It is just great to be with you
this evening. I trust that God will be pleased
to meet with us tonight and these next two days together for the
glory of his dear son and for our everlasting good. Several
years ago, I had some contact with a pastor out in Oklahoma
in the United States who was planning to have a whatever the
200th anniversary is, what's it called? I can't remember the
name now. Yeah, for John Gill. And he asked me if I would come
out and bring a paper on John Gill. And we were sitting at
the lunch table. I said to him, I'll be happy
to come out and preach what got John Gill preached. But I'm not
a fellow who reads papers. I don't pretend to be an intellectual
intellectually stimulating fellow. I preach the gospel of God's
free grace and I've come here tonight in just that capacity
to bring you a message from this book that I'm confident God has
given me to deliver this hour. I don't know when I have been
more thoroughly convinced for a longer time to bring a specific
message at a specific time than I have this one. I began preparing
it a little bit better than two weeks ago as I was preparing
to preach another message at the death of my sister. The 16th
chapter of Luke's gospel gives us the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ as he's addressing Pharisees, religious Pharisees. Those Pharisees
being men who justify themselves before men, And imagine vainly
that that is the same thing as justifying themselves before
God. The Savior said to them in verse 15, ye are they which
justify yourselves before men. You look real good to men. Men
brag on you and that's what you want. Men think highly of you
and that's what you desire. But God knoweth your hearts.
for that which is highly esteemed among men. Every religious thing
that men highly esteem. Now let us sink in. Every religious
thing that men highly esteem. Everything that impresses men.
in outward behavior, in dress, in conduct, every religious thing
that men highly esteem is an abomination in the sight of God. It's an abomination in the sight
of God. I didn't know what I would see
here. It's the first time I've been in this building, but I'm happy
to see you don't have any stained glass windows. We don't either.
And it's not because we can't afford to get them, at these
days we probably couldn't, but we don't want them. We don't
have any crosses and religious emblems and all those things
that make you feel good about being in church. Because that
which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the
sight of God. These Pharisees are the men to
whom the parable of the lost sheep The lost coin and the lost
son spoken in chapter 15 was spoken. Our Lord Jesus was there
addressing publicans and sinners who came to hear him preach.
And when the Pharisees saw it, they mocked the son of God and
said, this man received the sinners. And the Lord Jesus gave out that
parable of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. And our Lord's message in Luke
16, verses 19 through 31, is specifically addressed to this
group of people. Those who attempt to justify
themselves before men. Those who attempt to make men
be convinced they are God's people. Those who attempt to make men
stand convinced that they are truly saved people. Let's read
the story together beginning in verse 19. The first thing
we see in this parable is the fact that eternity brings about
a great, great change. Things were not the same for
the rich man after he died, and things were not the same for
Lazarus after he died. There was a certain rich man,
a certain rich man, a certain notable distinguished man, a
man who thought himself rich before God, a man who was highly
esteemed and greatly praised by other men, which was clothed
in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. He was a man who never had any
trouble. He was a man who wore all the
right things and did all the right things and got along very
well as a highly esteemed rich soul. And there was a certain
beggar, a poor helpless beggar named Lazarus, which was laid
at his gate full of sores, a man full of trouble. Every day he
woke up was another day of struggle. Every day he woke up was another
day of trouble. Every day he woke up was another
day of enduring great sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs
which fell from the rich man's table. Desiring just a little
bit of the peace and joy and happiness the rich man seemed
to have. Moreover, the dogs, the dogs,
beware of dogs, evil workers, the concision, men who come teaching
you that by doing certain things or not doing certain things,
men who come teaching you that by something you do or don't
do, you can win God's favor, dogs. Men who prostitute the
gospel. Pharisaic will works religious
preachers. Dogs came and licked his sores. I have read a good many men and
heard a good many men who spoke of those dogs being Lazarus's
only comforters. When I, until I got to the place
I was going so much I couldn't have one. I've had a dog all
my life. Raised him all my life. But if you think there's some
comfort in having a dog come lick your sores, you haven't
been around a dog much. The dogs came and licked his
sores. The only comfort this man had
for men was men coming, trying to make him feel good about himself,
trying to make him comfortable about himself, trying to make
this man, Lazarus, think everything was all right when nothing was
all right. That's what religious hucksters do. They come to folks
who are lost and lick their sores and try to convince them they're
saved. Ralph Barnard used to tell fellas, the only man who'll
try to convince a lost man that he's saved is another lost man.
