don’t ask, "How could a good judge send a serial killer to the electric chair?"
Why don’t we ask that question? The answer is because the judge is not the one responsible
for him going to the electric chair, his own evil choices are It is the same with God, he is good,
but people end up in Hell because of their own choices, as Abraham reminds the rich man in
verse 25.
Read Luke 16:26
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from
there pass to us.’
1. Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering
2. Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony
III. Hell is a place without hope.
A. Abraham explains to the rich man that there is of "great chasm" between heaven and hell.
1.Here is no hope of crossing over from one place to another.
2. His destiny is eternally set.
3. There is no hope of escape or relief. Hell is not like a prison where you might be paroled, pardoned, or simply do your time and be
released.
4. Hell is forever and inescapable. There are no second chances! God will not change his mind.
B. The story makes clear that those who go to hell are without hope as their fate is forever sealed.
1. In Hell it is too late to pray,
2. It is too late to change your life,
3. It is too late to repent.
C. Abandoned hope all you who enter here.
1.There is no hope after this life is over.
2.Your destiny is eternally set.
Make sure that you’re right with God today because there will be no opportunities after this life, and nobody knows how long this life will last.
3. Hell is a place without hope.
Read Luke 16:27-31
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so
that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
1. Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering
2. Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony
3. Hell is a place without hope.
IV. Hell can be avoided if a person listens to God’s word and repents.
One day, when Vice President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one Senator angrily told another to go "straight to hell". The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and Cal looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate and wittily replied. "I’ve been looking through the rule book," he said. "You don’t have to go."
A. You do not have to go to Hell.
1.The rich man realizes that his fate is sealed but he also realizes that his brother’s, who are still alive, do not "have to come to this place
of torment
2. The Rich Man desires to warn them so that they will repent and listen to God and go in a ifferent direction with God’s help.
3. He understands that if a person does this they will not go to Hell. He wants Lazarus to go to them so that they will have a supernatural sign
from God to repent
4. Abraham If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not listen to someone from dead.
5. These verses teach that a person can avoid Hell if they accept tGod’s word and repent
6. Romans 3:23 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,..
7. Romans 7:2323For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
8. 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
9. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.
Matt 11:28 28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Conclusion: I know that Hell is not a popular or pleasant subject, but like the noise of the smoke detector, knowledge of Hell can save your life. What is it that everyone should know about Hell?
1. Hell may be in your future even if you are presently prospering.
2. Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony.
3. Hell is a place without hope.
4. Hell can be avoided if a person listens to God’s
word and repents.
