The Man Who Went to Hell

This takes place right on the heels of Jesus teaching about worldly wealth with specific teachings directed at the pharisees.

v.19-21

Love Mercy

I wonder if Jesus was referring to a pharisee. We don’t know, but a rich man…who didn’t show mercy. This could have been any amount of people, but I wonder if it was a pharisee.

They were probably showing mercy to those who they desired to show mercy to, and overlooking the others.

Can you imagine such a thing?

People showing mercy is shown to those in your group, or those who you believe are deserving, and others are marginalized. I think of so many of the social unrest that is happening. People call for justice for some but others are ignored.

What does God call us to do?

Micah 6:8

Micah 6:8 KJV 1900

8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; And what doth the Lord require of thee, But to do justly, and to love mercy, And to walk humbly with thy God?

We must desire to do what God see’s as good.

Seek Justice

Justice not based on our faulty worldview, but the justice of God, who is a righteous judge.

Not decisions based on unbalanced scales. But justice based off of the commands of God.

Not showing partiality to the rich or the poor.

Love Mercy

We all love to be shown mercy, we must love to show mercy.

Our God is a merciful God and as we walk closer to Him we should be mirroring our God.

Walk Humbly

When we are humble we will admit when we do something wrong. We will be repentant.

We look at the list God has given, and we as Christians agree, YES THE WORLD NEEDS TO DO THIS!

Are we as believers different?

How often do we overlook the Lazarus in our lives?The Lazarus around us?

I do it more often than I would like to admit.

At the same time we don’t want to enable people, but how often on the quest to not enable do we do nothing helpful at all?

It’s harder to help someone find a job, It’s harder to teach someone how to use a budget, it’s harder to help them look for a house.

We know that these action don’t save us. Being a merciful person won’t get you into heaven.

We are saved by the means of grace through the mode of faith. This will not save you.

But it shows who you live for.

We serve a merciful, gracious God.

We need to be less like the world and more like Him.

Being merciful doesn’t save you, but it reveals to you who you serve.

If you say that you follow God, but you aren’t merciful, you aren’t gracious, you aren’t loving, you aren’t kind....Do you actually know Jesus?

v.22-28

Death is Final

When the rich man went to Hades, there was no retribution, there was no earning his way back into God’s good graces.

He was in torment, being burned by the flames and desiring water to cool is tongue…but there was no relief, there was no hope, there is no end.

Consciousness

Abraham is awake and speaking. Lazarus is awake and the Rich man is awake.

When you die, you don’t cease to exist. You don’t go into a state of unconsciousness for all eternity. You will either enter into a state of bliss or a state of torment.

What we see here is that they can see each other as well. But the chasm that is between them is to great for anyone to cross.

Isaiah 66:24

Isaiah 66:24 ESV

24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

The worm shall not die, the fire shall never cease.

The torment is unbearable, it will continue. And those who don’t repent turning to the Lord will suffer it for eternity.

Jesus describes the extent in order to avoid hell.

Matthew 18:7-9

Matthew 18:7–9 ESV

7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Jesus is speaking in hyperbole here.

Do anything you can to live a pure and blameless life before God.

Work now to effect as many people as you can for the kingdom.

Teaching Children’s church, VBS, checking in with people on the prayer chain who we haven’t seen, being involved in bible studies, maybe teaching bible studies.

Are you being used for the kingdom?

Graduation day, the awards ceremony. Always though I should have tried harder, done more.

When we get to heaven will it be a point that you are excited saying you served God to the best of your ability or are you going to be saying I should have done more?

Don’t be like the man who after he has died realizes the mistake. He wants to reach his brothers after from the grave.

v.29-31

Sufficiency of Scripture

Lazarus and the rich man heard the same message.

Lazarus had faith, the rich man didn’t.

Abraham is saying that the brothers already have all they need.

Moses, and the prophets.

Moses delivered the law.

The understanding of the character of God.

The prophets pointed to law.

People today believe that they need more. They need to hear the voice of God, they need to see a sign.

Matthew 16:4 tells us that an evil, adulterous generation seeks after a sign.

The sign Jesus gives is the same that he alludes to here, Him rising from the dead.

Jesus in this passage speaks to us having all that we need.

Even if one rose from the dead, they wouldn’t believe. Later a different Lazarus did rise from the dead, and the Pharisees wanted to kill him again showing the hardness of their hearts.

The truth of how to have eternal life, all we need to know about living this life is given to us in scripture.

There is so much contained in even the law and the prophets, that witnessing a miracle cannot add to it.

Do you believe this?

If you had the choice of holding a bible, or having a message given to you from beyond the grave, what would you choose.

There are movements in the church where believers are searching not from the truth that is found in the gospel, but in new revelation, new prophecy. They want something fresh.

This is contrary to where the bible says we should be looking. We must examine his word.

Conclusion:

Be merciful, working to reach those around you with the gospel. Realizing that God has given you everything that you need in this life.