That's not our business. That's not our business. 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 forgotten and in hell he lift up his eyes being in
torment and see if Lazarus or see if
Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried this
rich man 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." What great changes take place when breath is taken from our
bodies. Here are two men, one very rich and comfortable, the
other very poor and troubled. The one fared sumptuously every
day. The other was a beggar full of
sores, one who had nothing he could call his own. And yet it
was Lazarus, the poor beggar, who really possessed everything.
He was the one who was born of God and had true riches in Christ. The rich man, though clothed
in purple and fine linen, with long robes showing himself to
be distinctly religious, he had nothing. Lazarus, the poor man,
lived by faith and walked in the steps of Abraham. The rich
man was thoughtless, self-righteous, selfish, worldly, dead in trespasses
and sins. While on earth, the rich man
was at the top of the world, had Lazarus on the bottom. Now
Lazarus is above in glory and the rich man is below in hell. We ought never, never, never
imagine that men are blessed because they're wealthy, in good
health, and appear to be happy. We ought never presume that men
and women are truly blessed of God because they have peace and
they can sing blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, oh, what a foretaste
of glory divine, and never have a note of who God is, who Christ
is, or what he accomplished. And we must never imagine that
those who are poor, plagued with disease, troubled in their souls,
at war within themselves are unbelievers and cursed. You see,
God's saints in this world, as long as we're in this world,
God's saints are men and women who are poor in spirit. They're
poor in spirit. I don't mean they run around
moping and whining and carrying on. I mean they're poor in spirit. They know themselves sinners
with nothing to offer God, nothing to make them acceptable to God,
nothing to give them a good standing with God, just sinners, poor
in spirits. Self-righteous religionist, almost
always are rich, increased with goods, rarely troubled, and perfectly
secure. Earthly trouble and earthly woe
is no indication of divine disfavor, but rather it's commonly an indication
of divine favor. Prophet Jeremiah speaks by the
Lord and says, thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory
in his wisdom, Neither let the mighty man glory in his might.
Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that
glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth
me, that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment,
and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,
saith the Lord." The wealth and worldly honor and peace and religious
tranquility are no marks of God's favor. Poverty, adversity, and
spiritual trouble are no marks of God's displeasure. Those whom
God justifies and glorifies are seldom rich and honorable in
this world in a material way. And they are never rich and honorable
in their own esteem of themselves. Never. Never. God's saints are
poor. Poor in spirit. Full of sores. They're not a place you can touch
them where they don't hurt. They're full of sores. Every
experience has its sorrow. Every joy has its bitterness.
They're full of sores. Learn this too. Death is the
common end of all men. The trials of the beggar and
the sumptuous living of the rich man both ceased at God's appointed
hour. At God's appointed time, both
men died. Both went to the grave. All go
to one place, the wise man said. Two weeks ago, I stood. I had
a chance for just a few minutes to stand in the room before everybody
else got there and look at my sister lying in her coffin. And
among many other things, that statement ran through my heart
and mind. All go to one place. Soon, you
will that Don Fortner has been laid in the grave. That's just
the way things are. Since the fall of our father
Adam, we're assured that we must soon die. Someone had written
on his epitaph many, many 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. Most of us don't like to think
about it, but we ought to think about it constantly. Soon we
must die. You who are gods understand that
soon you must die. So cram everything you can into
every day in the service of our Redeemer and the souls of men.
The beggar died, and his pains and sorrows and needs died, and
the rich man also died, and his peace and his delights and his
sumptuous living also died. Prepare to meet God. I would to God he would fix it
so that from this moment forward I would never live a moment without
thinking of the immediate prospect of death and eternity. And that
you might never live another moment without thinking of death
and the immediate prospect of eternity. This parable is also
intended to assure us who are God's elect that the death of
this body is a blessed, blessed prospect. In the hour that all
men dread, Believers are especially and
tenderly cared for by God. The Lord Jesus tells us that
when Lazarus died, he was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. I have thought a lot about that
statement and I don't really have any idea what it means.
