03-03-2019 – Keith Cozort – The Rich Man and Lazarus (AM Sermon)

For your presence. We know that there are many who were not able to be out this morning because of the weather, but we are glad that you Were determined to be here. And that it was of such a nature that you were able to be here as well. Before we get into the lesson, ask you to be remembering brother, Larry Turner. He is under the weather.

He’s not feeling good. And sister Carolyn called last night to let us know that he would not be able to be here. So we certainly want to remember him in our prayers, as well as all the others that we’ve been making mention of. It’s good to have with us, our middle son, Nathan, with us this morning, whom most all of you are very well familiar with.

He came down yesterday in order to get a load of wood to take back. Cause his woodpile is diminishing and with the weather predictions, the way that they were, and the fact that his wife and daughters are passing around all kinds of crud, his wife said, why don’t you just stay down there until Monday? Of course, that was after he got down here.

He wasn’t planning to stay. He was going back last night. So anyway, he’s going to stay til Monday. And because of that, I thought, well, this would be a good opportunity to let him preach. So he’s going to plan to preach for us tonight and hope you’ll plan to be here for that. As of the first part of this year,

he has now been made the associate preacher at the Lee summit congregation. And we are extremely proud of him for that as well. Open up your Bibles with me. If you will, to Luke chapter 16, Luke chapter 16, max made mention concerning this, this morning in our Bible class. And as it relates toward what Peter was talking about with the various things there.

But I know that this is a familiar passage of scripture to most all of us anyway. And yet it is one that as in most, everything in the Bible that is familiar with us, we still need to be reminded concerning the things that are spoken of here. And so I want us to spend our time thinking about the rich man in Lazarus, as Jesus speaks of them here in Luke chapter 16,

we’re going to begin reading in verse 19 and read down through the end of the chapter. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared assumptions early every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs, which fell from the rich man’s table.

Moreover, the dogs came and licked the sores and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried and in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torments and see if Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool.

My tongue for, I am tormented in this flame, but Abraham said, son, remember that thou and I lifetime receive as like good things and likewise Lazarus, evil things, but now he is comforted and now are tormented. And beside all this between us and you, there is a great Gulf fixed so that they, which would pass from hints to you,

cannot neither can they pass to us, which would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, father, that that would have said to him, to my father’s house for, I have five brethren that he may testify under them less. They also come into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them.

And he said, nay, father Abraham. But if one went under them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though. One Rose from the dead. There’s a great deal of controversy in the religious world today concerning this particular account of the rich man in Lazarus.

Hopefully the things that we’re going to study will help to clear up some of the misunderstandings concerning this passage, But Where the misunderstanding begins. So many times is with the question, is this a parable with what Jesus is teaching here in this text? Is this a parable? Well, when you examine the definition of a parable, the definition is a parable is a comparison,

a lightness and earthly narrative with a spiritual or heavenly meaning. That’s exactly that’s, that’s the definition concerning the word parable and included in every parable. There is a comparison that is made as far as comparison with what it actually says, and then what it actually means. And you think concerning the parable of the sower, the parable of the parable of the mustard seed,

and you could go on and on and on through those parables that Jesus taught. And in every one of them, you have a comparison, a lightness, or as we generally classify it, or describe it an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But is that What we have here in Luke chapter 16 verses 19 through 31, literally this word for parable comes from the word that means to throw or to place alongside of,

or by the side of to demonstrate or to show the contrast, to show the comparison that is being made. I believe that this is not a pyramid. Okay. I believe that what Jesus teaches here is an actual historical event concerning the rich man in Lazarus. There are many different reasons for that, but usually when Jesus spoke in parables, the scriptures make mention concerning this is a parable,

but that was not always the case. There are some parables that we have, that there is no reference to this being a parable. And yet we know from the usage that is made of it, that that is in fact what it is. But also Luke chapter 16 verses 19 through 31 does not find itself in a context of parables though. Again,

there are times where just a single parable was given by Jesus and it is not in a context of parables. Therefore that in and of itself does not mean that it is not a parable because of that. But also there is a lack of similarity between the parables that Jesus gave and what we have here in Luke, chapter 16, verses 19 through 31 in that lack of comparison that is made there.

