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, tho
Sermon Transcript
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So we're in Luke chapter 16 and we're going to verse 19. Luke chapter 16 and verse 19. This is the word of the Lord. The Lord is speaking and he says, there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, 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 the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell he lifted 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 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.' Abraham said unto them, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Amen. May the Lord bless to us this reading from his word. Here is another powerful portion of scripture from the words of our Saviour. It has been noted that there is no other passage in the whole Bible quite like this. Unknowable supernatural truth concerning heaven and hell is disclosed here in this passage to mankind by the Lord Jesus Christ. in a manner distinct from anything else in God's word. And here by revelation, the revelation of the Lord Jesus in his earthly ministry, God himself, the eternal living word, we are shown a picture of the everlasting destinations of all men and women. and we are permitted to glimpse into the mind and we are permitted to eavesdrop on the utterances of a man experiencing the torments of hell.
I want us to pause and reflect on that for a moment because here we are privy to the words and feelings of an unconverted man after death. Think on that. Much of what we know about hell and the tormented state of unbelievers in hell is discovered in this passage. And what do we learn? We know that men and women, let's add women too, that men and women are conscious in hell. We know that they have their senses. They can see, they can hear, they can feel. They have memory. They are self-aware.
And notably as well, men in hell know why they are there. And they even wish for those that they have known in the world, not to follow them, but to repent of their sin and to be delivered from coming to join them. Sometimes we hear people saying, well, if I end up in hell, it'll be a busy place and there will be lots of other people there. Well, that casual attitude, that flippant attitude is not the attitude of men and women in hell. They desire that others will not join them because of what they are now experiencing.
People often consider this portion of the word of God of the scriptures of Luke's gospel to be a parable and it may well be. But as we were mentioning a few weeks ago in another context, the unjust steward There's no need for us to make that supposition. It may well be a parable. Scripture doesn't tell us that. We are told very often that the Lord spoke this parable. Our scripture does not say that.
Indeed, the fact that Lazarus is named may indicate that this is a real history and that this was a real man. and the reason that the rich man is not named could well have been for the sake of his family, though he may have been known and his history may have been known to those present. I only mention that because We should not simply deflect some of these realities by categorising this as a parable and therefore in some way detached from the real events of people's lives.
There were Pharisees in attendance, we know that from other portions in this chapter. Just consider this with me for a moment. If this rich man was historically a real person and was perhaps even a Pharisee. His brothers may also have been Pharisees and could have been in that very company that day. And even if that wasn't the case, who could go from that gathering of those present as the Lord was declaring these things unaffected by the words of the Lord and wondering, thinking back, reflecting on those that they knew who had died and passed into eternity and wondering if it might not be their relative in hell being quoted and warning them not to come to this place. That surely is what ought to be drawn from this passage.
And here we have a rich man and a poor man. He's called a beggar. He may well have been a beggar, but the word just means that he was poor. One man was rich in what the world had to offer. One was not. But one was spiritually rich. and one was not. And worldly prosperity is no indication of spiritual blessedness. In fact, there seems to be an opposition in this matter.
In scripture, wealth is often seen as a hurdle and a barrier to spiritual wisdom. Not always, there were rich men who were believers, but not many. I dare say there has never been a more prosperous age in the history of the world than what we now enjoy. And yet how few think about their soul. There's the parallel. It seems the more people fill their lives with worldly pleasures, the less they are inclined to think about spiritual truth.
This rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen. These are figurative of the wealth of the age. Purple was the colour of kings. Purple was what Lydia sold, if you remember. We're thinking about the church at Philippi at the moment on the Lord's Day. Well, Lydia was one of those early believers in the church of Philippi and she had a job. She was a trader and she traded in purple. That may have been purple colour, it may have been purple cloth, but here was a man who personified wealth by his purple garments and his fine linen.
And we are told that he fared sumptuously every day. He knew how to look after himself and he had the wherewithal to do it in luxury. Lazarus, on the other hand, would have eaten the crumbs that fell from his table and yet he was shown no kindness nor care. He lay at the rich man's gate and only dogs licked his sores. Let us just apply that momentarily if we may.
It is God's blessing to us by whatever means He prevents his people from becoming self-reliant and self-indulgent. We complain about things, perhaps too readily we complain. We've been thinking about that again on the Lord's Day with Paul. And I'm not saying that we have to always look on the bright side of life. I'm not saying this flippantly, but the Apostle Paul always looked, even in prison, always looked for what the Lord was doing through that experience to glorify his own name and to bless his people.
