THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapter 16)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Kevin Pendergrass.
Welcome to our study of the Book of Luke. In this lesson we will be studying the story of the rich man and Lazarus. I first want us to read the story, and then look at the lessons that we can learn, and consider the knowledge we can gain from it that will help us be better people so that we can follow God even better than we are currently. In Luke 16 beginning in verse 19, Jesus is telling a story about a rich man and a poor man, Lazarus.
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.”
Thus far, here is what we read in this story. We see two different men. One was very rich, and fared sumptuously every day. He enjoyed eating good food. He had a nice place to live. He had fancy clothes. But then we read about Lazarus, who was a poor beggar and had nothing. He had sores all over his body, and the only pleasure he found in life was when the dogs came and licked his sores. If I were to ask you at this point, “From a secular, worldly standpoint, who would you want to be?,” you obviously would reply that you wanted to be the rich man. He “had it all.” However, something happened to both men. In fact, the same event happened with both of them. It is called “death.” Here is what happened.
“And being in torments in Hades, he [the rich man] lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then 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.’”
Notice the torment that the rich man is enduring. All he wants is a single drop of water to help relieve his torment. “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.” Abraham told the rich man that he could not have such a thing. In the rich man’s lifetime, he chose not to follow the Lord. He had riches. But he now was in a place where he would have no such comfort. Abraham then went on to say,
“And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
At the end of this story, the rich man realized that he no longer could do anything to alter his situation. But he nevertheless was concerned about the state in which his five brothers were living. He pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus back so he could warn his brothers. But Abraham told him that such a request was impossible. The rich man’s brothers had “Moses and the prophets” (that is, the Word of God). If there were unwilling to listen to God’s Word, then “they will not be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”
Now I want us to look at some lessons that we need to learn from this story. But first I want to talk about whether or not this story is a true story or a parable. Some people have suggested that the story is not true, and that there are no “real lessons” that can be learned from it. It is “simply a parable.” But is the story “simply a parable”? We first must notice that nothing in the context indicates that the story is a parable. When Jesus used parables, the biblical text indicates something like, “And He spoke a parable to them….” But here we do not find that. There is nothing in the context which indicates that this is a parable. Additionally, in parables real names were never used. But here we see names such as Lazarus and Abraham, who were real individuals. Finally, even if this story is a parable, the fact remains that God never used a lie to illustrate a truth. Thus, the points being made in the story are true nonetheless. We can know that the things that happened were real events, and that they should be applied to our lives. There are lessons we must learn from this story.
The first lesson that we can learn is that a person can be physically rich but spiritually poor. The rich man had great wealth and possessions. Yet even though he was physically wealthy, spiritually speaking he was very poor. In 1 Timothy 6:6-10 Paul wrote to Timothy about money, and what it can do to us if we do not control it.
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Here Paul is warning Timothy. The Bible does not say that money in and of itself is wrong. The Bible does not say, “Money is the root of all evil.” I’ve heard some people say that because money is the root of all evil, then if a person is rich, he is evil. But that is not what the Bible says. It says that the love of money is the root of all types of evil. When we begin to put the love of money (greediness) above everything else, that is sinful. That then becomes a person’s focus in life. The question becomes, “How much money can I make?” It becomes sort of a game when a person reaches a certain amount. He puts everything else out of his life. Think of the families that have been destroyed because of things like gambling. It is sinful to gamble. It is something that is not authorized in Scripture. It is a system by which people do not work for their income, but actually lose their income. They are willing to “take a chance” with the hope being that they will get something in return. The more money they lose, the more they gamble. Yet they continue to lose. If they win a little, they then go spend it and lose it, too. Why? It is because they have a desire to be rich, and that desire comes before anything else in life. Families have been destroyed. Husbands and wives have divorced over this type of thing because money becomes the top priority instead of spirituality. In 1 Timothy 6:18-19 Paul told people what they are to do with money. If there are those people who are rich, “let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” This is something that the rich man did not do. He was not storing away treasures in Heaven so that he could have eternal life when he died. Rather, he was too concerned with his earthly life, his own wants and desires, and what he could do for himself with his money (selfishness).
Now I want to read another story from Mark 10:17-22 about a different rich man—a rich young ruler. “Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’” The rich young ruler came to the right source by coming to Christ to ask his question. Christ is the correct source of authority. The young man wanted to gain eternal life and spend eternity in Heaven. He asked, “What must I do?” Here is what Jesus told him:
“‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not bear false witness,” “Do not defraud,” “Honor your father and your mother.”’”