And so with, for example, the parable of the sower, when Jesus spoke concerning the certain man who went out and sowed seed in his field, what did the seed represent? Why it represented the heart? Jesus will tell us that in the interpretation of the parable, what did the different types of ground represent while different kinds of heart? Jesus tells us that it is parable.

And so there are representations given throughout the parables by way of comparisons and Jesus. And in some of them only a few to give us an idea of how to go about interpreting. Those gives us interpretations concerning those parables. But, but what we have here in Luke chapter 16, verses 19 through 31 is not like those parables as we have in other places in the new Testament.

It’s also the case that in the parables that Jesus spake, he never gave specific names to those who were in the parable. He would speak about a certain man, or he would speak about a certain merchant or things such as that, but you didn’t have any names that were given in those parables. Well, here we have Lazarus who is a poor man who is specifically made mention of,

we also have Abraham father, Abraham that has specifically made mention of that was not like any of the parables that Jesus taught, but some say, does it really make a difference? Does it really make a difference if this is a parable or not? Ultimately, no, it doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t matter make a difference because even if it is a parable,

then Jesus is still making the same point as if it were not a pure parable. If it were an actual occurrence, even though we don’t have the contrasts that are there necessarily. And we also know that whenever Jesus taught using parables, he always spoke the truth and he always spoke of things that either could happen or did happen. So ultimately it doesn’t matter if it’s parable itself,

even though I believe that it’s an actual account here. When you look at Luke chapter 16, verses 19 through 31, there are three main facts that are given to us at the very outset of this parable. Those are the two men lived as well as two men died. And that each of their conditions after death was the opposite of what their condition was,

their there. And this was here in life. And so with that, you have rich man who becomes poor. You have the poor man Lazarus. Who’s going to become rich, not rich in monetary value, but as far as rich and what is most important being with father Abraham and in his wisdom, you have the rich man who was clothed in fine linen and fared,

sumptuous Lee every day. And now he’s clothed with fire being tormented in the flame. You have the poor man Lazarus who was attended on this earth by the not receiving what he had and or what he needed anyway. And yet, after this life he’s going to be attended to by the angels. You have the rich man who was extremely wealthy in this life.

He had anything and everything that he could desire at his fingertips, but now he can’t even buy a drop of water. You have Lazarus Who had virtually nothing. He’s, he’s laid at the gate in order to try to get some sort of sustenance and assistance. And yet he’s going to be one who will be comforted After death is over There. Circumstances are exactly the opposite in the next life of what they were in this life.

Right? Another question to ask after death, where were they? Where were they? Wherever it was that they were at. It was not the eternal place of souls. We could know that because of what Jesus tells us in this particular account as well, B Before a spirit enters into either heaven or hell. There are certain things that the Bible tells us are going to take place.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is going to return one day before all souls will end up in either heaven or hell. The Bible tells us that there is going to be a resurrection. When Jesus comes again, of all of those who have ever lived Righteous, and those who are unrighteous, the Bible also tells us that there’s going to be a judgment a judgment day before God,

before those souls will go into heaven or in hell into hell. This is not from what is spoken of here by Jesus. This is not after those events have taken place. And certainly we can understand that and recognize that by the very fact that the rich man is concerned about his five brothers who are still alive, who are still alive on the earth,

he’s concerned about where they’re going to end up afraid that they’re going to end up where he is at right now. Well, Once the day of judgment comes or once Jesus comes again, there’s not going to be anybody left on this earth. When everybody that is dead is going to be resurrected and are going to go with him to the father for the judgment to take place.

So this cannot be added after such time as the final judgment, somebody may say, well, maybe he just didn’t know that the final judgment has come well. If that’s the case, why didn’t father Abraham, just tell him, sorry, it’s too late. The judgment’s already taken place. There’s no need, there’s no place for Lazarus to go back to if he were to go,

he doesn’t do that. He points into the law of Moses, into the profits for his brothers to pay attention to this place where Lazarus and the rich man are at is the temporary place for departed souls. The temporary place that where souls are going to be until such time as the judgment day, this place Lazarus we read is in Abraham’s bosom, Abraham AMS,

bosom. This, this is an indicator concerning this as a place of comfort. This is a place of safety. This is a place of protection and provision. This is a place where those who are in a right relationship with God are going to be waiting for that time of the judgment to take place where they will be pronounced righteous and received there reward in heaven.

