The Full Gospel Witness
Notes
Transcript
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
One of the primary themes throughout the gospel of Luke is the spiritual condition of those who are rich and those who are poor. Some have taken this to believe that those who are rich somehow lack a spiritual disposition to be accepting of Christ. In a way, this is a good analysis. Look at our society. We live in a place where most of us live decent lives. I dare say that most of us here are not wondering about our next meal or where we might sleep. Although times are not great right now with inflation and uncertainties, most of us have the means and ability to figure out how to navigate everything. This can create a false sense of assurance, particularly in our spiritual lives. God can become an afterthought because we are busy with so much else. We get caught up in the daily and may even look at what we have accumulated and feel we have done well for ourselves. This kind of complacency can be detrimental to our spiritual lives. We can become completely reliant upon ourselves and our abilities that we forget about God.
On the other hand, we look around us and see those who struggle. We see across the world where people live in abject poverty and have no material things of this world to amount to much. Yet, there is a complete reliance upon God. Faith is present that most of us don’t see or even experience because one’s life depends on God.
These contrasts are why we see the church growing exponentially in countries across Africa and South America. The church in China is growing so fast that in eight years, China will be the nation with the most Christians. Whereas in the west, we see a church in fast decline. A recent study published by Christianity Today said Christianity will no longer be the largest faith in the United States by 2050. The largest and fastest-growing group will be those who have no faith at all. Why do we see these stark differences? It is simply because the church has not been the faithful witness that we are called to be. We have acquiesced to the culture to the point that there is no difference between the church and a social club for like-minded people. This happens across the political divides in our country. Some churches have been hijacked by social justice warriors to the point that there is no evangelical witness. Other churches have turned a blind eye to the plight of those around us because our faith has become a “me and Jesus” relationship. Both are wrong, and both miss out on the fullness of the gospel.
Our lesson today gives us insight into what the church can be if we take seriously the whole dynamics of the good news we are called to share. As Methodists, this is in our DNA. When John Wesley began to preach in the cities and countryside of England, he brought a message that many in the elite classes turned away. He called on them to live the gospel and not compartmentalize their faith to a Sunday faith. He would be run out of pulpits for his message. He would also be welcomed when standing at the entrance of coal mines in northern England and preaching to the rabble-rousers and the destitute. Why was he accepted by one and not the other? The Wesleyan message was simple. God calls us to repent and turn to Christ alone for our salvation. In that repentance, fruit is produced as we are transformed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, reflecting the change and repentance that has taken place. Without the evidence of the change, there was a question of whether the change took place.
That fact is what our lesson points to today. Jesus has been teaching about the dangers of his followers being weighed down by the possessions in this world. Chapter 16 deals with this in the parable of the dishonest manager and Jesus calling out some of the Pharisees because of their love of money. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is famous and known by many outside the faith. A wealthy man lives a lavish life and ignores the beggar just outside his gate. When they both die, Lazarus, the beggar, goes to paradise while the rich man goes to eternal torment. After calling on Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn the rich man’s family, Abraham tells him they have Moses and the prophets to prevent them from going to hell. Abraham’s keen observation that even if someone is resurrected, they will not repent is poignant because of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and his death and resurrection at this point in the gospel.
Today, I want to bring out a few lessons that we learn from this parable that are important for us as disciples and ways that we can avoid the pitfalls in our society so that we can be an evangelical witness of the gospel as well seeing those who are hurting and doing those things necessary to help others to bring peace into their lives.
Sin hardens our hearts. (vs. 19-21)
Jesus opens this parable by describing the opulence of the rich man compared to the deplorable conditions of Lazarus. The rich man lives in luxury, wearing fine linen and purple garments. These are items that only the extremely wealthy could afford. He had food that was wonderfully prepared by master chefs and is described as sumptuous. It is an incredible life of decadence.
On the other hand, Lazarus sits outside his gate, just hoping he can eat some of the crumbs that fall off his table. The way the meals are described, all of us would be happy with some crumbs. Lazarus’ plight was even grimmer than hunger and homelessness. He also had health problems which were skin conditions. This could have been the reason why he was homeless and hungry. Lazarus likely was seen as unclean to the Pharisees who were listening to this story. His uncleanliness was made worse by dogs, who were not seen as the lovable pets we enjoy today, who came to lick his wounds.
These two situations could not be drastically different, the effect Jesus is trying to create with the story. Jesus wants his listeners to understand how the physical conditions of these two men fed into their spiritual needs. Even more interesting is that the rich man is not given a name, yet the poor man is. This fact would not be lost with the hearers. The poor beggar has more to offer in the parable than the rich man. Therefore, he is named.
The contrast between the two shows us what happens when sin hardens our hearts. We can become oblivious to the world around us. The rich man’s sin was not that he abused Lazarus somehow. He didn’t care about Lazarus and turned a blind eye. It was the sin of omission rather than commission. His lack of sympathy for someone right before him while he enjoyed all the joys of this life made his sin even more egregious.
This same mentality can affect all of us if we are not careful. We can become so consumed by our life and gain more stuff that we neglect those around us. Our self-absorption can lead us away from the call of Christ to reach out to those in need. Throughout the Methodist movement, we have been a people who are about improving the lives of those around us. It is a witness of the kingdom of God being enacted in the world. John Wesley and Methodists focused on raising literacy rates for everyone in England. That is the reason Wesley started Sunday school. Methodists have built schools, hospitals, and orphanages on every continent. It is in our DNA to be people who are involved in the lives of those who are hurting in our community - from food banks and clothing drives to Habitat for Humanity and homeless shelters. We are called to care for those who cannot care for themselves because it is an outgrowth of our spiritual lives.
Turning away from these things and ignoring them is the sin of omission for the church. To reclaim the fire and fervor of the Methodist movement, we must return to what Wesley called the “works of mercy” for our communities.
