“The Misery of Hell”
[Luke 16:19-31]
March 28, 2013 Second Reformed Church
Some of us will be familiar with the
book, Love Wins, recently written by
Rob Bell, pastor of a mega-church. Bell
argues that there is a heaven and a hell, but those who go to hell only go
there temporarily – the love of God, he argues, is so strong, that it pursues
people after death and continues to pursue until every person believes and is
received into heaven. This is not what
the Bible teaches.
Jesus speaks in our text in response
to the ridicule of the Pharisees, who Luke tells us, “were lovers of money”
(Luke 16:14b, ESV). The Pharisees, who
knew the words of the Law and the Prophets very well, were not bearing fruits
of repentance and belief, but were seeking to increase their financial
standing.
For
those of you who worship with us in the morning, you may remember, we recently
discussed the fact that our fruits – doing those things which God has called us
to do – are a proof that we have been saved – that we are believers in Jesus
for salvation. The Pharisees said they
believed the Law and the Prophets, but they did not bear fruit – they did not
evidence their belief, so there was no reason to believe they actually believed
– that they had been saved by God.
Remember,
we are not saved by our works, but our works evidence that we have been
saved. If we do not do good works in the
Name of Jesus, then there is no reason to believe our confession that we
believe in His Gospel.
So,
Jesus is addressing the Pharisees, who think that knowing all the right words
is enough for them to be considered righteous – that they can do whatever they
want, so long as they show up for worship and say the things expected of
them. They thought salvation was based
on their knowing the right words, not on having a change of heart and a life
that evidenced such a change.
And
Jesus tells them the history of a certain rich man – perhaps a Pharisee – and a
beggar named Lazarus:
“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.”
Note that the rich man had
everything he needed and more. He was
not just clothed and housed, but extravagantly so. He did not just eat what he needed to live,
but he ate the most expensive, extravagant food available, because he
could. Now, there is nothing wrong with
being wealthy or enjoying the blessings God has given on earth. But this rich man was enjoying them as though
he deserved them and had no responsibility to those in need.
Lazarus lived on the streets and
camped outside the gates of the rich man.
We are not told how he came to be in that condition. But he was humbled by it: he did not ask to be brought into the rich
man’s house or even to have food brought to him, but he desired that the food
which fell to the floor, which would have been for the dogs, could have been shared
with him so he could have something. And
notice, the dogs, indeed, had more compassion on Lazarus than the rich man –
the rich man ignored Lazarus’ state, while the dogs licked his wounds and
provided him with some relief and companionship and mercy.
Those who claim to believe in the
Gospel ought to care for others and show that care. Can you and I do more than the dogs? Can we bear fruit of our belief by providing
for another’s needs or cleaning and bandaging another’s wounds? Have we fallen into the same sin by swarming
around those who seem to have something to give to us and neglecting the
creepy, weird person next to us?
The rich and the poor alike
die: “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,”
After death, the poor man was
carried by the angels and received among the people of God at Abraham’s side,
waiting for the final judgment and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whereas the rich man went to Hades to wait
for the final judgment and entrance into everlasting punishment.
Understand, the rich man did not go
to Hades because he was rich, and Lazarus did not go to Abraham’s side because
he was poor. There are both rich and
poor waiting in Hades and rich and poor waiting at Abraham’s side – Abraham,
for example, was financially rich. Your
financial standing does not secure where you will go. This example is chosen because the Pharisees,
like this rich man, knew all the right words, but did not bear fruit which
would prove that they truly believed.
The Pharisees, like this rich man, thought that knowing the words would
be enough, but the rich man went to Hades, and they would too, if they did not
truly believe and bear fruit based on that belief.
Notice, also, that Abraham’s side is
not the Kingdom of Heaven and Hades is not Hell. Abraham’s side and Hades are equivalent with
the Old Testament term, “Sheol,” which is “the underworld; a place of waiting
for judgment.” It is after the judgment,
as we have seen in past weeks, that persons enter the Kingdom of Heaven or
Hell. (If you are interested, D.V., we
will begin a study on the doctrine of Hell on Tuesday, April 9th.)
So, the rich man was in Hades, awaiting
the Day of Judgment, and “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.’”
Hades, though it is an intermediary
state, is not merely a waiting room, but for those who are damned, it is a
place of intense suffering, as the rich man explains. He was suffering in his physical body and he
desired relief. The rich man said he was
in anguish in his physical body.
And the rich man is calling on
Abraham as his father – the rich man has not understood – even yet – that
Abraham is not his father, otherwise he would not be in Hades. Abraham is the father of all those who
believe in the Savior, and the rich man did not believe, so he was in great
anguish and torment.
“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 be
able, and none may cross from there to us.’”
Contrary
to what Mr. Bell is teaching, it is not possible to pass from one enteral state
to another. Once you die, those who are
bound for the Kingdom of Heaven and those who are bound for Hell are separated
by a vast chasm that cannot be crossed.
Also,
notice, the rich man did not seek to be forgiven – he did not profess belief –
he just wanted to minimize his suffering.
And he knew Lazarus – prior to this request, we might have believed that
Lazarus was outside the rich man’s gate, but he never came in cometact with him
– but, no, the rich man knew Lazarus, and he had sinned against him in life by
not showing mercy. Those who are dammed
will continue to sin and continue to increase their guilt and the justice of
their suffering for all of eternity.
Even what seem to be virtuous actions of the damned will be sinful.
“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.’”
Commentators
are all over the map as to what to think of the rich man’s request to warn his
brothers. Rather than speculate, other
than to say he was tormented in his mind and soul, as well as in his body, let
us look at Abraham’s response: all the
evidence needed for belief and salvation can be found in the Law and the
Prophets – Moses and the Prophets.
