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Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And 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.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Sometimes, people will determine to have "selective hearing" when it comes to the Word of God.
A man was visiting his grandparents. And his grandfather was struggling somewhat with his hearing, and his grandmother said to him, "He can't hear a thing we say. He's nearly lost his hearing, but he's too proud to get a hearing aide." A few minutes later, his grandmother said to my grandfather, "Paul, you need to take out the garbage." He didn't move, and after a while she came to the grandson and said, "You see? Your grandfather can't hear anything!" As she walked back into the kitchen, the grandfather looked up at the grandson, winked, and said, "Selective hearing." His selective hearing did not solve anything. The fact that he did not want to hear about it did not make the garbage go away.
Many people do not want to hear about hell, but that will not make it go away. It will not reduce its danger to the souls of men. Hell is real, its danger to the souls of men is real, our concern about people going there should be real as well.
The first thing I want you to notice about this text is that it is not a parable. Look at verse 19 Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, It was a certain man. Not a man as a type or a figure. Not someone made up in a story. It was a real literal man. And Jesus makes the point that it was a certain rich man. It was a specific man that Jesus was talking about.
We notice the same thing in verse 20. Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus It was not the concept of a beggar. It was not a story about beggars in general. It was a certain beggar. A specific beggar. And then Jesus gives us his name. It was the beggar whose name was Lazarus.
Parables don’t have this kind of specifics. A Parable does not say it was a certain man. The people in parables don’t have names. A Parable is a story that is told to teach a principal.
Luke chapter 16 is different. Here Jesus says that it was a certain man and then tells us what his name was. Luke chapter 16 is not a parable. Luke chapter 16 is history that is told to us by the Son of God Himself.
If Jesus was concerned about people knowing what hell is like enough to teach about it, and to give us this real historical account, then we should to. We should care about what Jesus has to teach about the matter.
Jesus teaches us that Hell is a real literal place of torment.
Does that thought ever bother you? Do you ever get burdened for the souls of men? How about when you are at the grocery store and see all the people who are enslaved in sin. You see that they don’t care about their children. Not really. They don’t care enough about them to teach them how to behave, and work, and all the other things that will really help them in life.
How about when you drive thru your neighborhood and realize how few, if any, of those people go to church. How few of them have any kind of godliness about them. How many of them have ever really heard a clear presentation of the gospel? When you are on the highway and see all the volume of cars. Does it ever cross your mind that most of them are going to hell? Are you ever concerned that you are literally surrounded by over 3 million people who are going to wake up in torment one day?
Do you care?
This morning I want to look at 7 characteristics that Jesus teaches us about Hell from this passage.
1 Hell is immediate after death.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
There is no purgatory. No waiting place. When you die without Christ, you wake up in hell. You lift up your eyes and you are already there. In torment. Can you imagine as the truth hits you square in the eyes. I am in hell. You then realize that there is no purgatory. There is no second chance. O' the suddenness of regret. Why didn't I ... will be a cry heard in hell for all eternity.
2 Hell is a place of torment. A It has real literal fire
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And 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.
He was surrounded by real fire. He says I am tormented in this flame. The torment is incredible. Can you imagine being tormented so that you would beg for just a drop of water?
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue. In hell there is No water. No way to ever find any relief from the flames. No relief. It just goes on and on and on. He begs for mercy and finds none. There is no mercy in hell. No amount of begging, or pleading will bring it. There is no mercy in hell the moment you get there and there will be no mercy tomorrow. Hell is a terrible place.
3 Your status in life will not keep you out of Hell.
Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: This rich man was clothed in purple. Purple was the color of royalty. It was often worn by kings and men of authority. He had status and lots of money. He fared sumptuously every day.
His money did not keep him out.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
The rich man was content with the things of the world while he was alive and cared not for the things of God. He chose the good things of this world over the good things of eternity. All the money and things he lived for will not help him now.
Elizabeth I, the gifted but vain queen of England, was in great distress on her deathbed. The doctors could do nothing for her. She continued to cry , “I will give millions for another inch of time!” Poor unhappy woman. With ten thousand dresses in her wardrobe, a kingdom on which the sun never set and servants to do her every bidding, Elizabeth I had to leave them all, frantically crying for just another “inch of time.” She had enjoyed over seventy years of life, but like so many others, devoted them primarily to wealth, pleasure and the fruits of ambition. Now she came to die without the Savior.
What a horrible thing. But she is not alone. Thousands upon thousands within a short distance of this church are also devoted to the things of this world. They too will all die one day. Do you care that they will die without Jesus?
4 In Hell you are aware of your surroundings.
He could see. It says in hell he lift up his eyes. He recognized Lazarus. He could feel the flames It says being in torment. He felt the thirst he begged for just a drop of water to cool his tongue. He still had his memory He knew Lazarus and he remembered his family.
5 In Hell there is No way out
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence.
A great gulf fixed. There is no passing in between. Those that would want to send in mercy cannot. And everyone who would want to leave, and that is everyone, they cannot.
No second chance No getting out. The sentence has been passed and it is for all eternity.
6 In Hell you will be concerned with Soul Winning.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
He wanted to his family to be saved. He had 5 brothers. He knew them well. He knew that they were headed to the same hell he was in. O how he wanted them to be saved. He first begged for mercy for himself. Now he is pleading that someone would be sent to warn them. Someone please go and tell them what this awful place is like. There is real flame here. It torments me. I can’t find no relief. Someone please tell them, there is no mercy in hell.
He wanted them to send someone else to witness to his family. But no one is coming back from paradise or hell to testify of what it is like.
7 The only way to not go to Hell is to hear the Word of God and be persuaded.
Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
It will not be done thru watching great things.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
If people will not believe from hearing the scriptures, they will not believe even if Lazarus or the rich man was allowed to come back and tell them.
Rom 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Hell is real. People are going there in record numbers. And here we sit with the solution.
1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
God’s plan is for men to be saved by the foolishness of preaching.
Hell is immediate after death. Hell is a place of torment. Your status in life will not keep you out of Hell. In Hell you are aware of your surroundings In Hell there is No way out In Hell people are concerned with Soul Winning. But they cannot do anything about it.
Only you can. How many people in hell today are desperately wanting you to put one of these on their sister’s door, or their brother, or son, or daughter.
The only way to not go to Hell is to hear the Word of God and be persuaded.
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