Chapter 8 The Answer But did
the prayer of the rich man receive no answer? Yes, our Savior has
recorded that it did, and God has Himself said that all too
late prayers shall be answered. The prayer of the wretched rich
man got the answer promised by God, and that answer was mockery. Many are the passages in Scripture
which tell us what Proverbs 1.24 tells us. Because I have called
and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But ye have set at naught all
my counsel, and with none of my reproof. I also will laugh
at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh." Abraham's
answer to his prayer for water, sung, Remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivest thy good things, was a fulfillment of this scripture,
and must have sounded in the ears of the rich man as the very
essence of keenest mockery. Abraham said, Son, What bitter
retrospection of privileges enjoyed, of opportunities neglected, must
that first word have called out? And remember, that like all other
scripture, that word was written for our learning. Abraham said,
son. What? A son of Abraham in hell? Can this be possible? And will
Abraham himself, to whom the promises were made, acknowledge
as his son one of the children of the wicked one? Yes. For no one knew better than did
Abraham the distinction between an Israelite after the flesh
and the true descendants of that seed in whom all the nations
of the earth were to be blessed. It is the spirit that quickeneth,
saith the Lord Jesus, the flesh profiteth nothing. The rich man
was a son of Abraham after the flesh. He was born an Israelite
and doubtless on the day prescribed had been admitted into the Jewish
church by circumcision. It is likely he could say much
as Paul said. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew of the
Hebrews. to him as it was to the Pharisee
when he went up to the temple to pray. It was a great comfort
to think that he was not as other men were sinners of the Gentiles,
but he was an Israelite, a son of the church, a son of Abraham. What more did he require? For
as a son of Abraham, a son of the church, was he not a son
of God? His conclusion was, as the conclusion
of all such men is, that he was. It was a false conclusion, but
he believed it. What many now believe of their
baptism and church privileges, so he believed of his circumcision
and Jewish privileges that they made him a child of God. And to have taken from him his
hope in these would have been to have taken from him his whole
religion. Well would it have been for him,
however, if they had been taken from him, for as they were not,
he lived and died under a strong delusion. But how terribly was
that delusion broken when Abraham called him son in hell. There on every side of him, in
that place prepared for the devil and his angels, he saw sons of
Abraham, sons of the church, but he saw not a son of God. There he learned that a son of
the church on earth might perish for no other reason than that
when on earth he had never been made a son of God. There he learned that though
on earth he had had great advantages, especially that unto him as a
child of Abraham had been committed the Bible, the oracles of God,
yet that these advantages were not in themselves salvation,
but responsibilities. That through his own neglect
he had turned that which should have been unto him a savour of
life, unto life, into a savour of death, unto death. And that
so far from there having saved him, God would forever hold him
responsible for not having taken advantage of his advantages. Though in hell he learned what
he ought to have learned on earth. For it is the teaching of all
scripture that he is not a son who is one outwardly, neither
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, and that
neither descent from Abraham nor any other spiritual advantage
can ever, without the spirit and faith of Abraham, make a
son of the church, a son of God. that a circumcised Jew, a descendant
of Abraham, must of necessity be a child of God, was in ancient
days the firmly believed faith of every Jew who was not a child
of God. And the very same creed is held
in our own day by those who believe in the doctrine of baptismal
regeneration, believe that every baptized person is, in virtue
of his baptism, made what the English Church Catechism teaches
him, he is made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor
of the Kingdom of Heaven. This doctrine, so boldly and
unequivocally believed and taught now, was as boldly and unequivocally
believed and taught in the days of our Savior, and was by Him
as boldly and unequivocally denied and refuted. We are Abraham's
seed, said the unregenerate Jews who went about to kill Jesus
in the flesh, and we have one Father, even God. We are the
children of the church, say the unregenerate baptized who go
about to kill Jesus in the spirit, and we have one Father, even
God. I know that ye are Abraham's
seed, said Jesus. I know that ye have been baptized
into the church. But ye are not the children of
God. Ye are of your father, the devil. If God were your father, ye would
love me. Ye are Abraham's seed. Ye are the children of the church.
