WEBVTT 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:32.159 Last year, the Journal of Medical Case Reports released a study about a gentleman with a broken neck. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:37.759 He came into a university clinic in Germany with pain and swelling at the base of his neck. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.719 He reported no falls nor collisions. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:45.039 But he had begun to notice this sudden pain. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:51.600 A 31-year-old male didn't use drugs, had no pre-existing conditions or any notable medical history. 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:55.039 He had no fever or any other symptoms of the sort. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:57.520 No osteoporosis was present either. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:01.359 He was a perfectly healthy 31-year-old man. 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:13.040 When they took him back for his photo op, the fancy cameras found a real deal fracture on his seventh cervical vertebra, C7, right at the base of his neck. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:15.040 He had a broken neck. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.359 They hospitalized the guy for a testing, and he was in a neck brace for six weeks after that. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:19.920 He's okay. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.239 In case you're worried about him, he's fine. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:37.200 But these medical scholars at this university clinic determined that the injury was caused by frequent and rapid movements with an additional weight on his head over a period of one to four hours a day. 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:42.799 As the guy played video games in his virtual reality headset. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:46.000 You guys laugh, it's a perfectly respectable thing to do with your time. 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:54.079 Folks, people do silly things when they cut themselves off from reality. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:02:09.120 The worst was a broken neck, but in the rigorous research I did for my sermon, I watched all sorts of videos of people running into walls, screaming uncontrollably, punching their loved ones, throwing the controller through their television set. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:13.680 People do silly things, even dangerous things. 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:19.599 When they willingly choose to cut themselves off from reality. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:34.080 When for the love of our idols, we begin to fool ourselves about spiritual things. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:49.039 We start to get out of touch with the facts about who God is, the realities about heaven and hell and eternity, and the consequences of spiritual blindness are far worse than a broken neck. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:57.520 Today in our text, our Lord is going to paint for us a vivid parable, a vivid picture about spiritual blindness and its eternal consequences. 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:02.719 Would you turn there with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16, verse 19? 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.120 Gospel of Luke. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:18.800 Chapter 16. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:22.400 And verse 19. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.879 But as you turn, a little bit of extra context. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:31.840 Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, and on the way there, he's teaching all sorts of people. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:35.199 Chapter 14 tells us that great crowds accompanied him. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:42.159 Chapter 15 tells us that tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to him, and the Pharisees didn't think that was so cool. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:48.240 The disciples are there too, and all the way along he's teaching them as he goes, most often in parables. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:51.680 And here our text picks up yet another parable. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.800 Chapter 16, verse 19. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:03.759 Jesus says, There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, who feasted sumptuously every day. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:07.680 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.879 And let me just say, Lazarus is a very, very common name in Jesus' day. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:14.319 It means God helps. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:17.040 It's the Greek form of the Hebrew name Eliezer. 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:18.240 It's a Bible name. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.079 So it's a very common name. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.160 Don't assume this is Mary and Martha's brother. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.639 In fact, the name God helps means something. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:26.399 But more on that, more on that later. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:33.120 Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:37.120 But even the dogs came and licked his sores. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:41.600 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:43.920 The rich man also died and was buried. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:50.000 And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:05:02.480 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. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:07.839 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:10.480 And Lazarus in like manner bad things. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:14.000 But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:25.519 And besides all this, a great chasm between us, a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who had passed from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:37.120 And he said, Then I beg you, Father, to send him into my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also should come into this place of torment. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:41.920 But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:48.399 And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:06:00.319 And 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. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:06.079 Jesus gives this parable as part of a response, a rebuke to the Pharisees. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:10.319 In verse 14, he said to his disciples, You cannot serve God in money. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:12.639 It's verse 14 of chapter 16. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:20.079 And the Pharisees scoffed at him, they ridiculed him because, you see, they've served God in money just fine. 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:22.399 They saw no problem with that. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:27.120 And they even thought he misunderstood the law because he challenged it. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:53.680 The Pharisees were lovers of money who justified themselves before men as they claimed to be experts in the law, and so Jesus, the God who knows the hearts of those Pharisees, pulls this parable together to show them what's in their hearts, to prove himself a better teacher of the law, and to warn them of the dire consequences of their spiritual blindness brought on by their love of money. 00:06:54.160 --> 00:07:05.360 And so I would submit to you that this rich man, then, is very much a stand-in for a spiritually blind person who thinks he can serve two masters. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:07.600 I mean, look at the guy. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.639 He's completely out of touch. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:16.720 He's dressed in garments fit for a king, even in fancy underlinens is the implication of the word. 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:18.560 Underlinens of high value. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:24.879 Every day is a big party, each as sumptuous and as extravagant as the day before. 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:28.240 Constantly reveling in what his money can buy him. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:29.759 Notice, notice though. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:33.120 He doesn't take the Sabbath day off to cease from his partying. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:34.240 Oh no, no. 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.439 He's so rich he takes every day off, right? 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:39.839 All of them, every day. 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.720 But he certainly doesn't give his servants the Sabbath. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:43.600 No. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:54.480 No, this guy is just totally insulated, totally cut off from the world around him because of his wealth. 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:59.120 And really, you guys, that's that's the problem here. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:03.600 Not just his wealth, but what it does to him and how he uses it. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:05.519 Abraham was rich. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:07.680 Abraham was rich. 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:08.879 Solomon was rich. 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:10.959 We get to Acts, and Lydia had wealth. 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:15.360 It's not having the money that causes the problems, it's loving it so much. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:31.759 Or maybe loving yourself so much that you go blind, that you lose your grip on reality, and you either hoard your wealth or you waste it on some other idol. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.720 Before we get too far into this parable, let me just warn you. 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:40.639 There are plenty of not rich people. 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:50.080 Most of them, frankly, all of them, I might even say, who love material things so much they go blind to the world around them. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:56.720 People love fame so much they'll give anything to chase it, or do nearly anything to protect their reputation. 00:08:56.960 --> 00:08:58.320 This is how drugs work, right? 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:02.799 Addicts love their fix so much they don't care what it costs them anymore. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.600 They're blind to their consequences. 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:07.519 They're blind, they're cut off. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:13.519 Gamblers, drinkers, smokers, internet lusters all go blind like this. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:15.679 They all do. 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:19.840 But frankly, it's even worse than that. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:26.080 The Pharisees, Jesus addresses, thought their wealth was a sign of God's favor and blessing upon them, right? 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:28.480 They would say, Of course we're living right. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:30.799 Look at all this wealth God has blessed us with. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:32.399 We're doing it fine. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:38.639 And so you and I need to think of the things that we take to be signs of a righteous life, right? 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.200 That's what's at stake here. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:43.279 Stuff that looks good. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:48.480 Financial stability and financial independence fit here, don't they? 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:50.639 What about personal appearance? 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:56.639 Righteous people take care of their bodies, can quickly turn into people with good bodies, they are probably righteous. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:00.639 Successful careers, successful children. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:02.879 Oh, don't run me out. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:06.240 But how about how about biblical knowledge? 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:14.720 Sincerely, show me the verse that says you have to know what the sacrifice of the red heifer in Deuteronomy 19 accomplished in order to be righteous. 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:17.039 You can't find it, it's not there. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:22.639 Is everybody who can give an accurate description of King Josiah's reforms a righteous person? 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:23.279 No. 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:25.840 No, of course not. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:29.039 I have met people who hate God. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:30.879 Hate him. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:35.440 Who can do a better job of parsing the history of Israel than most of us? 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:36.240 No. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:38.240 No. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:42.639 So hear me, friends. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.799 I certainly think knowing the history of Israel is a good thing. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:48.399 A righteous thing. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.039 Frankly, it's the best thing I could think of. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:52.879 One of the best things I could think of. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.399 Financial stability is a good thing, a righteous thing, wealth is a good thing. 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:10.720 But when these good things become idle, such that we try to serve both God and blank money, whatever it is, the very things we love become the very things that blind us. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:16.639 And they blind us so much that we lose touch with reality. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:29.759 And wealth, or maybe just wealthy living and the lie that his wealth was a sign of his right standing before God consumed this rich man so that he couldn't see what was right in front of his face. 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:31.360 Look at verse 20. 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:34.399 At his gate was laid a poor man. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:42.480 In other words, the people of the city or the people of the village, we don't know how big the hypothetical made-up community of the parable is. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:43.279 It's a parable. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:48.159 The people, somebody, carried Lazarus to the rich guy's gate. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:52.240 It's a gate, it's not a fence, big yard, big house, it's not a door. 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:54.960 It's a gated community all to himself. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:01.600 They either dumped Lazarus there callously, which maybe could, which maybe could be true. 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:03.200 Again, they're not real. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:09.120 Or they lovingly put him where they thought he might occasionally get some food to eat. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.720 I don't think Jesus is trying to push us to one side or the other here. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:17.600 But Lazarus is there just to get the scraps meant for the dogs. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:27.200 Here's a man and the rich man wealthy enough to provide for himself a kingly clothes and a wedding feast every day. 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:31.039 And he just ignores the guy. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.440 He just ignores Lazarus. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:40.240 Your Bibles may say, moreover, even the dogs came. 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:41.919 Just put a butt there. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:43.200 It's cleaner. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:51.279 I get what they're doing, but who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table, but the dogs came and licked his sores. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:56.960 Lazarus, as Jesus portrays him, is that poor, that starved, that close to death. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:59.440 He couldn't walk himself to the rich man's gate anymore. 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:03.840 And once he's been laid there, he can't even beat the dogs to the fresh garbage. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:06.720 Dogs get there faster. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:13.279 And worse, after this, the hungry dogs of the ancient streets turn around and lick at his ulcers and sores. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:17.600 Some commentators think the dogs are compassionate. 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:19.200 I mean, maybe. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:26.159 But I don't think that the ancient dogs of the streets were necessarily nice puppers. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.159 I don't just saying. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:37.919 These dogs ate the scraps and turned and licked at Lazarus, and nobody took notice to drive them away. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:42.559 They left him there. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:47.200 And that's our first consequence of spiritual blindness. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:50.960 The rich man is completely absorbed. 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.080 So much so that he doesn't even pay attention. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:58.240 He's self-absorbed. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:01.519 He's caught up in his parties. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:04.399 He can't see what's right in front of his face. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:10.000 Look back just a few verses in your Bibles once again to verse 14. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:16.799 Notice how the Pharisees ridicule Jesus as he teaches about God and money in the previous parable. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.399 And how Jesus responds, I think, is interesting. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:26.159 First, he undercuts their hypocrisy by calling them out. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:33.519 And then he turns, and in verse 16, he gives a teaching of the law, right? 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.559 He starts talking about the law. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.559 But isn't that the Pharisees' game? 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:44.000 Isn't that the whole point of this parable, Jesus? 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:48.960 Isn't he saying that it's better to love people than to be all nitty-gritty about the Old Testament law? 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:49.519 No. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:51.519 Far from it, friends. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:53.679 That's not what Jesus is teaching. 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:57.120 Surely not a dot of the law will become void. 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:59.600 Let me read to you something from the law of God. 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:10.720 If among you one of your brothers should become poor, and any of your towns within your land that Yahweh your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother. 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:16.000 But you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:20.960 Take care, lest he cry to the Lord against you and you be guilty of sin. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:23.279 That's the law of God. 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:36.080 And yet Lazarus, a guy with a Bible name, lies hungry and destitute outside the gate of a man who calls Abraham his father? 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:37.360 No. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:45.039 This is the teaching of Moses, and yet Lazarus' sores go unbandaged and unclean dogs come to lick at him. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:45.679 No. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:52.480 What's wrong with the rich man is not just his self-absorption, he's transgressing the law of God. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.679 The Pharisees thought they were righteous. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:58.480 The rich man thought he was righteous. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:04.960 But he's breaking the law of God, and that's our second consequence for spiritual blindness. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:06.799 Transgression. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:11.840 When your sins cut you off, your eyes grow dim. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:18.639 You become self-absorbed, and you sin against your brother. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:21.039 As you sin against your God. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:36.559 Torment. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:39.039 That's what awaits him. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:40.159 Verse 22-ish. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:58.879 The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades being in torment, 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. 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.919 For I am in anguish. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:05.440 When's the last time you said you were in anguish? 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:10.079 For I am in anguish in this flame. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:12.480 But why is he there? 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:14.240 What does Abraham say? 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:15.519 Verse 25. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:18.720 Child, it's a tender term. 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.319 Child, it's what the father and the prodigal son calls the older brother. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:29.759 Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.880 But now he's comforted here, and you are in anguish. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:44.400 Notice Abraham is not saying that all rich people go to hell because they had their good things already, and all people go to heaven because that would even out something in God's economy, and God wants to be fair. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:45.839 No, that would be silly. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.839 Abraham's not saying that. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:53.279 It's not that an eternity in torment or paradise can even out 80 years of wealth or poverty. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:55.440 It's not what Abraham's saying. 00:17:55.599 --> 00:18:00.079 Abraham is saying that the rich man chose his good things. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:02.799 He chose his earthly goods. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.039 He got his good stuff because he picked it. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:15.039 And when he clung to his money instead of the law of God, the rich man chose to serve God in money, and God refuses to share his glory with mammon. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.480 He refuses to share his glory. 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:23.440 The true God, his judgment will not be swayed. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:30.240 His opinion will not change because of your service to some dumb or deaf idol. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:34.240 No matter how righteous that idol might be. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:40.960 Do we really think we'll fare better at the judgment than the rich man? 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.119 Do we? 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:47.599 This man's wealth didn't save him. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:51.200 His reputation in the community didn't save him. 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:55.119 His fancy friends and fancy clothes and fancy parties couldn't save him. 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:58.559 His Jewish heritage didn't save him. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:01.920 The man calls Abraham father from Hades. 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:05.119 What are we supposed to do with that? 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.480 Your daily quiet times cannot save you. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:15.039 Your consistent and faithful service at church cannot save you. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:17.119 Not even Pastor Jason's can save him. 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:19.920 Where does that leave the rest of us, friends? 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:25.039 Or maybe you don't think of yourself as a Christian yet. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.319 Let me warn you: your community service cannot save you. 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:30.559 Your academic progress will not save you. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:34.720 Your political activism cannot save you from the torment to come. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:36.559 It can't. 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:39.920 Your kindness towards other people won't save you. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:45.680 As if holding a door for somebody or handing a 20 out your car window was going to atone for your sins. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:46.880 It's too late for that. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.359 We have all broken the law of God. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:53.039 Hear me, folks. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:20:07.279 All who, for love of themselves, become so self-absorbed that they neglect others, transgressing the law of God in the process, will face eternal judgment from God for their sins. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.039 All. 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:18.400 Now this parable is multifaceted and it's deep and it's rich, and you should study it more this week. 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:19.839 You should do that every week. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:21.680 It's kind of a cheap thing for me to say that. 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:22.799 But I really do encourage you. 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:24.480 This parable is rich. 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:34.000 And while this parable is about self-righteousness and spiritual blindness, and it's not about the relationship between Gehenna and Hades. 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:40.640 But even while that's not the point of our Lord's teaching here, he does say a lot about heaven and hell. 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.440 So let's survey those things quickly together. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:51.519 The torment, the torment that awaits sinners, all sinners, will be conscious. 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:56.480 The rich man knows who he is, he knows where he is. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.079 He remembers his life well enough that he doesn't argue with Abraham. 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:05.440 When Abraham says, You and your life received your good things. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:08.960 He knows Lazarus' name, guys. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.200 The torment will be painful. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.960 He's in anguish in this flame. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.440 His torment will be irreversible. 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:22.880 Note this. 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:26.319 The chasm has been fixed that cannot be crossed. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:30.480 And that means there is no such thing as purgatory. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:31.839 It does not exist. