Every Last Word

Guest (Male): If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity? It's a standard evangelistic question. Most people respond, "Well, heaven, of course," but the fact is, many don't believe in heaven or in hell. I hope you can honestly say that you'll spend eternity with God in heaven.

Welcome to Every Last Word, a radio and internet program with Dr. Philip Ryken, teaching the whole Bible to change your whole life. Today we'll be considering the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. We'll see how the rich man's money did nothing to get him into heaven. Phil, many Americans are the wealthiest in the world, and yet we continue to be preoccupied with our own things and not the needs of others. How does today's message speak to us on that topic?

Dr. Philip Graham Ryken: Well Mark, today in the story Jesus tells, we'll meet a man who's very much in our situation, I think. He has nice clothes, he has a lot of good things to eat, but he really does not care for the poor, for people in need. And what a temptation that is, as prosperous as we are, to love our money and our possessions more than others, and even to love those things more than God himself.

Guest (Male): Many people today first want a sign from God, and then they will believe in him. But God's not giving them a sign. Why not?

Dr. Philip Graham Ryken: You know, it's a very striking thing, Mark, and I think it really speaks to the importance of a program like this one where we teach the Bible. When people wanted a sign from Jesus, he pointed them to the law and the prophets, that is, to the scriptures that God the Holy Spirit had given. If you want to know who God is, you want to understand the reality of God and of salvation in Jesus, the way you will meet him and find him is in his word.

I pray that people will understand God and know him better even through today's message as we preach God's word from the Gospel of Luke. And Mark, as I think this week of all of the reasons we have to be thankful to God, this surely should be on the list: that he has given us his word.

Guest (Male): All right, well thank you, Phil. Turn in your Bible now to Luke chapter 16, verses 19 to 31, and let's listen together to Dr. Ryken.

Dr. Philip Graham Ryken: Now let me please encourage you and invite you to turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 16 where, as I've said, we come to one of the most serious and sober passages in all of scripture. It is sometimes said that God is so completely a God of love that he would surely never send anyone to hell. This is the view taken by the priest in a book by Robert Benson, who is asked what his faith in the all-inclusive love of God did to his doctrine of heaven and hell. "Oh, I believe there is a hell all right," the priest said. "I just don't believe there is anyone in it."

Now, the priest in Robert Benson's book may not have believed in hell, but I'll tell you Jesus certainly did. He spoke about it on many occasions, and he said there is a heaven and there is a hell, and everyone goes to either one place or the other but never to both. And furthermore, the time for choosing our own destination is now, and the way we choose is by believing, or not believing, if that may be the case, what the Bible says about Jesus Christ.

C.S. Lewis wrote about the finality of this choice in his preface to *The Great Divorce*, a fictional work in which he imagines a busload of people from hell taking a trip to heaven. And Lewis pointed out in the preface that there are some people who try to bring heaven and hell together as if there is no real difference between them. But he said this attempt is based on the belief that reality never presents us with an absolute, unavoidable either-or, that some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found without our being called on for some kind of final and total rejection.

This belief, Lewis said, I take to be a disastrous error. You cannot take all luggage with you on all journeys. On one journey, he said, thinking of the scriptures, even your right hand and your right eye may be among the things you have to leave behind. And Lewis went on to say further that the choices we are making right now determine our eternal destiny, that really, for people who choose this world instead of God, that this earth itself will turn out to have only been a suburb of hell for them. While for those who follow after Jesus Christ, the earth will have proven, almost from the beginning, to have been almost a part of heaven itself.

What choice are you making now, and where will it lead you in the end? Well, here at the end of Luke 16, Jesus tells us as plainly as anyone could what is at stake in this choice by telling us about two men, two destinations, and two desperate prayers that never get answered in hell. He begins by saying, as you will see in verse 19, "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."

Now, I'm sure you will agree with me that the contrast between these two men could hardly have been greater. Here you have a "have" and a man who most definitely is a "have-not." And like so many of us, maybe more of us, maybe all of us, this first man was very wealthy, which in itself is not a criticism. I mean, at least some rich people know how to glorify God with what they have. In fact, there's in a way an example in this passage because it refers to Abraham, and there was a wealthy man who knew how to use it for the glory of God.

