Rich Man and Lazarus (1st after Trinity)

Andrew Costa

Trinity Tide (Week 1) • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago • Presented 2 years ago

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The Rich Man and Lazarus teach us about who has priviledge in the kingdom of God.

Notes

Transcript

Intro:

Heather and I once had a friend who lost their faith on the mission field. It was hard to watch and hard today to think about. They had started noting that they did not like how some ministries would evangelize while offering care to the kids who did not have much and it was not fair to families, and that we would not appreciate a different religion doing that to our kids.

For a moment I almost saw the logic. Then I remembered hell. The reality that separation from the one true God forever is terrible. Many people are trying to find a way to have Jesus Christ and not have hell. The problem is that Jesus says a lot about hell…more than anyone else in he Bible in fact.

This Parable give us some of the strongest insight into hell. And i hope by the end of this time we can see in Hell the need to flee from it, the great justice of it, and the need to tell our neibors about Jesus to help them avoid it.

Those who experience the eternal blessings of God’s kingdom (heaven) and those who experience eternal separation (hell) are judged by a different standard than those who experience the blessings or the trials of this life.

The meaning in the text.

2 settings: 1st Jesus - Poor Itinerant Preacher and the Pharisees - Those of supposed Sp. and Financial Privilege. 2nd Rich man and Lazerus (Lets Emphasize)

Rich Man: So rich that he has the clothing of Royalty (Purple), Ate well (Food insecurity of the day). No identify. Who he is is wrapped up in his wealth.

Lazarus: Not just the regular subsistance food insecure person, but desperately poor. Spiritually shut out for being unclean (sores and dogs)

He does have a Name! He has an identity.

Both die: death is the great equalizer. The poor and the rich.

The destiny of both: There seems an understanding that there is a place of eternal torment and separation, and there is a place of blessing and God’s presence. Abraham the one whose sed would be the blessing to all nations and who had faith in God is the archetype here for presence with God.

And Lazarus, who was invisible in his own time is his own time is now at the place of great honor.

The Rich Man is in Hades in Torment. Far from the presence of God.

Here is where the parable gets complicated. How was he able to communicate with Abraham? How was it that the two places, heaven and hell have enough connection for this coming interaction. The Answer I most often run into is this is a literary device Jesus is using to make his point, not a technical definition of the afterlife. Just as Heaven is more than Ab. bosom, but described that way to make the point, so is this communication between the rich man and Abraham more of a lit. device than technical.

Now Verses in verses 24-31 we are going to get a real picture of some universal realities of people in hell.

Verse 24. First of all, hell is not full of repentant people trying to get out. The rich man shows us he still feels justified in his wealth and status demanding that the lesser Lazarus wait on him.

Verse 25. The rich man had the best the world could offer, and he allowed that to be his greatest joy and treasure. His ID was that he was a rich man

Verse 26. Where you land in eternity is your final destination. There is no hope to travel from one place to another.

Verse 27-31. Lack of belief in God is not the result of lack of evidence but. So tell my brothers what is happening, since you obviously did not give me enough data! God has already revealed himself. No they just need miraculous proof. Jesus has risen from the grave, what else could God possibly do!

So our applications

As people in the image of God we must remember God’s care for the poor and those on the margines. 1. God cares for them, and 2. we are Spiritually poor. Lazarus status economically should remind us of our status spiritually.

We need to have our identity firmly in Christ. Do you own your stuff, or does your tuff own you. What would happen if while you where at church today a sink hole took your house and your things! Insurance would not cover it. What would happen if your financial security was gone. Keep digging, what is the thing God could take from you that would devastate you beyond return. That is the Idol.

As for me for the sake of transparency I am finding out that my ability to control my own agenda is the thing. I think if I lost the stuff to the sink hole I would be okay…but I have in the last few years gone into fits of rage over delays to my schedule. That for me is the place where I need repentance…I went first. You go second, what sends you into fits of anger.

Share the gospel as if everything is at stake. To be eternally separated from God is an eternal torment. Think about spending forever being consumed by an identity that can not entertain you forever. Every day for eternity you are away from God who is the source of Joy, who is the source of comfort, of love of fellowship, of satisfaction. You experience the opposite of those things for eternity. It would me like an al consuming fiery anguish. You neibors need to know this. They need to know that if they do not want anything to do with God. God will release them to their own devices. But that is an eternal status.

“In the long run the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of hell, is itself a question: What are you asking God to do? To wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help? But He has done so, on Calvary. To forgive them? They will not be forgiven. To leave them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what He does.”

Finally: God has not failed to make himself known to humanity. Along side all the other things he has given to make himself know, he put on human clothing and walked among us. He dies for us and then three days later is risen from the grave in the one of the most historically provable events of the ancient world. The world does not believe for lack of evidence. The world does not believe because the are committed to the sinful false identity that come with wealth and status, mainly the identity of self worship. Those who do not walk with God need it to be false or they would have to change, so no evidence will every be enough.

The truth of the matter is that when you look at the rich man and Lazarus I am much more the rich man than Lazarus. By American standards I grew up with means and by international standards I was almost to the top of the Pyramid. And honestly guys this is not just me. It is us. We are all much more the rich man than we are Lazarus.

And I dont know about you but it causes me to cry out to God “What must I do to be saved!” What effort could I put forward to avoid the terrible judgement. Should I volunteer in setting where I can help the Lazaruses of the world? That would be a great use of my time, but that effort can not save a man. Should I sell all I have and become a monk! Discard my purple clothing and my sumptuous eating? There are Christians called to that life. And it is a worthy life. But that effort will fall well short of the debt my sin leaves me with. Oh I know…go into the ministry, plant a church tell my neighbors about Christ… That is exactly my path, it is an act of joyful obedience. But it will not save me. What we need is a new identify. The very nature of who we are must be changed…we need a new birth, the very same new birth of last weeks readings. We need an identity of one worthy to be in heaven, like Abraham. And speaking of Abraham how did he get into heaven...”Abraham believed in God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

We need the righteousness that comes by faith. We need to look to the work of Jesus to take our sin, our idol worship and replace it with righteousness. It is our only hope. Sinner place your trust in Jesus that you to may come to Abrahams Bosom.