Luke chapter 16. Luke the 16th
chapter. This chapter begins with parable
of the unjust steward. And the Pharisees understood
that our Lord Jesus was talking about them. In the preceding
chapter, he gave us that parable of the lost coin, the lost sheep,
and the lost son, and then describes that elder brother who stayed
home, the prodigal's brother, and the Pharisees understood
that the Lord was talking to them. In verse 15 of this chapter,
Luke 16, our Savior says to these Pharisees, ye are they which
justify yourselves before men. That's what a Pharisee is, a
religious hypocrite, who justifies himself before men, who makes
men think he's righteous, who wants the approval of men, craves
man's applause because of his goodness, pretending to be righteous
before God. Ye are they which justify yourselves
before men, but God knoweth your hearts. for that which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination to God. Now, you can mark this down. You can mark this down. Anything
connected with religion, anything connected with religion, anything
that's supposed to be spiritual, Anything connected with heaven,
hell, eternal life, salvation, Jesus Christ, God the Father,
God the Holy Spirit, anything connected with religion that
men approve of is an abomination to God. Anything. Anything. These are the men to
whom our Lord Jesus addressed these two parables, and then
he tells them a story about two men. Whether it is a parable
or a factual story is irrelevant, but it tells them a story about
two men, beginning in verse 19. There was a certain rich man
which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously
every day. Perhaps he's referring to one
who was materially wealthy. I don't question that. But he's
talking about another kind of wealth, a man who thought he
was wealthy, a man who thought he was rich and increased with
goods and had no need of God, who thought he was righteous
in himself. And there was a certain beggar, a beggar named Lazarus,
which was laid at his gate full of sores, full of oozing ulcers. full of leprosy, and desiring
to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.
Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass
that the beggar died and was carried by angels into Abraham's
bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried. What a difference. The beggar
died, and the angels of God were commissioned from heaven to come
fetch him to glory. The rich man died, and they stuck
him in the ground. And in hell, he lift up his eyes,
being in torment. God set that in your heart. In hell, he lift up his eyes,
being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom. 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. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now
he is comforted and thou art tormented. 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. Then said he, I pray
thee therefore, father, that thou would send him to my father's
house, For I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith
unto him, They have Moses and the prophets. You're holding what it's talking
about in your hands. They've got God's Word. They've got God's
Word. They've got Moses. and the prophets. That's all they're gonna get.
They got Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. God sent you his word, now hear
it. God sent you his word, now hear
it. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham,
but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. No,
they didn't. No, they didn't. The Lord Jesus
rose from the dead. They still didn't pay any attention
to it. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded. though one rose from
the dead. Now, the first thing we see in
this parable is the fact that eternity brings great changes. Oh, what changes. Things were
not the same for the rich man after he died, and things were
not the same for Lazarus. Look back at the text again,
verse 19. There was a certain rich man,
a certain notable distinguished man, a man who thought himself
rich before God and highly esteemed. And he was clothed with purple
and fine linen and fed sumptuously every day. He never had a trouble
in his soul. He was perfectly comfortable.
God never bothered him. Hell never bothered him. Righteousness
never bothered him. Eternity never bothered him.
And there was a certain poor, helpless beggar named Lazarus
laid at his gate full of sores, full of trouble, full of trouble
from defilement, full of trouble from corruption, full of trouble. Desiring to be fed with the crumbs
which fell from the rich man's table Moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores 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 stuck him in the ground and forgot
him and Inhale he lift up his eyes being in torments and Sees
Lazarus of Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom What great
changes are made when your breath is taken from your nostrils?