But you will see, even from the few details that we are given, that this particular rich man was self-indulgent to excess. He went around clothed in royal purple, I mean, like he thought he was some kind of king. He wore linen underwear which in those days would have been imported from Egypt. I mean, it was the finest stuff. He ate as well, the finest foods, feasting on gourmet cuisine. This is the idea of feasting sumptuously. You see, it wasn't just that the man had a lot of money, although he certainly did. It was the way that he used it to gratify his worldly pleasures.

Here was a man who seemed to have everything in the world going for him. And by contrast, the other man here has everything going against him. He is sick with painful sores all over his miserable body. He is disabled, he's dependent on others to get from one place to another. He is hungry, so hungry that he longs for another man's leftovers. Day after day he sat there hoping against hope that he would get something, anything, from the rich man's table. But the only comfort he ever gets is these dogs who come and satisfy their own hunger by licking at his open sores.

How ironic that this man should be called Lazarus. And to be clear, this is not the same Lazarus who very famously came back to life from the dead. No, here is a different Lazarus, a man who had the same common Hebrew name which meant "God has helped." Now, I mean, how ironic can you get? If Lazarus believed in the help of God, it was only by faith, not because of his outward circumstances. I mean, where was God in his poverty? Where was God in his illness? Where was God in his disability?

We don't know how poor Lazarus learned to trust God for the answers to these questions. All we really know is that the one man in the whole world who was in the best opportunity actually to help him refused to do it. Lazarus was lying at the rich man's very doorstep, and not just any doorstep either. The vocabulary here refers to the kind of ornamental gate that one would ordinarily find at the entrance to a palace. Certainly someone with those kind of gates has enough in his storehouse to help a poor man in need.

But of course, to do that, he first had to open the door to his heart. And now we see how selfish this rich man really was. If you think about it, probably every time he went into his house or out of his house, he would see Lazarus. He would be confronted with the need for the man's care. And yet he refuses to show any compassion. He never invites him in for dinner. Apparently, he never even sends his servants out to take him some of the leftovers. He doesn't arrange for his medical care. Really, he does nothing for him at all.

And you see that it was not his riches themselves that were the problem. It was the heart with which he was holding onto them, his greedy, money-loving heart that did not have any compassion for someone in need. And how common this attitude is in our own culture. Recently in the MBA program at Harvard University, students were asked to create their own strategic plan for their lives under the title "What do I hope to achieve in life after graduation?" The top three things they wanted were wealth, fame, and status.

But nothing was said about serving other people. And yet what does the scripture say about the use of our worldly goods? It says if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? And of course, that's a rhetorical question. The answer is it doesn't abide in him. It does not abide in such a person. It didn't abide in the rich man who was closing his heart to the poor. And what an excellent test this is of our own godliness.

Do we use what we have primarily or exclusively for ourselves, or are we giving it away to use for people who are in greater need than we are? And are we helping people who are on our very doorstep, whatever their needs may be? This is the question that will demonstrate our destiny. While there were these two men, one was rich, the other was poor, but you know both men died. And when they died, that changed everything because they ended up on two very different sides of eternity.

Notice the way this is described in verses 22 and 23: "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 here you see what a great equalizer death is. Because although the rich man was exceedingly wealthy, he was just as likely to die as Lazarus was, and he did die. Because whether we are rich or poor, none of us can escape the icy hand of the grave.

And no matter how much money you have, you will still meet your own inevitable demise. And I tell you, then the only thing that will matter to you is your relationship to God. Now, from an earthly perspective, the death of this man Lazarus must have seemed very pathetic. We're told in verse 22 that the rich man received a proper burial. I'm sure he had some kind of elaborate funeral. I mean, wealthy people do. But nothing here is said about the poor man's burial at all. He simply died of starvation. Presumably, his body was cast aside with his blood still on the rich man's hands.

But however pathetic it seemed from the earthly perspective, at that very moment, the moment that Lazarus died, things seemed very different from the perspective of eternity because he was gathered into the arms of the angels of God. And you see then his name came true. It came fully, finally, and forever true: God has helped. When there was no one else to help him, Lazarus was lifted by the arm of Almighty God, who at the time of his death rescued him from all of his earthly troubles, who healed his body from all of its wounds.

And what a touching picture this is. God sending his angels to gather the man to himself. It's a picture of the love that God has for his own children at the time of their death. The scripture says, "Precious in the sight of God is the death of his saints." And here Jesus tells us how precious it is. Because you see, by nature we are afraid of death and all of the unknowns we have about eternity. But in his kindness and compassion, God will send the fairest creatures of heaven to receive us unto himself.