But if ye love not me, ye are of your father, the devil. John 8, 47, 42, and 44. Dear reader, let no man deceive
you. Especially beware of that bad
man and desperately wicked deceiver, your own heart. as God said to
them of old time that there were two circumcisions the circumcision
of the flesh and of the heart and that true circumcision was
that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter so has
he told us that there are two baptisms the baptism of water,
which is outward, in the flesh, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost,
which is inward, in the spirit. The first, the baptism of water,
we have almost all of us, I believe, received either in our infancy
or since. But, to say that every man who
has been baptized with water must therefore of necessity have
been baptized with the Holy Ghost is not only false, But an absurdity
as well might every Israelite who was circumcised in the flesh
have said, that he must therefore of necessity have been circumcised
in heart. Some did say so, and I have already
shown how our Lord met and answered the doctrine. Let one more passage
from God's Word, which amongst the multitude refutes, not only
in spirit, but in the very letter, such a belief, suffice to show
that it is heresy. The days come, saith the Lord,
when I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised. For all the nations are uncircumcised,
and all the half of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart."
Jeremiah 9, 25 and 26. The question then is, have you
been baptized with the Holy Ghost? Does God's Spirit witness with
your spirit that you have? If so, then have you indeed been
born again? Then have you, in very truth,
been made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor
of the Kingdom of Heaven? Then before the world were, God
gave you to His Son, and neither man nor devil shall ever pluck
you out of His hands. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad,
for now are you an Israelite indeed. The Eternal God is thy
refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. You are a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you have everlasting life. But if you have not been baptized
with the Holy Ghost, I tell you in all faithfulness that your
baptism of water will profit you nothing, except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom
of heaven. And if after having enjoyed for
a lifetime the outward opportunities and church privileges of a Christian,
you die without having been baptized with the Holy Ghost, your opportunities
and church privileges will avail you no more than His sonship
and circumcision availed the rich man. I will even go farther
your advantages being greater than his entail on you a greater
responsibility so that you may expect them to sink you in an
even lower hell but remember that when Abraham called the
rich man son he spoke to an unsaved son in hell It shall be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment than for an unsaved
son. But you have, however, not yet
been called to judgment. Mercy and goodness still follow
you, and an unsaved son on earth need not despair. God is yet
willing to baptize you with his Spirit. More than 1800 years
ago there was a man sent from God whose name was John. He was sent to baptize with water
and to point men to Christ. John 1, 6, 7, and 31. Then went out to him Jerusalem,
and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, Pharisees
and Sadducees, scribes, publicans, soldiers, common people, the
circumcised and uncircumcised, the baptized and unbaptized,
all flocked around John the Baptist. And very anxious was he about
the souls of that multitude, and he baptized them because
his baptism was an ordinance of God. But did he preach to
them baptism? John the Baptist appointed the
people not to the waters of baptism, but to the Lord Jesus Christ. To one and all was his cry the
same, Behold the Lamb of God! And why, when John was specially
sent to baptize with water, did he preach Christ rather than
baptism? Because he knew that the one
great want of that vast multitude was a baptism with which no man
could baptize his fellow, the baptism of the Spirit. and he
who sent him to baptize with water had revealed to John that
it was Christ who baptized with the Holy Ghost. John 1, 33. Reader, are you a minister? Your mission is the same as was
the mission of John the Baptist, to baptize with water and to
point men to Christ. Reader, are you a baptized and
regenerate son of the Church, born of water but not of the
Spirit? Again, I say, you must not despair. Go to Jesus. He shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost. Matthew 3, 11. May He who taught
John teach you. I have dwelt long on the first
word of Abraham's answer to the rich man, and will say but little
more on the remainder. To me it sounds from first to
last, and I believe it sounded so to him as bitter mockery. Calculated, let him look at it
as he might, to increase rather than to allay his torment. The first word was son. The next,
remember. Abraham said, Son, remember. Oh, if it were not for the hope
of getting some poor sinner to remember before it is too late,
I should shrink from putting on paper the thoughts that are
rising in me. The lost in hell cry to heaven
for water, and instead of water comes down the answer, Son, remember. It cannot be needful to tell
them to remember The wretched ones cannot help remembering
For remembrance is one of the torments One of the never dying
worms of hell But still to have the prayerful water Answered
by being told to remember Oh how it must add fuel to the flame
Remembrance must be a frightful thing in hell. We read in the
Bible of many that were lost, unless indeed some of them were
converted after scripture is silent about them. What now must
