The Reality of Hell
Luke 16:19-31
Intro
The subject of today’s sermon is one of those things that we all believe, but none of us like to talk about. Churches today have stopped preaching sin and hell, so they could attract more people. The early church turned the world upside down for Christ; yet the church today can’t even turn itself upside down. People today have a miscued interpretation of hell.
In a national poll conducted in 1986 by USA Today “67% of American adults said they believe in a hell. But less than 25% believed that they would go there, while 25% believe their friends will be there. But, if Hell is not real, and everyone s going to get to Heaven eventually, we might as well close the doors of the church and go home.
I will concede that you may well be offended by today’s sermon, people often are when any man preaches on the subject of Hell. But I like “the story that is told of a chaplain who reported to a new duty station during the Vietnam war. Upon his arrival some of the men came to see him and asked him this question; Do you believe in a literal hell? When he replied that he did not. The men asked him to resign and he asked them why. Their response to him was; If there is no hell then we don’t need you and if there is a Hell we don’t want you to led us astray. The point was well made.
Strangely enough a newer poll was conducted by US News and World Report reveals that more Americans today believe in Hell than they did 10 years ago. But most now think of hell as an anguished state of existence, rather than a real place.
I assure you that the Devil believes in a real hell. You may not believe in hell this morning, you may think that it is just a state of mind, but as the old revival preacher said to the skeptic, “You not believing in Hell don’t lower the temperature there one degree.”
We don’t like to think about the reality of Hell and we often hear the statement, “I don’t believe that a good God will send anyone to Hell.” The statement is based on error and inconsistency of the highest order. We never make the statement, “How could a good judge sentence a mass murderer to death for his crimes?” We don’t say that because the judge is not responsible for the man being sentenced to death, his actions are. The apostle Paul says in Romans 11:22, “Therefore consider the goodness and the severity of God…”
The parable that Jesus tells us in our text today, divides naturally into three parts; the comparison before death, The comparison after death, and the correction of Misconceptions about Hell.
I. The Comparison before Death (vv. 19-21)
a. Notice the contrast between two men in this story:
i. “There was a rich man who was dressed in purpose and fine linen and lived in luxury everyday”.
1. Dressing in purple and fine linens were the first century equivalent of wearing designer clothing today.
2. There is nothing about this man’s life on earth that indicated the terrible future that awaited him.
ii. “At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, cover with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.”
1. The beggars body is covered with sores and ulcers rather than fine clothes.
2. The bread that he longed to eat was the bread that was discarded by the rich man.
3. Lazarus is in reality only asking for dog food.
4. Don’t mistaken by the “dogs” that licked his sores, these were not the neighbors poodles, but rather wild street dogs that scavenged for food.
a. Aside from the discomfort and possible infection that this would cause, this was a disgrace to a Jew as dogs were unclean animals.
b. The rich man could have easily assisted Lazarus, but he ignored him and went on enjoying his recognition and his riches.
c. Life was comfortable for him and he no doubt felt secure.
II. The Comparison after Death (vv. 22-23)
a. But death changed everything.
i. When Lazarus died his body was probably carted away to the city dump and burned along with the trash.
ii. The rich man also died, and we can only imagine the glorious and stately funeral that was given to him.
b. Yes, as both men died and passed through death’s portal an amazing reversal occurred.
i. Lazarus was carried away by angels into God’s presence.
ii. The rich man did not get carried to God’s presence by angels, but rather found himself in hell, where he was in torment.
c. The revelation of where each man ended up after death would have astonished Jesus’ original audience and shattered their long held assumptions about wealth being a sign of God’s favor and blessings.
i. Since there is such confusion today about what happens at death I believe that we need a brief explanation of the nature of death in relation to eternity.
1. James 2:26, tells us that death takes place when the spirit leaves the body
2. But death is not the end; it is the beginning of a whole new existence in another world.
ii. When people die, only their bodies go into the grave.
1. At the funeral it is merely the physical shell we see lying in the casket.
2. The real person, the soul, has already departed to either a place of torment of a place of comfort, depending on the person’s spiritual condition.
