I turned 50 earlier this month.
People have asked me how I feel.
And my response has been consistently that the thing that has struck me the most, people
think 40 is the big deal over the hump, halfway, whatever.
But when I got to 50, that was when I started to really realize that I have less time in
front of me than behind me, most likely.
And it's a sobering thought.
It's sobering to think about what is my life about.
It makes me realize that when I was in my 20s and 30s, I thought I was a pretty eternally
minded kind of guy.
But now that I'm 50, it's starting to sink in at a whole new level for me to think about
what is my life here on earth about?
And what will my eternity be like?
For those of you who are younger, this day is coming.
Some of you are already nodding your heads and saying, yes, we understand.
So, but as we think about this question, as I've pondered this this week in my own life,
I want to put the question for you, how much do you think about these questions?
About how your life today connects with your eternal state?
This is, in fact, part of what our passage this morning addresses.
And this is why I raise the question, because Jesus has things to say to us.
He has lots to say about eternity and about our lives now in light of it.
And so we're going to continue in our series in Luke.
If you have a Bible, you can turn with me to Luke 16.
I forgot my program.
Anyone want to give me a page number?
823 in your pew Bible, if you're using the pew Bibles.
Luke 16, we're going to be starting in verse 19 for most of our, for our parable today.
But I'm actually going to start in verse 14 as I read.
And 822.
Thank you.
822 is where it is.
Part of what you see, if you remember, Greg last week talked on the parable of the dishonest manager
and how to understand the shrewdness of taking our worldly beings, our worldly possessions,
and investing them for eternal purposes and eternal values.
And then Jesus continues.
And in 14 through 18, these are not passages, verses we're going to spend a lot of time on today.
And I'll just note verse 18 is a whole sermon in and of itself.
But in terms of the flow of thought, let me just walk you through it.
Verse 14, the Pharisees who were there heard Jesus talking about how to use their money for eternal purposes.
And they responded with ridicule.
And Jesus confronts them and says, you are those who justify yourselves before men,
but God knows your hearts for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
And then he turns this corner, which feels very abrupt to talk about the law and the prophets.
But what he's really saying is, if you understood the law and the prophets,
you would not be a lover of money rather than a lover of God.
And in fact, you would say a hearty amen to what I just preached about,
using your money for the poor, for those in need,
for the sake of eternal values of building God's kingdom.
But because you don't understand the law,
because you don't understand the prophets,
because you have hardened your hearts against God,
you instead respond to my parable and ridicule.
And then verse 18 is thrown in there as a,
oh, and by the way, the law still stands.
The law is still important because it points us to important things.
Now, how verse 18 fits into there is a whole other sermon.
I'm just going to bracket it and say,
come back another time, we'll deal with it.
But not today.
But it's in this context of Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees
and this sort of head-to-head where Jesus is exposing their lack of heart submission
to God's word that we come to the parable that we come to today.
And so I wanted to point that out,
spend a few minutes walking through that
so that we understand where this parable is going.
Because this parable is an interesting one.
It's one of the more challenging ones as we look at it.
So, having said that, let's look together at God's word starting in,
I'll read starting in verse 14 so you can get the flow of what I just described.
And we'll read to the end of the chapter.
The Pharisees who were lovers of money heard all these things and they ridiculed him.
And he said to them,
you are those who justify yourselves before men.
But God knows your hearts.
For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
The law and the prophets were until John.
Since then, the good news of the kingdom of God is preached
and everyone forces his way into it.
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away
than for one dot of the law to become void.
Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.
And he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
And then he begins this parable.
There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen
and who feasted sumptuously every day.
And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus,
covered with sores,
who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table.
Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.
The rich man also died and was buried.
And in Hades, being in torment,
he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
And he called out,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me
and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water
and cool my tongue.
For I am in anguish in this flame.
But Abraham said,
Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things
and Lazarus in like manner bad things.
But now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.
And besides all this,
between us and you,
a great chasm has been fixed
in order that those who would pass from here to you
may not do so
and none may cross from there to us.
