Encounter the Truth

Jonathan Griffiths: Does our attitude to money serve to demonstrate that we love the Lord, that we have turned from sin, and our daily turning from sin, that we have repented and believed? Our money management, it doesn't save us, but it should be an indicator of whether we know and love the Savior.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Encounter the Truth with Nathan Griffiths. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us today as we continue in our series Cash, Christ, and the Kingdom. Jonathan, you say our attitude to money demonstrates whether or not we actually love the Lord. So as we look at our finances and how we think about money, what are the kind of questions we need to be asking? What are the kind of things we need to be looking at?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, I think one of the things that's really important to say is that our handling of money will not save us. So the gospel is so clear. Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus and his work at the cross of Calvary. Our handling of money and generosity with money it won't save us, and I I I think that's important to say because there will be folk who think if I'm generous, then God is going to show mercy to me. You know, if I'm if I'm generous with my money, then I'm going to be welcomed into heaven because of my generosity.

I think a lot of people assume that, and that motivates their generosity. That is not the case. Our generosity cannot save us. But for the Christian person who has received salvation in Christ, our use of money will be one piece of evidence that demonstrates that our hearts have been changed. You see, the gospel is all about God's generosity toward us. God has given us so much in Christ that we do not deserve. And if we have received the generosity of God in Christ, then we want to be generous to others. And and in particular, we want to be generous to the work of the gospel so that other people can receive the salvation that we've received, so that other people can hear the good news that we've heard.

And so if we're generous as Christian people, that will be a sign of the Lord's working within us. It will be a sign of his grace. And that's important to look for in our own lives. But if if if we look at our lives and we say, we know, actually, I'm if I'm honest, I'm completely selfish with my money. I think only of myself when it comes to my use of resources. Well, okay, if if that's what I find in my own heart and my own life, I've got to ask some questions about the nature of my relationship with the Lord and what's going on there.

And uh and I need to turn back to the Lord and ask him to bring about change in my heart as I trust in Jesus.

Steve Hiller: Well, let's continue to look at this from the book of Luke chapter 16 is where we are today, continuing a message, a reality check from beyond the grave. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: The rich man in the story is precisely an illustration of the failure to understand the principle that the dishonest manager did understand. Remember, the dishonest manager, he grasped the fact that he needed to use his wealth today to invest in relationships for the long haul. Well, the rich man in this story, he isn't thinking about the long-term future at all. He has no interest in investing in people and relationships. That 's why poor Lazarus is suffering and languishing at his gate. And when he then decides that he wants the help of Lazarus beyond the grave, it is all too late.

Now, riches accumulated and enjoyed in this world, they provide no security for the future. And that's such a shock to us because we are always thinking and always talking about financial security, aren't we? That's what the investment houses all talk about. That's what they tell us about. Build wealth to build security for the future. But Jesus gives us a reality check here. Worldly riches are of no true and lasting security at all. Now, we all need to see that and we all need to be reminded of that because we will be inclined, all of us, to look to worldly wealth to protect us and to buffer us from the dangers all around us.

And being careful and prudent in this is is is fine enough, but we got to keep wealth in perspective. It will only help us in this life and it can do nothing for us, nothing in the life that is to come. Now, some among us, some here will need to hear this warning and receive this reality check more urgently. You need to receive it and hear it because you actually, if you're being honest, you have been placing your trust in money for your security. And you haven't really ever honestly considered what will happen when you leave this life.

And you need to hear the warning of Jesus. And if that's you, and it will be a number, I have no doubt, you need to keep listening now because Jesus has more for us here in this passage. He shows us more of what the rich man failed to see and failed to do and what we need to see and what we need to do. For us believers, it's a reminder we need, isn't it? A reminder that the things of this world are passing. We we can't place too much of our hope in them. Our priorities need to be different.

Our hope needs to rest fully on the Lord and him alone. It's a reality check about riches. And now it's a reality check about heaven and hell. The rich man, no doubt, was used to getting his own way. That's what might be expected. That's probably part of the reason he got as rich as he did. He could talk his way out of tough situations. He could push, he could demand, he could negotiate. He read all the books on deal making, you know, getting to yes, getting past no, the art of the deal. He knew it all.