Here are two men. One was very rich, the other
very poor. The one fared sumptuously every
day. The other was a beggar full of
trouble, full of sorrows. He had nothing that he could
call his own. And yet, it was Lazarus, the
poor beggar, who now possesses all things. That one who was
born of God has true riches in Christ Jesus. The rich man, though
clothed in purple and fine linen, long robes, showing himself to
be a distinctly righteous man, has nothing. Lazarus, the poor
man, lived by faith and walked with God, as did Abraham. The
rich man was a thoughtless, self-righteous, selfish worldling, dead in trespasses
and sins. While on the earth, the rich
man was on top of the world and Lazarus is on the bottom. Now,
Lazarus is above in glory and the rich man's in hell. Now,
what do you think of your riches? Now, what do you think of your
great wealth? Now what do you think of your imaginary righteousness?
Now what do you think of your large estate? Now what do you
think about your greatness in this world? Tell me! What's it
worth in hell? We ought never imagine that men
and women are blessed because they're wealthy, in good health,
and appear to be happy. David describes his neighbor
in Psalm 73, looked out at him and said, his eyes bug out with
fatness. His sons and daughters all come home for Thanksgiving
and Christmas. They're sitting at the table
for the evening meal, don't have a trouble in the world, and he
doesn't know God from a billy goat. Don't ever imagine that because
a person is wealthy, prosperous, healthy, and without trouble,
he's blessed of God. Alan, that may be the thing God
has given him to take him to hell. God set the feet in slippery
places, and they shall slide in deuces. That which appears to be God's
blessing to men, is often his curse. And we must never imagine
that those who are plagued with disease, troubled in their lives,
poor, unbelieving, are full of difficulties and heartaches one
after another. We must never imagine that they
are cursed of God. Earthly woe is often that which
accompanies divine favor. God's people in this world, for
the most part, are people whose lives are constantly troubled. God's fixed it so that we cannot
be content here, not with ourselves, Not with the world, not even
with their family and household. God's fixed it. It's not going
to happen. David said, although my house be not so with God.
They had men after God's own heart. He had a house full of
rebels. And he was honest enough to acknowledge
they were rebels. He had two of his cherished sons
in hell. And he was honest enough to acknowledge
they were in hell because they deserved to be in hell. He loved
them dearly. But he said, my house is not
with God as I would desire yet. The Lord hath made with me an
everlasting covenant order in all things. And sure, this is
all my salvation and all my desire. Wealth and worldly honor are
not marks of God's favor. And poverty and adversity are
not marks of God's displeasure. Those whom God justifies and
glorifies are seldom rich and honorable in the eyes of men.
Learn this too. Death is the common end of all
men. Brother Scott Richardson once
said from this pulpit, Life in this world ain't much. It starts
out with a slap on the bottom and ends with a shovel full of
dirt in your face. That's a pretty good description. And there's
nothing but bumps and bruises in between. That's what life
in this world is. Well did the wise men describe
it as vanity. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,
saith the preacher. Everything marked for destruction
is vanity. Here is where we're going. We're
going to the grave. We're going to the grave soon.
Either I will watch them lower your body in the earth or you
will watch them lower my body in the earth. That's the common
end of all men, the righteous and the wicked, believer and
unbeliever. The trials of the beggar, and
the sumptuous living of the rich man, both ceased at the grave. At God's appointed time, both
died. Both went to the grave. And Solomon
said, all go to one place. That is, everybody's going to
the grave. You and I are dying creatures. Few people acknowledge
it with reality. Most people prefer not to think
about it. Be around death and sickness,
scared to death to be. Don't like to be reminded of
it. Don't want to be reminded of that. You're going to die
soon. You too. You're going to die
soon. I've buried infants, and I've
buried young children, and I've buried children, and I've buried
young adults, I've buried old men and old women. You're going
to die soon, and I'll tell you when. at the appointed hour,
God has fixed. At the appointed hour, God has
fixed. It may be for some 10 years of age. It may be for others
100 years of age. At the appointed hour, God has
fixed. And no doctor in the world is
going to prolong the hour. Ain't going to happen. Ain't
going to happen. It is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this, the judgment. Death is the one thing We all
have in common and yet everybody eats and drinks and marries and
gives in marriage as though they're going to live in this world forever.