And he said,
Then I beg you, Father,
to send him to my father's house,
for I have five brothers,
so that he may warn them
lest they also come into this place of torment.
But Abraham said,
They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them hear them.
And he said,
No, Father Abraham,
but if someone goes to them from the dead,
they will repent.
And he said to them,
and he said to him,
If they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be convinced
if someone should rise from the dead.
Let's pray together.
Lord, we thank you for your word.
Lord, we confess at times
that we find it challenging
to know what your word says.
But Lord, we pray this morning
that we would have hearts
that seek to submit to your word
and minds that seek to understand your word
and wills that seek to do your word.
Lord, help us to know it rightly
and to respond appropriately to it.
Lord, we thank you.
We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
In this parable,
Jesus tells us two things about eternity.
The first thing is
that eternity may not be what we think.
And the second thing is that
the heart of eternity is in the heart.
I'm not usually that poetic.
Come on, I need a little love here.
So here we go.
So, eternity may not be what you think.
And the heart of eternity is in the heart.
Let's look at those two points together.
The first thing is
eternity may not be what you think.
This is what we see
in the first part of the parable
from verses 19 through 26.
And it starts right at the beginning.
Jesus lays out a situation
where there are two men, right?
And they could not be more polar opposite
in their life circumstances.
There's rich detail in this.
The man is described
as being clothed in purple,
which was very rare,
and therefore only the wealthy
could wear it.
And fine linen,
and who feasted sumptuously,
not just occasionally,
but every day.
He lived in the lap of luxury.
And at his gate,
there was the opposite man,
the poor man named Lazarus.
Not only was he poor,
but he was laid at his gate,
which suggested that he was probably lame
or crippled or ill in some way.
And so he was in quite a dire situation.
And he was covered with sores,
and he desired to be fed with the scraps
that fell from the rich man's tables.
And even the dogs came and licked his sores,
which is not a nice sort of helpful healing thing.
This is a sign that he was so unable
to defend himself.
And in a Jewish context,
this also meant that he was made richly unclean.
And so he was in every way
needy and impoverished.
And the rich man seemed to have
everything that he wanted.
And in the first century,
many would have equated God's blessing
with material wealth and prosperity.
Many of us maybe still think that today
in some ways.
Jesus then goes on to say,
but then eternity happened.
Verses 22,
the poor man died,
and he was carried by angels
to Abram's side.
The man who couldn't walk
was carried to the gate
of the rich man's house in need,
was carried to a place of comfort.
In Abram's side is an imagery
that pictures this place of welcome
in God's people and in God's place,
this comfort and provision
of all that he needed.
And the rich man also died
and was buried.
And he went to Hades.
Description of the place for the dead.
Their eternal destinies were flip-flopped
from their earthly realities.
And in fact, you see this,
Abraham says this very clearly
in verse 25, does he not?
In your lifetime you got good,
but then you ended up
in not so good place.
He had a hard road in this life
and yet he ended up in heaven.
Now, we're going to unpack this
a little bit more.
This is not saying that the poor
are inherently spiritually
superior to others,
nor does it mean that those who are rich
are inherently superiorly inferior
or acceptable or not acceptable.
That's not what the point
of the parable is.
But what I want to take from you
is in the first century,
this would have been a surprise,
this reversal.
The question I want to ask you is,
who do you think gets into heaven today?
Interesting.
Lifeway Research did some
interesting research
and said that 60% of Americans
think that people are
pretty much good.
And while every culture
will have its own subset
of what they think is good
or good enough,
I think the prevailing view
in our world today,
and maybe even in our own hearts,
is that good people
probably don't deserve hell.
Hell is for really bad people.
People who do...
Now, and you can define
really bad things.
You know, you can define
really bad as not recycling.
You know, we can...
We'll all have different standards
of what we think is really bad
and not bad.
But I think most of us,
if you really push us,
do we really think
that good people
should get into heaven?
And there's a church version
of good people too,
isn't there?
I come to church.
I give my money to the church.
I find a place to serve.
I'm a good community participant.
Isn't that enough?
I was...