be their memories when they think of the things that they took
in exchange for their souls? what now must be the memories
of Balaam and Achan, of Herod, Felix and Agrippa, of Ananias
and Sapphira, of Judas and Demas, or of the many others mentioned
both in the Old and New Testament, who, when on earth, like the
young ruler, turned their backs on God, because He called on
them to sacrifice the world for the sake of heaven. Even were
there no remembrance, their misery would pass knowledge, for without
a mediator, without an intercessor, they have fallen into the hands
of the living God. And it is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God, for our God is a consuming
fire. But God, judging from what he
tells us in scripture, he will do and from the answer he sent
through Abraham to the rich man does not scruple to add to the
consuming fire the sharp arrows of the mighty with Abraham said, Son, then, Son,
remember, and then, Son, remember that thou, in thy lifetime, hast
thy good things. The rich man asked for water,
and he was told to remember, and not only to remember, but
also especially what to remember. Remember thy good things. the
things that used to satisfy thee on earth, the things thou there
madest thy gods, the things that have brought thee to thy place
of torment, Thou knowest the value of Christ now, and that
if thou couldst get him, he could supply all thy need. But now
thou canst never get him. He is lost to thee forever. Still, son, thou hast this comfort. Thou in thy lifetime receivest
thy good things. Oh, now that he knew his value,
to hear those words for which he had sold Christ, called good
things. Surely then was fulfilled in
his ears the scripture, which saith, he that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. It is true that he himself once
called the things for which he had lost Christ good, and really
thought them so good that he deliberately refused to give
them up for Christ. But what did he think of them
when he heard Abraham call them good? Do you think if ever you
are in the position of the rich man that you will think the things,
good things, that you now refuse to part with for Christ? Do you think any lost soul ever
thought he had made a good bargain or remembered such good things
with anything but agony? Never forget, while you are on
earth, that there will be remembrance in hell. Balaam remembers the
day when he taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the
children of Israel. And Balaam remembers too the
day when Balak paid him for it. They were the wages of unrighteousness. But Balaam cared not for the
unrighteousness, for he loved the wages and called them good
things. Balaam has since then been three
thousand years in hell. With what feelings does he now
remember the wages of unrighteousness? Numbers chapter 22, chapter 23,
chapter 24, Revelation 2, 14. Achan the son of Carmi remembers
the day on which the walls of Jericho fell down. He remembers
too that he helped to take the city, for he was fighting then
on the Lord's side. He also remembers that he saw
amongst the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment and two hundred shekels
of silver and a wedge of gold. He recollects, too, that he coveted
them and took them and hid them in the midst of his tent. He
knew that it was against the express command of God, but the
temptation was so strong he could not resist it. The coveted things
seemed to him then such good things. Achan, the son of Carly, has
since then been three thousand years in hell. With what feelings
does he now remember the goodly Babylonish garment, the two hundred
shekels of silver, and the wedge of gold? Joshua 7. How now, as
they receive the answer to their cry for water, remember that
thou, in thy lifetime, receivest thy good things? Does Herod look
on his brother Philip's wife, or his brother Philip's wife
on Herod? Or how now, do Felix and Agrippa
remember the good things that kept them from salvation, when,
under the preaching of Paul, Felix trembled, and Agrippa was
almost persuaded to become a Christian. What do you think is the value
now that Judas puts on the thirty pieces of silver for which he
betrayed Christ, or Demas on the world for which he forsook
the service of God? I leave you to answer these questions
for yourself, only calling on you to recollect that the provision
made in hell to satisfy the thirst of those who pray for water is
the remembrance of the good things for which on earth they sell
Christ. I shall say nothing about the
portion of Lazarus, the evil things which he had on earth,
It would have seemed in the eyes of all men, and most of all in
his own, that evil things had come upon him, if the rich man,
when in this world, had lost his purple and fine linen, if
his property had passed away to another, and he himself, a
beggar without health or friends, Ben laid side by side with Lazarus
at what was once his own gate. But if those evil things had
broken in upon his contentment without God, and so Ben made
the means of sending him to seek God, would he not, with a heart
full of joy and gratitude, be now blessing God for his earthly
troubles? Would he not smile now, as doubtless
Lazarus does smile, when he hears the name given them by Abraham,
evil things? But there is one thing yet wanting
to fill the rich man's cup, and Abraham supplies it before he
ceases speaking. Had he said no more than that
the rich man in his lifetime had had his good things, and
likewise Lazarus evil things, but that now Lazarus was comforted
while he was tormented, the bitterest of its bitter ingredients would
have been spared him, for he might have looked forward to
the day when he should have drunk it out to the very dregs. As his good things had come to
an end, so also might he have hoped that some day or other