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.000 You only get one shot. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:36.000 You only get one life. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:44.319 Will you serve God alone or God and you must decide today? 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:51.119 Do you want your earthly life to be your heaven and eternity to be your hell? 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:54.640 An eternal dying without death? 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:58.559 Or will you trust the Lord? 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.920 You now live is just the prelude to a life without end. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:06.480 That's the choice before us. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:17.279 And finally, in the eternal judgment of hell, God's righteous decree of punishment leaves the rich man blind still. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:19.759 He's still blind. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:25.839 Hear the self-delusion and the stupidity in his voice as he thinks he can order Abraham around. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:28.079 As he thinks he can order Lazarus around. 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:29.200 Make him bring me water. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:31.519 Make him go warn my brothers. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:33.599 Who does he think he is? 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:37.680 He thinks he's still the richest guy in town. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:38.880 In Hades. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:42.480 He's totally out of touch. 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:43.839 He's clueless. 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:55.599 And even worse, when he demands a sign for his brothers, the rich man accuses God of not warning him well enough. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:59.839 The man is so spiritually blind he thinks he can correct God. 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:05.200 His actions demonstrate he thinks and he acts as if he is God unto himself. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:10.799 He acts that way, even when the true God has cast him into outer darkness. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:16.400 In the midst of all that, the rich man is still lying to himself. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:23.359 Friends, no repentance will be granted to those in eternal fire. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:24.079 No. 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:31.519 The rich man is just as spiritually blind as he always was. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:36.400 Hell is full of people who are still in their sins. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:39.759 Why do you cling to yours? 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:54.160 And this isn't this isn't the only rich guy Jesus dealt with harshly. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.839 Remember the rich young ruler who claimed sinfulness for himself? 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:01.200 Remember that guy? 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.640 What did Jesus do? 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:07.119 What did he do but remind him of his failure before the law of God to care for the poor? 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:14.240 Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me. 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:21.359 When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions because of the law of God. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:24.079 A perfect Jew. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:26.319 A perfect Jew. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:31.440 One who listened to God's word would have been totally broke. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:33.759 Totally broke. 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:42.480 Because the consequences of Israel's sin had put the nation in such a predicament that keeping the law required more of a man than he could give. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:48.160 There was no king in Israel to oversee a social program to care for the poor. 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:51.440 There were more poor people than they could handle. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:25:01.920 And so absolute and perfect faithfulness to the law of God would have rendered every Jewish man and woman totally devoid of money as they tried to meet the commands of God that went beyond them. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:07.680 They would have lived on locusts in the wilderness, like John the Baptist. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.720 Like the Son of Man. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:24.960 And when the disciples realized that, when they watched Jesus turn away one of the most righteous people they had ever met, it shook them. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:29.039 It rattled them and they said, Who then? 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:32.559 Who then can be saved? 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:37.119 So let me ask you, have you emptied your savings account to print Bibles? 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:42.160 Have you taken a pay cut to work fewer hours and spend more time teaching the Bible at church? 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:45.519 Have you given all you have to fund international missions? 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:48.000 Who then can be saved? 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:51.359 Who can avoid this place of torment? 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:55.440 Have you ruined your reputation or risked your job to preach the gospel? 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:58.960 Jesus preached heaven and hell until his peers crucified him. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:01.039 What are we doing with our lives? 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:06.000 Who then can be saved? 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:18.960 If we're all so blind that the wrath of God is stored up for us, if we're all the rich man's brothers, how can we avoid this eternal torment? 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:20.960 How? 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:26.400 Is there no cure for spiritual blindness? 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:27.519 Look at your Bibles. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:30.880 What does Abraham say in our text? 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:33.839 How may the rich man's brothers escape? 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:35.359 Verse 28. 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:41.680 And then Abraham says in verse 29, they have Moses and the prophets. 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:43.839 Let them hear them. 00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:46.160 So mark that. 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:47.039 Write that. 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:48.880 If you're taking notes, write it down. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:55.599 The cure for spiritual blindness is the word of God contained in the Old Testament scriptures. 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.519 Abraham says so. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:04.400 Moses and the prophets, that phrase, it describes the entirety of the Old Testament that you hold in your hands right now. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:09.920 And Abraham says, that is the cure for spiritual blindness. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:13.920 But didn't we just do that? 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:17.200 Didn't we just listen to Moses and the prophet? 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.519 The laws of God, the law of God says care for the poor, and we can't do it. 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:26.400 The laws of God say love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and we can't. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:31.039 Moses and the prophets say to love our neighbors as ourselves. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.279 How are you doing? 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:39.359 God says through the law, have no other gods before me, but I love my career. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.119 He says, have no other gods before me, but I can't put down my cell phone. 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:49.200 No, it is the law of God given through Moses that sealed the rich man's condemnation in the first place. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:54.880 But do you know what else? 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:58.319 Do you know what else Moses and the prophets say? 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:02.160 Turn with me to the law of God. 00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:04.640 Leviticus chapter 26. 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:12.319 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, the third book in your Bible, and we're near the end of it. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:15.519 If you have your Bibles, I would encourage you, turn that with me. 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:23.200 Leviticus chapter 26. 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:37.279 As the Lord speaks to his people, those children of Abraham at the foot of Mount Sinai. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.279 These are the things he says. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:47.119 It is glorious. 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:53.279 Like the glory of God is nowhere, I shouldn't say nowhere, very rarely on display. 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:55.519 As wonderfully as it is in this chapter. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:57.039 But look at verse 40. 00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.880 Look at verse 40. 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:14.400 But if they confessed their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers and their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies. 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:23.440 If then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:28.240 And I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:30.240 And I'll remember the land. 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:42.319 But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules, and their soul abhorred my statutes. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:49.359 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, though they spurned his rules, right? 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:54.640 Neither will I abhor them, though they abhorred his statutes. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:03.839 I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them, says the Lord, so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:12.960 But I will, for their sake, remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:14.799 I am the Lord. 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:25.599 These are the statutes and rules and laws that the Lord made between himself and the people of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai. 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:40.160 If their uncircumcised heart is humbled, then God promises to remember his side of the covenant, even after they broke theirs. 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:42.559 You get that? 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:53.920 If their uncircumcised heart is humbled, then God promises to keep his side of the promise, even though they turned their back on theirs. 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:55.200 What grace. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:56.720 What grace. 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:08.000 This repentance that God commands them and promises to reward, this repentance became a pattern for Israel, right? 00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:11.359 Think of David, Bathsheba, Nathan, and Psalm 51. 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:15.359 Think of King Manasseh in a Babylonian prison cell, right? 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:26.720 Daniel and Daniel 9 or Ezra and Ezra 9, the Pharisees had great examples in Moses and the prophets of repentance. 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:29.200 Of repentance. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:46.880 And so if Abraham says that Moses and the prophets contain the cure for spiritual blindness, if listening to Moses and the prophets will save the rich man's brothers from Hades, it's at least partly because Moses and the prophets say, repent. 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:49.519 Repent. 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:59.279 Because the law of God contains both God's laws and the promise to accept their repentance. 00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:01.920 And so there is hope. 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:05.440 There is hope for the rich man's brothers. 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:09.119 In Moses and the prophets. 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:17.759 For if they would but listen to the law, they would see their transgression in neglecting the poor men like Lazarus at their gates. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:26.720 They would turn from their wicked ways, they would repent, they would participate in the sacrifices of atonement, they would repent again, and they would on and on and on and go. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:32.640 And likewise, my friends, you may be tempted at this moment to think that there's a similar hope for you. 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:39.039 Just read your Bible, know your sins, repent of your sins, come to church, read your Bible, know your sins, repent of your sins, go to church. 00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:50.319 No, the cycle of sin, discipline, or instruction from the law, repentance, more sin, discipline, repentance. 00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:54.559 That cycle led Israel to exile, not heaven. 00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:56.880 Not heaven. 00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:58.720