Hell: Warning to the Wicked
(Rich Man and Lazarus: Luke 16:19-31)
Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”. We all have an appointment with our eternal destiny and it’s determined where we will go on this side of the grave. Last week we looked at Heaven and the great wonders and reward of that place for the redeemed of God. Today, we will talk about the eternal punishment for those who have rejected the salvation of our Lord. The place of eternal punishment is Hell and Jesus taught more on Hell than any other teacher or preacher or prophet in the Bible. Jesus taught about Hell more than He did on love. Today we look at this passage with a solemn heart and read this warning to the wicked.
I. Two men (vv. 19-21 - “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores".)
A. The rich man - a nameless rich man clothed in the finest garments and lived in the most luxurious surroundings. He had all that he could desire and lacked nothing.
B. Lazarus, the poor beggar - homeless, hungry, diseased, friendless. He was laid at the rich man’s gate so that he might receive the scraps that were left from the rich man’s table. His only friends were the dogs that came and licked his sores.
C. The differences - The beliefs of that day, particularly of the Pharisees, was that those of earthly blessings were those who had the favor of God and the poor and sick were those who were receiving the punishment of God and were sinful. So Lazarus was seen as a sinful man suffering for his sins and the rich man was being blessed by God. Being rich doesn’t mean your righteous and being poor doesn’t mean your pious. Rich or poor has nothing to do with the condition of your soul. Being rich or being poor has nothing to do really with this passage but how the choices on this side of the grave will affect our eternal destiny. That’s the real principle of this passage.
The rich man passed by Lazarus every time that he left his house and did nothing to relieve this man’s suffering (Deut. 15:7 - "If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother"), what he did was a direct violation of scripture and it showed the true condition of his heart; he had no regard for the law of God or the condition of his fellow man.
II. Two Destinations (vv. 22-23 - “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”)
A. Death finds both (v.22) - We all will face death (Heb. 9:27 - …it is appointed unto men once to die…), no one is exempt when it comes to death. However rich or powerful you are on this earth, no matter your social status, we all face an appointment with death. Death doesn’t discriminate or care how much or how little you have. We see that both of these men experience death, but the difference we see is their destination after death.
B. Beggar finds the Bosom of Abraham(Heaven) (v.22) - the beggar finds himself in the comfort and reward of Heaven. He wasn’t rich in the things of this world but was rich in God (James 2:5 - Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?). The poor beggar was rich in the things of God and found his reward in Heaven. We find the treasure of eternal life in the Father through faith in the Son.
C. Rich man finds himself in Hell (v.23) - the rich man received the just reward for a life without God. This is the reward for those who reject the Gospel of Christ and the salvation of God. The rich man had all that he desired on this earth and neglected the condition of his soul. He laid up treasure on earth and was not rich towards God. He was spiritually bankrupt and found himself suffering in Hell.
III. The Reality of Hell (vv.23-26 - “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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. 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. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”)
A. Why did Jesus teach so much about Hell?- The answer is found in this verse, 2 Peter 3:9b - ‘[God is] not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’; Jesus taught about Hell to warn mankind about the reality of eternal punishment in Hell. Jesus warns men because He loves them. We are all called to tell men about the good news of the Gospel and also called to warn man about the bad news of Hell. This is our responsibility and it should even more motivate us to tell a sinful world about the salvation of our souls through Jesus Christ. We would not even believe in such a place if Jesus had not repeatedly taught and warned about it. He spoke of hell more than anyone else in the Bible, and for a good reason. People probably wouldn't listen if anybody else tried to teach about hell. Christ had to be the one who taught about hell. We cannot conceive of eternal damnation. Christ emphasized hell in His preaching. If you don't think that is true, then you haven't paid attention to His ministry. Let me give you some examples from scripture where He teaches about hell.
1. MATTHEW 5:22, 29-30
Read what Jesus said about hell in Matthew 5: In verse 22, He said, "...whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." He then said in verses 29-30, "...if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
2. MATTHEW 8:12
Here, He said that "the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
3. MATTHEW 11:20-24
"Then began He to upbraid the cities in which most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not." Jesus condemned people who did not repent of their sin and said they would go to hell (vv. 21-24). Those were serious words from our Lord.
4. MATTHEW 12:36-37
Jesus said, "But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
The Lord constantly taught about hell. He talked about it in Matthew 23:14-15, 33; 25:29-30, 41, 46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 6:24- 26; and 12:5. Also, here in Luke 16, where he gives us a little description from the condemned’s point of view. Preachers and teachers today must not ever forget to teach about Hell. It cannot be ignored or forgotten or denied. But people don't do that today. It is convicting that we say so little about hell. The truth about hell is so terrifying and awesome that if the Lord had not taught about hell, we would not believe it existed.
