Main Idea: Without Jesus, your sin dooms you to go to hell. With Jesus, you will be saved from hell and live for eternity with God in His glory.
Text: “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31 NIV).
Message: In this story, Jesus is talking about life after death. Of all the religious leaders who ever lived, Jesus is the only one qualified to talk about life after death because He is the only religious leader who ever rose from the dead.
Hell is a real place. Jesus does not threaten people with hell, He warns them so that they can avoid hell. Jesus talked about heaven and hell because both are real places.
Let’s look at the story. The rich man was living inside of a beautiful palace. Outside his gates was a poor man named Lazarus. He was so poor that he had no food, and he was sick. The dogs came and licked his sores. One day, both the rich man and the poor man died. Angels came and carried the poor man to heaven to sit beside Abraham, but the rich man died and went to hell.
Why did the rich man go to hell? What horrible damming sin did he commit? We need to know the answer because we don’t want to make the same mistake the rich man made. Was it because he was rich? No, being rich is not a sin if a person earns the money honestly. Was it because he wore nice clothes? No, wearing nice clothes is not a sin, nice clothes are a blessing. Was it because of the expensive and delicious food he ate? No, your food cannot send you to hell. The rich man lived like a king, but this luxurious living did not send him to hell.
What sent the rich man to hell? The man went to hell because he was eternally lost without salvation. From hell, he looked up and saw Lazarus being comforted in heaven next to Abraham. The rich man cried out, “Father Abraham, please send Lazarus with a drop of water on his fingertip to touch my lips because I am being tormented here.”
Abraham tells him, “It is impossible for Lazarus to come there, because there is no bridge from hell to heaven.”
The rich man says, “I have five brothers on earth. Please send Lazarus to warn them because they are living in sin the same way I lived in sin when I was alive.”
So, what sent the rich man to hell? We find another clue in the response of his brothers. His brothers were guilty of the same sin as the rich man. They did not listen to Moses, or the prophets, or even to a man who was raised from the dead. The brothers heard the word of God. But, they chose to live sinful lives. They would not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Now, I will show you why the rich man went to hell. The rich man shouts out to Abraham, “No Father Abraham…” In the story, the man said, “No” to Abraham. In life, the man said, “No” to Jesus. If you say “No” to Jesus, there is no salvation possible for you. The biggest sin of all is to say “No” to Jesus. This is the only sin that can send you to hell. Lying, murder, and adultery are big sins but the biggest sin is to refuse to make Jesus your Savior.
Without Jesus, we will be lost and spend eternity in hell, but with Jesus, we are saved and headed to heaven.
In this story, we find that from hell there is no way to heaven. But I have good news for you. From earth there is a way to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the bridge from earth to heaven.
Jesus is the only way you can be saved. No pastor or evangelist can save you, because no pastor died for your sins. No religion can save you, because no religion died for your sins. No other god can save you, because no other god died for you. Only Jesus can save us, because only Jesus died for your sins. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 NKJV).
In the story, the rich man cried out to Father Abraham for help. Why did he pray to Father Abraham? It is because the name of Jesus is unknown in hell. It is impossible to find salvation in hell. But if you will cry out to Jesus you can be saved! Right now, I ask you to cry out to Jesus and receive salvation.
