The Reality of Hell: Choices and Eternal Consequences

There is clearly an interest and how do we figure out the thing that is mysterious? The thing that is kind of intriguing but the thing that is also can be very scary. How can we make the thing that is unseen become seen? How do we take the things that are invisible and bring clarity on what we're supposed to think about these things? [00:03:48]

You see, Thomas Jefferson was somebody who was intrigued by Jesus. He really liked the ideas of his love and he he liked the idea of of who he was and and he liked the idea of what he stood for in his teachings. But there were certain parts of the story of Jesus and there were certain parts of the Bible that he just couldn't agree with. He didn't like, he didn't believe. [00:07:14]

Some of you, maybe because you didn't grow up in church or maybe you grew up in a church and you never talked about hell. Why would you talk about hell? Like why would you talk about that? And and it was just assumed that hell, if it is a real place, definitely doesn't have people like us there. It's like the really really bad people. But you thought well God is loving and God is good so no one actually goes to hell right or maybe your just assumption is this is that essentially it's like heaven is like the top of the mountain and all of us are going to end up at the top of the mountain and some people may choose Jesus and some people may choose over here and some people may choose something else over here and it really doesn't matter what you choose because all it's going to end up at the same exact place and so if hell is real it's like empty there's like nobody there like it can't really be something that's real. [00:09:16]

Please hear me. There's no biblical basis for purgatory. And you can imagine how that's been abused and misused over the course of time. United City Church, we're Bible people. Like we believe the Bible speaks. So what we want to do is we want to let the Bible speak about a topic that you would be surprised how often it comes up in the Bible. While we may try to cut it out, if we were going to cut out the sections on hell, we'd be cutting out a lot of the New Testament and a lot of the teachings of Jesus. [00:10:35]

Did you know that Jesus himself talked about hell more than any other person? Did you know that Jesus talks about hell 13% of the time? 13% of what he says is about hell. And if you look at all the parables that Jesus taught, which were stories meant to teach a truth, over half of the parables were about eternal separation, judgment, and hell, which is what the case is today in Luke chapter 16 in the parable that we're going to see. [00:11:08]

Jesus teaches using a contrast between a rich man and a poor man. What he presents is a have and have not. What you see is the rich man is presented as very wealthy. He's very self-absorbed. Purple was the color of luxury. Only kings or royalties had purple. But it says here that he has purple, which means this, he is loaded. This guy has a lot of money. He's got some significance and some status. He ate the finest foods. He was a lover of money. [00:13:06]

But the parable gives us some insight in that how we live on earth affects what happens to us when we die. Notice the contrast. It continues with the two men uh in verse 22. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. [00:15:03]

It says he was in torment. Verse 24 says we see he was in physical pain. He's asking for mercy. You see this idea repeated multiple times when hell is mentioned in God's word. It is a place of intense physical pain. Matthew 25:31 reads, "When the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." [00:15:56]

Anytime you see depictions of hell, you see many times fire and images of suffering. But what I want you to see is that it's not just physical pain. It's mental anguish. The word anguish used in verse 24 actually implies not just physical but mental torment. It's a different word from torment found in verse 23 which is physical pain. This word refers to continual pain and grief especially mentally. [00:17:35]

It's important to note, we got to stop here for a second. Abraham is not in Abraham is not saying that the rich man is in hell because he was rich. If that's the case, all of us would be in hell because categorically all of us, no matter where we are, no matter how much money you have in this room and hearing my voice, you are loaded compared to the rest of the world. It's not saying that that is the case. [00:18:19]

The context for this parable is found in a larger discussion with the Pharisees over Jesus where Jesus was trying to show them what they thought made them successful and right with God was actually untrue. Go back with me to verse 14. Let's see what the context is. It says, "The Pharisees who were lovers of money heard all these things and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is abomination in the sight of God." [00:18:42]

The reason the rich man was in hell was because he loved his riches and he loved his status more than he loved God. Hear this. And hell was actually his preference. [00:19:20]

What we miss in this passage and what we miss in the story found throughout God's word about hell is that hell is not a place that anybody's forced to go to. Hell instead is a place where people choose to go because they they say that they love God but but they love other things more. They may they they they say that that they don't really want to follow what God says he's supposed to do. They instead want to follow what they want to do. [00:22:20]

God in no way desires that any should perish. He takes no joy and no pride in allowing people to choose the very thing he knows will lead to anguish and torment and sorrow. [00:24:11]

What I want you to see, it's so important for you to notice this, is that in hell, it's a place where people live for themselves, their pleasure, their plan, their future, and they do so as though God doesn't exist. And so what God does in his mercy and his grace is he allows them to get the full consequences of their choice. [00:25:31]

If this is what you choose, here's what I want you to make sure you understand. There is no second chance. Look with me in verse 26. Besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who had passed from here to you may not be able and none may cross from there to us. There's a permanence. There's no second chance. There's no turning back. [00:27:00]

The decision that you make in this life are going to have permanent eternal consequences in the life to come look at the excuse of the rich man who uses in defense of his family beginning in verse 27 and he said this then I beg you father to send him to my father's house for I have five brothers so that he may warn them lest they also come into this place of torment. [00:27:47]

We use the same excuses now. We just take a request. God, if you'll heal my family member, then I will believe in you. God, if you'll do this, then I will be serious about you. And we're trying to make deals with God. And here's what he's trying to say. Hebrews chapter 3 7 and 8. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. [00:28:20]

To make no choice is to make the wrong choice. Instead, we've got to be honest and we've got to see that he says if you have Moses and the prophets, you've got everything you need. What does this mean? Moses and the prophets means the scriptures. Folks, the fact that you got the scriptures in front of you, the fact that you're hearing my voice, you are accountable before God. [00:29:25]

You have an opportunity to avoid the torment and the anguish of hell, but it only comes through relationship with Jesus. I want to speak to two different groups in closing in this room. First group of people are believers in Jesus Christ. Those who have like Lazarus in this story come to the realization of your desperate condition, and your need based upon your sin. You've confessed Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life. When you die, you know you're going to experience the joy of heaven instead of the horror of hell. [00:29:51]

So my challenge to you is to use every bit of your time and your energy and your money and your talents and your very life to ensure that the reality of hell is true for as few people as possible. You have no power in and of yourself to make a choice for somebody else, but you can absolutely let them know about their choice. And we must allow the doctrine and the reality of hell not to make us feel real good about ourselves because we're not going, but instead, let it cause us to have a burden for our neighbor across the street. [00:30:37]

I wish so badly that I could tell you that, hey, if you just do enough good things, you can avoid this torment. You can avoid this anguish. But it's just not it's not true. But I do want to tell you about a way that you can avoid hell. You may look at your life and you may say, "Well, man, I feel like I'm pretty successful. I don't really know if I have anything else that I need." And I would simply tell you, you know for sure that that success is only fleeting and temporary. It doesn't satisfy. There's something more. [00:32:09]