And whatever contributes to our dependence and trust in the Lord is a blessing. Our poverty is a blessing if it makes us rely on the Lord. Our sicknesses are blessings if they make us dependent upon our Saviour. Even the grieving of our conscience in the sin that we commit is a blessing to us. if it draws us closer to the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the cleansing power that he alone can give. Let us remember the lessons of scripture in these matters.
James, we've been speaking about him in recent weeks or months, perhaps it is now, but James speaks emphatically about this also. And he tells us that we must not elevate or honour rich people above the poor. excessive wealth. In these days we would have to say grotesque wealth is praised and celebrated in our society.
But let us never forget that it is easier for a camel to pass through, to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. The greatest richness in this world is being poor in spirit, is being humbled for sin in the sight of God. The greatest richness is the richness of the application of the blood of Christ on the soul of a sinner. Wealth could not prevent this rich man's death. We all die. First Lazarus died and then this rich man died.
I was interested, it's a little time ago now, but I wonder if a few months ago you remember the visit that Vladimir Putin of Russia made to China and the time that he spent with Xi, the Chinese leader. There was a moment in the news reporting of that visit where Xi and Putin were overheard on a hot mic, what's called a hot mic, it's when a microphone is left on record and broadcast close to where people are and they don't realise that it's on. And on a hot mic, these two men were heard speaking about the fact that they must die despite their power and their wealth. I thought that was interesting, that in the, they were walking down a causeway and there were people all around them and they were just speaking to one another. What they were talking about was the fact that they had to die. It was in their minds, their mortality was in their minds. The super rich die. and leave it all behind just like the poor. And the rich man died and the beggar died.
And thus it is appointed unto all men and women. How important it is then that our souls are right with God before that day. But there's another lesson here too. The death of the justified, the end of the sanctified, and all the days of the redeemed are known and ordered by God. There's a beautiful little phrase and I'm sure you're familiar with it. If you're not, then take note of it and reflect on it. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm 116, verse 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
The rich man was cast into hell. Lazarus was carried into heaven. He was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man could see into heaven and he could discern Abraham afar off. He could see Lazarus reclining amongst the faithful in the company of the saints in the presence of God And as I've previously suggested, I see no absolute reason to suppose this is all just a figurative narrative or a story constructed to convey a particular truth. If indeed, as the Lord tells us, the wicked in hell can look into heaven and see and recognise the Lord's people whom they have known in this world, That in itself is an awe-inspiring if not an awful fact.
The rich man speaks of a drip of water to cool his tongue. A tormenting flame engulfs him and a helplessness afflicts him because he is unable to change his state. It can be no small aggravation of the suffering of the wicked that those in everlasting pain constantly witness the joy and blessing denied them by their unbelief. And I wish men and women, I wish our loved ones would stop and wonder, would ponder, would consider God's word that says, the wages of sin is death. And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Ponder and consider the word that says, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. It will be too late to alter our eternal destiny when death overtakes us. And the gulf between heaven and hell is impassable so that none may travel from one to the other even if there was a willingness to do so.
Let me just touch on a wee point here as well. There are some of us here and some of us are not here. Some of us here and some of us that are not here. Some amongst us who are more aware of death and dying perhaps than others. Most aware with the encroaching weakness of our physical frailty, sickness, disease that is afflicting our bodies. Age, simply. But we can take comfort in this message as well.
There are angels designated with the task of carrying the Lord's people into Christ's presence and into Christ's glory. There are angels designated with the task of carrying you and me who love the Lord and trust in him into his presence. And maybe that shouldn't be a surprise to us, because angels were present when the Lord ascended into heaven. And the phrase, was taken up, reveals that Christ too was carried into heaven. Luke 24 and 51 tells us, it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and listen, carried up into heaven. So just as the Lord taught that Lazarus was carried into Abraham's bosom by angels, the Lord himself in his ascension was carried by angels up into heaven. The angels said this same Jesus which is taken up, not which went up, not who went up by his own strength, by his own power, was taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
As with Elijah in his fiery chariot, so in kind It is for every believer. John Bunyan, the writer of Pilgrim's Progress, has a beautiful picture of the final moments of faithful at Vanity Fair in Pilgrim's Progress. And just as the fires of his execution are being lit and engulfing him, a chariot pulls up behind him. and his soul is whisked speedily into the presence of his Lord. I think that's a beautiful picture. It stands out for me in that fine account of Bunyan. But it is, so to speak, that in that moment of our death, here comes the chariot. and we are with the Lord.
