I have a very, very solemn and
serious subject today. I'm going to speak to you on
this subject, what the rich man discovered in death. Now, our
text is found in Luke chapter 16, and I'm going to read 12
or 13 verses, so it'd be very profitable If you, if it's convenient
for you to get a Bible and turn to Luke 16 and read with me,
follow along as I read the scripture. I've got to read all of the scripture
in order to speak on this subject. You're very familiar with this
passage of scripture. It's our Lord Jesus Christ speaking. And he says in verse 19, Luke
16, verse 19, listen to the master. He said there was a certain rich
man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and he fared
sumptuously. He was very prosperous every
day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, which was laid at the rich man's gate and full
of sowers. And this beggar desired to be
fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. And
it came to pass, now listen, it came to pass that the beggar
died. And he was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died. And he was buried. And in hell
he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. And seeing Lazarus
far off in Abraham's bosom, he cried, Father Abraham, have mercy
on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger
in water and cool my tongue for I'm tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime Receive this good things and Lazarus
evil things and now he's comforted and you are in torment and Besides
all this between us and you there's a great gulf fixed So that no
one can come from there to here and no one from here to there
And then the rich man said, Well, I pray thee, therefore, father
Abraham, that thou wouldst send Lazarus to my father's house.
For I have five brothers yet living. Send Lazarus to my father's
house, that he may warn my brothers, that he may testify to them,
lest they come to this place of torment. Abraham said, They
have the word of God, Your five brothers, they have Moses and
the prophets, they have the Word of God. Let them hear the Word
of God." But he said, no, no, Father Abraham. If one went to
them from the dead, they would repent. And Abraham said, if
they will not hear the Word of God, if they will not hear Moses
and the prophets, that's the Word of God. Neither will they
be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Now, my subject
is not a pleasant subject. I just prefer not to speak on
death and judgment and condemnation. I'd much rather bring a message
on faith and hope and love. And you'd rather hear a message
on faith, hope and love, rather than death and judgment and eternal
condemnation. But we've got to be true to the
Scriptures. We've got to preach all the counsel
of God. You remember when Paul was bidding
farewell to the elders of Ephesus, he said, I've kept back nothing
profitable to you. I've kept back nothing that you
need to hear. I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. I haven't refused. The Scriptures
have much to say about the condemnation of unbelievers. The condemnation
of wicked men. And our Master had a lot to say
about it. This is the Master. This is the Lord Himself speaking
here. And I want to entitle this message. I want to work from this point.
What the rich man discovered when he died. What do you think
he discovered? Here was a man who was living
and faring sumptuously and popular and powerful and prestigious
and had a lot of possessions and luxuries and there was a
beggar at his gate full of sowers and desiring just to eat the
crumbs that fell from his table. But here was a man who died and
suddenly he died and in hell he lifted up his eyes. Well,
I'll tell you the first thing he learned. The first thing he
learned. He learned that death finally
comes to everybody. That's the first thing he discovered.
The beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom. Then it says, and the rich man
also died. Now the rich man expected Lazarus
to die. Beggars die every day. Poor people
die every day. Old people die every day. Sick people die every day. Ordinary people die every day. But this says, he also died. The rich man also died. Death came to his mansion. Death
visited Lazarus at the gate. where he begged day after day.
But death came on up that beautiful stone walk and entered the mansion. Death came to his money. Death
came to his power. Death came to his influence.
He died. And you're going to die. And
I'm going to die. That's just so. And I'll tell
you, if I were to take a poll right now of everybody listening
to my voice and ask you personally, Many of you are very popular
and very powerful and some of you are prosperous and in full
health and strength. Let me ask you this question.
Do you believe that you'll die tonight? Do you have any thought
of dying? I don't think this man did either.
But it said he also died. Well, the Scripture tells us
that. It says it's appointed unto men once to die. After that,
the judgment. Boast not thyself of tomorrow.
