This account of the two men are true, this story is not fiction. It is foolish not to face the fact of death. Bear this in mind dear reader hell is real. There is life beyond death. In hell people are concerned about winning souls for God.
"As a tree when cut falls into the direction it leans, so men in hell are still the same kind of men when they lived" John Rice. The rich man lived his life in luxury, his main concern in this world was money and how to make a quick buck. He was concerned for his outer appearance, that people will notice him. All these things are not bad except he forgot about God. He did not expect to go to hell. He was known to be rich, and had want for nothing. You cannot buy your way into heaven. On the outside it appeared to everyone that He had it all.
Death dear friends calls our bluff and strips us of the mask we wear daily in our lives. On an appointed day which God had ordained the Rich man and Lazarus died. Lazarus is carried away by angels, whilst the other man finds himself in hell and tormented. What an awful realisation that you find that you lived your life a lie. The rich man does not question as Why he is in hell, his knows fully well that He rejected God. "It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgement of God." (Heb 9:27). The judgement for unrepentant is separation from God and His people. Destined to a pit of fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. A fire that never dies, where the soul lives in agony. The rich man looks up and finds Abraham afar off and begs him to send Lazarus to him so to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue because of the agony of the fire. Lazarus during his life time on earth had laid at the rich man's gate longing to be seen by the rich man, longing to eat from what fell from the rich man's table. The rich man showed no sympathy even though Lazarus was covered in sores. Did Lazarus suffer the consequences of sin. Maybe, but Lazarus had something different now. There was a moment in time and place that Lazarus had stopped what he was doing and repented before God. He could have heard the message in the town square. The people were talking about the coming Messiah who would take away the sins of the world. When Lazarus understood and realised his sinful state before God, he repented. His future hope for eternal life was in God, he had nothing more. Lazarus received only bad things in his life. The Word does not elaborate what these bad things were, but one can assume that the devil came to rob and steal what did not belong to him. The scripture only tells us that Lazarus now had faith in God and for His reward he was comforted in the afterlife. Abraham shared with the rich man that a great chasm ( a deep crack or space) had been fixed between those who were tormented because of their sin and those who were now in peace with God. It is too late once you and I are dead to try and crossover to the other side. The realization of an eternity in hell and now the rich man wanted to evangelise. How many of us walk past people we know daily and not warn them of the coming torment should they not repent. God sent Moses to bring the law to man, so that each of us can see where we have fallen short of the glory of God. (Read the ten commandments) Ex 20:1-21 Still men did not repent. He sent prophets to warn the people of His coming judgment, still words fell and fall today on deaf ears. Then He sent Christ Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice to die for our sins on the cross and to rise again. The rich man wanted someone to come back from the dead to tell his brothers to repent. How many people today wish to make contact with the dead to hear what they would say. Jesus came back from the dead, and still people do not want to repent. It's to late to Evangelise when you are dead. It is too late to repent when you are dead. Now is the time that the grace of God has given you to respond. I urge you, do not leave it too late.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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