The young man went to the Lord to ask what he needed to do. The Lord told him that he needed to follow the commandments. We are told to do the same thing today. In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Now look at the young man’s response: “And he answered and said to Him, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.’” This was a good man. He was not a fornicator. He did not disrespect his parents. He was not the type of person to get angry and murder someone. He said, “I have kept these commandments. I have done these things.” He was a person whom we consider to be a good, moral man. But look at what happened. “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack.” People sometimes say, “I’m not that bad. I just need to work on three or four things.” This man lacked only one thing. “One thing” can keep us out of Heaven. One thing was keeping this man from having fellowship with the Lord. Jesus said to him, “Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” The next verse, however, is a very sad verse. “But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” The young man had an opportunity to turn to the Lord, follow Christ, and have Heaven as his eternal home. But what did he do? He “went away sorrowful.” Why? Because he “had great possessions.” He did not want to have to give up those possessions. In Matthew 16:26 the Bible asks, “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Perhaps you have a lot of money. Maybe you have been thinking, “I probably need to be giving more to the Lord. I probably don’t need to be concentrating so much on making more money. I probably need to be giving my life more to spiritual things.” I want to remind you of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 that can help you make the correct decision. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” We cannot serve both God and money. We cannot say, “I want things of the world, but I also want to go to church services on Sunday, where I’ll put a little in the plate, while keeping most of it for myself. There may be people who need this, but I like money a lot. I want to drive fancy cars.” We cannot serve two masters. We need to be sure that if we are saying, “I’m serving the Lord,” then we really are doing that wholeheartedly. “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” The first lesson we can learn is that we may be rich physically speaking, yet be very, very poor spiritually speaking.
The second lesson we can learn is that true wealth comes from following God. You may be a person who is physically rich but spiritually poor. You might be saying, “I agree that I am that person. So what do I need to do to change?” True wealth comes from following God. True spiritual blessings are found only “in Christ.” In Ephesians 1:3 Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Where are spiritual blessings found? They are found “in Christ.” That is where true wealth is found. In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus said,
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
We recognize this as commonsense teaching. What we find to do in this life, and where we place our emphasis—isn’t that where our hearts are? If you like sporting events, and you refuse to miss a football game when your favorite team is playing, you might say, “I am always going to be there. I am going to watch the game every Saturday, as well as the highlights. And if the game is on a Sunday, it doesn’t matter if we’re supposed to be going to worship. I am going to watch the game anyway.” If your life revolves around that sporting event, that is where your heart is because that’s what you deem to be important in life. We need to make sure that if we want to be “truly wealthy,” then we need to follow the Lord instead of trying to lay up treasures here on Earth. In Proverbs 2:1-5 we are told,
“My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
We need to search the Word of God as if it were silver or gold. How much more valuable is God’s Word than silver and gold?! If someone was to come up to you today and tell you that they learned that there was a million dollars hidden somewhere in your house, and they could verify that as being true, what would you do? Suppose you were watching television, and someone came up to you and said, “There is a million dollars in your house. If you can find it, it’s yours.” What would you do? Would you say, “I’m glad to hear that, but I want to watch the rest of my program. It’s only thirty more minutes. Let me finish it, and then I’ll start looking for the million dollars”? Or would you say, “I’m tired. It’s been a hard day at work. So I’m going to take a two-hour-long nap, and then I’ll look for the money”? Of course not! If we knew that there was a million dollars in our house, we would say, “Stop everything! Let’s start searching.” You would call everyone you knew and ask them to help you. What is the application of these questions? We should be searching God’s Word just as if we were searching for silver, gold, or great riches. How many of us treat the Bible like it’s nothing more than a coaster for our drinks or a dust collector? We talk about how we have a Bible. But what are we doing with it? Are we opening it daily (Acts 17:11) and searching through it like we should? The more we do that, the more blessed we will be as we follow the Lord and His Word. People say, “I’m tired. I can’t do that.” Or “I’ve got the rest of this program to watch.” We wouldn’t do that if it came to a million dollars. And we do not need to do that when it comes to God’s Word. The salvation of our souls is worth much more than any amount of money. We need to learn that true wealth comes from following God.
The third lesson we need to learn from the story of rich man and Lazarus is that when we die, our souls do not sleep. There is a false doctrine known as “soul sleeping,” which suggests that when you die, your soul sleeps (and is unconscious). But it is clear from Luke 16 that when the rich man and Lazarus died, they were very conscious and aware of what was happening. They were awake. They could talk. They knew what was going on. Their souls were not sleeping. Consider another example. On the mountain when Christ was transfigured (Lk. 9:30-31) we see Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ. They were not in some sort of “dreamless sleep.” In Luke 23:43, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, He promised the thief, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” He didn’t say, “Today, after you die, you’ll sleep for a while until I come back.” Another example is found in Revelation 6:9-11, where John saw a vision of the souls of those who had been slain upon the Earth. The souls were crying out and asking how long it would be before the people who had killed them would be punished. Every instance like this—whether it is symbolic or literal—shows that souls are always awake and aware. We learn from the story of the rich man and Lazarus that when we die, our souls live on. We are not like Rover who, when he is dead, is dead all over. The Bible does not teach that. The Bible teaches that our souls live on. We do not “sleep” or enter into a state of “non-existence.”