Some of you have heard me
talk about this before,
but back in the 1990s,
there was a very momentous week
in my life
because my grandfather
passed away
the same week
that Ted Bundy did.
Some of you may be too young
to remember who Ted Bundy was,
but he was a serial killer
who was really atrocious.
He was a truly...
The things he did
were truly evil.
And yet, rumor has it
that Ted Bundy,
on death row,
before his execution,
repented of his sin
and trusted in Jesus
for his salvation.
My grandfather
was a great philanthropist.
The library
in Weston, Massachusetts
has a plaque on the wall
because he gave
most of the money
for it to be built.
He was an upstanding citizen
in every way.
He would have been seen
as a good man
in the community
in every way.
But he had no concern
for God in his life.
And he had no faith
in Christ.
The gospel tells us
that all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
And that the basis
upon which
we get into heaven
is not our goodness
or our badness.
But it is, in fact,
our abandonment
of all of our attempts
to save ourselves
or to prove ourselves
good enough
to God on our own
and to trust wholly
in Jesus.
So the first thing
this parable points us to
is a surprising sense
of who gets into heaven.
The second thing
this parable points us to
is that the weight
of eternity
is greater
than we assume.
The picture of comfort
at Abraham's bosom
is a beautiful one.
It is saying
heaven is going to be
the fulfillment
of all of your hopes.
Right?
This man in his life
longed for comfort,
for food,
for provision,
for relief
from his sufferings.
And when he was
carried by the angels
up to the bosom
of Abraham,
to the side of Abraham,
he was, in fact,
welcomed and embraced
and all of the things
he longed for
were his.
And so the comfort
was wonderful.
And yet,
the contrast again
is strong here.
The torment
was great.
If you look at verse 25,
you see this.
Well,
and even verse 24,
the man cries out
and asks for help
from Father Abraham,
please come and
cool my tongue
for I am in anguish
in this flame.
The Bible depicts
hell
as a terrible place
to be.
It is a place
of torment
and anguish.
Now,
let's just stop
and think about this
for a while
because we don't talk
about this very much,
do we?
We don't talk about
it's a pretty distasteful
thought for us today
in our culture.
you are thought
a cruel
and unkind person
to think that
someone might go
to hell
unless you're really
angry at them
and then you just,
it just comes out
and then you wish
you hadn't said it
because you really
don't want it.
But,
here's the reality.
We are uncomfortable
in our culture today
in a tolerant culture,
in a tolerance
of trying to seek
understanding,
we're uncomfortable
with hell.
And yet,
we know that
the Bible talks
about it a lot.
let me just give
a couple of thoughts
on this.
First of all,
one of the ways
that has been
most helpful
for me to think
about hell
is that there are
some people
that I truly do think
deserve judgment.
Okay?
This weekend,
we had in our world
yet another
terrible attack
where someone
out of hatred
of another
who was different
from them
took a gun
and shot
and killed
over 50,
maybe more people.
You want
justice to happen.
You want
that person
to be judged.
You want
there to be
a response
to evil.
people.
And that's
what I want
too,
I think.
That's what
we all want.
And we can
recognize that
there are people,
there are
sex traffickers
and there are
war mongerers
and there are,
you know,
we can go on.
There are some
people who deserve
to be judged.
The problem
is not that
we don't like
judgment.
Ultimately,
that's just
untrue.
The problem
is that we
want to be
on the right
side.
And we want
to be far
enough away
from the wrong
side that we
need to give
a lot of other
people a lot
of credit and
say,
well, you know,
they don't deserve
to be judged
either because
that's too
close to me
and I don't
want to be
on the wrong
side of that.
But I want
to tap into
our fundamental
human desire
that in fact
we do want
evil to be
judged.
The question
is not
whether we
would want
that,
but the
question is
where do
we stand
in relationship
to it?
Maybe another
way to say
it is that
a God
without judgment
is a God
who would
ignore evil.
This is not
good.
Second thing
about hell
that I want
to say is
that there
are pictures
here, right?
Flames,
fire.
What is
that all
about?
There's
been lots
of conversation
about how
literal or
not literal
this picture
is.