In this particular case, the angels are said to have carried Lazarus to Abraham's side, often called the bosom of Abraham. It is the place where believers go when they die, or at least it is where they went until the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know, the scriptures tell us that Abraham is the father of all who believe. And so it makes sense for all believers to be with him when they die. And I say believers because surely Lazarus must have been a believer. It wasn't his poverty that saved him. Don't think that was the case, as if somehow your earthly suffering might merit an eternal reward.

No, Lazarus was saved the way that anyone is saved, simply by trusting in God. Now, it's not stated anywhere explicitly in this passage, but I think it's an obvious and necessary inference from the place where he ended up. I mean, you can tell from his destination when he died what kind of faith he had during life. This is the plain teaching of scripture: that it is the true children of Abraham and the true children of God who are saved by grace through faith.

And if Abraham is the father of all who believe, when Lazarus went to be with Abraham, it is telling us as much as to say that he was a believer. And so it was by faith that when he died, all of the torment of his earthly trouble was over. Immediately he went to be with all the saints. Jesus describes this here as resting on the bosom of Abraham. It's a symbol of the blessed joy that every believer has after death. It's a vivid picture of the intimate fellowship we will have with all of God's people in glory.

But of course, if anything, now our joy is even greater. Because when we die, we will rest on the very bosom of Jesus Christ. To be away from the body, the scripture says, is to be at home with the Lord, that is to say, with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we see from what the scriptures say about death and the life to come that the angels will carry us to Christ, where we will wait in perfect blessedness until the final resurrection when we will all together receive the immortal bodies that Jesus will give us at the very end.

Now, that's a beautiful picture of the hope that every believer has. But how different it was for the rich man. And although we sometimes perhaps consider the blessedness of Lazarus, I think what arrests our attention more specifically in this passage is the torments of this wealthy man. Surely he had always assumed that he would go to heaven. But when he died, he found himself in Hades of all places. Now, understand that Hades is not the biblical term for hell. The New Testament has a different term it uses for that.

It is simply the place where people go after they die, between the time when they die and when they face God for the final judgment. Hades is the realm of the dead and of the departed. And yet it's important to recognize that in the New Testament, this term is never used for the saved. It's only used for the souls of unbelievers. And here Jesus tells us something very important: that when such people go to Hades, they are already afflicted with the flames of divine judgment. This Hades is a hellish place, even if it is not yet the final and eternal hell.

Now, you will notice from the passage the way that this man's distress is described in very graphic physical terms. Verse 24, he is burning in agony. He is desperate for even a little water to cool his burning tongue. And yet at this point, he did not have a physical body. We need to understand that. There may be an aspect of what is described here that has a metaphorical element. There's a physical description of a spiritual torment. But we should also understand that Jesus is describing this torment in the way that he intends to give us the clearest picture of what it is like to be under the judgment of God.

And in his comments on this passage, the Dutch theologian Klaus Schilder said no one should say that it is merely symbolic and therefore not so terrible. One should rather say that if the symbol, the mere picture, is already so awe-inspiring, how terrible the judgment itself must be. And now the contrast between these two men has come to its completion. On earth, one man lived in a palace of luxury, while the other man died in the dust at his very doorstep.

But how different things are now. Now that they have reached their final destination, the situation is utterly and eternally reversed, with one man resting on the bosom of Abraham and the other man burning in the agonies of Hades. Now Jesus tells us these things so that we will know the eternal realities which he himself has seen and which he tells us about so that we will enter into his blessing and into the joy of heaven.

And the point of these things is not that salvation depends on your tax bracket. No, the real issue is your faith response to God, and that faith response is plainly revealed by what you do with your circumstances in life. Lazarus trusted in God. We don't find a word of complaint about his suffering and his circumstances here. He is waiting for his salvation and he will receive it. But the rich man was full of selfish greed and of wicked neglect and, as we will see by the time we get to the end of this passage, hardened unbelief.

And it was for these sins that he was condemned to this fiery judgment. And as we consider this contrast, we should ask ourselves, how am I responding to God, and how is that revealed in the way that I'm handling my circumstances in life? Because you see, where you will go in the end is revealed by what you are doing right now with what you have. That is the evidence of what is in your mind and heart in your relationship to God.

