Heaven — and Hell — are Real

INTRO

Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death.” Sin always leads to death. Today, as depressing as it is, we’re going to camp out on death and hell as we study Luke 16. The reason we can have good news is because we first had bad news. Yet we shy away from talking about the eternal punishment that is coming for the lost sheep.

TEACHING

Luke 16:19: In this parable, Jesus described a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen - his clothing alone let you know he was wealthy. He feasted lavishly every single day.

Luke 16:20: Jesus next described a poor man named Lazarus. This is the only parable in Scripture where a person is named, but this Lazarus was not the brother of Mary and Martha. This poor man was covered with sores and left at his gate.

Luke 16:21: “He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table.” Jesus invited people to come to the table, but the rich man didn’t. Lazarus longed for scraps of food from the rich man’s table. Instead, the dogs came and licked his sores.

What is our role toward the poor? This rich man probably saw this poor man at the gate every day, and instead of helping him, he probably thought he was annoying and wondered when he would leave. Proverbs frequently called people to care for those in need: “The one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever shows kindness to the poor will be happy” (Proverbs 14:21). “Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and He will give a reward to the lender” (Proverbs 19:17). When we show kindness to the poor by giving them food, necessities, or money, God says He will give us a reward. Proverbs 21:13 says, “The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.” Proverbs 28:27 is similar, “The one who gives to the poor will not be in need, but one who turns his eyes away will receive many curses.” When the rich man continued to turn away from Lazarus, he became more focused on himself. We need to be reminded that we can never out give God. We have no excuses for refusing to help the “Lazaruses” around us.

Luke 16:22–23a: “One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.” After death, their lives continued on. The rich man, “being in torment,” or constant agony, looked up and saw Abraham. We have no problem thinking someone is in heaven, but we don’t accept being in torment in Hades. Instead, we claim that hell isn’t real. This rich man’s attitude demonstrated why Jesus said, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:23). When the disciples wanted to know who could be saved, Jesus answered, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector, later proved that it was possible for a rich man to get into heaven (Luke 19:1–10).

Luke 16:23–24: Their situations were now reversed. Now the rich man, from a long way off, longed for what Lazarus had. The rich man called out, “Father Abraham!” like he knew Abraham. Notice he said, “Send Lazarus.” Even now, he still wanted the poor man to serve him. The rich man wanted relief from the agony of an eternal flame and fire. If hell doesn’t exist, there was no point in Jesus dying on the cross. Why would Jesus go through the pain and anguish prophesied in Isaiah 53? He came to set us free from the fire, flame, and torment in hell. Many Scriptures say that hell is real.

• Matthew 25:41, 46: “Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!’ . . . And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” If you believe in eternal life, then you have to believe in eternal punishment. You cannot pluck certain things out of Scripture and claim it doesn’t apply anymore. The reason we have to seek and find the lost is because there is eternal punishment for those who don’t know the Lord.
• Isaiah 66:24: “As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never go out.” Their spirit will constantly be in torment because they’ll never be in the presence of God.
• Jude 7: “Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them committed sexual immorality and practiced perversions ... and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

Jude 13: “For whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever!” Have you ever been in a pitch-dark room? Can you imagine living forever in complete darkness apart from the presence of God?

2 Thessalonians 1:9: “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the Lord’s presence.” We need to understand the magnitude of what eternity apart from God looks like. Lazarus was in the Lord’s presence, in His eternal strength.

Matthew 13:50: “And throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” We have too many images that tell us hell is not good. We cannot let the one sheep go because, if they don’t know the Lord, this is where they end up. How much do you not care about somebody to let him or her experience this?

Anyone who communicates that hell doesn’t exist has to be a false teacher because then there would be no reason for Christ to do what He did.

Luke 16:25–26: Abraham told the rich man, “During your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.” Their roles were flipped. “A great chasm has been fixed” meant that no one could cross over in either direction. There is no purgatory. There are no second chances. We can’t pray or send someone across to heaven.

Luke 16:27–31: The rich man begged Abraham to send someone to tell his family so they won’t get to this place of torment. But Abraham told him, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” At least 300 times in the Old Testament, Moses and the prophets pointed to the Messiah. Jesus said, “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). The rich man protested that if someone from the dead went to them, then they would repent. But Abraham countered, “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”

CLOSING

As a summary of heaven and hell, Mark Bailey made five statements about death:¹

“There is immediate consciousness after death.” The rich man’s life continued on, and he didn’t like where he ended up.

“Post-death destinies are irreversible.” There is no purgatory or second chance.

“No one can lose or gain salvation after death.”

“The judgments that determine the eternal destinies of either torment or blessing are just.” It’s not God’s fault that someone is in torment because He clearly showed us that we can come to the table. Through the love of Christ, He gave us an out.

“Signs should never be sought as a substitute for the Word of God.” The Word is proof that God is real, but people would rather have miracles than turn to the Word of God.

There is heaven and there is a hell, and it’s not what we experience here on earth right now. This is nothing compared to what’s coming. When C. S. Lewis learned of a tombstone with the epitaph: “Here lies an atheist all dressed up and nowhere to go,” he replied, “I bet he wishes that were so.”²So what’s the big picture? Find the lost lamb before it’s too late. We must have an eternal perspective every day. Colossian 3:1–4 says we can live our lives in one of two worlds—the earthly or the eternal. Our minds, thoughts, actions, and words are all based on the eternal. Let’s introduce this perspective to as many lost sheep, as many rich men, as we can.