LUKE 16:19-31 - SEND LAZARUS
LUKE 16:
24 ... send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented
in this flame.
27 ... send him . . . 28 that he may testify
THERE ARE SOME OBVIOUS TRUTHS REVEALED
IN THIS STORY.
I. CIRCUMSTANCES IN THIS LIFE
DO NOT PARALLEL CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE
AFTERLIFE
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou
art tormented.Just because you "appear to be" doing well
in this life doesn't mean
you are destined to do well in the afterlife.Appearances are deceiving.
It's hard to tell who the losers are.
II. DO NOT READ SOMETHING INTO THIS
THAT ISN'T THERE.
It is not
that the poor will do well in the afterlife
While the rich will do poorly.Some have misread that idea from this passage.
Such ignorance mistakenly thinks
that all of those who have suffered
in this life will be rewarded accordingly
in the afterlife.
SUFFERING IN-AND-OF-ITSELF BRINGS NO REWARD.
2 Timothy 2:12 does say,
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:"The key words are "with him"
MUCH OF THE SUFFERING
IN THIS LIFE
IS NOT "WITH
HIM."
In fact, it is "without Him."
SADLY MANY A SOUL GOES FROM SUFFERING
IN THIS WORLD TO SUFFERING IN THE NEXT.
The debauched drunkard has no
Passport to Heaven
Because he has suffered in this life.
THERE IS NOTHING MERITORIOUS
IN THE SLUGGARDS DEPRIVATION.
THE RICH MAN DID NOT GO TO HELL
BECAUSE HE WAS RICH.
The poor man did not go to heaven
because he was poor.
HAD THE RICH MAN BEEN RICH IN FAITH,
It would not have harmed him
That he was "clothed in purple and
fine linen, and fared sumptuously
every day" - vs. 19.
IT IS INDEED AS CHARLES SPURGEON SAID,
"It was not the suffering of Lazarus which entitled him
to a place in Abraham's bosom; he might have been
licked by all the dogs on earth and then have been
dragged off by the dogs of hell. Lazarus was carried
above by the angels, because his heart was in heaven;
and the rich man lifted up his eyes in hell, because he
had never lifted them up towards God and heavenly
things. It is a work of grace in the heart and
character, which shall decide the future, not poverty
or wealth."
SO, IT IS NOT OUR INTENT TO READ SOMETHING
INTO THIS STORY THAT ISN'T THERE,
YET THERE SEEMS TO BE TRUTHS EMBEDDED IN THE
TEXT
THAT AREN'T READILY APPARENT
WITHOUT MEDITATION AND REFLECTION.
FOR EXAMPLE,
I. THE FOLLOWING TRUTHS ARE EVIDENT
CONCERNING A MAN IN HELL.
1. He is conscious and aware.
2. He is thinking and reasoning.
3. He is plotting and planning.
Endless devices
eternally doomed to failure.How this must add to the despair.
4. He is observing.
In this story at least,
he is aware of the bliss of the blessed.He is not limited to an awareness
only of hell.An awareness of heaven
Surely must make hell worse.4. He remembers and reflects.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember
II. PERHAPS SOMETHING CAN BE SEEN CONCERNING LAZARUS
AS WELL.
1. He is now capable of being sent.
This is obvious to the observer from hell.
LUKE 16:
24 ... send Lazarus, that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water, and cool my
tongue; for I am tormented in this
flame.27 ... send him . . .
28 that he may testifyA change has taken place.
Lazarus is no longer laying at a gate
Unable to move,
Full of sores.
2. In the mind of the rich man in hell,
Lazarus would be a good one to send to testify.Was there something about Lazarus that made
the rich man know exactly what Lazarus would do,
given the opportunity?Perhaps the idea is,
If you send him here, he will comfort me.
If you send him there, he will testify.Send him .. "That he may"
Not order him to,
Just send him "that he may"Given the opportunity, he will.
Could it be that
Lazarus had witnessed to him,
had wished him well in life?Maybe even felt sorry for him
Because he knew he was unsaved.3. Could we so live that even the most wicked
would testify of us that we would witness, if given the opportunity?
Or would they say, "No need to send that one."
SOME OF THESE THINGS WE PONDER, & WONDER,
BUT SOME TRUTHS ARE EVIDENT BEYOND DEBATE IN THIS STORY
1. Death does not end all.
2. There are different destinies
3. The only thing that will prepare anyone
for eternity is the truth found in God's Word.
If they are not persuaded by God's Word,
nothing else can persuade them.
LUKE 16:
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that
thou wouldest send him to my fathers house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto
them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went
unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead.
MAY I SHARE WITH YOU NOW WHAT GOD'S WORD
SAYS ABOUT PREPARING TO MEET GOD?
END WITH SALVATION SCRIPTURES.
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The preceeding is a sermon written by Ben Shepherd
Copyright 1999 Ben Shepherd
Permission is freely granted to those who minister
to use in public proclamation without stating attribution.
All other rights reserved.
Written and edited after reading & rereading from the
sermon(s) cited below by C.H. Spurgeon. Some of the
thoughts and ideas were inspired by Spurgeon's sermons,
which are in the public domain.
SUFFERING AND REIGNING WITH JESUS.
Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 10, NO. 547
DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING JANUARY 3RD, 1864,
BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
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