The contrast between these two men was made even more intense, I think, by the communication that there is that they have with one another. You see, the rich man is able to see Lazarus and Abraham across this vast chasm. Now, maybe this is the way that things really are in the afterlife. Surely Jesus is not trying to describe the physical geography of hell. He's speaking here about spiritual realities. Perhaps he's in a way using his imagination to make the spiritual point.

But the point is that this rich man could look across the vast abyss between his own torment and Abraham's bliss. And when he saw his situation in comparison to that situation, he made two very desperate cries for help. We see one of them in verse 24 and we see the second in verses 27 and 28. Here is the first one: "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.'"

Now, this passage is full, I think, of many ironies. How ironic that this man should call Abraham his father, and yet Abraham is the father of those who believe and this man is not a believer. Very ironic. How ironic that he is asking for help in this desperate situation and he presumes to tell Abraham to tell Lazarus what Lazarus ought to do. I mean, Lazarus is still his servant even though he's in heaven and this man is in Hades. And notice as well how ironic it is that he even knows who Lazarus is.

I say ironic because on earth he had tried to ignore the man. I mean, he probably just about stepped over him every day on his way out of the house. He had pretended not to notice that he was even there or needed anything. And yet he knew exactly who Lazarus was. He was able here to call him by name. And how ironic is this: he is now the person in need. He's the beggar. He's the one begging for the kind of help that he was never willing to give anyone on earth.

But now he is experiencing such misery that he will beg for help at the hand of the man he formerly despised, hoping for some kind of relief from his torment. How desperate he was for some relief. And how reasonable his request may seem to us, at least at first. I mean, he's not asking for much, is he? No, he's not praying for his full salvation; he just wants a little drop of water to soothe his burning tongue. And yet even that request is denied.

This is the point: that these are prayers that are offered that will not be answered in hell or even in Hades. And the reason this request is denied surely is this: because God has no mercy for people who have died without Christ. Here is how Abraham explained it. You'll see it in verse 25. He first of all points out the fairness of these things. He 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."

In other words, according to God's perfect justice, this rich man's request would not be answered. You see, he had failed to follow the advice that Jesus gave back in verse nine, the advice Jesus gave to use your worldly wealth to make everlasting friends. But this man hadn't done that. He had just used it for himself. In fact, it's interesting the way Abraham puts it here. He speaks of "your good things." I mean, the things you wanted. This is what you wanted out of life and you had it.

But you see, having received what is rightfully his—all those good things he enjoyed in this lifetime—the rich man now had nothing more coming to him. Not even so much as a single drop of water. Now, let me say again, the point is not here that all poor people will go to heaven, although may I point out it's certainly true that many rich people will go to hell. I mean, the Bible often speaks about that, probably most of them from the way the Bible speaks of the dangers of wealth.

But really the point is that people who only live for the things of this world will have those things but they won't get anything from heaven. Jesus said the same thing back in Luke chapter six at verse 24. He said, "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation." You see, if you live for this life, that is what you will get, and that is fair enough. I mean, people in hell will never be able to claim that they have been treated unfairly.

God is treating them with perfect justice. If they're unhappy about it, they'll only have themselves to blame because he has opened up the way for them to eternal life, but they didn't receive it. They wanted the things of this life, not the things of the life to come. And certainly then it is perfectly fair only to give them the things of this life and not the things that they never desired, the things of the life to come. But there is more here than simply the issue of fairness.

Notice what Abraham goes on to say. He says, "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 here we see how far distant they are, these two neighbors. I mean, they lived right next door to each other in this life, but now they are separated forever. And here in this bridgeless chasm, I mean, this vast canyon between the two of them, we see not just the distance between Hades and the bosom of Abraham.

We are really seeing the great divorce between heaven and hell. An eternal divide has been set in place. It's been fixed. And of course, the implication is that it's been put there by Almighty God, that he himself by his own divine decree has separated hell from heaven for all eternity. And do you notice further what a striking detail this is, that God has done this for a very explicit purpose? Notice what Jesus says in verse 26: God has done this in order that no one from hell can escape to heaven, and no one from heaven can go to help anyone in hell.

I suppose there are times when people imagine that there must be some way for the saints in glory to go and rescue people who are trapped in hell, that there must be some further rescue mission to save these people from that terrible torment. But I tell you, that is not the case. That is not what Jesus says. The time for that rescue mission is now, not then. No, Jesus says here that God has made a chasm between heaven and hell for the very purpose of preventing that from happening.