You don't know what a day will bring forth. And again, David
wrote, teach me, O Lord, to number my days. My what? My days, not my years. Decades. My days that I may apply my heart
to wisdom. Set your house in order. You're
going to die and not live. So that's the first thing. that
this proud, covetous man discovered that everybody dies. Everybody
dies. And you're going to die. And I'm going to die. Tell you
the second thing he discovered was this. Now listen to me. He discovered that death doesn't
end everything. Death is not annihilation. Death
is not the end of this man. And not only that, death not
only didn't end everything, it didn't change anything. It didn't
change anything. Now you listen. You perk up your
ears a little bit right here and listen to Brother Mahan.
Listen carefully. It says, The rich man also died
and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes. He was still Him. He lifted up. He was still His. This was still
His eyes and His mouth and His hands and His feet. He lifted
up His eyes. Nothing changed except one thing,
His location. Nothing changed. You know, most
people believe when a person dies, he suddenly becomes a better
person. You can take the most outstanding
rogue, thief, politician, or whatever you want to call them,
in our nation, and they die, and suddenly they're up there
with Moses and Isaiah and Joseph and the Lord, and going from
mansion to mansion, having tea parties. Everybody that dies
suddenly becomes a better person. All debts are canceled. All evil
forgotten. All sins erased. All inequities
dismissed. My friends, it's not so. It's
just not so. Here was a man, a covetous, proud,
wealthy, selfish man. And there's a poor man at his
gate that just would like a few crumbs once in a while. And he
never had any compassion on him or concern for him. And when
he died, he remained the same. This man was an evil man on earth.
He's an evil man in hell. He was a selfish, covetous man
on earth. He's the same kind of person
in death. Listen to Revelation 22. Listen to it. Verse 10, And the
angel of the Lord said to me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy
of this book, for the time is at hand. that is unjust, let him be unjust
still. He that is filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that is holy, let him be holy
still. He that is righteous, let him
be righteous still. As a man lives, death will find
him, judgment will sentence him, and eternity will hold him right
where he was. Filthy, unjust, unrighteous,
selfish, covetous. Let me show you that. It's right
here in front of you. The rich man on earth thought
only of himself while he lived. That's he only thought of himself.
Now that he's dead, he's still just thinking of himself. He
says, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Don't you suppose anybody
else was around him? Have mercy on me. Send Lazarus
to me. Send Lazarus that he may dip
his finger in water and cool my tongue." And then when he
wanted some help, he said, send Lazarus, not back to the world,
not to warn other people, send him to my house, my father's
house, and let him warn my brothers. The man hasn't changed one iota. And I tell you, when a believer
dies, nothing changes. lays aside an old body and an
old mind and those things, but he still has that new heart God
gave him when He brought him to faith. Still has that same
love shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost. He still has
that same fellowship, that same generosity, that same kindness,
that same tenderness, that same spirit. And when an unbeliever,
an unsaved man dies, he's the same old wicked, selfish, covetous,
no-count person that he was on this earth. He that's filthy,
let him be filthy still. He that's unholy, let him be
unholy still. He that's righteous... See, death
can't put away sin. Only Christ can put away sin.
Death can't convert a man. Death doesn't convert anybody. Christ converts people. It's
the power of God that saves the soul and puts a new heart. Death
can't give a man a new heart. People say, well, when a man
dies, he changes. Not on your life, he doesn't
shame. He dies like he lives, and eternity keeps him just like
he died, just like he lived. There's no change after a man
dies. A rich man discovered that. He
discovered that everybody dies, and everybody goes on through
eternity just like they died, without hope, without help, without
God. See, I told you it was solemn,
didn't I? The third thing he discovered,
he discovered that God will punish sin. And most people do not believe
that. Most people do not believe that
Almighty God has any wrath or any anger toward evil. We're
told God loves everybody. God loves everything and everybody.