III. The Correction of Misconceptions about Hell (vv. 24-31)
a. But why is the rich man in hell?
i. A surface understanding of this parable might indicate that the rich man missed salvation because he was not generous enough with his money.
ii. But that is not the case.
iii. The real reason for his being in hell was his disregard of the word of God and his rejection of the Lord.
b. Some people have an image of Hell that is not based on reality.
i. For instance Mark Twain said, “I’ll take heaven for the climate and Hell for the society.”
ii. Ted Turner once said, “I’m looking forward to dying and doing to hell because I know that’s where I’m headed.”
iii. People would not be so flippant about Hell if they understood the reality of it.
iv. Through the experience of two men Jesus gives us a glimpse into Hell.
v. It is brief but powerful enough to blow apart many of man’s misconceptions about Hell.
c. Misconception #1
i. Hell is nothingness, we will just seem to exist, hearing, seeing, and feeling nothing.
ii. C.S. Lewis was told about a gravestone inscription that read, “Here lies an atheist – all dressed up and not where to go.” Lewis replied, “I bet he wishes that were so.”
iii. Hell is a real place of conscious anguish.
1. This man was dreaming.
2. His hell was not on earth.
3. He was conscious and aware of his surroundings. - he could feel, he could speak, experience thirst – and was in anguish.
4. v. 24, tells us that he pleaded to Father Abraham to have pity on him.
iv. This is not the only place in the Bible that describes Hell.
1. Matthew 25:30, Jesus describes Hell as a place of “outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2. Mark 9:48, describes it as a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
3. The book of Revelation, describes it as a “lake of fire.”
v. Every description of Hell in the scriptures is one of suffering, torment and agony.
vi. Liberal Bible scholars have been telling us for decades that what the Bible says about hell is only symbolic.
1. If there things are indeed symbols, then we must conclude that the reality is worse then the symbol suggests.
2. The function of symbols in literature is to point beyond themselves to a higher or more intense state of actuality than the symbol itself can contain.
d. Misconception #2
i. Not realizing that the choices we make in this life fix our destiny in the next (vv. 24-25)
ii. There are no second chances after death.
iii. Abraham responded to the rich man in verse 25 with the words, “son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.”
e. Misconception #3
i. After I spend sometime in Hell I will be able to get out (v. 26)
ii. The gulf that could have been bridged while alive is now un-crossable.
iii. The gulf is un-crossable because scripture makes it clear that our time on this earth is the place of personal decision: one’s eternal destiny is determined by what one does and believes on earth.
iv. There is no purgatory, no reincarnation, no chance for relief, no way out, no end, no kidding.
v. In Hell is too late to pray, it si too late to change your life and it is too late to repent.
vi. Hell is a place without hope.
f. Misconception #4
i. Hell won’t be so bad, I’ll be there with my buddies. (vv. 27-31)
ii. We don’t see the rich man reveling in fellowship with his friends, he is very much alone.
iii. He didn’t say, I’m glad my brothers will be joining me here, we will have a wonderful time together.
iv. In fact the rich man expresses concern for his five brothers and he asks that someone be sent back to warn them that their choices in this life have consequences in the next.
v. Implied in the rich man’s argument is that he would have repented themselves if someone from the dead had come and warned him.
1. This is the opposite of what the exponents of the “signs and wonders movement” say today, there can be no effective evangelism without signs and wonders.
2. It is a reminder that the primary use of the miracles of the bible was not to convince people of the truth by replacing the Bible, but rather to confirm the truth of the Bible.
3. He is saying the Moses and the Prophets, the word of God, was not enough.
a. The rich man is saying, I didn’t have a fair chance.
b. I was not sufficiently warned, otherwise I would not be here.
c. My destiny is God’s fault not mine!
d. He is saying that God’s warning through his word was inadequate and impotent.
vi. While these verses teach that God will not give people supernatural signs and wonders to get them to repent.
1. This verse also taught that a person can avoid Hell if they listen to God’s word and repent.
2. They have all the information they need; they just need to heed the information they have.
3. Only one thing will prevent this man’s brother’s from joining him in Hell, and that is to hear the word of God and respond to it in faith.
a. God has spoken in His creation.
b. He has spoken in history
c. He has spoken in His word
d. Above all he has spoken in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Closing
“One day, when Vice President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one senator angrily told another to go “straight to hell.” The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and Coolidge looked up from the book he has been leafing through while listening to the debate and wittily replied, “I’ve looked through the rule book, “ he said, “you don’t have to go.” It is true, you really don’t have to go, you can heed the Word of God, repent and be saved.
Once we have the matter established in our own lives then we must think of others. Each of us today know people who have no idea where they will spend eternity. Some of you even know people, who are positive that they are going to hell. And yet you refuse to say anything to them about it. When you keep your mouth shut you are really shouting at the top of your lungs, “You can go to hell!” Is that really what you mean to be saying? Think about it.