The rich man is in that place that is described as being hell, but this is not the hell of eternal hell. This is the word Hades in the original language. This is the temporary place for those who are going to end up in the eternal Hill after such time as the judgment takes place. And this, by the way also makes the point to us as we’ve made it other times that once a person dies,

he knows where he’s going to end up. He knows where he’s going to be eternally because after death, if he is in Abraham’s bosom, then he knows he’s going to be having heaven as he, his eternal reward. If he is in torment in the flames of Hades, then he knows he’s going to end up in a devil’s hell eternally, but they’re not there yet.

Either side of those particular end results is also spoken of, as I just referred to that here in this place of Hades, this temporary place for those who are going to end up in the turtle Hill, this too is a place of torment. This too is a place where there is going to be suffering. And it is such that the rich man,

it is either stated of him or by him four times in this text that he is tormented in the Means it is a place of torment. I remember preaching this at one particular congregation and one of the Sisters in the congregation came up to me and she said, you know, I was raised in a denominational group and I’ve always been led to believe that once a person dies,

they’re just in a state of Roy Rest and relaxation and comfort until the judgment day. Well, that’s not what Jesus teaches here immediately. Lee, when both of these men open up their eyes on the other side of the grave, They recognize concerning where they are at. It is something that they’d begin to experience immediately, but it is Not the eternal abode.

Many times if we’ve been to funerals and we’ve heard preachers talk about that, so-and-so who passed away in their casket is here, is looking down upon us from him. But right now, I’m sorry. That’s not true. No matter how many times they say it, they’re not in heaven yet. They’re in That temporary waiting place. If they are those that are righteous,

that plays. And it’s described here by Jesus as being Abraham’s bosom. If they are the unrighteous, they are in the temporary waiting place of Hades or hell Waiting for the judgment to come. We also find that in Distinguishing the words that are translated as the same English word of hell, that in fact there are two different Greek words that are used to speak concerning this place of torment or these places of torment.

There is the word Haitis, which means the unseen state of the dead, the temporary waiting place of the dead. That still is a place of torment, a place of suffering, but it is not the eternal place of the unrighteous. And then there is the word Gahanna, which is used, which speaks concerning that eternal place of punishment, that eternal place of fire,

that eternal place, where eternal punishment is going to be handed where it will be without end The difference In the two places of Abraham’s bosom and of Hades demonstrate to us the distinction concerning spiritual welfare, that there is going to be one place for the righteous. And there will be another place for those who are the unrighteous Lazarus was with the father of the faithful.

He was with Abraham in Abraham’s bosom. By the very fact that the, the rich man is going to refer to Abraham as father Abraham. We can know that both Abraham and or both Lazarus and the rich man were Jews, and certainly being before the time of the cross of Christ with Jesus has given this account. That would be understandable. And that would be recognizable that both of these men are Jews,

as far as this is concerned. And yet the rich man is going to be banished into an existence that one should want to avoid at all costs because of the very descriptions that we have here in this text, as well as other texts concerning what it is going to be light like in hell or Hades. Also, when you look at this particular account,

notice with me, if you will, concerning the requests that are made, and then the responses that are given the rich man calls Abraham father Abraham. And we do know that his name means father of the faithful or father of faithful, as well as being father of a multitude. And the indication is from that, as we just stated that he is a Jew,

Okay? And he asks father Abraham, let Lazarus dip the tip of his finger in water and coming cool by tongue. Did you notice that the rich man does not ask that Lazarus be allowed to go into tip dip the tip of his finger in cold water and come and cool by tongue? He just says, dip it in water. The point is with what he is suffering,

even dipping his finger in hot water would be better off than what he’s getting right now. The father Abraham is going to respond by saying, sorry, it can’t be done because there is a great, that is fixed to where we can not come to where you’re at and you can not come to where we are at. There is no passing over. There is no change of location that’s going to take place.