I don't really have any idea what it means except this. What
are the angels? Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to them who shall be the heirs
of salvation? God created his angels to, in
a special way known only to God and the angels who do it, to
minister to his people all the time, to watch over and protect
them. until they're called and watch
over and protect them after they're called. And then at last, carry
them to glory. This parable gives us something
sweet and comforting. Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord. Carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom is to be absent from the body and to be present with the
Lord. As for me, the psalmist said, I will behold thy face
in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. Those who sleep in the Lord Jesus
are in good keeping. They are not disembodied spirits
floating around in the atmosphere while their bodies sleep in the
earth. Awaiting the resurrection, our sleeping brothers and sisters
are at rest among friends in Abraham's bosom. At the feet
of Christ, the lamb seated upon his throne. They have no want
of any kind. Best of all, Paul tells us they
are with the Lord. Truly, for the believer, to die
is gain. To die is gain. I said to Peter
when he came in, I met him this evening. His mother, the Lord
apparently is about to take her out of this world. I said, I'm
so sorry for you and your dad. Not for her. Not for her. For the believer
to die is gain. You will search the word of God
in vain. You will search this book in
vain to find any indication of any sorrow awaiting the believer
when he's taking his last breath on this earth. Whatever judgment
day involves, no sorrow for the believer. Whatever the last day
involves, no sorrow for the believer. And when the believer leaves
this body, he enters into rest. No wonder the Apostle Paul spoke
like he did about time and eternity. He said, I like affliction. which
is but for a moment, our featherweight trouble, which is just for a
moment. Now, go back and read what all
those lightweight afflictions were. I mean, this man was beaten,
left for dead, shipwrecked. He was abused. He was persecuted.
He was forsaken by friends, forsaken by his companions, forsaken by
co-laborers in the gospel. And he said, our light affliction,
our featherweight affliction, Featherweight affliction. I saw
somebody just a little bit ago, looked like they had a feather
on their sleeve. And I started to mention it.
I thought, well, he doesn't know it, nor me bringing that to his
attention. He don't know where it is. It's
gone now. Don't look for it now. But our
featherweight affliction, which is but for a moment, just for
a minute, just for a minute, works for us. a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory. That is to say whatever it is
that God's people experience in this world that breaks their
hearts, that causes their cheeks to burn
with tears, that causes them heaviness of soul, Our light
affliction is just for a minute. It's soon going to be over. And
when it's over, the result will be a far more glorious, blessed,
delightful eternity with Christ in heaven. Worketh for us a far
more exceeding eternal weight of glory. In other words, Brother
Allen, heaven would not be so glorious so blessed, so restful,
so delightful, as it shall be, were it not for the light afflictions
we endure in this world. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. Everything you can see and touch
is temporal, is temporal. Everything that can touch you
in this world is temporal. It's meaningless. It's meaningless. The last time I saw my sister,
and I mention this to you because I know this congregation, your
pastor and you, brethren, have been praying for me and my sister,
our family, the last 11 months. Shelby and I walked away and
she was real concerned because somebody had done something to
the property where she lived. And I walked away broken hearted
because that's all she's got. That's all she's got. And troubled
about a piece of wood that marks a stake. Everything here is temporary. We're going to a world in which
all things are permanent, eternal, unchanging. Bunyan describes
the man who convinced finally of this fact, and the man screamed,
eternity, eternity, eternity, how shall I deal with eternity? deal with eternity only by faith
in the Son of God. No other way. Only by faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in Luke 16, we're allowed
to see the ultimate end of us all. The righteous and the unrighteous,
the holy and the unholy, the believing and the unbelieving.
Soon, very, very soon, you and I will join one of these two
men. We will either join Lazarus in
the glory and bliss of heaven, or we will join the rich man
in the misery and torment of hell. This is the end of all
men. God give us wisdom to lay it
to heart. God give us wisdom and grace
to think continually upon it as we make our way through this
world. Lazarus was died and carried
up to heaven. Chosen, redeemed, and born of
God, he entered into glory. But the rich man also died. And
what became of him? In hell, he lift up his eyes,
being in torments. I once heard a preacher make
a statement. It's the last time I ever went
to a funeral where some Armenian workmonger was preaching. I made
up my mind. I don't care who it is, family,
friend, or foe. I'm not going to go and give
him the honor of me sitting and listening to him preach again.
