From His Heart

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Today on from His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. There is life and then there is an afterlife.

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People will be shocked to end up in hell. And why are they there? Because God is mean and cruel and capricious and just said, "I don't like you. Get out of my face. You're going to hell." No, because they refused to believe and they refused to repent. If you reject Christ, this is where you're going to end up.

If a man, a woman, a boy, or girl ends up in hell, they have to trip over the cross of Christ to get there. He's not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. He desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

But if you blow him off, that is where you go. Every scar is real—truth, real love, real.

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Now, did Jesus believe in an eternal heaven and an eternal hell? Of course he did. And actually, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven. Both are real places, so what you believe about them really does matter. As has often been said, eternity is a long time to be wrong.

This is from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Yesterday, he began this series, "Forever and Ever: The Reality of Eternal Heaven and Eternal Hell." Today, part two of the lesson, "Life and the Afterlife," where we'll learn three truths about the afterlife revealed in the parable about the rich man and Lazarus.

One day you and I will face the reality of an afterlife. So let's learn all that we can about this fascinating topic today. Open your Bible to Luke chapter 16 as we explore the assurance about life and the afterlife.

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What does Jesus want us to learn from this story that he told about life and the afterlife? Three key truths.

Truth number one: Learn the truth regarding earthly success. In Luke chapter 16, at the beginning of the chapter, he's talking about wealth. He says this in verse 13: "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon, God and wealth, God and riches." Just a few verses later, he goes into this story about a man who was wildly rich—so wealthy was this rich man. In contrast, there was a poor man just dumped at his gate, Lazarus, whose name means "whom the Lord helps." But he didn't seem like he was getting much help, definitely not from the rich man.

So you have the rich guy, and he's super rich, and you have the poor guy, who is super, super poor. He has nothing. In the minds of the hearers, particularly the Pharisees, they believed that when you have a lot economically and monetarily, it shows that God is blessing you, favoring you, and approving of you. The poor man, on the other hand, was seen as cursed by God. When he dies, they thought he would go to hell. This is the mindset Jesus is shocking them with in his story. Learn the truth regarding earthly success: riches are a hurdle to heaven; they are not proof of assured entrance. Riches are amoral; they are neither good nor bad. There are many wealthy people in the Bible, like Abraham. But your attitude toward riches—that's what makes the difference.

Second truth: Learn the truth regarding life after death. I like how succinctly it puts it in verse 22: "And it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died and he was buried." Mark it down: apart from the return of Christ, everyone dies. I don't care how much money you have; you're not going to cheat death. Everyone dies, and then everyone lives eternally in either heaven or hell. Lazarus died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom, while the rich man also died. In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.

Hades is the place of the unrighteous dead, while paradise, or Abraham's bosom, is the place of the righteous dead. You might ask, is Hades the same thing as hell? Not exactly. They are very similar but not the same. When a person dies without Christ, they go to Hades. This has been true in both the Old Testament and New Testament times. Hades is like the county jail; if you commit a crime, you go to jail, where you await your day in court. After your day in court, if found guilty, you are sentenced to prison. Hades is where you go until Revelation chapter 20, beginning in verse 11, where you have your day in court at the Great White Throne judgment. The Lord wraps his gavel and says, "Guilty! Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." Then you go to a place referred to as hell, where "the worm dies not." It is a terrible, horrible place, referred to in the book of Revelation four times as the lake of fire. That is the hell of hells, the permanent place of hell.

Learn the truth regarding life after death.

Thirdly, learn the truth regarding hell. The emphasis of this story is not on Abraham's bosom, paradise, or heaven; the emphasis is on hell, on Hades. This is what it is like—a first-person account from the man who died and went to hell. In verse 23, it says, "And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom." He cried out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame."

What do we learn from the rich man about this terrible, horrible place called hell? First of all, hell is a place of torment, agony, and fire. Jesus called it the fiery hell, the place of unquenchable fire. It is a place of agony and torment; the words "torment" and "agony" are used multiple times in this parable.

Secondly, hell is a place of awareness and remembrance. This man knows he is in hell. He is shocked to find himself there, but he is immediately aware of his surroundings and the fact that he is in fire. "I am in agony in this flame." Hell is not a place where you lose all consciousness; it is not annihilation. You know where you are and what is going on. In this story, Jesus shows the rich man having a conversation with Abraham. He asks for just a drop of water on his tongue to cool his agony. Abraham responds, "Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things. But now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony."

My father-in-law, Gerald Cannon, once said, "In hell, you'll remember." Your mind is working in hell. You will remember all the opportunities you squandered, all the times people talked to you, and you said, "No, I don't want to hear that." You will remember all the times you laughed, scoffed, and sneered when you heard the gospel. You will remember all the times you were in church, heard the invitation, and dug your fingers into the seat in front of you, saying, "No, I'm not going to go."

Interestingly, Lazarus has a name, but the rich man does not. Theologians give him the name Dives, which is Latin for rich. Why doesn't he have a name? Because in hell, you don't need a name. You have no relationships in hell; you are in agony in the flame, and there are no relationships there. Hell is a place of awareness and remembrance.

Thirdly, hell is a place of eternal punishment. It is eternal and fixed. Abraham says, "Besides all this, between us and you, there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us." Once you die, things are fixed. If you die without Christ and end up like the rich man in hell, you will be there forever and ever. That is a long time to get it wrong, a long time to roll the dice on your forever. You will never get out of there.

