Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Wednesday December 3, 2014
The narrative in LUK 16:19-31 is a true story, which can be entitled “Dead men tell tales.”
verse 20 introduces a suffering believer.
Lazarus demonstrates the principle of being happy without having anything at all.
Being in torment is not a verb but it is a prepositional phrase with a noun, en plus basanois meaning in torture, torment, great pain, guilt, disgrace and shame.
As Augustine says: “the proud man of time, is now the beggar in Hell.”
As a mature believer, he accepted the events of his life as being exactly what God wanted for him.
Here’s an adult man but he’s called a child, why?
An adult man is called “child” because he was divorced from reality, because of his unrealistic expectations.
Lazarus was “comforted here” means he was given a special place of honor in eternity.
Evidence testing isn’t something you can explain to your family or friends.
What kind of message comes forth from your pulpit or your life?
The prin-To many, prosperity and pleasure becomes a hindrance to their spiritual growth and produces forgetfulness of God.
Prin-There is no hope in eternity for those who reject Jesus Christ in time.
HEB 9:27 It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
1JO 5:11-13 “And this is the deposition: that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His son.
He who has the Son has this eternal life; he who does not have the Son does not have this eternal life.
These things I have written to you who believe in the person of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Before he was pleading for mercy, now he’s begging.
The rich man believes that Lazarus would have been able to testify to the reality of that unseen world and the need to believe on TLJC, which he and his brothers had probably mocked together.
Prin-Lazarus being tossed at the gate of that mansion was the last call for salvation to the rich man and his family.
Second prin-In effect, Lazarus was the evangelist at their gate.
Ten principles to consider in closing: 1. Hell or Hades is no place for loved ones and old friends to have a pleasant reunion.
2. Hell is a place of agony and suffering, only intensified at the end of human history by the transfer to the Lake of fire.
3. So terrible is the perpetual agony of the unbeliever beyond the grave that he desires that the gospel be presented to loved ones left behind so that they might believe in Christ and have eternal life and avoid the place of torments.
4. The same wealthy estate which distracted the rich man now distracts his five brothers who had inherited the family fortune.
5. Wealth and prosperity often causes the rich to ignore or avoid the reality of the eternal state after death.
6. If these five brothers reject the biblical testimony regarding jesus christ, they will “not” accept the testimony of one who returns from the dead.
7. The testimony in the bible is much more powerful than the testimony of someone coming back from the dead.
8. If people will not accept the gospel message found in the bible, they will not accept the testimony of someone brought back from the dead by a miracle.
9. A miracle is the easiest thing for Ggod to perform because it does not require the volition of mankind, but only the sovereignty and omnipotence of God.
10. In the Tribulation Period, two Jews, Moses and Elijah, will be brought back from the dead to witness in Jerusalem. Yet their message will be rejected.