He's standing beside the casket. He said, we just don't know what
the future holds. Oh, but we do. Oh, but we do
know. In hell, he'd lift up his eyes. being in torment. The Lord Jesus
here allows us to look beyond the grave and to look into hell
itself. He shows us the pains, the feelings,
the desires of an eternally lost damned soul in hell, one forever
shut up under the torment of God's infinite holy wrath and
justice as he fully deserves. I ask you, are you prepared to
meet God? Are you ready to die? Are you
prepared to meet God? I mean, right now, prepared to
meet God. Ready to die, prepared for eternity. Prepared to stand before the
august throne of God's great white throne of judgment and
give account. So a preacher, nobody's ready. I beg to differ. I'm prepared to meet God. I have at the slightest quiver
in my soul, in the prospect of death. I have at the slightest
quake in my heart, at the prospect of eternity. May God give you
such grace, give you grace to trust his sod. That means John
Graham, if you've got any fear of it, the problem is because
there's somewhere where you're not trusting his sod. It's just
that simple. It's just that simple. Faith
in Christ breeds confidence in Christ. Faith in Christ is nothing
less than confidence in Christ. You see, God requires perfect
righteousness. Not good intentions, perfect
righteousness. Not a good testimony before men,
perfect righteousness. How good does a man have to be
to get to heaven? As good as God. perfectly holy,
no blemish, no flaw, no fault, no defect, perfect righteousness. Jesus Christ, God's darling son,
came into this world to live in the room instead of a chosen
people. And for those people whom he
represented as our mediator and covenant surety, those people
trusted to his hands from eternity as the surety of the everlasting
covenant, he lived on this earth in perfect obedience to God. He loved his neighbor as himself. He loved God with all his heart,
soul, mind, and being, and never deviated in the least from doing
his father's will in all things. And when he did, oh, God, how I thank you, I lived
in him and perfectly obeyed God. to the full age of manhood. Completely, completely, flawlessly
holy in the entirety of manhood. But God requires more than righteousness.
God requires satisfaction. He says, the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. Now, I know this is coming as
a shocker to some folks, but I want to tell you something.
Nobody goes to hell because of what Adam did in the garden.
Nobody. We all sinned in Adam. We all
died spiritually in Adam. But the soul that sinneth, it
shall die. Every single human being who
perishes under the wrath of God goes to hell because of his willful
disobedience to God because he refused to believe God Refused
to walk in the light God gave him doesn't matter whether he's
a heathen in Africa or in New Guinea or in the United States
Every soul that goes to hell goes to hell because he refused
to believe God And God demands satisfaction for sin. God demands
satisfaction for his justice. You've got to die. You've got
to suffer the wrath of God for your sin. And when the Lord Jesus
died upon Calvary's cursed tree, he was made sin for us. And God drew forth the sword
of his infinite holy justice. And he cried awake, O sword,
against the man that is my fellow, smite and slay the shepherd.
And God buried the sword of his justice in the soul of his son. And when he did, God buried the
sword of his justice in Don Fortner, so that he says now to Jacob,
Fury is not in me. The Lord Jesus Christ has fully
satisfied all the justice of God in my room and in my stead,
and when Christ died, I died in Him. When he was crucified,
I was crucified in him. When he arose, I arose in him. When he sat down in heaven, I
sat down in him. I've been in him from eternity
by the choice of God and in him everlastingly accepted and beloved. How do you know? I trust it. I believe it. No, I don't believe
him as I ought. Oh no, my God, I don't believe
him as I ought. But believe him I do. I'm like
that woman with the issue of blood. If I can just touch the
hem of his garment. She'd wasted her substance. on
physicians of no value, spent everything she had trying to
get better. And finally she said, she said, this is the son of
David. If I could just touch him, the Messiah, the Christ
of God, or if I could just get near him and touch the hem of
his garment, I'd be made whole. And she snuck her way in and
she touched his garment, and immediately she was made whole.
And faith in Christ is the substance of things hoped for. and the
evidence of things not seen. You understand that? The evidence
of grace, the evidence of salvation, the evidence of redemption, the
evidence of election, the evidence of effectual calling is not how
much of this book you can memorize, or how good you feel, or how
many Sunday school pens you have on your lapel, or what good things
you've done, The evidence of life is faith in Christ. As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Fifty years ago this
week, God saved me by his grace. Fifty years ago. And you know how I came to it? I'd been struggling for a long
time, struggling for a long time, trying to find a way to believe,
looking for something in me, looking for enough repentance
or enough sorrow or enough prayer or something. Finally, the Lord
God spoke and revealed a son in me, and I came to him naked,
helpless, empty-handed, a poor, hell-bent, hell-deserving, doomed,
damned, worthless sinner, trusting Christ. And today, I come to
him more fully than ever convinced. A poor, helpless, hell-bent,
doomed, damned, worthless sinner, good for nothing, trusting Christ. That's the evidence of life eternal. Let me wrap this up and give
you some things clearly set before us in this parable. Here are some very sobering things
that distinctly separate this parable and this portion of scripture
from others. This is the only place in the
entire Bible, the only place in the world in which we learn
anything at all about what the thoughts and the emotions of
the damned in hell are. This is the only place. The only
place. Well, what can we learn here? Let me give you some lessons.