Don't ever think hell is like rehab. You are not in Hades for a while, hoping to get better and then be brought to heaven. No. Once you breathe your last in this life, it is fixed. We are on the brink of eternity. Where are you going? Because once you breathe your last, it is fixed and eternal. Jesus said in Mark chapter nine, "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than having your two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." It is forever and ever a horrible place.

Lastly, hell is a place for all who refuse to listen and repent. The rich man represents all those who refuse to listen and repent. He had no faith in God's provision for his sins. He was a lover of money, just like the Pharisees, and he thought he would make it into heaven. He was shocked to find himself in hell.

Interestingly, a Barna survey conducted about 19 years ago found that most Americans, over 70%, believe in a literal heaven and hell. Yet, less than half of one percent of Americans think they are going to hell. They believe in hell, but they think it is for someone else, not for them. Isn't that strange? Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven, "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who travel that broad road. The way is small and the gate is narrow that leads to life, and few there be that find it."

He said, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'" Many will say to me on that day, not a few, but many. People will be shocked to end up in hell. Why are they there? Not because God is mean and cruel, but because they refused to believe and repent.

Abraham tells the rich man, "I can't send Lazarus to dip a drop of water on your tongue; there is a chasm fixed." The rich man then begs, "I beg you, Father Abraham, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment." Abraham responds, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them."

The rich man insists, "No, no, no, Father. If someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." He is arguing with Abraham. Abraham replies, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead."

Jesus rose from the dead. How did the religious leaders respond to that news? They were given money to say his disciples stole the body. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, they decided they needed to kill him because he was too much testimony, too much evidence.

What Abraham said was exactly right. If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, if they won't listen to the word of God, you won't convince them with a miracle. They have to see that they are sinners, lost, and desperately need Jesus.

Now, there are two words in this man's soliloquy from hell that really jump out. He says, "Father Abraham, I have five brothers. Send Lazarus that he may warn them, lest they come to this place of torment." I want my brothers to be warned. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Warn them.

As I studied this, that word leaped into my heart. That's my job; that's your job—to warn people of the wrath that is to come. John the Baptist said to the religious leaders, "Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come?" We warn people. This is what is happening. If you reject Christ, this is where you will end up.

He doesn't want you to be there, and I don't want you to be there. If a man, woman, boy, or girl ends up in hell, they have to trip over the cross of Christ to get there. He is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. He desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But if you blow him off, that is where you go.

We warn people and pray for folks. You have people in your family who aren't believers. They are one heartbeat away from eternal hell, to be in agony in this flame day after day after day. There is no hope in hell. As Bernard Baruch once said, across the portals of hell are written these words: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." There is never a good day in hell; every day is horrible, and there is no hope of ever getting out.

He says, "Warn them so that they will repent." Repentance is key. Jesus said, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." He said that in Luke chapter 13, verse 3, and again in verse 5. The Apostle Paul preached about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Those two things are critical. You cannot get saved without repentance.

That is why when people try to attach their sin and say, "Well, I'm this kind of a Christian," or "I'm this sinning kind of a Christian," you can't get saved like that. You have to repent of sin. You have to turn from sin. You don't bring your sin to the Lord and say, "Well, Lord, you're going to accept me and my sin." He will never do that. He hates sin. He cannot have fellowship with sin.

If you will turn from your sin, He will save you. If you hold onto your sin, you will die in your sins. "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." That is straight scripture.

Listen, I didn't write this story. I didn't make it up. I am reading to you, "Thus says the Lord." If this makes you mad, take it up with God. Some people say, "I don't believe in a God who would send anyone to hell." God doesn't send you to hell; you send yourself to hell. He has done everything to keep you from hell. But if you reject Him or just ignore Him, you don't have to shake your fist in the face of God. All you have to do is say, "That's nice," and keep doing your own thing.

One day, you will die, and you will find yourself in hell forever. Jesus doesn't want anyone to go to hell. He died for you on the cross. If you will put your faith where God puts your sins—on the Lord Jesus Christ—you can be saved today. You can know that you know that you know that you know that you have been born again and that you are on the highway to heaven. Five minutes after you die, you will be experiencing the glories of heaven. That is what is in store for every child of God. It is the decision you make in this life that determines eternity. If you don't know Jesus, today is the day for you.

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God's word tells us to repent from our sin. That means to recognize and turn from it and ask Jesus to come into our heart today to be our Lord and Savior. You'll need to genuinely surrender your will to His. And when you do that, He will come in and your life will never be the same.

We invite you to go to fromhishheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link to find out more about what a surrender to Jesus really means and how you can find the support that you'll want as you move forward with this eternal decision that will bring you eternal life with the Father in heaven. Again, go to fromhishheart.org and click the "Why Jesus?" link.

Before we go, a quick reminder that today is a big, big day for From His Heart because this is Giving Tuesday around the world. It's a global day of generosity when people everywhere give to the causes that are closest to their hearts. If From His Heart broadcasts have touched your heart and helped you grow in your faith, and you know it's also reaching so many more hearts each day around the world, would you consider a generous Giving Tuesday gift today to help us reach our one-day goal of $20,000?

Call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-24253) or go online to fromhishheart.org. Thank you so much, and God bless you for joining with us to share the good news of Jesus. We're so grateful you joined us today.

I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to be here next time for the second lesson in the series "Forever and Ever: The Reality of Eternal Heaven and Eternal Hell." You'll learn from the message called "From Savior to Judge." That's on Wednesday when we'll again open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope. From His Heart.

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Every scar.

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From His Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world.

Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more at promisheart.org.