would his evil things. It might not have been for years,
perhaps not for many millions of years, and many millions of
years is a long time. But if Abraham had only left
the rich man a hope, that hell was not eternal. that at some
time, in the far, very far off distance, he might expect deliverance
from his evil things. Hell would have ceased to be
hell, for there would have been hope there. and the rich man
might have comforted himself as the people of God comfort
themselves on earth that every day his salvation was a day nearer
that any amount of time spent in affliction was still a light
affliction compared to the joy before him in his ultimate and
everlasting future that hell is eternal If hell was not eternal,
our Savior could not under any circumstances have said what
he does say, that it would have been good for some men if they
had never been born. Let hell be admitted to exist
for as long a period as the mind of man can imagine. Yet that
imagined period would one day come to an end. And if at the
end of that period hell was to be done away with, and those
who had been lost were to enter into the lot of the saved, great
surpassing knowledge would have been to every man the gift of
his being, for no matter through what sufferings he passed to
it, he would have been born heir and have been sure to succeed
to everlasting glory. But hell is eternal, and so Abraham
told the rich man, Had he not added something to that on which
I have already commented, the rich man might have had hope.
But Abraham did add something, and that something left the cup
of the lost, all torment, without mixture, for it banished hope
from hell. And beside all this, said Abraham,
between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which
would pass from us to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that
would come from since. Surely this was to quench agony
with agony, and to rivet it with despair. At the first he had
been called to a retrospective remembrance. He is now called
to a prospective before he had been told to look back. Abraham
now says, look forward. You have looked back upon your
good things. Now look forward upon your evil
things. Amongst other differences, there
is this one great difference between them. Your good things
were temporal. Your evil things are eternal. Between us and you there is a
great gulf, and like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, that
gulf is fixed. As surely as the dwelling place
of the redeemed is everlasting, and as surely as the Lord is
round about his people, henceforth and forever, so surely is the
gulf that separates between you and heaven a fixed gulf. Thus saith the Lord. Mount Zion
cannot be removed, but abideth forever. And thus saith the same
Lord, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that
they which would pass from us to you cannot, neither can they
pass to us that would come from thence. Psalm 125, 1 and 2. Many write and speak now against
the doctrine of eternal punishment, but all men, says St. Paul, have
not faith. Such men, not liking this and
much more of its teaching, try hard to explain away the plainest
statements of the Bible. But the saved on earth and the
lost in hell believe in the Word of God, And however much men
and women of the world may hope and argue to the contrary, both
God's people and devils know that that word is truth. That holy men of old spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and that what God has revealed
by the mouth of his apostles and the prophets is as unchangeable
as God himself. The gulf between heaven and hell
is fixed, and everlasting punishment is as certain as everlasting
glory. Both rest on the truth of God,
and he who undermines the foundation of the one undermines the foundation
of the other. The devils believe hell to be
everlasting because they believe God's word and the devils believe
and tremble. If you are unsaved, you would
tremble too if you believed God's word. The only reason why you
do not tremble is because you are an unbeliever. You will be
a believer someday. If you never believe on earth,
you will believe in hell. Chapter 9 The Second Petition
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 hence. With the declaration of this
most awful truth, Abraham ceases to speak, and the rich man prays
again. Then he said, I pray thee, therefore,
father, that thou wouldst 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. Now there can be no
doubt that the rich man was genuinely anxious that what he prayed for
should be done. For common as it is on earth,
people in hell never commit the sin of praying for what they
do not want. Why then was it that he had suddenly
become anxious about his brethren? When he was with them in his
father's house, he never thought about their souls. Why does he
think about them now? Why, when he had never prayed
for them on earth, does he pray for them in hell, beseeching
that Lazarus might be sent to testify to them, lest they also
should come into that place of torment? My own belief is that
there can be but one answer to the question. It is clear that
it was not love, for there can be no love in hell, especially
can there be no love to the souls of men. But the rich man had
learned in hell what had never probably occurred to him on earth. that when he succeeded to his
father's properties, to his purple and fine linen and sumptuous
affair, he also succeeded to his father's responsibilities,
and that amongst the many things with which God had then entrusted
him had been the souls of his tenants, his dependents, his
household, and especially of his younger brethren. Like the
unjust steward, however, he had been unfaithful to his trust,
and instead of endeavoring to train for heaven those over whom
he had been made head, he had set before them, as a pattern,