Somewhere I read this years ago, he that would live well should
often think of his last day. I try to think of it every day
through the day. He that would live well should
often think of his last day and make it his company keeper. Live
with death beside you all the time. Live with the grave in
front of you all the time. This is the end of all men. I
occasionally have an opportunity to visit cemeteries and walk
around by myself. Other folks aren't around and
I like to read the inscriptions on them. This is one that someone
found on a tombstone. I wrote it down years ago. Please
view my tomb as you pass by. For as you are, so once was I. And as I am, soon you shall be. So make your plans to follow
me. Death is yours. That's the one thing for sure
you're going to have, death. The beggar died and his pains
and sorrows and needs died. With death for the beggar, no
more pain, no more sorrow, no more need. The rich man died
too and all that was his comfort, And all that was his delight,
and all he set his heart upon, died too. Oh, hear me now, prepare
to meet your God. Here's the third thing. This
story is intended to assure us that God's elect, for them, the
death of the body is a blessed, blessed prospect. In the hour of death, believers
are specially, tenderly cared for by God. The Lord Jesus tells
us here that when Lazarus died, the angels, the angels of God,
carried him to Abraham's bosom. I find something particularly
comforting by that statement. We know very, very little, if
anything, about the true inward experiences of dying people.
Very little. But this much is certain. Blessed
are the dead that die in the Lord. To be absent from the body
is to be present with the Lord. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. I sometimes, I often hear preachers
speak about preaching funerals not liking to do it. I don't care for having to bury
folks who are in hell. I've done that with my own parents. Painful, painful. And I've done it with folks I
didn't know. And it was almost as painful, even folks I didn't
even know. But for believers, ah, give me opportunity. I'll be
there. I'll be there. That's delightful. That's delightful. Painful as it is for families
to wipe away their tears. Painful as it is for families
to be left without a father or a husband or a mother or a wife
or son or a daughter. Oh, that's painful for them,
but for the one who's gone to glory. There's nothing painful
about that at all. There's nothing to be dreaded
about that at all. Those who sleep in Jesus, are
in good keeping. They're not disembodied spirits
floating around the atmosphere, while their bodies sleep in the
earth, awaiting the resurrection. God's saints are at rest among
friends in Abraham's bosom. At the feet of Christ, the lamb
on his throne. And they have no want of any
kind. As Paul tells us, they're with Christ. Truly, for the believer,
to die is gain. Here's the fourth thing. Here
we're allowed to see the ultimate end of us all, both the righteous
and the wicked, the believing and the unbelieving. Soon, very
soon, you and I will join one of these two men. It just may be, before the sun
sets tonight, you're going to be with Lazarus or with a rich
man. It just may very well be before
the sun sets tonight, I'm going to be either with Lazarus in
glory or with that rich man in hell. You too. Try to forget that if you can. Oh God, don't let anybody here
forget that for a second. We will either be in glory with
Christ or in hell, one of the two. Maybe this very day. Brother Don, I don't like to
think about that. I'm here to make you think about that. Lazarus died and was carried
up to heaven. Chosen, redeemed, and born of
God, he entered into glory. The rich man also died and in
hell he lifted up his eyes being in torments. Here the glorious Lord God allows
us to look beyond the grave and look into hell itself. He shows
us the pains, the feelings, and the desires of eternally lost
damned souls in hell. One who is forever shut up in
hell under the torment of God's infinite holy justice and wrath. In hell, he lifted up his eyes. May God give us wisdom and grace
to lay these things to our hearts. Are you ready to die? Are you
ready to meet God? Are you ready for eternity? Oh, may God this very hour prepare
you to meet him, cause you to flee to Christ and take refuge
in him. Oh, may he save you from the
wrath to come. I pray you'll not find your place
with the damned in hell. When I was a boy, like most boys,
hanging out with boys, I learned to cuss early. And I can't tell you how many
folks I've said just go to hell, having no idea what I say. I wouldn't wish it on my worst
enemy. What a horrible place. If you would escape the fires
of hell, You must give up and forsake your imaginary pretended
goodness. You must give up and forsake
your imaginary pretended righteousness. You must give up and forsake
your imaginary pretended self-worth and cast yourself at the feet
of the Son of God as a beggar in need of mercy, seeking his
mercy and grace. The fact is God Almighty demands
righteousness and satisfaction. Righteousness and atonement,
your goodness will never produce that. A religious decision will
do you no good. When I was in college, they spent
a lot of time teaching us how to get people to profess faith
in Christ. Called them evangelism classes,
called them soul wedding, and taught us how to do it and practiced
how to do it. We were well taught how to persuade people to make
a religious decision. They called it salvation. How
to choose to be saved, how to choose to follow the Lord. You
make all the decisions in the world, it won't change anything.