Other people hope that even if they do end up in hell, they will be able to find their way out. And here you see a man who had all the wealth in the world and it didn't make a dime's bit of difference. It didn't bring about the slightest change in his condition because you see he had died without Christ, and therefore there was nothing then to help him. The Bible is telling us, Jesus is telling us, in talking about these realities that it's now or never, that once we die, whatever decision we have made about Jesus Christ at that point becomes irreversible and irrevocable.

Or let me put it another way: hell has no exit. And once a person gets there, there is no way out. By then it will be too late to cry for mercy, too late for the hearing of the gospel, too late for faith in Christ, too late to beg for mercy and avoid the everlasting agony. Now the application of that should be very clear. What urgency it ought to give to our own proclamation of the gospel. This is the time when people have the opportunity to be saved. This is the opportunity they have to make their decision for Christ and guarantee their passage to eternity, that when they make that passage, they will enter heaven.

And therefore, this is the time to give people the good news about Jesus Christ while people still have the time to receive it. I mean, Jesus is the one who makes the way. In effect, he's the bridge from earth to heaven. This is the time to enter that passageway and to cross that bridge. And our calling as a church and particularly those who preach the gospel is to make that clear to people so that they may receive it. This is the time for the preaching of the gospel and the time for believing in the gospel.

This is the other way we should apply these verses very personally to ourselves. It's only by faith in Jesus that we'll have the forgiveness of our sins. It's only by trusting in him that we'll have the hope of eternal life. And we are therefore urgently pressed to put our faith in Jesus now while we still have the time. And my friend, let me tell you, you should do that before you find yourself in a place where even your prayers for mercy cannot be answered, where there will be no one who can come and rescue you at all. No one will come and preach the gospel to you in hell. I certainly will not be able to do that. But I can preach it to you now. And I can invite you to receive Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord so that you too can enter into the kind of joy that Lazarus experienced and you can enter into everlasting life.

Well, these are serious realities. How this rich man must have been terrified with the truth of the awful fixity of hell which was proclaimed to him by Abraham himself. What thoughts it must have given him of his own eternal doom. But when he discovered that he himself was beyond any hope of rescue, he did give a thought to someone else. Even if God did not have mercy on him, perhaps God might be able to show mercy to his family. And so he makes the second equally desperate plea: "I beg you, Father," verse 27, "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."

You see, very suddenly this man, because of the horrors of Hades, is very interested in missionary work. He's interested in the gospel. He wants to send an evangelist. I mean, he doesn't want his brothers to experience what he must endure. He's desperate for someone to go to them before it is too late. And don't you think his request seems perfectly reasonable? I mean, here is a dead man's prayer for his family's salvation. And yet this plea also is denied.

Or rather, it is not so much denied as it is said to be unnecessary. Notice what Abraham says in verse 29: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." And this is not meant in a dismissive way, but in an earnest way, that this is the way that they may be saved. They already have the means of salvation. They have in their possession everything that they need to get to heaven. They have Moses and the prophets; that is to say, they have the very word of God.

Now, this suggests, I think, that this rich man came from a religious family. His people could go to the local synagogue, they could hear the scriptures of the Old Testament. And you see, if only they would believe what the Bible said, then it would be enough to save them. They would hear from the scriptures the promises of a coming savior. They would read about the need they had for a blood atonement for their sin. They would learn everything they needed to learn about giving glory to God with all of their lives. They would begin to recognize that Jesus himself was the Christ. I mean, it was all there in the scriptures of the Old Testament. All they needed to do was to believe them.

And let me say further, that is all that anyone ever needs. This word of God, the word of God you have in your hand, that's enough to show you your sin. It's enough to guide you in the way of salvation. It's enough to show you what it means to live a life that glorifies God with all you are and all you have. This Bible can bring you to salvation all by itself, if only you will believe what it says about Jesus Christ.

But notice the rich man's objection. He says God's word is not enough. At least not enough without some additional and supernatural sign. And so he says, "No, Father Abraham, the word is not enough. People won't just believe that. They need something beyond that. If someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." And once again, we might at first be inclined to think that this is a reasonable request. I mean, you might even say, in a way it points you to the gospel. You hear about somebody coming back from the dead to preach repentance. I mean, immediately you think of Jesus and the resurrection.

