Luke 16:19-31 / Let them know…

Luke 16:19-31 / Let them know…

There is a story in Luke 15 about a rich man and a poor man.  The rich man enjoyed all the pleasures life had to offer but did not know Christ.  The poor man, Lazarus, had nothing but Christ while on earth.  They both died the same day but went to two very different places.  The rich man went to Hell and Lazarus went to Heaven.

In Hell, the rich man could see Lazarus up in Heaven and cried out in anguish to Abraham who was by his side:

‘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.’

Abraham responded to the rich man by reminding him that he had enjoyed good things in life, while Lazarus had struggled.  He also reminded him of the vast chasm separating him from God because of his sin. 

As the reality of his situation sank in, the rich man realized his family might suffer the same fate and made another desperate request:  

27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 

If he couldn’t get some relief, he begged Abraham to send someone to his family to make sure they didn’t end up in hell as well.  To which Abraham replied:

29…‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 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.’”

Basically, Abraham said – they have had their chance.  Moses gave them the law to follow and know God, the prophets gave them the words of the Lord to know and follow.  If they want to spend eternity in paradise, they need to listen and respond to those God has already sent. 

So what can we learn from this?

1. Hell is not a place anyone wants to go to.  It is an eternal, miserable place of torment.

2. We must share the Good News of the Gospel with those we love while we still have time.

Once in hell, the rich man realized his true situation and the dire situation his family would soon be in as well.  He was desperate to see them avoid the path that he had chosen…but he was too late.  His chance to share the Gospel was gone. 

Believers, we must share with those we love while we still have time to warn them of what is to come if they don’t repent and accept Christ.  When our time on earth is up, our time to share with the lost is up as well.  

 So, let’s get busy telling as many people as possible about the incredible, unchanging, soul-saving love of God while we still have a chance.

Eternity without Christ is a scary thing.  Don’t let fear keep you back from giving those you love an opportunity to avoid it.

With much love,

Pastor Dave 

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