Luke 16:19-23 - The Reality of Death and Hell

Today,we're looking at Luke 16:19-31. The subject of this passage is hell. I'll neverforget my very first message to preach in 1973 as a student at LibertyUniversity, then called Lynchburg Baptist College. It was in the back diningroom of the Echo Village restaurant in Winchester, Virginia, and the title ofmy message was "Hell Is No Joke." As I said yesterday, God used thispassage to alert me to the reality of eternity in hell if I did not receiveJesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Asa child, I had been encouraged to memorize Mark 8:36-38: "For whatshall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Orwhat shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" That verse, alongwith this passage of Scripture on hell, reminded me as a 19-year-old teenagerthat I would face eternity in hell if I did not repent of my sins and trustChrist as my Savior. I had to make a choice, and I came to the reality that Idid not want to spend an eternity in hell for a few years, (10, 15, 20, or even50 years) of pleasure on earth. It would not be worth it. The Holy Spiritconvicted me of my sin, woke me up, and I trusted Jesus to come into my hearton February 21, 1971. My life has never been the same, and I'm thankful forthis passage. Somepeople don't like to talk about hell, but it's a reality. Some don't like totalk about death, but it's a reality. In this passage of Scripture, there aretwo men: a rich man and a poor man. One was very, very rich—we don't know hisname; he's anonymous, but he was a real man. Jesus said, "A certainman." Then there was a very poor man, a beggar named Lazarus. Oh, he had aname—Jesus named him because Jesus knows His sheep by name, and they followHim.  Thereality is, it doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, educated oruneducated, famous or unknown. There is one equalizer for all of us: death. “It'sappointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment” (Hebrews9:27). “Our lives are but a vapor; they appear for a little time and thenvanish away” (James 4:14). Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not yourselfof tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth." Thereality of death is always before us. Sometimes we dread or avoid funeralsbecause they remind us of that reality. It was at a funeral for his cousin,killed in Korea, that my dad woke up to the reality of facing eternity andhaving to die one day. That realization led him to a pastor to ask aboutsalvation, and he got saved. Our family's life changed forever, and my lifechanged when I met Jesus. My friend, I'm telling you, you do not want to go toa terrible place called hell. We'lltalk more about the place of hell, but right now, we're emphasizing the factthat there was a certain beggar and a certain rich man, and they both died.They both died, but where they went was two different places. When they died,the beggar was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man alsodied and was buried. Abraham's bosom, as we study Scripture, was a place calledSheol in the Old Testament, the place of all the departed dead. It had twocompartments: a paradise side and a Hades side. We see that from this passage.Jesus told the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me inparadise." We'llgo into more details about what we believe this place is, where it is, and howlong it will last tomorrow. But today, the reality is that there is a placecalled hell, and one day we will die. We'll either go to a place of paradise,which today is heaven, or we'll go to a place called hell, the place of eternaltorment. We must make a choice—that's the reality of it. What is your choicetoday? Have you trusted Christ? If not, why not? Today, why not make the LordJesus Christ your Savior, invite Him into your heart, and find true salvationas you repent of your sins? Today,will you fix your eyes upon the cross of Jesus Christ and trust Him to be yourLord and Savior?