I don't in this place, I don't, we don't, it will not be done
here. Not as long as I have any voice in this place, it will
not be done. We do not try to con people into
making a profession of faith, neither the young nor the old.
A profession won't do any good. A religious morality profits
me in nothing. Just saying I believe in Jesus
doesn't save a man. Folks say, well, get him to say
the sinner's prayer and sign the card. What hucksters. What butchers
of men's souls. If you would be saved, you must
know God. This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent. There is no life apart from knowing
God, and there's no knowing God apart from his Son. You must
know God as he makes himself known in his dear Son. That which
God demands, God gives in his Son. Perfect righteousness and
complete satisfaction. Perfect righteousness and complete
atonement. Sooner or later, You're going
to learn that what I'm preaching to you is true. I wonder if you'll
learn it before it's too late. Most don't. Most don't. Let's look at this 16th chapter
of Luke, the verses we've read already. And let me show you
some things this man learned in hell. Some things this man learned
in hell. I won't be long finishing this up. I want you to see seven
things. This man learned too late. Number
one, as soon as he died, this rich man discovered that death
does not end all. Some people, foolishly, in their
brilliant ignorance, like to talk about death ending all.
I just believe we all die like a dog that buries in the ground.
That's the end of it. You don't believe any such thing. You don't believe any such thing.
You're lying to yourself. You're lying to yourself. You
don't believe any such thing. Oh, no, no, no. God's created
man a living soul. And your soul will not die when
this body dies. Your soul is immortal. It is immortal. You will live
forever either in the bliss of heavenly glory or in the torments
of the damned and you know it. And God will send his son soon. and raise up both the righteous
and the wicked. And he will fix it that these
mortal bodies shall be raised up to suffer all the wrath of
God forever, are raised up to enjoy all the blessedness of
heaven with Christ forever. So that in body and in spirit,
man will either forever enjoy the blessedness of heaven or
forever the torments of the damned. What shall it profit a man? if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul. Oh, what a meeting place hell
will be for the ungodly. Lost neighbors, meet lost neighbors
and scream, why didn't you warn me? Why didn't you tell me you
knew better? Why didn't you tell me? Lost
mothers face their lost children and have their children scream
and cuss them. Why didn't you tell me? Lost fathers see their
lost sons and daughters and have them cuss them forever. Why?
Why didn't you tell me? Oh, what a meeting place the
meeting of the damned will be when lost church folk meet their
lost pastors and see them face to face in hell and cuss them
forever. Why didn't you tell me the truth?
Why didn't you tell me what God says in his word? Why did you
keep back life from me? Number two, understand this. There is a real place called
hell. I don't know where it is. Don't
pretend to. I don't really know what it is.