He'd read it all. And so his experience with Abraham, his experience from Hades, this was all a terrible shock to him. Notice again how it went and imagine the horror of a successful businessman, a wealthy wheeler dealer facing such a predicament, verse 24. And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. 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. I mean, he said it kindly, didn't he? Child. Remember that you in your lifetime received your good things and Lazarus in like manner bad things.

But now he is comforted 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. It's fixed. And the purpose of that chasm is that there would be no crossing from one side to the other. This rich man, he's in an awful predicament. His instinct now is to get this thing fixed, to sort it out, to call the manager, to summon his servant, to demand a new room at the hotel, a better suite, get someone to address the problem and make things more agreeable for him.

He calls across the great divide from Hades to heaven. He calls Abraham and says in essence, Abraham, let's let's work out a solution here. Let's get a little bit of help sent my way to just alleviate my suffering a tiny bit. You know, that's his opening plea, right? No doubt he's hoping for more. He's thinking about the next step, hoping that if there's a little chink in the armor, a glimmer of light, he can open things up further from there. The the negotiating mind is now hard at work, but Abraham he stops him right there.

He stops him short. No, Mr. Rich Man, no child. Notice that he's nameless here despite his sense of self-importance. His identity is of no lasting significance unlike that of Lazarus who has a name. No, there isn't there isn't going to be a reconsideration. There isn't going to be an exception made. You see, there is a fixed gulf between heaven and hell and you cannot cross one from the other. At your death, your destiny is fixed. I guess we've all had that frustrating experience of driving in a new place and reaching a a junction on the highway where where the road splits and you either take the fork to the left or to the right and you hope that as as you're getting there that you've read the map right, you hope that the GPS is accurate, you hope that you've understood the GPS properly as it's moving along and you make a determination, you either go to the left or to the right and say it's to the right and you you you you you you take the fork and you follow the traffic now that way and and now the lanes have divided and now there's a concrete barrier and now you're heading well away from the other lane of traffic from from the left fork and there's a big gap between you now and then the GPS does that fearful thing, recalculating, recalculating.

And the image starts to zoom way out and it shows you that you are in fact heading in precisely the wrong direction and there is nowhere in sight to turn around. Jesus says at death we go one way or we go the other. And we are committed and there will be nowhere to turn back later. There is no redo. There is no second chance. It is permanent, final, eternally fixed. Now, you and I, we always want to know that there's an opportunity to change our minds about things, to have a redo, to redirect, to reconsider, to retrace our steps to go the other way.

But Jesus is clear and he wants us to be clear. From the moment we leave this life, our eternity is indeed fixed. Heaven is a real place. Hell is a real place. And our residency in one or the other is fixed for eternity. Heaven is a place of comfort and bliss. We see that here. Hell is a place to use the language of our passage of, I quote, anguish and torment. And whether or not we take these two realities seriously now, we will confront them. And when we do confront them, the opportunity to reconsider will be entirely in the rearview mirror.

For the rich man, his riches actually helps to blind him to this because he shared the assumption that so many wealthy people share that their riches would somehow bail them out in the end. Lazarus, he'll he'll help me. People always help me. Abraham will budge. I'm a person of influence. And it was nearly impossible for this guy to realize and accept that heaven and hell were truly fixed realities with a chasm between them that even a man like him could not cross. Jesus is very clear here. And so, friend, I just have to ask, have you reckoned with this reality?

Have you reckoned with it? Have you taken it seriously? Have you heard the warning? Have you contemplated the state of your own soul? And are you living now in the light of what Jesus says here? Have you heard the warning of hell? Have you seen the welcome of heaven? Have you got clarity today about where you are going? If you haven't, today is the day to do that. Today is the day. And Jesus is going to show us how, but we need to be sure that we're taking seriously the warning he gives and the reality check he issues.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Nathan Griffiths and a message entitled a reality check from beyond the grave. It's part of our series Cash, Christ, and the Kingdom. And if you ever miss a broadcast in the series, come and listen online. Our website is encounterthetruth.org. And you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Another way to listen is to get the Encounter the Truth app. If you don't have it yet, you'll find it for free at your app store. And it's a great way to listen to Jonathan's teaching when you're on the go.

