In the “Let’s Be Clear” series, we are teaching what the Bible clearly says on controversial topics regarding the Church today. The big idea for this series is this: Clarity is the answer to confusion.
Week seven revealed the big idea that hell is the just destination for sinners who die without Jesus.
Sermon Recap:
This week we looked at Luke 16:19-31:
“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. 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, 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.’ 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.’ 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.’ 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.’”
One of the first things we see in this passage is the difference in wealth between the rich man and Lazarus. Later in the passage, Abraham even mentions that the rich man had his wealth on earth and Lazarus didn’t. Now the roles have changed. Understanding this wrongly can lead to a belief I’ve heard from people my entire life, that the problem is having things. But when we understand this rightly, we learn that the problem isn’t having things, it’s when those things have you. Every one of us has something that is trying to move from being had by us to having us. It’s not wrong to have things, but if we’re not careful, those things can very easily have us.
As you continue reading, you’ll see the rich man has a few requests, but something that jumps out at us is that he never asks the one thing you’d assume his first request would be. He never asks to leave. He never asks to get out. I’m sure if you asked him, “Do you want to be in hell?” he would say no. But I’m also sure if you asked him, “Do you want to be in heaven?” he would also say no. That’s because not wanting to go to hell isn’t the same as wanting to go to heaven. So many people grow up not wanting to go to hell, but if you ask them if they want the Lordship of Jesus in their life, they would say no as well. In eternity, God gives us exactly what we want in this life. If we want to dwell with Jesus, we get it for eternity, but if we want God out of our lives completely, then we get a godless eternity.
Application: Understanding hell rightly should push us to share confidently.
In Christ, we don’t have to fear God changing his mind about us. Hell is no longer on the table for followers of Jesus, but this shouldn’t lead to apathy. This should motivate us to go and share with those who don’t know Jesus because hell is very much on the table for them. We should share with confidence since we know the One who can transform them from the inside out!
-Daniel Thompson (College Ministry Director)
Watch the full sermon from week seven here!
Additional Resources:
Whatever Happened to Hell? By John Blanchard
“Hell is for Real” by Greg Morse
Short article on how the reality of hell should influence and affect the lives of Christians.