I think
that Jesus
is tapping
into a
first century
view that
these two
pictures would
be that there
was some
sense of an
intermediate
place on
your way to
your eternal
destinies,
that Jesus
is using
what would
be a
culturally
understood
form.
although even
in the
cultural
understanding
of the
day,
that did
not mean
that there
was a
chance for
switching over.
But he's
using this
imagery,
and with that
imagery then,
he uses this
imagery of
flames and
fire.
And we
think,
really?
It's just
kind of
incredulous.
And some
of us,
out of desire
to say,
no,
the Bible's
literal,
this is what
it says,
says,
well,
no,
there have
to be
real flames.
Tim Keller
says this
in response
to that,
to say that
the scriptural
image of
hellfire is
not wholly
literal should
be of no
comfort
whatsoever.
The reality
will be far
worse than
the image.
What then
are the,
quote,
fire and,
quote,
darkness
symbols for?
They are
vivid ways to
describe what
happens when
we lose the
presence of
God.
Darkness
refers to
the isolation
and fire
to the
disintegration
of being
separated
from God.
Away from
the favor
and face
of God,
we literally,
horrifically,
and endlessly
fall apart.
When God
brings his
judgment on
us,
when he
casts us
away from
him in
his righteous
wrath,
we are
separate
from him.
in such
a profound
way.
And it
is terrible.
And it
is horrible.
And at
times in
the past,
the church
may have
over-literalized
and used
this as a
cheap threat.
But in
fact,
that cheap
threat was
pointing to
a much more
profound
reality and
a much more
profound
warning.
thing.
This man,
the rich man,
ended up in
hell,
not because he
was rich
completely,
but because in
his riches he
refused the
word of God.
He ignored the
poor man at
his gate.
He did
nothing to
share from
what he had
to bless the
person who
was in need
right before
him.
not only
that,
but you
begin to
see in
his response
to his
situation in
heaven or
in hell.
Isn't it
interesting?
He doesn't
say,
please,
Father Abraham,
get me out
of here.
I know I've
sinned.
I know I
deserve this,
but have
mercy on me.
Instead he
says,
have mercy on
me.
Can you give
me a little
comfort?
He doesn't
even then
own,
that he
maybe deserved
to be
there.
And so,
eternity
tells us
that the
people that
we see
get into
heaven or
hell may
be surprising.
The second
thing is that
the weight
of it is
serious.
And the
third thing
is that
eternity
is just
that.
It is
eternal.
I want
to just
sit there
for a
minute and
think about
what does
that mean?
Because I
think that
part of
what you
see very
clearly here
is particularly
in verse
26.
Abraham says,
this is a
chasm that
cannot be
crossed.
Though there
was in the
story,
in the
metaphorical
story,
you could
view a
cross and
communicate
a cross.
cross.
In the
end of
the day,
what happens
in eternity
is fixed.
This is what
the Hebrews
passage ended
with that we
read earlier
this morning.
That as human
beings, we are
to live one
life and
then to die
once and
then to face
judgment.
And what
happens when
that happens,
at the end of
our human
lives here,
that judgment
is an
eternal one.
There is no
going back.
There are no
second chances.
There are no
ways to say,
well, I
didn't mean it.
Can I get a
do-over?
And that's a
very sobering
thought.
It also is a
very dignifying
thought.
It means that
our life now
matters.
God gives us
this life to
respond to
Him as He
would have
us.
He gives us
this life to
respond to
His word with
faith and
trust and
belief.
He gives us
this life to
turn from sin
and from a
life apart from
Him.
and a
holy trust in
Jesus' name.
This would
have been a
great sermon
if I could just
end it right
now.
And the
parable feels
like it's
done.
Okay, now we
know what Jesus
wants to tell us
and He's warning
people.
But the
interesting thing
is this parable
goes on.
It doesn't just
tell us about
eternity in these
ways.
But the
parable goes on
to talk about
how then do we
think about who
is it that does
get into heaven?
How is it that we
think about how do
we respond to
this?