It's basically listening on demand. So again, look for the Encounter the Truth app at your app store or come and listen online at encounterthetruth.org. Let's get back to the message. Again, here's Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: A reality check about riches, about heaven and hell, and now a reality check about scripture, about scripture. On some level, I think we feel a little not surprised in what comes next. The rich man actually shows some concern for someone other than himself. We watched him ignore the needs of Lazarus as he suffered at his gate and that demonstrated this terrible hardness of heart. But now he begins to see that there's no hope for himself and so he becomes belatedly concerned for his siblings, verse 27. And he said, then I beg you, Father, to send him, that is Lazarus, to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them lest they come also into this place of torment.

But Abraham said, they have Moses. That is the five books of the Bible written by Moses, the Pentateuch. And they have the prophets, which together Moses and the prophets is a shorthand way of referring to the whole of the Old Testament. They have the Bible, says Abraham. Let them hear them. Look, your brothers have the scriptures. They've got the information they need in order to avoid this place. God has told them already. But the rich man, he feels certain that this is not actually sufficient. Verse 30 and he said, no, Father Abraham. But but if someone if someone goes to them from the dead, well, then they will repent.

You know, if Lazarus would appear from the grave, even if but briefly and warn them, you know, that will do it. That will shake them up. That will be enough to get their attention. He said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. There can be this sense of entitlement among those who have wealth, a sense of sort of special consideration and special treatment being required. You know, other people can make do with the normal provision, but for me, for my family, we need, you know, we need the super deluxe extra, whatever that is.

We need the valet service version in travel or in shopping or in customer care. And here the rich man, this is what he 's doing. He's he's asking for special consideration for his siblings. They need a special visit, a special demonstration of spiritual reality, something that others do not have in order to convince them to take heaven and hell seriously. And Abraham is so plain in his response, isn't he? The Bible is all they need and the Bible is all they will get. And and he gives us an insight here which is powerful. If the Bible will not convince a person of spiritual truth and spiritual reality, nothing else is going to do it.

The Bible is powerful. The Bible is compelling. And the Lord uses his word to reach hearts and minds with incredible conviction and incredible effectiveness. It's his living word and it does his powerful work. But you know, I think you and I can easily share the attitude of the rich man that if only God would add in a little something extra for our loved ones, something striking and, you know, visual and arresting. Now, that would make the difference for them. And I don't know, perhaps you feel that way personally for yourself. You think, well, this might all be true.

You know, Jesus might be real. There might be a heaven. There might be a hell. There might be a judgment to come. But you know, you're kind of waiting for God to come along and really convince you to do something special to actually win you over. And if that's, I don't know, but if that's you, if that's your attitude, please take warning here. I mean, the end of the day you can believe or you cannot believe. That is a matter for you before the Lord. But Jesus wants you to know you have all the evidence and all the information you need.

You have it already in the Bible. And the responsibility is now yours to read it, to consider it, and to respond to it. And for us who believe and for us who have a concern for our loved ones who aren't yet ready to meet the Lord, we need to know and we need to remember and we need to trust that the Bible is sufficient. The gospel message is powerful. God's word is actually enough and we need to rely on that. We need to not be looking for something else. A reality check about scripture. And finally, as we close, a reality check about repentance, about repentance.

We've now spent a little bit of time together today in this story that Jesus told. We see this rich man in Hades and we see Lazarus with Abraham on the other side of the divide. And we we then have to ask the question, don't we? I don't know if you've been considering it. Why is this rich man in torment? Why why is he there and not, you know, not on the other side? Is it simply because he was rich in this life? Was that it? Is it simply this grand principle of reversal that we're seeing here?

You know, the rich are going to have it good in this world, but they're going to suffer in the world to come. And the poor, well, they might suffer here, but they're going to have their fortunes reversed in the world to come. Is that the principle here? Is that the lesson? Is that what this story boils down to? Well, no. No. That wouldn't make sense of anything else we learned about salvation in the Bible. And it's actually not what the rich man himself concludes. I don't know if you noticed that. He actually pinpoints the heart of the issue himself very quickly and very clearly.

Notice what he wants his brothers to do in order to avoid his own fate. Notice again what he says to Abraham, verse 30. He says, no, Father Abraham. But if someone goes to them, that is to my brothers from the dead, here's what they will do. They will repent. That's what he wants them to do. He wants them to repent because he recognizes that is what they need to do. And he recognizes it is what he failed to do. I wonder if you saw that. What are his brothers going to need to do if they are to avoid hell?