Why is it important for us to understand this lesson? It is important because our souls will live on. We can deny the truth of that fact, but our denial will not affect its reality. Since that is the case, after death there are no second chances. This is another lesson that we can learn from the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about the Judgment, and said, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” We will be judged according to the things we have done in this life. Once we die, we won’t have any more opportunities. We cannot say, “Lord, I know that I died. But give me one more chance.” Remember what happened to the rich man. He wanted another opportunity. He even asked Abraham to send Lazarus back. But as much as the rich man wanted another chance, he could not have one. There was a “great gulf” separating the rich man and Lazarus. Abraham could not even send Lazarus back to Earth. After we die, there are no second chances. Hebrews 9:27 tells us, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” We have this life to use to make sure that we are right with God. We need to be taking advantage of the opportunities that we have right now—before it is too late. There are no second chances.
Luke 17:34 tells us that as long as we are living and able to repent, then we have hope. But that is in this life only. Once we die, we cannot have a “do-over.” We cannot ask God for another chance. This is the only opportunity we will ever have. I want to plead with you today to take the opportunity to change your life. Do not wait another year, month, week, day, or hour. You never know when you might die. Today may be your last opportunity to get your life right with the Lord.
The fourth lesson that I want us to consider is that when we die, we will either be tormented or comforted eternally. There is no middle ground. Most people in this world want to believe in what I call “the grey area.” They say, “I’m not a terrible person. I’ve never murdered anyone. I’m a pretty good husband and father. I don’t go out and get drunk every night. I’m an ‘OK’ person. But at the same time, I wouldn’t say that I’m a ‘saint’ either. I don’t attend services like I should. I don’t study my Bible like I should. I don’t pray like I know I ought to. I don’t follow the Lord and all of His commandments. I’m not a good steward of my money. I don’t worship God the way He has instructed me. So I wouldn’t say that I’m a ‘great person.’ I’m probably just ‘right there in the middle.’” I think that’s where a lot of people want to place themselves—in the “grey area.” But the truth of the matter is that when we die, there is no great area. We will either spend eternity in Hell or in Heaven. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus taught that the majority of people will spend eternity in Hell. That is a serious matter. Many people think they are in some sort of “grey area.” But there is no grey area! They are in the same condition as the rich man was, and thus will spend eternity in Hell. How sad that is. In Mark 9:42-48 we read,
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire—where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”
Here Jesus emphasized the point of Hell. It is real. Being tormented for eternity is a reality. Jesus taught that. So, when people deny that, they are denying the plain teaching of Jesus Christ. You may be saying, “What if I do what the Bible says? Where will I spend eternity?” If you follow the Lord, you will spend eternity in the wonderful place called Heaven. In Revelation 21:1-4 we read,
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’”
There are many lessons that we can learn from the rich man and Lazarus. But we need to make sure that we understand that we must follow the Lord if we want to go to Heaven for eternity. If you are not a Christian, we pray today that you will be baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16), and that you will obey the Gospel of Christ
Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus discussed two men who were in completely different situations in life. Who were they?
2. Describe the lives of the two men while they both were alive.
3. Is Jesus’ story in Luke 16:19-31 about a real-life situation, or is it a parable? Explain your answer.
4. The two men in Jesus’ story both died. What was the state of each man’s soul after his death?
5. One of the men in Jesus’ story made two requests. What were those requests?
6. What was Heaven’s response to the man’s two requests?
7. According to the material contained in this study, there are several important lessons that a person can learn from the material in Luke 16:19-31. What is the first one?
8. According to the material contained in this study, what is the second lesson that a person can learn from the material in Luke 16:19-31?
9. According to the material contained in this study, what is the third lesson to be learned from the material in Luke 16:19-31?
10. According to the material contained in this study, what is the fourth lesson to be learned from the material in Luke 16:19-31?
11. What important point did the apostle Paul explain to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10?
12. In Mark 10:17-22 Jesus told a parable. Explain its contents, and how it applies to the material discussed in Luke 16:19-31.
13. What important question did Jesus ask in Matthew 16:26?
14. What important point did Jesus make in Matthew 6:24?
15. If you were to combine the teaching found in Matthew 6:19-21 and Ephesians 1:3, what conclusion would you draw from the two passages?
16. What important teaching did Jesus provide in Matthew 6:19-21?
17. What important point did Jesus make in 2 Corinthians 5:10?
18. According to Matthew 7:13-14, will the majority of people make it to Heaven? If so, why? If not, why not?
19. What conclusion can we reach about Hell from Jesus’ discussion in Mark 9:42-48?
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