the most corrupting thing on earth, the example of a man who
was contented without God. The poisoning powers of this
example had no doubt more or less tainted his whole neighborhood,
and especially his own household and the younger members of his
family. Under its influence, his five
brothers had grown up into his likeness, and while he was praying
for them in hell, they were living as he had lived on earth and
would, unless they were changed before they died. though where
he went when he died. Well, did their elder brother
know this? But this was not why he prayed
for them. He knew, besides this, what concerned
himself more personally. He knew that though if they perished,
his younger brothers would be without excuse. Yet that, in
a certain sense, he had been on earth their keeper, that Cain,
like In consequence of the way he had discharged his keepership,
his brother's blood was on his head. And not so sure as he and
his five brothers were shut up together for eternity, he would,
through eternity, be shut up with five more torturers and
tormentors. Hence his prayer. When once a
lost soul has lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and realized
the eternity of hell, it could hardly be conceived that its
cup of suffering was not full, or that the intensity of its
agony could no farther increase. But I believe this to be the
earthly judgment, the judgment of those who cannot see afar
off. I believed that the rich man
who had cried for water, and who had learned from Abraham
that not only could he get no water, but that his torments
were to be everlasting, knew also that there was yet one thing
that could make even his torments more terrible. And I believe
that his prayer, while it bore the appearance of anxiety for
his brethren, was in reality a petition for himself. A prayer for deliverance from
that one thing. The one thing that can add agony
to the agony of the lost is the being shut up forever in hell
with those they have helped to bring there. It was the dread
of this torment that was in the heart of the rich man. It was
the dread of this torment that called forth his prayer. Well,
did he know that their reproaches, their revilings, and the persecutions
of their undying vindictiveness would be added to his other agonies
if once his five brothers came into that place of torment? O ye that are neglecting souls
entrusted to your care by God, lay to heart what I am saying. Think not only of the curse you
are bringing on others, on those to whom you ought to be a blessing,
but the curse you are bringing on yourself. O ye fathers, ye
who train your sons, if not nominally yet virtually, to seek the things
of the world before the things of God, in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ I say unto you, beware. If you die with this
sin on you, you will have your portion amongst the lost. And
then in your agony, how earnestly will you pray the prayer of the
rich man? Send Lazarus to my sons. Through following your training
they may have gained the whole world, but for all will you know
in hell that if they enter there, their having gained the whole
world will not help you to face your sons. O ye mothers, ye who
train your daughters, if not nominally, yet virtually, to
seek the things of the world before the things of God, in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I say unto you, beware. If you die with this sin on you,
you will have your portion amongst the lost. And then in your agony,
how earnestly will you pray the prayer of the rich man, Send
Lazarus to my daughters. Through following your training,
they may have gained the whole world, but full well will you
know in hell that if they enter there, their having gained the
whole world will not help you to face your daughters. O ye masters of servants and
of schools, ye owners of mills and factories, ye proprietors
of mercantile and other large establishments, ye employers,
whoever ye are, of the heads and hands of your fellow creatures,
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I say unto you, beware. God demands that you should take
an interest in the souls of those that serve you, live and die
taking no interest in their souls, and you will take an interest
in them in hell, where all who take no interest in souls on
earth are certain sooner or later to be praying the prayer of the
rich man. But above all, O ye careless,
godless ministers, ye hireling shepherds, ye who have solemnly
taken God to witness that you believed yourselves called by
the Holy Ghost to take on you the office of a minister of Christ,
while you knew all the while that you were taking it on you
to serve your own earthly purposes. ye who have not lied unto men
only, but unto God. In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ I say unto you, beware. If you die with your sins upon
you, God alone knows into what depths they will sink you. But out of those depths, even
though they be in the lowest hell, will you pray, send someone
to testify to my congregation, lest they also come into this
place of torment? It will be too late then, but
for all that in your despair, you will pray. But oh, what a word have I even
for you, the chief of sinners. It is not too late now. It is not too late either for
you or your congregation. Pray for yourself and your congregation
now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lay both yourself and
them before God now. Honestly seek thy pure gospel
word and work. to save both yourself and them
now. And let your past have been what
it may, you have the word of God, 1 Timothy 4.16, that in
doing this thou shalt both save thyself and those that hear thee. But again I say unto you, beware. Especially situated as you are,
beware of delay. Delay a little longer. Delay
until men are seeing of you what they once said of the rich man.