They need to repent. That is they would need to change their mind about God and about his word, about themselves and their sin. They would need to acknowledge their wrongdoing before God and turn from it. And as they turn from wrongdoing, they need to turn to God in faith. Repentance and faith go together by the way. They're part of the same package. If we believe God and trust his word and if we would accept his gift of salvation through the saving work of Jesus at the cross, if we would do that, we have to recognize that we are wrong in our sin and we have to have a heart change and a mind change about this.

And this rich rich man, he knew full well that he hadn't actually done that. He sees it. Now, how did money play into all this? Why does his economic situation matter at all here? Why is this story about a rich man and his riches after all? Well, the link, I think, is simply this. The rich man's use of his wealth was a showcase of his heart. His attitude toward his riches was a sign actually that he had not repented and had not turned to the Lord in his heart of hearts. The the essence of his problem wasn't that he had riches or that he had nice things.

It was the brazenness of the fact that he spoiled himself absolutely rotten while there was a fellow human being made in the image of God starving and dying and decaying at the foot of his driveway and he could not care less. He certainly wasn't going to interrupt his sumptuous feast to trouble himself by the place of Lazarus. Now, this man was selfish and greedy and had no concern for the needs of other people whom God had put directly in his path. And what did it show? It showed a lack of love for his neighbor, a lack of love for the Lord, a lack of fear of God, a lack of repentance, and true faith.

See, being rich it didn't automatically condemn him and being poor wouldn't have automatically saved him. But his attitude to his wealth and his use of his wealth showed that his heart was all wrong before the Lord. And so that takes it all back to us. Takes it all back to us and to an important diagnostic question. And here it is. Does our attitude to money and our use of money, does it serve to demonstrate that we love the Lord and we fear the Lord, that we have turned from sin and our daily turning from sin, that we have repented and believed?

Does our use of money and our attitude of money demonstrate that our trust is in the Savior and we love him? Our money management, it doesn't save us, but it should be an indicator of whether we have been saved and whether we know and love the Savior. It's a sobering story, isn't it? A powerful reality check about riches, about heaven and hell, about scripture, about repentance. What is that reality check telling you about your heart, about your life? Where does the challenge land for you and for me? Where does the diagnostic highlight an issue that you've got to address before the Lord?

As we close, we want to pray that the Lord would give each of us grace, grace to know him in such a way that we'll be found among his people at the final day. Grace such that we will live each day here on earth as those who truly belong to him and demonstrate that by our lives.

Steve Hiller: Jonathan Griffiths here on Encounter the Truth, wrapping up our message, a reality check from beyond the grave. And if you ever miss a broadcast in the series, you don't want to go back and listen, you can do that at our website encounterthetruth.org. While you're there, you'll find links to social media. You can check out our newsletter as well as our weekly e-devotional. Again, that's at our website encounterthetruth.org. Well, Encounter the Truth is listener supported and we depend on your generosity to continue to bring you Jonathan's teaching each day. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a book called Gentle and Lowly.

It's written by Dane Ortlund. And Jonathan, who is this book for?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, Steve, this book is for anyone who feels that God is frowning down upon them from heaven, anyone who feels that God is disappointed with them for their failures in the Christian life, for anyone who feels that they need to prove themselves to God or or in their way into his favor. Gentle and Lowly is a beautiful reminder that God loves us, that he's given his son for our redemption, that he reaches out to us in mercy and grace through the gospel, that he is compassionate toward us, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed gentle and lowly of heart.

And and I think hearing these things, even if we know that they're true, even if we've read them before in the scriptures, being reminded in such a helpful way as Dane Ortlund reminds us in such a helpful way will do our heart and soul good. And I think for the one who is fearful and imagining that God is indeed frowning upon them, this will be such a help and such an encouragement. And I hope you can take hold of it.

Steve Hiller: Well, we want to send you a copy of this book Gentle and Lowly as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. Give online at encounterthetruth.org or when you call 1 833 99 Truth. That's 1 833 998 7884 or encounterthetruth.org. You can also write us at Encounter the Truth, PO Box 5513, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3M1 or in the US at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, Suite 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004. For producer Mark Branna and our Bible teacher Nathan Griffiths, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time.