I think at the
core of it what
Jesus is saying
is this, that
the heart of
eternity is in
the heart.
Part of the
reason that I
say that is the
context going
back to verse
15 when it
says God
knows your
heart.
Because it
sure seems like
this whole parable
is a warning
to the Pharisees,
doesn't it?
you go back to
the rich man and
you think about
it as we've
already talked
about.
He has not
treated Lazarus
well in life.
He did not
respond to the
need of this
man before him.
The man whose
very name says
God helps him.
Instead he's
ignored him.
He's ignored
God and
ignored God's
word and
ignored the
need in front
of him.
This has been
a broader
theme that we've
seen throughout
the book of
Luke, isn't
it?
That the
material possessions
and the things
we do with our
money and our
stuff and our
time and our
love, that these
make a difference
because they're the
expressions of the
kingdom of God and
if we claim to be
followers of Jesus,
these things ought to
be true of us as a
result of our
salvation, as an
outworking of it.
This man didn't
exhibit those
characteristics on
earth.
And when he then
gets to hell, part
of his attitude seems
to be, I don't
deserve this.
I deserve relief
from this.
Please, Abraham,
give me relief.
Maybe Lazarus, your
servant boy, can come
and help me.
recognize that the rich
man here has not
suddenly become a
sympathetic figure.
He continues in his
arrogance.
Lazarus should come and
serve me in my
torment.
And then this whole
thing with the
brothers, what is
Jesus pointing to when
he says that?
I think what he's
saying is, look,
Jesus, I don't think
that this is my fault
because I don't think
I truly understand.
No one came to me
from the dead and
said, look, it's
really bad.
Don't do this.
Change now.
It wasn't my fault.
I didn't know enough.
But maybe my brothers
would respond differently,
so go tell them.
His heart is not even
in hell and in
torment, responding
with a brokenness or
a recognition that,
in fact, he did
deserve it.
And Abraham rebukes
him and reveals this
to him.
He says, no.
No.
They have Moses and
the prophets just like
you did, and they're
not living any
differently than you
are.
Don't think they're
going to change.
Even if someone from
the dead comes and
speaks to them,
because the heart of
eternity has to do
with your heart
response.
And if your heart
isn't willing to
believe the things
you do know,
you're not going to
respond to something
new and different.
Recognize that what
Jesus is doing is,
in this, he is
very poetically but
very directly
confronting the
Pharisees.
He is saying, you
know the law and
the prophets.
You know that they
called on God's
people to not be
lovers of money but
to love mercy and
justice and the poor
and the needy.
you know that God's
word called Israel to
be a light to the
nations and you
have made it a
sectarian, selfish
empire.
And most
importantly, having
been rich and
ignoring the poor, you
also have ignored God's
word which is now
living right in front
of you.
As the Bible says,
God spoke in various
ways through the
prophets and through
Moses but in his
last day he spoke
through Jesus Christ
himself.
And Jesus is
confronting the
Pharisees and saying
to them, will you
respond to me now?
And here's the irony
of it, right?
In the parable,
Lazarus' brothers,
or the rich man's
brothers don't get any
second chance, right?
But the whole point of
the parable is for
Jesus talking to the
crowd in front of him
to say, you now do
have that chance.
You can now respond
right now differently
than what you are.
Rather than ridiculing
and hardening your
hearts, you can respond
to this word right
now.
And Luke's
audience,
reading this
after the
resurrection,
must just chuckle
at the irony.
Because one did
come back from the
dead, didn't he?
And even then,
not all believe.
Not all responded
to the resurrected
word of God.
And so, this
message, this
parable is a
warning.
It is a warning
to us that
our hearts
need to respond
to God and
to His word.
If you're here
this morning and
you haven't responded
to God in faith,
forsaking your
own means of
trying to get
into heaven or
God's good graces
by your own
effort, God
is calling you
to forsake
those and to
trust in Him
today, holy
and only in
what Jesus
has done for
you.
And if you're
here like the
Pharisee,
believing that
your church
involvement and
your good works
and your
participation in
our community
is enough
without a
real heart
submission to
and response
to Jesus,
this parable
warns us,
warns you.
