Wednesday, January 31, 2018

February 1, 2018

"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." Luke 16:22-23

Not to be morbid but the truth is this will someday be said of you and me, "the time came when ________ died.

"The rich man also died."

After they died they each went somewhere.

Again, that fits with what I have been saying each Sunday of this series, "The vast majority of your life and my life will be lived after we die!"

Just as their life on earth were dramatically different so was their eternal life. Lazarus (whose name means "the one whom God helps") was carried to Abraham's bosom while the rich man went to Hades.

As you might imagine, once this rich man awoke in the torment of Hades (Hell) he was immediately repentant. Unfortunately he was several seconds to late. 

What a sobering thought! How tragic that this man ended up in a horrible hell because he never got around to caring for his soul!

Hell is real!

Hell is eternal and there is not escape.

Hell is a place of eternal torment. Matthew 25:41 says it is a place of "eternal fire". Matthew 25:46 says it is a place of eternal punishment.

Hell is more terrible than we might imagine! There is fire - Matthew 25:41. There is darkness - Matthew 8:12; 22:13. How can it be dark if there is fire? This may refer to the spiritual darkness of being separated from God and condemned to the same place as Satan and all hi demons. There is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Wow! because Hell is so terrible and the specter of Hell looms threateningly before us it is easy to try and push it aside. To not think about it. To procrastinate in our preparation.

But because it is real and it is avoidable what if we live life from eternity backward? What if we settle the issue of our eternal destination now? If we settle our eternal destination now would it not free us up to live without fear of death and the judgment?

If we can do that and Lazarus proves that we can, why wouldn't we? Why would we waste even one more hour or one more day?

You may be thinking, "Brad, you are just trying to frighten me into making a spiritual decision."

Well, I most certainly like to see you care for your soul and prepare it for eternity! But actually, I am trying to free you from fear by having you settle your eternity!





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