Then of course, The rich man is going to make the request that Lazarus be allowed to go back, to go back to his brothers that are still alive in order to warn them concerning this place. And Abraham says, if they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they wouldn’t listen to one who Rose from the dead either. We know how true that is because after Jesus was resurrected from the dead,

were there multitudes or was everybody now willing to do what Jesus said must be done in order to have heaven as he is returnal reward? No, Those that rejected Jesus before his crucifixion are many of those same ones who were reject him after his resurrection. And so the point that Abraham makes that one must heed the writings of Moses and the prophets was exactly correct.

When you think concerning the Richman, you will notice that the rich man still possesses all of his faculties as is spoken of here in this text. He’s he retains all of his senses. He sees Abraham and Lazarus verse 24 Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. He talks with father Abraham. He feels the flames and the torment that he is enduring at this particular time,

he hears father Abraham speaking unto him. He hears and understands exactly what Abraham is saying and to him. And he is able to remember, he is able to remember what his life was like. Father Abraham speaks concerning that, that when you were alive, you were in this kind of circumstance. Now you’re in this kind of circumstance. He remembers concerning his five brothers that are still alive,

who from all indications are traveling the exact same route that he’s traveling. And therefore he is concerned about them. He does not want them to come to this place. He retains all of his senses. He is suffering being tormented in the flame. He knows what is happening to you. There is no rest. There is no calming influence over him. At this particular time,

he is conscious conscious of his surroundings. He is conscious of his past. He knows the life that he lived. He knows his five brothers are still alive. And now he is concerned about them. Jesus and the teaching of this account is also going to teach that one kind of cannot be saved without obedience to God’s law. Impossible. For one, who’s reached an age of accountability to be saved without obedience to God’s law.

That was true. Even under the law of Moses. Remember that Abraham told the rich man, as it related toward his five brothers that were still alive, that they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them, let them hear what Moses wrote. Let them hear what the prophets wrote. The word of God in the old Testament and how important that was because there was no other way that those who lived under the old Testament law,

that they could be saved. We are not under the old Testament law today. There’s not as I’ve stated in other times, there’s not a single human being alive. Today is under the law of Moses. That law has been taken out of the way. It’s been nailed to the cross of Christ. It is no longer in effect, but we are to learn from it.

We are to learn what is recorded there and to learn the lessons of what is recorded there. Romans 15 verse four. But this also proves as we referred to earlier, proves that this is not the judgment day, because if it were the judgment day, then there was no need for Abraham to tell the rich man that his five brothers needed to hear Moses in the profits.

It would already be too late for them as well. Therefore their state could not be changed. What are some truths That must be observed from the rich man in Lazarus? Well, one truth is that Jesus, of course, is the one who is telling this. Jesus is the master teacher. And Jesus is the one that whenever he taught that something must believe be believed and something must be accepted.

That was exactly the way that it was. And it Is true in this respect as well as it relates toward the rich man’s brethren. The Hebrews writer tells us in Hebrews chapter nine and in verse 27, that as it is appointed unto men once to die. And after this, the judgment. So we see here with the rich man in Lazarus, that that is exactly what takes place.

They are awaiting the judgment. They have died, but they know what their judgment is going to be. There is no doubt in either one of them’s mind as to where they’re going to end up because of where they are right now, even though the judgment has not been officially passed. There are several inescapable Things That are awaiting each and every one of us,

It is in escapable. Yeah. That we are going to live until such time as we die. And Even if the Lord comes back while we are still alive, yet these bodies are going to die to this physical life anyway, and have to be changed in order to be the spiritual that is going to live on eternally. But we are going to live until such time as we die.

And yet we are going to die. Hebrews nine verse 27, There is going to be a resurrection after Jesus comes again to resurrection of all of those who are in the grave, all of those who have ever lived and have now died. There is going to be a judgment day where the death sentence or the sentence rather either of life or of death is going to be passed.

There is Going to be an eternity. Hey, living either eternally in a devil’s hell or living In heaven, he turtles another truth that needs to be observed from this particular text is that we do not need nor want to play the fool. By believing that prosperity here in this life is evidence of our salvation in the next life, Because It’s shown to us over and over again,

that prosperity in this life does not make it guaranteed that we will be saved in the next life. It just means God has been prosperous to us. Another truth that we should learn is that we need to be impressed with the necessity to make preparation for eternity in this life. Because once death comes, the time to prepare is over with, and we are either going to be in one place or the other now is the time that we make our preparations.