Lessons this rich man learned, but learned too late. Number
one, number one. As soon as he died, this rich
man discovered that death doesn't end all. If a man dies, shall he live
again? Indeed you shall, either in heaven
or in hell. We all have an immortal soul
that will live forever after these bodies are in the graves.
We will spend eternity either in the bliss and glory of heaven
or in the torments of the damned in hell. What a meeting place
hell must be. Lost neighbors meet each other
and they hate each other. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't
you warn me? And they blame each other and
they curse each other. Lost brothers and lost sisters
meet each other. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't
you warn me? And they hate and curse each
other. A lost mother and a lost daughter
meet each other. Why did you let me go on? Why
did you leave me to myself? Why didn't you tell me about
redemption and grace? Why didn't you warn me? And they
cuss each other and hate each other forever. A lost son and
a lost father meet each other. Why didn't you tell me the truth?
Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me this awful
place? Why didn't you warn me of eternity? And forever they'd
cuss each other and hate each other. And lost church members
and lost pastors meet each other. Lost church members and lost
pastors. And the church member looks at
the preacher and says, why did you deceive me? Why did you lie
to me? Why did you tell me about my
goodness and my worst? Why didn't you tell me about
my depravity, the corruption of my heart, my sin? Why didn't
you tell me about the Savior, his riches, his glory, and his
grace? And they leave each other hating
each other and cussing each other forever. Second, this poor man
learned in hell that there is a real place called hell. I know
folks like to poke fun at it and they like to Look at us as
if we're ignoramus folks, you know, we believe in heaven and
hell and eternity, all those things, the boogeyman's going
to get you, all that nonsense. The fact is our Lord Jesus tells
us plainly that after death this rich man was in hell, tormented
with fire. He begged for Abraham to send
Lazarus just Allison brought me up a glass of water, and it's
still cold. He said, he said, would you have
Lazarus to dip his finger in a cup of cold water? Oh, that'd be heavenly. And cool my tongue, for I'm tormented
in this flame. Hell is as real as Danville,
Kentucky, or London, England. It's as real as you and as real
as me. Heaven is real. The torments
of hell is real. The agony of hell is real. J.C. Ryle rightly observed, there
are few more dreadful passages in the whole Bible than this.
He from whose lips it came was the one who delighted in mercy.
and he tells us about hell. Hell. I don't know what it is. Frankly,
I don't like to talk about it. I don't like to think about it.
But hell is not a myth. Hell is a place of fire, but
fire like you never imagined, unquenchable fire. Hell is a
place with worms, But worms like you never thought about. These
are worms that are undying. Hell is a place of absolutely
inescapable but fully deserved torment. A place of everlasting
darkness. A pit of darkness. But a darkness
of mind. A darkness of soul. Darkness. Hell is a place of eternal conscious
separation. Separation from God and light
and good and pleasure of utter isolation in the midst of a vast
multitude of the damned. It's a place of unending hopelessness. Third, lifting up his eyes in
hell, this rich man found out what he tried his best to ignore
all his life long. A holy God must and will punish
sin. Now, you can try your best to
suppress that, but it won't work. You can try your best to say,
no, God, I won't have him. I won't bow to him. I don't believe
in God. That's just a bunch of myths. That's something folks
made up. But you know in your soul, God's going to punish sin. You know it. And the book testifies
to it. When God Almighty found sin on
his son, he had no mercy on his son. He punished his sin to the
utter extremity of divine justice. And so be assured, God will punish
your sin. Fourth, this rich man found out that
hell is a place of endless torment. Look at verse 23. In hell he
lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off. Can
you imagine that? He's in hell, in a pit of darkness,
but he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. He sees Lazarus in the glory
of heaven. He sees Lazarus seated with the
saints around God's throne. He sees Lazarus sitting down
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the fountain of living waters. And the scripture tells us, 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'm tormented in this flame. What is hell? It's a place where
lust and desire are fully activated, but utterly unfulfilled. A place
of mental, moral, and physical agony. When I try to imagine
what the torments of the damned in hell must be, I'm shocked
by what I know. I quake and tremble at what I
know. especially because I realize
that by comparison of what the torments of the damned really
are, I know nothing. Unspeakable torments. Endless
torments. All I can do for you is cry,
flee, flee. Oh, flee away to the arms of
Christ. Believe on the Son of God and
flee from the damnation of hell. what dreadful names are given
to this place. It's called a place where the
worm dieth not, a burning oven, a fiery furnace, a bottomless
pit of unquenchable fire, fire and brimstone, hell fire, the
lake of fire, devouring fire, everlasting fire, eternal fire,
a stream of fire, the second death. The torments of the damned
are unthinkable. In hell, you'll have full sight
and knowledge of your condition. All your senses fully awakened.