And we're told that God's not angry with anybody. And consequently,
we take this to mean that God won't judge anybody. And God
won't punish anybody, and God won't punish sin. But this man
discovered differently. He discovered that the wages
of sin is death, eternal death, eternal condemnation. He discovered
that the prophet told the truth when he said, the soul that sinneth
will die, and die, and die, and die. He discovered God is angry
with the wicked. That's what David, the beloved
David, wrote in the Psalms. God is angry with the wicked.
Most people, listen to me a moment. Put down what you're doing and
listen to me just a moment. Most people believe one of two
things. Most people believe God is too
good and too loving to condemn ungodly people. God's just too
good and too loving to condemn. Or they believe this, or they
believe they're too good to be condemned. Now which is? Well, neither one's true. God
is good, but the judge of the earth will do right. God must
punish sin. God will by no means clear the
guilty. And you and I are not too good
to be condemned. If we get what we deserve, we'll
be condemned. You see, God must and will punish
sin. Adam discovered that in the garden.
The Lord God said, eat and die. He did and he did. He ate and
he died. Noah's friends found out God
will punish sin. God sent a flood and destroyed
the whole world, every living thing. Pharaoh discovered at
the Red Sea, God will punish sin. Sodom discovered it in the
plains. God's angry with the wicked.
Abraham interceded for Sodom. He said, Lord, would you destroy
a whole city because of certain people? He said, suppose I find
50 righteous people in that city. Will you spare it? Oh, the Lord
said, I'll spare it for 50 people. Well, Lord, suppose I find 40.
I'll spare it for 40. 30? I'll spare it for 30. Ten. I was spared for ten. Couldn't
find ten righteous people. And God burned it up. Israel
discovered in the wilderness, God will punish sin. They did
not enter in because of unbelief. And listen to me, listen carefully.
What proof do I have that God will punish sin? Go to the cross. There on that cross is the Son
of God Himself, suffering, bleeding, dying under the wrath of God. Not for His sins, for our sins. He was a substitute. He was a
sacrifice, a sin offering for us. If God spared not His own
Son, Paul wrote in Romans 8, but delivered Him up for us all.
How shall He not with Him freely give us all things? And how shall
He not also punish other people who have sins of their own? Yes,
the cross reveals the love of God, but it reveals the justice
of God. The cross reveals the mercy of
God, but the cross reveals the wrath of God. He was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And it wasn't the
Roman soldiers who put Him on that cross. Oh, their wicked
hands did it. But they did what God determined
before to be done. They carried out the determinant
counsel and foreknowledge of God. The Scripture says it pleased
God to bruise Him. God put His soul made his soul
an offering for sin. God put him to shame. He was
God-sacrificed for sin. They just did what God ordained
them to do when he left them to themselves. Now, that's true.
This man discovered God will punish sin. That's the reason
we need a Savior. He's not going to punish the
sins of those who are in Christ. If he's already punished Christ
in your place, he'll never punish you. He was wounded for our sins
and by his stripes we're healed. All right. The fourth thing this
man discovered, all men die. Death doesn't change a man's
condition and heart. He's the same. And God will punish
sin. And here's what he discovered.
Now you listen to me and think with me. This man discovered
that his religion brought him to know Abraham. He keeps talking
about Father Abraham, Father Abraham. But he didn't know Abraham's
Lord. He didn't know Abraham's God.
Now evidently this man was a religious fellow while on earth. I know
he was a covetous man, a selfish man, and a proud man, but he
was still a religious man because most people are. And he knew
about Abraham. And he kept addressing Abraham
as his father. Father Abraham, asking for help,
asking for mercy. But our help and our mercy doesn't
come from Abraham. He should know that. It comes
from the Lord God, the Redeemer, Jehovah, our Substitute, our
Savior. It's Christ that saves. It doesn't
say, whosoever shall call on the name of Abraham, or the name
of Mary, or the name of Saint Jude, or the name of some individual. It's whosoever shall call on
the name of the Lord shall be saved. Jesus, thy son of David,
have mercy on me. Not Abraham, Jesus Christ. You see these people over there
in John chapter 8, they told our Lord, we have Abraham as
our father. That's what this man had. Abraham
is his father. But he didn't know Abraham's
God. This is so important, what I'm trying to say to you. They
said to our Lord, they said, we have Abraham as our father.