I don't pretend to. But the same inspired book of
God that speaks of heaven speaks of hell. And we're told plainly
that it's real. As real as Danville, Kentucky. The Lord Jesus tells us here
that this rich man was in hell, tormented with fire. So tormented that he begged Abraham
to send Lazarus that he, watch this, I don't find any refreshment
in that at all. They just dip his finger in a little water,
touch his toe. I don't find any refreshment
in that. But I'm not burning up from the inside out. I'm not
tormented in the flames of hell or Abraham. said Lazarus, have
him to just dip his finger in the water and cool my tongue. Oh, what mercy that'd be. John Gill suggested this man,
Lazarus, is intended to represent our Lord Jesus, who describes
that fountain of living waters called salvation, bubbling up
in your soul to everlasting life. Oh, send Christ that he can just
give me just a, just a slight drop, just a slight drop of God's
everlasting mercy, just a little bit, to quench just a little
bit of my torment. Hell is a real place, a place
where there's a great gulf fixed, and those separated by that gulf
can never come together. J.C. Ryle wrote, there are few
more dreadful passages, perhaps, in the whole Bible than this.
And he from whose lips it came, be it remembered, was one who
delighted in mercy. The rich man found out too late,
hell is not a myth. It's a place of unquenchable
fire, undying worms, inescapable torment, everlasting darkness,
eternal conscious separation from God, unending hopelessness. Number three, this rich man found
out too late, but he found out. God Almighty must and will punish
sin. Well, he hasn't punished me yet.
He's going to let me get by. That's how the psalmist says
all men think about God. He hasn't caught me yet. He's
blind to it. He's not really going to do that.
The preacher's just scaring folks. It's just boo-boo religion trying
to get folks scared. God's not going to punish sin.
When I was growing up, I didn't get by with much. Well, I did.
I got by with a lot. I got caught with a lot, too.
But I would often do something at school or in the house or
somebody else. Nobody saw that. I got by with
that. I got by with that. And a day
or two later, find out somebody did see. And I had been caught. I had been caught. You drive
down the road and you're doing 80 miles an hour in a 50 mile
an hour speed zone and you pass by a trooper and you see he's
got his head turned and you say, oh man, I got by with that. And
you get down the road about a mile or two and you find out he was
right there all the time. Let me tell you something. God
Almighty found sin on his son. And Merle, when God found sin
on his son, he showed no mercy. He cried, awake, O sword, against
the man that is my fellow, smite and slay the shepherd. And Bill
Raleigh, if God slaughtered his son in the fury of his wrath
when sin was found on him, he'll slaughter you and me if sin's
found on us. He must and will punish sin.
Number four. Hell is a place of endless torment. Look at verse 23. In hell, he
lift up his eyes, being in torments, and see if Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus in his bosom, and he cried, 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'm tormented in this flame. I'm tormented in this flame.
Tormented. What are the torments of the
damned? I don't know. When I try to imagine what the
torments of the damned must be, I'm shocked by what I know. I'm
shocked by what I know. And I realize I know little.
I quake because I realize I know nothing in comparison of what
the unspeakable torments of the damned are. Physical agony. Mental agony,
moral agony. Hell's called a place where the
worm dies not. It's called a burning oven, a
fiery furnace, a bottomless pit, unquenchable fire, fire and brimstone,
a lake of fire, devouring fire, a stream of fire. The torments
of the damned are unthinkable. This I'm certain of. This I'm
certain of. In hell, you will have a full
remembrance of your wasted life and opportunities. Remember. Abraham says, son, remember. Remember. You'll have a full
remembrance of your wasted life and wasted opportunities. If
you go to hell, are you listening to me, David? If you go to hell,
you'll know you deserve it. Are you hearing me? You will
be fully conscious of the fact that you're in hell because you've
earned it. You'll be fully conscious of
the fact that you are guilty and yet there'll be no reconciliation
to the fact. worm that never dies, fire that's
not quenched. Son, remember, the guilt of your sin will lay
heavily on your soul and the righteousness of God and his
justice and truth will be firmly fixed upon your mind and what
a vexation your awakened memory will be to your lost soul forever. Read the first chapter of Proverbs
and see how God describes it. In hell, it will be as God himself forever
laughing at you in your tombs, you who laugh at him. Though
he was forever confined to hell's dark prison, this rich man saw
Lazarus in the bliss of heaven's glory. I don't know how. I don't know
how. I talk about things. When I talk
about heaven and talk about hell, I'm talking about things way
beyond me. When I talk about eternity, I'm talking about things
we can't, we can't begin to enter into. But this rich man in hell
saw Lazarus and Abraham's bosom. You reckon the damned in hell
are going to be aware of the bliss of God's saints and glory.