You'll have full sight and knowledge of your wasted life from first
to last. Verse 25, Abraham said, son,
remember? Oh, word to God, I can forget.
Remember! I want to forget. Remember! Remember! Remember! And the memory is keen
and sharp. The guilt of your sin will lay
heavily upon your soul. And there'll be no pleasure in
sin for a season then, but only torment. You can imagine the
agony of a tormented conscience fully awake. It will be a worm that never
dies. in a fire that's never quenched. Though he was forever confined
to hell in the darkness of this tormenting prison, this rich
man saw Lazarus in the bliss of heaven. Our savior said there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God,
and you yourselves thrust out. In hell, the only company you'll
have is the company of the damned. Damned angels, damned men, damned
women, damned like yourself. A vast company of demons who
hate you as fully as you hate them. Screeching and roaring
so insidiously that they drive you insane. Insane forever. And your madness is a madness
with no hope of relief. Inhale. God Almighty will lay
upon you the unmitigated fullness of His unmitigated wrath. without
mercy forever. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection. On such the second death shall
have no power. Oh, blessed are you. Oh, blessed
are you who have been raised from the dead by the power of
God in regenerating grace. You who are born of God, united
to Christ, On you the second death shall have no power. The
rich man seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. He saw Abraham. All the blessedness
of God's covenant. I have no question Revelation
19 teaches that the saints of God We'll be aware of the torments
of the damned and we'll sing hallelujah to God for his justice. We'll weep no tears then for
men in hell. There'll be no sorrow in heaven
because others are in hell. And at the same time, as we rejoice
in God's electing mercy, in God's redeeming grace, in God's free
salvation wrought for us and wrought in us by Christ Jesus,
by his spirit, by his grace, the damned in hell. will see
all the glory of God's covenant grace and mercy accomplished
in us. He sees Abraham and Lazarus in
his bosom. He sees him afar off, possessing
and enjoying all the blessings of grace. Learn this too, that
rich man learned but learned too late that Christ is the only
way of salvation. Let me say that a little differently.
Christ is all the salvation there is. Christ is all the salvation
there is. There's none in the church, none
in baptismal waters, none in saying the sinner's prayer, none
in saying I believe in Jesus, none in walking down to the front
of a church None in making your decision for Jesus. Salvation
is Christ, only Christ. Some years ago, I read about
Voltaire's son dying. And Voltaire was very concerned. His son lay dying, and he took
him by the hand. He said, son, hang on! Son, hang
on! And his boy looked at his father,
and he said to his father, there's nothing to hang on to. The only hope of a sinner is
Christ the Lord. And this rich man learned too.
Look at verse 30. He learned in hell that without
repentance, there's no salvation. He said, nay, Father Abraham,
if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. In a word, this rich man in hell
saw something he couldn't see on this earth. He saw what really
matters. And I'm here to tell you, a man
67 years old, the only thing that really matters is Christ
and eternity. Nothing else. Not your name,
not your reputation, not your Place where your house is, not
your property, not your possessions, not your brilliance, not your
education. The only thing that really matters
is Christ and eternity. Nothing else. And for you, learn
this now, you who are gods. Learn it now. The rich man learned
it too late. He learned that no one can ever
be saved but by the hearing of the gospel. Abraham, if you would
send one from the dead and have him go testify to my brothers,
then hear him. And the Lord spoke by Abraham
and said, if they won't hear Moses and the prophets, neither
will they hear no one should come out of hell and tell them
about it. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
In his opening prayer, Brother Peter made a statement to this
effect. What a privilege, what a privilege God has entrusted
to you and me, to this congregation, to you my brethren who are called
of God to preach the gospel, to our congregation in Danville,
God has entrusted to us the treasure of his grace. Not that we might roll it around
in our pocket and admire it and set it up on the shelf and admire
it and talk about how pretty it is, but he's trusted it to
us to proclaim to the world for the saving of his elect. God
give us grace. to give our lives, to give our lives to our last
breath, to this one thing, to make Christ known. Oh, for grace, to make Christ
known. That's our business. That's our
purpose. That's the reason we're here.
That's the reason God established gospel churches. That's the reason
God left us in this world so that we might be instruments
in his hands to tell the good news of redemption, grace, and
salvation to needy sinners in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.