Luke 16:19-31
As we read this teaching from Jesus, we tend to wonder why He taught on this topic of Hell so much. He taught it as a warning. Not an alarm to scare us into salvation, but instead, He did it out of love. We are assured with this, as we read what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, we read in verse 16, how much Father God loves us. He gave us Jesus so we can be saved. The greatest love story in history can be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ who died for all people so that they would not have to die and go to Hell. Yet, many still die and go to Hell due to their defiant rejection of Christ's offer of salvation by grace. They love their life of unrepented sin, to a great Eternal fault.
REALITY OF LIFE AND DEATH
Life is short. That statement seems so obvious, doesn't it? Though it is evident, many people live as if they are immortal. They live by the motto, "you only live once", which in the general sense is true, but the meaning behind it means to do whatever you want since life is so short. But, while doing so they either ignore or reject Eternity. Life apart from Christ is meaningless, yet so many desire to live without Him while remaining lost. They either make excuses for why they remain lost or they make excuses for why they procrastinate to surrender their lives unto Him for salvation.
Death is imminent and can not be stopped. Death is coming and there is no hindering it. Dying is sad, when we see a loved one pass away, it is more heart-crushing when someone dies lost in their unrepented sin.
When we close our eyes for the final time in this lifetime, we will open them either in Heaven or in Hell. It depends on whether we are lost or saved on where we end up Eternally, and there are only two final destinations. When we die, and if we go to Heaven, we can assure that go from temporal life to Eternal Life. But, if we die lost, we go from temporal life unto Eternal death, where we are dead in this lifetime and forever Spiritually dead. We must embrace that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life.
REALITY OF UNREPENTED SIN and CHOICES
Unrepented sin can be traced back to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve chose to live in sin, disregarding all that God has ordained and commanded. The result was horrific. They were forever separated from God, by choice. You see, unrepented sin actively lived out is a choice, that results in an Eternal separation from God. The wages of sin is death, but Eternal Life is found in Christ alone. Salvation is a result of receiving the grace of God by what Christ satisfied on Calvary. We are defined by our unrepented sin, those that have repented are saved by grace and therefore are forgiven. Those unrepented are unforgiven because God is just and since He is just, and will not forgive those that do not desire to be forgiven. The Holy Spirit attempts to convict unrepented souls to flee sin and embrace salvation by grace. When the lost reject Christ for unrepented sin, they embrace satan and become his workmanship. Some do not understand why God allows the lost to remain lost. We see in Romans 1 and 2, that God does not play. He has a limit to His grace. Those that arrogantly choose not to be saved, and choose to live life to their fullest extent on their own terms, and done in their own time, is given over to their unrepented sin, for there is no excuse why they reject Jesus and the salvation that He offers. God grants them the desire of their heart, even though that heart is spiritually diseased and dying. The unrepented soul needs Jesus even though they chose a lifestyle of sin. They chose to sin, therefore they choose Hell.
Illustration:
Hypothetically, what if you were settled into your home, comfortably in your routine and I come knocking on your door, warning you that your home is on fire and the flames are surrounding you and to survive, you must leave right now, otherwise you shall perish. What will you choose, leave and be saved, or take your chances to save yourself? The reality is this, right now [if you are lost], you are headed to Hell, and if you choose not to surrender and flee the comfort of your lifestyle of sin, unrepented, you shall perish in Hell for Eternity. Come to Jesus, for He paid the penalty of sin for us all.
REALITY OF HELL
Hell, it is not a cuss word. It should never be spoken of in hoping someone should be sent there. Many preachers and teachers, and Christians altogether are afraid to speak or even teach on it, I myself tend to get uncomfortable on this subject, because it is so real, and so final. We are to teach and preach on it to rightly teach the whole counsel of God. Not just the rewards of Heaven, but the result of rejecting the Gospel. The reality of Hell is disturbing but true. Those that die lost go to Hell lost because they chose to remain unrepentant and remain in sin at death. God never desired for anyone to die in their sin, but sadly many choose to continue to live in sin, unrepented such as we see in today's Scripture with the Rich man, who lived a life separate from the Lord's offering of saving grace and the conviction of The Holy Spirit, choosing sin over salvation is choosing Hell and its consequences that result from it...Eternal separation from God and Spiritual death.