And our Lord replied, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and he was glad. This rich man was looking to
Abraham. Abraham was looking to the Lord
Jesus. This man read Moses and Moses wrote of the Lord Jesus.
Moses wrote of me, Christ said. This man kept the Passover when
he was on earth but he missed Christ, our Passover. This man
boasted of the law and the law slew him. Oh, the shackles of
religion. These shackles of religion that
bind a sinner to duties and customs and traditions and Bible heroes
and they never come to know the living, redeeming, almighty,
interceding, crucified, risen, exalted Lord Jesus Christ who
is our hope. This man is in the bondage of
religion calling on Abraham and didn't know Abraham's Lord Abraham
believed God and was counted to Him for righteousness. Abraham
saw Christ. He saw my day. If the Son will
make you free, you'll be free indeed. Abraham was set free
by the Son of God. You know the truth. The truth
will make you free. Last, this man learned that men
die, all men. He learned that death Doesn't
change anything. You've got to be changed before
death. The Lord Jesus has to give you a new heart and a new
nature. And he learned that God will punish sin. And he discovered
that though he had religion, he had no mediator. Abraham's
not the mediator between us and God. He's calling on the wrong
person. He had no mediator. There's one
mediator, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Fifthly, he discovered that Christ
the Redeemer is revealed to men through the preaching of the
Word, not by miracles and signs and wonders. See, he had five
brothers. He said, Father Abraham, send
Lazarus back to my father's house. I've got five brothers. Warn
them, testify, tell them not to come to this awful place.
So he began to think up ways that he could warn them. And
here's what he came up with. Send Lazarus down there, raise
Lazarus from the dead. They remember him. They used
to come to my house and they saw Lazarus laying out there
by the gate and they know he died. They know he died a poverty
stricken poor beggar. Now if they see him back there
and he warns them, they won't come. What could Lazarus tell
those brothers that Moses and the prophets didn't tell him?
about sin, about God, about death, about judgment, about hell. What
could Lazarus tell you today that God's Word doesn't tell
you? That you don't, at least in your head, already know. What
could Lazarus, if he came back from the dead, what could he
tell you that God doesn't tell you in his Word? Why would you
believe Lazarus if you won't believe God? Jesus Christ rose from the grave.
He came back from the dead, the firstborn of every creature.
And he told us, people don't believe him. What could Lazarus
add to the testimony of the Son of God? Well, Abraham said, he
said, send Lazarus back to the earth. Abraham says, they have
the Word of God, let them hear God's Word. And he objected,
he said, no. They won't hear the Word. I wouldn't
hear it. And they won't hear it. Oh, they'll
hear music and hoop-de-doo and carillon and visions and miracles
and dreams and all these things, but they won't hear the Word
of God. But if somebody rose from the
dead, they'd believe, and Abraham answered, listen, they won't
believe, though one rose from the dead. It's not miracles that
change the heart. It's not the healing of the body
that changes the soul. It's not the miracles. Israel
saw more miracles per day than this generation sees in a lifetime. They saw the rock give water,
the heavens rain bread and quail. They saw their whole nation pass
through on dry land, a divided sea, and saw Pharaoh's army drive.
They saw the miracles, but they didn't believe God. And this
is what Abraham says to it. Let them hear the Word of God.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If they hear
not the Word of God and repent and believe, they won't believe,
though one rose from the dead. What I'm telling you this morning is enough. And all that God's
going to tell us, we can't add to what He's already written.
Now, here's the title of the message, What the Rich Man. Discovered
in death if you'd like to have this we don't have it in print.
We have it on a cassette tape You'd like to have this message
send $2. We'll mail it to you there's another message on the
other side that I'll be preaching next week and We'll mail it to
you. Here's the address. You see it
on the screen when we leave You this morning until next time
may God bless you everyone