That
tells us that there is not merely law in the Old Testament, but Gospel. There
is a tendency, even if slight, to put the Old Testament on a lower rung – to
see it as unimportant in the light of the New Testament. It is true that the New Testament opens and explains
the Old Testament, but here we have Jesus saying that the Old Testament is
enough to come to faith and salvation.
So
often we hear that the Old Testament is about the God of Wrath and the New
Testament is about the God of Love, but all of the Bible is about the same God,
Who exposes our sin and shows us our need for salvation from God’s Wrath. It is from Jesus’ mouth that we hear almost
everything that is said about Hell in the Bible.
The
rich man made one final desperate plea – whatever the reason:
“And
he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they
will repent.’ 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.’”
The rich man argues that his
brothers will believe if they see someone rise from the dead – if they hear
from someone who has risen from the dead.
He argues that the rising of a dead person with a message about the
afterlife would be more convincing than Moses and the Prophets – the Word of
God. But Abraham assures him that anyone
who will not believe Moses and the Prophets will not believe someone who rises
from the dead.
And some of us may be thinking,
“No. That’s crazy. If someone came back from the dead and told
me about the truth of life after death, I would believe it.” Or would you think it was a hallucination? And if you believed it was someone raised
from the dead, would you question their mind, having been dead?
When contrasting the very Word of
God and a resurrected human being, the Word of God makes more sense and is more
convincing. So, the answer was “no.”
The answer is the same for us
today: although there are a variety of
words for death and the place one resides after death, it is clear that there
are two ultimate lives – eternal death, which is eternal suffering of the body,
mind, and soul, and eternal life, which is eternal joy and worship with Jesus.
Jesus clearly made that distinction:
“And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46, ESV).
“The harvest is the end of the age,
and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with
fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:39b-42, ESV).
“Then Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if
anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15, ESV).
Hell is a place of eternal suffering
in every possible way. I would hope you
do not want to spend eternity there!
There is Only One Way to be saved – and that is by believing in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ – receiving Him as Savior. Do you recognize that you are a sinner? Have you ever done anything morally wrong? Then you understand that you have sinned –
you have sinned against God, because He is our Creator. And God said, if we sin, we must die –
eternally. The punishment must fit the
crime, and if we have sinned against the Infinite God, our punishment must be
infinite. The Only Hope is to believe in
Jesus and what He did on earth to make God’s people right with Him.
Do you know of anyone who does not
believe? Do you care about them in any
way? Can you just sit back and watch
them go to Hell without once explaining the dire jeopardy they are in? It should trouble us and make us shudder to
know that so many will suffer eternally.
How can we say nothing?
During this Holy Week, let us
meditate on Hell. Think about the rich
man in Hades, waiting to be received into Hell – how he suffered and begged for
the slightest relief. Consider the abuse
and torture that Jesus went through especially in His last twenty-four hours
and as He suffered Hell on the cross for all those who would ever believe in
Him. What has Jesus done for we who
believe? Shall we do anything knowing
how many still do not believe in Him?
Jesus gathered His twelve apostles
together to celebrate the Passover one last time with them, and He introduced
the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper:
“When it was evening, he reclined at
table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, ‘Truly, I say to you,
one of you will betray me.’ And they were very sorrowful and began to say to
him one after another, ‘Is it I, Lord?’ He answered, ‘He who has dipped his
hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written
of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have
been better for that man if he had not been born.’ Judas, who would betray him,
answered, ‘Is it I, Rabbi?’ He said to him, ‘You have said so’” (Matthew
26:20-25, ESV).
Jesus announced to them that one of
them would betray Him, and they knew themselves enough to question themselves –
they all thought they could be the betrayer.
But he who was to betray Jesus calmly played along with the questioning,
and Jesus told him that he knew he was the betrayer.
Now, we are not told whether Judas repented
and believed before he committed suicide, so we cannot say that Judas is
definitely in Hades, waiting to be received into Hell. However, we can say that if he did not repent
and believe in Jesus before his suicide, he is in Hades, waiting to be received
into Hell.
And consider what Jesus said, “The
Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of
Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been
born.” Why?
If Judas had never been born, he
would not exist – there would be no question of everlasting torment or
everlasting life – he just would not exist.
Such is not the case for a person who does exist – people never go out
of existence – people never completely die – and every person will be raised to
life in Hell or life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus’ words certainly imply that
Judas would have been better off never being born, for then he would never
exist, but he did exist and betrayed the Son of God, so, if he did not believe
and repent, he will reap everlasting torment in Hell as his reward.
And some will point out that Judas
did repent:
“Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw
that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by
betraying innocent blood.’ They said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’
And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he
went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver,
said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.’
So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place
for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this
day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘And
they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had
been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's
field, as the Lord directed me’” (Matthew 27:3-10, ESV).
Judas
did repent for betraying an innocent man, but there doesn’t seem to be any more
to it than that. There is no textual
evidence that Judas repented and believed in Jesus.
“(Now this man acquired a field with
the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle
and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that
is, Field of Blood.)” (Acts 1:18-19,
ESV).
Judas – in anguish – went to the
field, and impaled himself, such that it torn open his midsection and his bowels
fell out. And that was far less painful
and horrific than Hell.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we have sinned against
You. We thank You for forgiving us
through Jesus and for His taking the wages of our sin upon Himself. We ask that any here tonight that do not
belief will meditate on the misery of Hell and be struck by the Truth of Your
Gospel. We ask that each one here who
believes would also take time to meditate on the misery of Hell and consider
who we need to tell the Gospel to – that You, in Your Mercy, might cause them
to believe. Lord, help us to take these
things seriously, believing that our life is eternal – either in torment or in
the Kingdom of Heaven. For it is in
Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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