But that is not what the rich man had in mind. He was remembering what things were like for him before he died and went to Hades. And frankly, he knew how little attention he had ever given to the word of God. I mean, here was the kind of man who never really understood the point of going to a worship service and hearing someone teach from the Bible. And actually, that's what kept him out of glory in the end. He didn't believe the word of God.

And his unbelief is clear from what he says here: "No, Father Abraham, the word is not enough. People won't just believe that. They need something beyond that." And his sinful lack of compassion for the poor was simply the outward evidence of his inward unbelief, the unbelief that landed him in Hades. And you see, the rich man, as he thought about his own response to the word of God, knew his brothers didn't believe in the Bible any more than he did.

But what if God showed them a sign? I mean, what if a ghost came and preached them the gospel? Surely then they would have to sit up and take notice. I mean, if somebody came to you from the dead, you would have to listen, wouldn't you? Well, no, actually you wouldn't. "On the contrary," Abraham said, verse 31, "if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead."

You see, it's unnecessary. It's superfluous. It won't do anything more for them than they have in the scriptures. And here I think you're given a very deep insight into the heart of unbelief. It's an insight that if you're still making your own mind up about Jesus Christ, it's an insight that might save your soul. And it is simply this: that if you do not believe what God has said in his word, you won't believe anything else God does either. And you will never truly believe in Jesus Christ.

There's no separating your response to Christ in his crucifixion and resurrection from your response to the word of God. Will you accept that this really is the word of God? Will you believe it, and will you therefore believe what it says about Jesus and be saved? Notice the logic of what Abraham is saying here. He's saying that if people aren't willing to listen to the scriptures—I mean, they are the very word of God—if people will not listen to them, then even the most spectacular miracle will not persuade them of the truth about Jesus Christ either. They'll always have some objection to that, just as they always have some objection to the Bible itself.

And you get plenty of proof of that right here in the Gospels. Lazarus came back from the dead—not this Lazarus, but the other one. And what did the religious leaders do? They didn't believe in Jesus. No, they decided then and there that they needed to put him to death. And you find the same thing after Jesus comes back from the dead. The people that believed in the word of God, they believed in Jesus as well. But the people who were resistant to all of that plotted an elaborate cover-up to deny that Jesus had ever been raised from the dead.

See, not even the resurrection will convince people to trust in Christ if they will not simply believe what God has said in his word. This is the problem of the unbeliever. This is the problem of the person who, frankly, is even now on his way to hell. It is not that God has failed to give what is truly needed for salvation; it is a failure to receive what God has already given. The Bible is enough to save you, if only you will believe what it says about the cross and the empty tomb.

But if you don't believe that, you'll never believe in Jesus. You'll never get to heaven. And truly, my friend, you will have only yourself to blame. Jesus is telling us that in the end, there are really only two kinds of people. They will end up in two very different places, two completely different destinations. And my friend, you are warned by this: not to end up in a place where even your prayers for mercy will not be answered, but to put your trust in Jesus now while God is giving you the opportunity to do that.

And let me encourage you with the words of Jesus himself who said, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death into life." Our Father, we give you praise that it is so easy for us to make entrance into heaven, so easy for us because it was so costly for Jesus. But Father, we need faith to believe; otherwise we will end up in the place of all unbelievers and there will be no help for us then. Send us your Holy Spirit, send it to us, to the people we love and for whom we are praying that they will receive the gospel. Send us your Holy Spirit so that we may believe your word and believe in Jesus and be saved. It's in his name that we pray. Amen.

Guest (Male): You are listening to Every Last Word with Bible teacher Dr. Philip Ryken, a listener-supported ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. The Alliance exists to promote a biblical understanding and worldview. Drawing upon the insight and wisdom of reformed theologians from decades and even centuries gone by, we seek to provide Christian teaching that will equip believers to understand and meet the challenges and opportunities of our time and place.

Alliance broadcasting includes The Bible Study Hour with Dr. James Boice, Every Last Word with Bible teacher Dr. Philip Ryken, God's Living Word with Pastor the Reverend Richard Phillips, and Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible featuring Donald Barnhouse. For more information on the Alliance, including a free introductory package for first-time callers, or to make a contribution, please call toll-free: 1-800-488-1888. Again, that's 1-800-488-1888. You can also write the Alliance at Box 2000, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or you can visit us online at AllianceNet.org. Ask for your free resource catalog, featuring books, audio, commentaries, booklets, videos, and a wealth of other materials from outstanding reformed teachers and theologians. Thank you again for your continued support of this ministry.