I'm sure of it. I'm sure of it. Listen to this.
There shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth when you
shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in
the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out. Torments of hell. The company
of the damned. will forever be the damned. Your
only company, those who hate you. Damned angels. Damned men like yourself. Wicked. With no restraint. Wicked. With no, nothing to hold
them back. No capability of ever satisfying
the lust, but all the lust. No capability of ever quenching
the thirst for ungodliness, but all the ungodliness. Men hating
each other, living constantly in violent hatred of one another
in darkness. In hell, God Almighty lays upon
the ungodly the unmitigated wrath of His holy justice. with no
mercy. No mercy. Number five, learn
this. This rich man learned there's
only one hope for a sinner, and that's Christ. Only one hope for a sinner, that's
Christ. I'm told that Voltaire, the vile
man he was, professed atheist he was, when he was dying, his
son saw his father's agony and he said to his father, I'm sorry,
when his son was dying, Altair saw his son's agony and he said
to his son, he said, son, hold on, hold on. And his son looked
his daddy in the eye with a cold glare of emptiness and he said,
daddy, there's nothing to hold to. what you got to hold to. There's
no hope for your soul but Christ. No hope for your soul but Christ. You'll find that out either now
or in hell. Oh, God help you if I did now.
Number six, this man learned in hell that except a man repent,
he will surely perish. Look at verse 30. He said, No, Father Abraham,
but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. In hell. This man saw what mattered. He said, I've got five brothers.
Send Lazarus. Tell him. Tell him about this
awful place. I've got five brothers. That
means there's six of them. That's the number of man. The
world is lost. Perishing without the knowledge
of the gospel of God's free grace in Christ. Accept me and repent,
or perish. And this man learned one other
thing. Look at verse 28. Isaiah 5, brethren. Send Lazarus that he may testify
to them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham
said unto him they have Moses in the prophets Let them hear
them. He said nay father Abraham But if one went to them from
the dead they will repent and He said unto him if they hear
not Moses in the prophets Neither will they be persuaded though
one rose from the dead Faith comes by hearing Hearing by the
Word of God That's the only way God saves
sinners. Men and women must hear and believe the gospel of God's
free grace in Christ. Otherwise, they're going to perish.
This is how God gathers his elect from the four corners of the
earth, by the preaching of the gospel. God make me faithful
unto my dying breath to preach this message to sinners headed
for hell. And God give you grace now to
believe the message. Now let me tell you what inspired
it. I had been working all week preparing
to preach to you from the book of Esther. And then I was informed that
two of my friends, their brothers had committed suicide. Friday night I went to the Funeral
home shall be an idea of Doug and Faith. Walked in, saw my
friend. He's standing there in a crowded
funeral home. I'm sure you noticed this. I'm not even disgusted
with it. He's standing there in a crowded funeral home. Family,
friends, neighbors, all around him. He's standing right there
by himself. Of course, he's an outsider to
the whole bunch. And when he saw us walk in, his
eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. And he spoke to Doug, and
Faith, and Shelby, and Luke Coffey walked in the same time we did. Then he came over and put his
arms around him, and he put his arms around me, and tears come
to his eyes. And he said, oh, it's so good to have family here,
real family. He said, this is the first one
I've ever had to lose to go to hell. And in hell, this rich man lifted
up his eyes and saw everything he spit on, saw everything He had trampled
under his feet all his life to get a little more money, a little
more fame, a little more recognition, a little more pleasure. In hell,
he lifted up his eyes, damned forever without hope. God save me from that. God save
you from that. For Christ's sake. Amen.