God does not condemn us to Hell, we condemn ourselves to Hell. The Rich man condemned himself, just as many sadly do today. Once a soul dies on earth, lost and unrepented they condemn themselves to Hell, with no second chance, no grace, no Holy Spirit conviction of their sins. It is final, with no turning back. Death is final, Hell is final, and your fate is forever sealed once and for all.
When in Hell you are Eternally separated from God, here is a short list of the tortures one will suffer...
A thirst for mercy and grace that goes unquenched.
No more peace, no comfort, no rest.
No more Holy Spirit conviction and guidance.
No more healing and joy.
Eternal suffering with every human sense enabled.
Eternal hopelessness and helplessness.
The ability to see all happenings in Heaven and on earth without interacting with them, since there is a great distance [chasm] and there can never be an interaction between all 3 realms.
Finally, the worst traumatic suffering those in Hell go through is the Eternal Spiritual separation from God, which alone should break your heart, though they deserve Hell, based on their arrogant choice, for there is no excuse not to be saved and to repent. Hell is a choice but can be persuaded this side of Heaven, by those of us who are saved to go out and witness.
Reality of Heaven
The reality of Heaven can be defined by this verse, [rephrased] 'There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ, in other words, if one is saved [Born-Again]. That is the key to Heaven, being saved by grace through faith in Christ. Apart from God's saving grace, coupled with our faith in Him, our Eternal fate is grim. As we look at today's Scripture, we see Lazarus' fate. He is found resting in the Bosom of Abraham. This tells us the beauty of Heaven, Eternal rest in The Lord's Holy Bosom. Let us look back at Psalm 23, in the aspect of today's Message and today's Scripture. "The Lord is the Shepherd I shall not want..." You see when in Heaven, every need we had here on earth is totally fulfilled in Heaven for all Eternity. In Hell, no need is fulfilled, and we are found in want. In Heaven, here is a list of just some of the things we are blessed with for all Eternity...
In Heaven, we are a new creation, and all things are made new.
Perfection. We shall be perfect, perfectly under our Lord.
No more loneliness, heartache, heartbreak, tears, death, fear, worry, anxiety, and doubt.
No more pain, suffering, hopelessness, or helplessness.
We will be full of joy overwhelmingly for all Eternity.
In Heaven, we will be in a constant state of rest, peace, happiness, love, worship, and praise.
The greatest blessed reward of Heaven is this...
No more separation from God, for there will no longer be any sin. We shall be forever in the Presence of The One Who became sin and went to Calvary to die and rise again so we can be saved from Hell, and assure us and secure us for all Eternity.
conclusion: TIME OF DECISION
Time is running out. Life is short. Death is coming. Tomorrow is not promised, today is the day of salvation. This sermon and this Scripture is not meant to scare us, for fear will never get us into Heaven. Heaven can only be rewarded through The One in Whom bled, died, and rose again on the 3rd day. There is only one Name under Heaven that someone can be saved, and that is Christ Jesus. I can spout of many verses from The Bible and that would assure and encourage all of us that are Born-Again. But this alone would not persuade the unrepented lost to come to Jesus we need to explain why any Scripture that would be delivered to bring souls to Jesus, because if we die in the next 5 minutes, where will end up for Eternity, Hell or Heaven? These are the only two options. When we close our eyes for the last time here on earth, we will open them for the first time in Eternity, where shall you go? Time is now to choose in Whom you will serve and surrender to, Jesus or satan? You must be Born-Again. First comes death, then comes Judgment. Will you be told at Judgment well done My good and faithful servant you have done well, or will you hear, be gone I never knew you. Listen and heed the conviction of The Holy Spirit to repent now, while we still have Him, for once we die, that is it, our Eternal fate is sealed.
I leave you with this...
Romans 10:9-13
New International Version
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no diffgerence between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Let us pray...
Holy Father, thank You for Your Message and we ask that You encourage us that are saved, and convict and bring those that are lost and bring them to repentance so that too can be saved, all for your glory in and through Christ our Lord and Savior, we pray, amen.
