November 22, 2009   Christ The King Sunday   Luke 16.19-31

Hymns: 216, 361, 341, 153

The Bible tells us that "The foolishness of God is wiser than men" (1 Cor 1.25). To human logic it is foolish even to suggest that the God of the Bible or any god would himself step into the world to save mankind from sin and the damnation that follows this life as the eternal punishment for sin. It is foolishness to promote the idea that a divine God would become a human being, born into this world of a virgin mother, live an absolutely perfect life and then credit a corrupt human race for having lived that perfect life, die on a cross 2000 years ago and make the claim that the death of this Jesus, Son of Mary and Son of God paid for the sins of every human being. It is foolishness to think that after spending three days of being dead and in a grave this Jesus restored life to himself, made appearances to his fol-lowers for 40 days following his resurrection from the grave and then went back into heaven from where he rules and controls all things on this earth. Foolishness! Nonsense! Human logic and wisdom consider it to be complete rubbish that such ideas are being taught and that intelligent people are being told that they must believe these things or they will experience a very unpleasant and horrible life in hell after they die, a life of misery and pain that will last forever.

Some wise people deny that God even exists and prefer to be-lieve that there is no life of any kind after death...once you’re dead you’re dead. There is neither a happy life or a sad life that follows earthly life. Other wise people admit that they realize that some kind of spirit being created the world, expects that we human beings live up to his high expectations during our lifetime and will decide the eternal fate of everyone after they/we die. But they make no effort to discover for themselves who this God might be. When you invite them to meet your God in the Bible they "blow you off" and say, "Maybe...some time...not now...I’ll think about it." This is a SERMON FOR PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO THINK THEY WILL NEVER DIE and can put off any attempt to discover who God is before it’s too late, that is, before they die.

This was the case with a man in a story Jesus told...a rich man who had anything and everything money could buy but had no use for God. Nor was he at all sympathetic toward a beggar named Lazarus who sat near the gate to his home, starving to death little by little, day after day. He was too weak to stop dogs from licking the open sores on his body. The rich man saw this and ignored the agony of Lazarus. There was no compassion in him, no feeling for a man whose life he could have spared if only he had instructed his servants to give him the leftovers, the food which was perhaps thrown into the garbage at the end of the day. More importantly, this rich man not only had no compassion for a fellow human being; he had no faith in the true God and made no effort during his lifetime to discover who the true God is.

My oh my! How he changed after he died. He who had no time for the beggar Lazarus before he died was in such pain after he died that he shamelessly pleaded with Abraham that Lazarus make time for him to relieve him of just some of his pain as he suffered the torment of hell.

Having to face reality and the painful consequences of our mis-takes drives all of us to the point of honesty. Have you ever lied about something you did, and kept on lying until it became obvious to you that others knew you were lying...and only then did you speak the truth and ask forgiveness? Have you ever or are you now choosing to cling to a sin, thinking that you can get away with it as long as you tell God you’re sorry each time after you’ve committed it...but you know that you are only lying to yourself? Have you ever or are you now engaged in something you know is harmful, something that is hurting yourself, ignoring the people who love you who are warning you to stop doing what you’re doing before it’s too late, before you damage yourself to a point of no return...but you keep on making yourself believe that whatever it is that you’re doing will not backfire on you even though you know it probably will? Being addicted to drugs or alcohol or any sin brings out the liar in us, the foolishness of believing that we won’t regret our sinful choices.

Do you have a friend or loved one who is like this in his or her spiritual life? They keep putting of doing anything about discovering what God has to say about their unbelief even though they know that a day is coming when they will have to face God himself and answer for their unbelief...they seem to think they will never die and can put God off forever. But you, and they, know that isn’t true.

Just like the man in our text. After he died it was too late for him to make any changes in his heart and life and attitude toward God. The Bible tells us (Heb 9.27). If want to reach someone who’s putting off the opportunity to get to know God while he or she is still alive, that is, if this person seems to think that he/she will never die, then learn this from what Abra-ham told the rich man (v 25-31). The rich man had brothers who did not believe in the true God and he thought that if someone who had died could be allowed to come back to life, perhaps some dead friend of his brothers, then those brothers would have a change of heart before it was too late for them as it was now too late for him. Abraham’s answer was, "They have Moses and the prophets, they have the Old Testament scriptures to tell them what happens to people who die without faith in the true God. Even if someone returned from the dead they would find a reason to ignore whatever he had to say."

There is no greater authority on earth than the Word of our living God. The rich man should have believed what was said of Job (22.5), Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? He should have read the book of Psalms (25.11,12), For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. He should have discovered the word of Isaiah the prophet (53.5,6), But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. These are the words of God that lead to repentance and faith and forgiveness in Jesus.

And this is how you reach your friend who seems to think that he/she will never die. You remind him/her that death is on its way; no one escapes death. You remind him/her that death is the result of sin and damnation in hell is sin’s curse...an eternal curse that will never end. You remind him/her that God does not desire to condemn anyone to hell but must and will do so to those who do not repent of his/her sins. But tell your friend also that God has provided the way to escape hell by sending Jesus to pay for all sin and to offer eternal life in heaven to all who believe that his death on the cross paid for sin and his resurrection from the dead proves that forgiveness is our through faith in Jesus.

You really don’t have to convince your friend that death is inevitable; he/she knows that already. You do need to convince your friend that the greatest mistake he/she can make in life is to pretend that death will never come and to avoid doing something about that before it’s too late...before death comes. Lead your friend to see and confess his/her sins, to acknowledge that God’s judgment on sin is eternal death in hell. Lead your friend to see Jesus who suffered hell for all of us, who died and rose again so that salvation and heaven can be ours by coming to faith in Jesus before we die because after we die, it’s too late. Bring your friend to the joy of Christ so he/she can live the rest of his/her earthly days with the assurance that eternal life is his/hers on the other side of death. That is why Jesus came to be the world’s Savior from sin...and death...and hell.