Now in this life, when we’re still breathing and able to move around are those times when we are to make preparations for the next life. But once death comes that wherever we are spiritually speaking, that fate is sealed. As Abraham says, even though many in the denominational world, do not believe that especially those of the Catholics do not believe that there’s an impossibility of being able to move from one to the other.

They believe the idea of purgatory that will be in a place for a period of time until such that God will eventually allow us to pass over and to be on the side of the faith. Abraham says, sorry, there’s a great golf. That’s fixed. We cannot come to you and you can not come to us. There is no temporary waiting place to be able to move from one side to the other side,

it never has existed. It never will exist. We need to observe The truth that Jesus teaches. There is life after death. It is not such that when a person dies, they cease to exist. They no longer have any feelings and emotions or anything such as that. There is no existence. Some people say on the other side of the grave,

they’ve not been on the other side of the grave. Jesus says there is existence. On the other side of the grave, we have a soul and our soul will continue to exist either in one place or the other. And it will never cease to exist. We need to observe from what Jesus teaches here, that the idea of the impossibility of apostasy just simply is not true.

Remember both the rich man in Lazarus from all indications that Jesus gives to us. Both of them are Jews. Both of them are children of God, Of the children of Israel. Okay. And yet one of them finds in Hades and the other finds himself in Abraham’s bosom. You see even under the old law, just because one was a child of God under the law of Moses and a one of the children of Israel did not guarantee he was going to be among the righteous.

When life was over. Jesus very vividly makes that point with the rich man and Lazarus, they still had to be obedient to the law of Moses. They still had to be obedient to all of those commandments and, and things that that God gave to those of the children of Israel. And yet the rich man was not. And therefore he finds himself in Hades.

We need to recognize from what is taught here, that knowledge of what God has revealed is required. That just as Abraham pointed, the rich man made the statement to the rich man that his brethren had to read from Moses and the prophets in order to be warned concerning this place and be warned as to what will happen to those who do not keep the walls.

God such continues to be the, the case under the law of Christ, that we must know what the word of God teaches, and we must be obedient to it. And finally, it needs to also be observed that there is both reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked or the unrighteous. When this life is over, it is going to be one or the other.

But as to which one we end up being, which location we’re going to be at is going to be determined by the life that we are living. Now, the life that we live up until such time as death takes us, those who live, you know, BDS to the word of God and live righteous. Those who will find themselves in Abraham’s bosom,

those who live in disobedience to what the word of God teaches, and therefore are those who are unrighteous or those who will find themselves in Hades on their way to the eternal place of hell, prepared for the devil and his angels, the rich man and Lazarus, as we close, let me ask you a question. Having seen where the rich man ended up,

How much do you believe that the rich man would be willing to give in order to have just one more day of life Having seen where he is now, How much would he be willing to give Venture to say to you from what is recorded here and from what he States concerning himself, he would give everything he had For just one more day. In fact,

I would venture to say he would give everything he had for just five more minutes Of life in order to change, but he couldn’t get five more minutes. Death has come, his fate is sealed. Well then let me ask you this question. How much are you willing to give? How much are you willing to give in order to enter into paradise rather than to end up where the rich man ended.

If you’re outside the body of Christ, please having heard the word, do you believe it? Are you willing to repent? And to confess your faith in Christ, are you willing to be immersed in water to be baptized in order to receive the remission of your sins to have your sins washed away? If you’re One who’s already a member of the body of Christ,

and yet you’ve wandered off, are you willing to come back and obedience praying to God for forgiveness? And to begin again, walking in the way of righteousness, somebody may say, brother, Keith, we known all of this and almost everybody who’s here members of the church. Why, why study this? Well, as I stated at the beginning, we need to remind ourselves concerning what Jesus taught.

Jesus also shows to us with the teaching of the rich man and Lazarus, that there can be one that is even at one point in time numbered among the faithful, And yet has turned against that. And therefore needs to be reminded that they still have opportunity to come back. They still have opportunity to repent and to come back to be numbered among the faithful and to be numbered among those who are in the fold,

Through their repentance. And they’re praying to God for forgiveness and Then begin walking in the light. Once more, The invitation song is selected to encourage you if you’re needing to respond. And if we can help you in any way, please will you come as together we stand and as we sing.