He is dead. and your prayer then will be
too late, you will then be in hell, not only with your own
blood, but with the blood of your people on your head. In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ then, once more I say, beware. And may the Lord Jesus
Christ forgive you, have mercy on you, and turn you. Woe to
you if he does not, for I do not believe there exists a more
miserable being even amongst the lost themselves than a lost
minister shut up in hell with his congregation. And now let us consider the answer
of Abraham to this second petition. The rich man had prayed, Send
Lazarus 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, let them hear them. Now it is
quite evident, both from the prayer and its answer, that not
only in the judgment of their elder brother, but in the judgment
also of Abraham, these five brethren were unsaved, that while their
brother was praying for them in hell, they were living in
sin on the earth. What particular form of sin we
know not, neither is it needful that we should know. Suffice
it that, as their brother had done before them, they were walking
after the imaginations of their own hearts, were contented without
God in the world, and would, if they died, perish as he did. Yet how different was the answer
now received by the rich man to the answer given by Abraham
to his first prayer. The answer to the first prayer
shut at once and forever the door of hope against himself. The answer to his second, though
it refused his particular request, declared a sure and certain way
by which his five godless brethren might be saved. They have Moses
and the Prophets. Let them hear them. I suppose
I need not stop to tell you that when Abraham said they have Moses
and the Prophets, he meant that they had the Scriptures, their
Bibles. Now whoever you are into whose
hands this book has fallen I trust you are quite clear about this
one scriptural truth that there is no other possible way by which
any man can be saved except by faith. That is by rejecting his
own reasonings, wisdom, and carnal senses, and by hearing, to use
the word used by Abraham, that is, by receiving, believing,
and depending in their stead to what the scriptures tell him. These scriptures teach that men
are justified by the hearing of faith. And again that, faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. In other words, faith is hearing
the word of God and believing it. The rich man prays, send
Lazarus that he may testify to my brothers. Abraham answers,
your brothers have got the scriptures. Let them attend to what they
testify. And what do the scriptures testify? Let scripture answer for itself. The testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy. The whole spirit of the scriptures
is the testimony of Jesus. For this one purpose, and for
this one purpose only, were they written, that they might testify
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And had not God so loved the
world as to give us Jesus, not only there never would, but there
never could have been a Bible. From Genesis to Malachi, and
again from Matthew to Revelation, the Bible is one continuous testimony
of God manifest in the flesh. A Savior promised, and a Savior
given. No matter who is the author of
the particular book or portion, the one theme of all Scripture
is Jesus. Sometimes he may be spoken of
typically, sometimes spiritually, sometimes literally, but still
it is Jesus. Jesus ordained to come, Jesus
coming, Jesus come, Jesus living, Jesus tempted, Jesus suffering,
Jesus fulfilling all righteousness, Jesus forsaken of God and man,
Jesus dying, Jesus buried, Jesus rising, Jesus ascending, Jesus
exalted at the right hand of God, Jesus a Prince, Jesus a
Savior, Jesus receiving from the Father the Holy Ghost and
shedding him forth on men that the Lord, their God, might dwell
among them. Jesus able to save, Jesus willing
to save, to save not only the rich man's brothers, but all
who come unto God by him. Jesus the Alpha, Jesus the Omega,
Jesus the Beginning, Jesus the Ending, Jesus the Author, Jesus
the Finisher, Jesus the First, Jesus the Last. No matter whether
written by Moses, the prophets, or the apostles of our Lord and
Savior, the one subject of the Bible is the man, Christ Jesus,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Romans 9, 5. The testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy. Therefore thus saith the Lord
himself. Search the scriptures, for Moses
wrote of me, David wrote of me, the prophets wrote of me, and
they are they which testify of me. How deserving sinners were these
five brethren of the rich man! But they had Moses and the prophets,
and in Moses and the prophets they had that which taught them
not only how they might get their sins forgiven, but how they might
attain, when forgiven, to an immediate and perfect righteousness. O wonderful Word of God, declared
by the mouths of holy men of old! By faith in Christ Jesus,
the chiefest sinner may not only obtain a gift of pardon, but
also a gift of righteousness, a gift of a righteousness so
sinless and so pure, that the Word which declares it, calls
it the righteousness of God. Think not these are my own comments
