Luke 16: 22 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;23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.24 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.25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
There are many places in scripture that Jesus taught about hell. Many Old Testament writers spoke of it calling it the fire or the pit. Jesus described what is after this life. Those who are not right—this includes not only evil people but everyone who doesn’t know Jesus as Savior—go to hell. If we want to be saved from hell, God has one remedy for the eternal punishment of sin.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They sinned and lost their rightness with God. They ate of the forbidden fruit and instead of gaining perfect knowledge their disobedience cost them their status with God. None of us can say we’ve lived perfectly. All I can say is that I trust a perfect Savior. It’s not done on our terms; we must do it on God’s terms. We can’t blame others. We can’t even blame Adam and Eve. We all have a choice. Until we reach the age of accountability—when we know right from wrong—we are protected. After that there is a choice to make because we become responsible for ourselves toward God.
That’s why God sent his son to earth. He knew we’d all be guilty of the iniquity and the effects of the fallen human race. We can’t help each other. We can’t help ourselves. We’re lost without our Savior. Jesus became human for us. He was born. The book of Luke gives us details by saying that unto us a Savior was born. No one had done that before and no one has since. That wasn’t Part 1 with Part 2 to come. Jesus did it all by himself the first time. Even though he didn’t sin and he lived a sinless life, he took the form of humanity. He didn’t fall into sin even though human tendency would be to sin. He could have kicked his divine nature in gear and handled the whole experience differently. He held that back and for 33 years lived like us. He was provoked and tempted as we are. It was hard for him as it is us yet he said no. We do the opposite and give in. We fall short and sin. We can’t trust ourselves to do the right thing. You’ll end up in hell trying to do it your way on your own. You must trust Jesus Christ to escape hell. Jesus overcame. He didn’t sin with his heart, his mind or his mouth. Everyone forsook him but he didn’t die a casualty.
The rich man lived flippantly ignoring the signs. When he died Abraham told him remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. While alive his life revolved around himself. After death he begged for Lazarus to return from the dead and warn his brothers about hell. Abraham told him they had Moses and the prophets. One of the greatest torments of hell is knowing your family is following you there. We need to fear hell. Unfortunately people don’t even believe in hell these days. It’s just a four letter curse word. Jesus speaks time after time of the torments of hell and the flame thereof and knowing your family and friends are going there is tormenting.
Jesus is the only one who can save us out of hell. By faith, when I go through the valley of death the light I see at the end won’t be the fires of hell. Jesus saved me from hell and I’ll go to heaven to be with him. The thief on the cross asked to be remembered by Jesus. What was his response? Jesus told him that he would be with him in paradise that day. Jesus died first, before the thief, thereby giving him the Savior he needed to meet him and take him home. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. The book of Romans tells us that if we confess that he died for us and was raised from the dead we shall be saved. Jesus stands at the door of our heart knocking. He wants to come in because he knows that behind the closed door of our heart is the sin that keeps us from him and will send us to hell. There is one thing that guarantees we won’t go to hell. Ask Jesus to come in and be your Savior. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done. Your standing before God is fallen. If he comes into your heart all will be right with him.
There are torments in hell: flames, heat, thirst to name a few. We think of horrible body pain in this life. If we’re saved we’ll get a release from that in heaven. The rich man had everything in life but he died lost and lifted up his eyes in hell in its torments. He knew he’d not get out. He had a memory he couldn’t wipe out. He was separated from his family. He had no future. One day hell will give up its inhabitants so they can stand before God in judgment. The angels will then put them into the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone forever. You can have a real future if you believe God. Confess that Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead on the third day.
You think life is bad now? You’d better get saved! We all deserve to go to hell but by God’s mercy the saved will go to heaven. I’m a sinner saved by grace. You can be too. Make sure you’re where you should be with God. There is a heaven to receive through Jesus and a hell you don’t have to go to. Accept the Lord today.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 