B. Description of Hell
1. Place of unending torment and misery - in verse 23a it says that he was conscious and in torment. He was alive and aware of his misery for what he had done to be there. We suffer here on this earth but we know that suffering and pain will cease either by healing or death. But in hell the torment and misery will never cease. If we knew we had a million years to suffer for sins we would have a comfort of knowing that one day it would end, but in hell it is an eternal punishment without hope of ever ending.
A. It is a place of darkness (Matt. 8:12 - But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; Matt. 22:13- Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.) Darkness that is utterly total and complete. It emphasizes the eternal separation of the unsaved from God’s presence of mercy and grace. It gives the understanding of their torment of their hopelessness and helplessness. The closest example I could give is when I went on a tour of a cave and at the end of the trail there was a place where we sat down and the lights were turned off. There was a total absence of light and I could see absolutely nothing. But this is only a small degree of the darkness of Hell.
B. It is a place of fire and flames (v.24) - Not only was he tormented in the misery and torment of eternal punishment for his sins, he was also tormented in flames of fire. I always wondered how hell could be so utterly dark and yet have flames. There is such a thing as invisible flames and they are invisible due to pure gases igniting it and there are special fire detection equipment made to warn and find it. God uses both darkness and fire to describe the torment of the damned.
The Bible gives us two insights into how people will respond in hell. One is in this passage in Luke 16, where the rich man who went to hell 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 am tormented in this flame" (v. 24). The other is a statement Jesus frequently made, saying that in hell "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt. 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Lk. 13:28). Hell is not going to be a place of fun; it is going to be a place of weeping, screaming, grinding of teeth, and unrelieved torment.
2. There are no second chances after death (vv.24 -26) - we see the rich man asking for any minor comfort or relief but we see Abraham answering him telling him that he was receiving his just punishment for his sins and even if it were allowed they could not come to him and he could not go to them because of a great gulf fixed between the two. We see in scripture that God is a merciful and loving God who wants to save sinful and condemned mankind, but God is also holy and just so he must punish sin. God gives mankind all the opportunities to receive Christ as Lord and savior through the hearing of the Gospel and putting their faith in Christ on this side of the grave and after death there are no second chances (it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment), when we die we all go to an eternity--will it be eternal life or eternal death.
3. Degrees of punishment - there are different degrees of punishment for the evil that unsaved man does in his life. The unrelieved torment in hell will be experienced by different people in varying degrees. Hell will be horrible for everyone there, but some people will suffer more than others. Hebrews 10:29 says, "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant...an unholy thing...." In other words, those who received full knowledge of what Christ did for them but still rejected Him will receive more severe punishment in hell. In Matthew 11, when Jesus condemned the people in the cities that rejected Him, He said, "...it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee" (v. 24). Hell won't be tolerable for anyone, but Jesus was saying that it will appear to be more tolerable for the people of Sodom (who hadn't seen Christ's miracles and heard His words) than for those who had witnessed His miracles and heard His words.
IV. Place to Warn Others About (vv. 27-31 - “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”)
A. Warn Them (vv.27-28)- The rich man asked that Lazarus be sent back to warn his five brothers. The horror of that place was of such enormity that he wanted to warn his brothers so that they would never know this place personally. We as Christians should desire to tell others about Jesus so none of our loved ones or friends would ever go there. The unimaginable horror of that place should sway our hearts to tell everyone about Jesus Christ and his salvation. Never should we ever think or say that anyone should “go to hell!”. We see the urgency and desperation of the rich man that no one should go to hell. We need to be that compelled to tell.
B. Abraham’s reply (vv. 29-31 - “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”) This reply seems to be harsh but we must see the reality of his statement. God sent his Son to die for our sins on the cross and rose again from the dead so we might have eternal life. When we tell others about this Gospel it is enough given for this world. Romans 1:16-For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. God has given us salvation through the Son and given the world the message of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. God works His powerful conviction by the proclamation of the Gospel. He deals with the heart of unsaved man through it. ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God’. No other way but through hearing the Gospel and putting your faith in Christ.
We must be motivated and compelled to tell someone about Jesus just by understanding there is an eternal punishment in Hell for the lost. We have the answer and the remedy for their sin and their condemnation that is found only in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