There are consequences and rewards for our actions. (vs. 22-26)
The starving and sickly Lazarus dies and is carried to Abraham’s side, a form of describing paradise, by the angels. He is blessed by God and welcomed into eternity with great rewards at death. The rich man’s fate is very different. In the end, he goes to Hades. There is no heavenly transport. Instead of peace and tranquility, he is surrounded by fire, judgment, and torment. Lazarus is lifted up for eternity while the rich man is brought low. When the rich man realizes that Lazarus is with Abraham, he wants Lazarus to touch his finger in water and put it on his tongue in the same way that Lazarus had desired to have crumbs from the rich man’s table in his life. He is denied this request just as he refused Lazarus through his ignorance.
The point of the conversation is not to give us a clear picture of the afterlife as much as it tells us that what we do in this life does have consequences or rewards in the next. There will be bliss or judgment. This is not to say that our good deeds get us into heaven. Our good deeds mean nothing. There is no mention of anything that Lazarus did to get his reward in paradise other than being poor. Being poor doesn’t make us holy, just as being rich doesn’t make us unholy. Jesus is simply telling us that the fruit produced in our lives based on the condition of our hearts will be rewarded once we enter death. The mercy the rich man desires is something he ignores in his physical life. He only has his own needs in mind by saying Lazarus must do something for him.
The rich man is blind to the reality in front of him. He believes that just because he is part of Abraham’s lineage, he will receive the mercy he craves. However, Abraham’s message to the rich man is that even though he is a child of Abraham, the condition of his heart makes it impossible for him to receive mercy. Instead, he will receive eternal punishment. Jesus calls out the Jewish elites in the same way in John 8:37, “I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.”
It reminds us that just because we attend church or are close to the spiritual life does not mean we are true children of God. If the condition of our hearts does not produce the fruit of the Spirit, there is a lacking in our relationship with God. John says in 1 John 2:10-11, “10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” We cannot just claim that we are followers of Christ if we are going to witness the gospel. There must be something produced in us so that others can see God working in us. This is what sanctification is all about. God is transforming us into the likeness of Christ so that we can show others the fullness of God’s love in their lives. This is how they can come to know Christ as well. If we act and do things in the same manner as those who are not of Christ, how can that be a witness? Do you think that if we live just like the world, the world will want to know the peace and joy that comes from Christ? What we do does not bring salvation, but it does create a space for the Holy Spirit to move in and through us so that others can see the work of the Lord in us. If we live in a manner that reflects who Christ is, then our reward will be great in heaven, not in earthly riches but in the knowledge that others are with us because of the witness of God that they saw in us.
Repentance is the only way a heart softens to be obedient. (vs. 27-31)
As Jesus concludes the parable, the rich man makes another request of Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead so that his brothers will see him and repent, so they do not suffer the same fate. Abraham refuses his request and is clear that even if someone rises from the dead, they will not repent. The hardness of heart that the rich man displays is also found in his brothers. Jesus makes the point with Abraham’s words that the law and prophets are sufficient to call someone to repentance and obedience. However, when one relies only on his connection to Abraham, he will fail to enter eternal life. The point that Jesus is making is that the law and prophets point to how we are called to love our neighbor and be a witness for God in the world. The way the rich man lived his life was to be in complete disobedience to God’s commands because he was too busy focused on himself and his possessions to notice the homeless and hungry man at his gate. Repentance comes from the knowledge that we have sinned and must turn toward God. The rich man and his brothers ignored God’s call and remained in their sin. If they had been true children of Abraham, as the rich man claims, they would have been convicted of their ignorance and sinful behavior and turned to God. But that didn’t happen, so even if a dead man is resurrected, they wouldn’t believe it.
Only through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and a turning away from sin is the heart genuinely prepared to be obedient to God. In death, the rich man had no attitude of repentance. He never says he is sorry for not inviting Lazarus to his table. Instead, he plays the victim and wants a dead Lazarus to do his bidding.
Only when we turn to the Lord and give our lives to him can we live a sanctified life and produce the necessary spiritual fruit. John the Baptist says in Luke 3:8, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise children for Abraham.” Living the full gospel witness means we have a heart that breaks for a world in need. It means that we want not only to see people have good lives but that they know Jesus. So much of the conversation in the church leans one way or the other. We are social justice warriors or telling everyone they are going to hell. The reality is that there must be balance in our ministries if we witness the entirety of the gospel. We are going to preach that we must repent of our sins and believe in Christ as our Savior. But we will also produce the fruit in our lives so that the homeless are sheltered, the hungry are fed, and the naked are clothed. We are working in schools to help kids get on the proper grade level in their reading. Suppose a child can read at a third-grade level. By third grade, their chance of living in poverty as an adult goes down by 80%. Wouldn’t it be a great idea to invest in kids now instead of having to do it as adults?
The church has opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives by sharing the gospel, leading people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and doing the good, hard work around us to improve our communities. This means that we must go places we may not want to. It means that we may have to be in ministry with people who may not have the best hygiene practices. It means that we may have to be with people who have made terrible choices but have no hope. Doing the kingdom’s work is dirty work that requires us to open our eyes and see what is happening around us. Do you know what the real needs are? Do you pass people outside the gate and not give them a second glance because it’s not worth your time or energy? If that is the case, perhaps it is time to do a heart check to see if Christ has pierced your heart. The church is the place where spiritual and physical needs are met. Especially as we move into this new time for Methodism, we must reclaim our roots as evangelical people who see the world won for Christ and are socially responsible as we care for our neighbors and see Christ in every man, woman, and child. This is the full gospel witness. It is what Jesus calls us to be. Let our hearts be broken for our world and be Christ’s hands and feet.