Do you receive
and follow the
word of God?
Do you believe
in and follow
Jesus?
Do you follow
Him in a way
where all of
your life,
including your
money and your
resources,
are at His
disposal for
His glory and
for His kingdom?
Now I've said
that the heart
of eternity is
in our hearts
and what we've
seen here is
that this
parable has
actually focused
in.
If you notice,
Lazarus disappears
halfway through
the parable,
right?
It's really
about the
rich man
and what we've
seen is the
picture of his
hardened heart
and his
unwillingness to
receive God's
mercy.
And we need
to hear that
warning.
But the
reality is that
our hearts can
only respond
to God
when we see
His heart
for us.
You see,
we zoom back
from this
particular parable
to the whole
section.
And if you
remember when
Greg introduced
this section to
us way back
when, he said,
this whole section
in Luke 9 to
19 is Jesus
turning from His
ministry up north
in Galilee and
He is turning and
heading towards
Jerusalem.
He has set
His face
towards Jerusalem
which means that
He has set
His face
towards the
cross and His
crucifixion and
His death on
behalf of sinners.
And when we
look at the
cross, we see
God's heart
most clearly.
We see that
God cares
enough about
good and evil
that He will
not let evil
go unpunished.
That He will
not simply
wave a hand
and say,
it's okay.
But God will
say, evil
must be
punished.
But then He
says, but I
will in My
mercy and
grace provide
a way for
sinners like
you and me to
not be under
that judgment for
the evil of our
own sin.
He says, evil
will be punished
and that's how
much I care about
righteousness.
But He cares
enough to send
Jesus to take
that for us.
To take that
judgment in our
place.
And Jesus does
this with the
initiative where
He comes to us
just as Jesus is
coming to the
Pharisees to
say, turn now
while you can.
Change your mind
now while you're
still able.
Respond while you
are still in this
life before
eternity is fixed
and unchangeable.
This is the
heart of God
that He has
come to
rescue sinners
like you and
me.
And He calls
us to respond.
He calls us to
respond in faith
and trust in
Jesus.
He calls us to
respond to His
Word in a life
that is surrendered
to Him and to
His kingdom.
He calls us to
respond and to
live the way God
has called us to
as His children.
And this is why
it is so important
for us to
celebrate communion
this morning.
As we continue
with our service
we're going to
transition to
communion.
The Lord's
Supper
prayer.
This is what
Jesus instituted
before His death
for His disciples.
And in it He is
reminding us of
His heart.
In the bread and
in the cup we are
reminded that His
body and His
blood were broken
and shed to
experience the
judgment of God
upon sin.
Upon our sin.
God.
He did this in love
and in mercy so
that we who don't
deserve to know
God or be accepted
by Him
might be able
to enter in
by grace into
a relationship with
God where we
would sit at the
bosom of Abraham,
the side of Abraham,
and know His
comfort and His
peace and an
eternity of
relating to
God rightly
where His glory
envelops us
and captures us.
This is what
communion
celebrates.
It should be for
us both sobering
as we remember
the warnings
but also
encouraging and
strengthening as we
remember God's
heart for us.
What I'd like to
do is to pray for
just a minute
and then if
those who are
serving can come
forward as I come
down.
I want to just give
us a moment to
just have quiet
before we begin to
observe communion
together.
So let's pray
together.
Holy Spirit, I
ask for you to
come now.
Lord, and show
us our hearts.
Reveal to us if
there is hardness,
wickedness.
Lord, where we
are treasuring
independence or
selfishness, where
we are treasuring
anger and
hatred.
we are treasuring
pleasure in this
world more than
you.
Lord, show us if
there is an
unbelieving or
hardened heart in
us.
Lord, we pray to
you that you would
show us your heart
for us.
Your grace and
your mercy shown to
us in Christ.
Lord, that we
would respond to
you, Lord, in
faith, in
abandon, in
hope.
Lord, we pray that
you would, by your
spirit, do this in
our hearts in the
next few minutes as
we observe the
Lord's Supper
together.
We pray this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.