The rich man pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus or send someone, send anyone back to warn his brothers not to come to this place. Now, now, when it is too late, he has learned the value of a soul. But Abraham's words are, Well, they're significant words, but they are condemning words. They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. They have the revelation of God in scripture. God has spoken. God has sent his preachers. God has revealed his ways. They have the gospel before them in God's word.
And how much more culpable must we be today who have heard the Gospel and seen the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in the symbols and types and shadows of the sacrificial system or the tabernacle or the judgments of the prophets against the wickedness of the people, not in these shadows. but in the full bright light of Jesus Christ amongst men. We have seen Christ, we have heard his gospel, and yet we will not believe.
And what if one went back from the dead? Is it not interesting that a little later in Christ's own life, one indeed did come back from the dead. And if it doesn't just give us, I don't want to say the Lord's sense of humour in any disrespectful way, but surely there is an irony that the man who came back was called Lazarus, the very name that was used by the Lord with respect to this history. Not this Lazarus, not the same Lazarus. That Lazarus was the brother of Martha and Mary. But could the Lord make the hardness of men's hearts any more obvious by such a parallel, when they would not believe one who came back from the tomb?
Do you know, do you remember what the Jews said when Lazarus was raised from the dead? In John 12, 10, we read this. The chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death, because that by reason of him, many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus.
Not miracles, not resurrections, Not celebrities, nor all the signs and wonders that are spoken of as being desirable in order to shake men's attention and turn them to the Lord. These things, not all the wonders in earth or in the sky will make men turn to Christ because it takes the Holy Spirit. It takes Holy Spirit power. It takes the preaching of the gospel in power.
It takes faith in the scriptures and it takes trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only He is the way of salvation and only this gospel is given to us in these days by which to trust the Lord and bring us into that experience of everlasting life. It is by faith that we are saved and by God's grace as he gives that gift of faith, men and women like you and me, sinners by nature, will find our everlasting destiny assured like Lazarus as the Lord saves us and brings us into his presence. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us today. Amen.
About Peter L. Meney
Peter L. Meney is Pastor of New Focus Church Online (http://www.newfocus.church); Editor of New Focus Magazine (http://www.go-newfocus.co.uk); and Publisher of Go Publications which includes titles by Don Fortner and George M. Ella. You may reach Peter via email at peter@go-newfocus.co.uk or from the New Focus Church website. Complete church services are broadcast weekly on YouTube @NewFocusChurchOnline.
Pristine Grace functions as a digital library of preaching and teaching from many different men and ministries. I maintain a broad collection for research, study, and listening, and the presence of any preacher or message here should not be taken as a blanket endorsement of every doctrinal position expressed.
I publish my own convictions openly and without hesitation throughout this site and in my own preaching and writing. This archive is not a denominational clearinghouse. My aim in maintaining it is to preserve historic and contemporary preaching, encourage careful study, and above all direct readers and listeners to the person and work of Christ.
Everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God.
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I spent the majority of my adult life building something I didn't know had a name. It started with the Scriptures and a lot of late nights. It ended with one sentence that generates every theological position I hold, from the nature of God to the nature of heaven and hell, without contradiction. One sentence. Thirty chapters. Sixteen appendices. And if you accept the sentence, everything else follows.
Most systematic theologies start with a list of doctrines and work through them one by one. This book starts with an ontological claim - that everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God - and derives everything from that single proposition. This is not a rearrangement of existing theology. This is a paradigm shift. Since Augustine imported Plato's metaphysics into the church in the fourth century, every major system of Christian theology has been built on a foundation the Scriptures never laid. This book identifies that foundation, names it, traces its influence across sixteen centuries, and replaces it with an ontology derived from Scripture alone. If the claim holds, this is the most significant shift in the theological starting point since Augustine. And I believe it holds.
This is not a devotional. This is not a commentary. This is a systematic theology built from the ground up by a computer programmer with no seminary degree, no denominational backing, and no one's permission. It uses the vocabulary of information theory, computer science, and quantum physics to describe realities that traditional theological language has never been able to reach. If you are a scientist who suspects that information is fundamental to reality but can't bring yourself to call it God, this book speaks your language. If you are a sovereign grace believer looking for a system that follows the logic all the way, this book does that. And if you have been told that the sharpest doctrine produces the coldest heart, this book ends with the widest arms you have ever seen in a Reformed theology.
The digital edition is free. The truth doesn't come with a price tag. - Brandan Kraft
Where this book stands in the tradition
4th century BC
Plato
Idealism — forms over particulars
The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
“Everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God, sustained by His will, authored by His purpose, and held together by personal covenants of love.”
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