on Moses and the prophets. They are the words of God by
the mouth of the apostles of our Lord and Savior. Let Peter's commentary satisfy
as to the truth of my first statement. Let Paul's be sufficient for
my second. To him, says Peter, give all
the prophets witness that through faith in his name, whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. And now the
righteousness of God without the law, says Paul, is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe. For there is no difference, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Acts 10,
43 and Romans 3, 21, 22 and 23. as sure then as Peter and Paul
are correct in their interpretation of the Old Testament so sure
is it that in Moses and the prophets was offered to these five brethren
remission of sins and the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ and more than that what was offered to these five brethren
is offered to all who have a Bible God, knowing that the day was
coming when the whole earth must stand before him in judgment,
looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if
there were any that did understand and seek God. And his own testimony
after the scrutiny was, they are all gone aside. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Psalm 14, 2 and 3. Now God is not willing that any
should perish, and in the moment that he saw that no flesh could
be saved, but because all had sinned and come short, he must,
as a just judge, condemn them all in the judgment day. His
wisdom was taxed to devise a way by which guilty man might stand
before Him guiltless, and He be enabled as a strictly just
God, not only to let them pass without condemnation, but to
recognize His title to an inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven. and
his wisdom did see a way, and his love made a way, and his
scriptures declare that way, and that way is Jesus. God so loved the world, that
when the fullness of the time was come, He sent forth His Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law. And this is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. He who in the beginning was with
God, and who was God, was made flesh, that he by the grace of
God might taste death for every man. He was wounded for man's
transgressions. He was bruised for man's iniquities. His blood was poured out to make
an atonement for man's soul. And the soul of him who knew
no sin was made an offering for man's sin. He who, being in the
form of God, fought it not robbery to be equal with God, made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of man. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Thus it is written in Moses and
the prophets, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations. John 3.16 Galatians 4.4 1 Timothy
1.15 John 1.1 John 1, 14. Hebrews 2, 9. Isaiah
53, 5. Leviticus 17, 11. And Matthew 26, 28. Isaiah 53,
10. Philippians 2, 6 and 8. Luke
24, 46. Jesus Christ, a person. God manifest in the flesh, living
and dying for sinners, living for them that his life of sinless
obedience might be imputed to them as if they themselves had
lived it. Or to quote one of the many ways
in which St. Paul expresses the same thing,
that by the obedience of one, many might be made righteous,
and dying for them to make an atonement for their sins, that
his death and atonement might be imputed to them, as if they
themselves had died that death and made that atonement, is the
great doctrine of Moses and the prophets. interpreted to us by
Christ himself and his apostles. The scriptures of the prophets
declare that the believer in Jesus, though in himself utterly
without righteousness, and only worthy of everlasting death,
shall not only for the sake of Christ's death imputed to him,
never be punished with death, but for the sake of Christ's
righteousness imputed to him, shall be made the righteousness
of God in him. While the great subject of Moses
and the prophets is Jesus, the great doctrine of Moses and the
prophets is substitution. Abraham said to the rich men,
they have Moses and the prophets, And what said the rich man? Did he thank God and take courage,
at least having hope that through reading and believing the scriptures
his brethren might not come to that place of torment? No. For from the day that the old
serpent deceived Eve until this hour, both on earth and in hell,
has it always been the habit of the devil and his children
to deny the all-sufficiency of the pure and unaided Word of
God to save souls. Abraham said, They have Moses
and the prophets. The rich man said, Nay, father
Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they would
repent. In this answer of the rich man
we have the embodiment of that great lie, which in different
forms and shapes is now so openly held and taught, not only by
the Church of Rome, but by multitudes of the clergy and laity of the
Church of England, and I fear even by some ministers and others
from whose professed evangelical creeds we might expect better
things. It denies, as they do, that if
a man has got a Bible, he has got the only teacher he requires. It denies, as they do, the sufficiency
of Scripture when left without note, comment, interpreter, or
helper in the hands of a man to make him wise unto salvation. Abraham evidently implied not
only that the five brethren might yet be saved, but that, having
Moses and the prophets, they had all that was necessary to
teach them what they must do to be saved. But what Abraham
so directly taught, the rich man as directly contradicted. Nay, Father Abraham, nay, not
so. I know they have Moses and the
prophets, I know they have their Bibles, the written word of God,
but by itself the Bible is not sufficient. They must have some
other teacher. The word of God, if left in their
hands alone, will never keep them out of this place of torment. If a little more than God has
already done was done to save them, if they had some great
teacher or helper of authority, if especially one went unto them
from the dead, they would repent. Reader, if ever this thought
rises up in your heart that the Bible, if you read it with prayer
for the teaching of God's Holy Spirit, is not able in itself
to make you rise unto salvation, remember as I told you to remember
about the prayers addressed to saints and mediators where this
lie first originated. It originated in hell, and though
God forbid that I should tell any man to refuse the help of
his church, his pastor, or of any teacher he thinks likely
to help him, I do tell him that he is to carry the doctrines
of his church and his other instructors to his Bible and prayerfully
compare their teaching with its teaching before he receives it. Though we or an angel from heaven,
says St. Paul to the Galatians, preach
any other gospel unto you than that we have preached unto you,
let him be accursed. That's plainly implying that
a man is bound not only to test the teaching of his minister
by his Bible, but even if one appeared to him the teaching
of an angel from heaven, and also that if, through unquestioning
reliance on any teacher, a man believes a false doctrine, he
would be without excuse, and along with his false teacher,
be accursed. Had it pleased God to send Lazarus
to these five brethren, they would have been bound to test
all he said by Moses and the prophets. It is a solemn truth
that Paul tells the Corinthians, and one of the first that the
natural man has to receive, namely, that the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish. Foolishness, 1 Corinthians 1.18. Observe, it is not that they
pretend to think it foolishness, but that they really do. And
the last counsel that an unconverted man would give a friend in need
would be to study his Bible. I believe the rich man most sincerely
thought that if Lazarus went to them from the dead, it would
be far more likely to bring his brothers to repentance. than
to read Moses and the prophets. But his sincerely thinking so
did not make it true. The rich man was under the devil's
teaching as every man who is not taught of God and consequently
under a strong delusion to believe a lie. And there exists not on
this earth a thing more offensive to God or destructive to himself
than the honest, genuine belief of the natural heart of man.
Men have been known to gain the whole world by their wisdom and
natural powers, but no man ever yet followed the guidance of
his own wisdom from his birth to his grave who did not dishonor
God and lose his own soul. It was for this reason, because
no man could, by wisdom, find out God, that God gave us His
Word, the Bible. And whether we believe that Word
or our own reason is the point on which hangs our salvation. As is always the case, he who
was taught of God was right. and he who judged after the reasonings
of his own heart wrong. They have Moses and the prophets,
said Abraham. To send Lazarus to your brethren,
even were there no other reason against it, would do no good. For if they hear not Moses and
the prophets, neither would they be persuaded. The one rose from
the dead. This concludes the reading of
The Rich Man and Lazarus. Six short rules for young Christians
by Brownlow North. One. Never neglect daily private
prayer, and when you pray, remember that God is present and that
he hears your prayers. Hebrews 11, 6. Two. Never neglect daily private Bible
reading, and when you read, remember that God is speaking to you,
and that you are to believe and act upon what he says. I believe
all backsliding begins with the neglect of these two rules. John 5, 39. 3. Never let a day pass without
trying to do something for Jesus. Every night reflect on what Jesus
has done for you and then ask yourself, what am I doing for
him? Matthew 5, 13 through 16. Four. If you are in doubt as
to a thing being right or wrong, go to your room and kneel down
and ask God's blessing upon it. Colossians 3, 17. If you cannot
do this, it is wrong. Romans 14, 23. 5. Never take your Christianity
from Christians, or argue that because such and such people
do so and so, that therefore you may. 2 Corinthians 10, 12. You are to ask yourself, how
would Christ act in my place? And strive to follow him. John
10, 27. 6. Never believe what you feel if it contradicts
God's word. Ask yourself, can what I feel
be true if God's word is true? And if both cannot be true, believe
God and make your own heart the liar. Romans 3, 4, 1 John 5,
10, and 11. This concludes the reading of
this book.