Luke 16:19-31

1. Intro.
1. there is one thing that is absolutely certain in life, and that is death – Hebrews 9:27
2. God’s wrath is upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men
3. it is sad that many Christians think the wrath of God as something for which they should apologize
1. it causes some to swell up with resentment when they hear it mentioned
2. some have been so fooled by false teaching that they claim God's wrath is not consistent with His goodness
3. God's wrath does not reveal a blemish in His divine character
1. a careful study of the Bible will show that there are more references to the wrath of God, than there is to the love of God
2. the wrath of God is as much a divine perfection as is His mercy, grace, power, love
3. why? because indifference to sin is a moral blemish
4. God is holy, righteous and just, He cannot allow sin and rebellion to go unpunished -- "God will not clear the guilty"
4. why is there such a place as Hell
1. because God's purpose is to rid His creation of the existence of that which ruined it -- SIN
1. sin is the source of death, sorrow, agony, pain, and every other vial thing
2. sin is the source of all crime, immorality, war, mischief and rebellion; and GOD HATES SIN
2. in God's plan of redemption, He has made it possible for those who would receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to enter His presence and abide with Him eternally
3. God will overpower and defeat those who reject Jesus Christ
1. He will do this through the continuous, unrelenting agony of Hells fire
2. this Hell is so horrible that there will be no time to consider, "the pleasures of sin for a season"
3. the flames of Hell are everlasting and the sensation of the pain is without relief
5. there are three reasons why Christians should frequently consider the wrath of God
1. so that we may remember God's hatred for sin
2. so that we may remember to honor, fear and reverence God
3. so that we will remember to give God praise for saving us from the wrath to come
6. through this story of the rich man and Lazarus, we may learn some very important lessons about eternity
2. what may seem to be good outwardly, may be utterly corrupt in the sight of God (v.19, 22, 23)
1. Isaiah 64:6 - "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags
2. Romans 8:8 - "they that are in the flesh cannot please God"
3. it does not matter how good a person is on the outside; what matters is what is on the inside - Matthew 23:25-27
4. notice what Jesus said to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:17
3. what we may consider helpless and worthless, may in the eyes of God be of great value (v.20-22)
1. I Corinthians 1:27-29 - "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise …"
2. Matthew 5:3 - "Blesses are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
4. wealth, possessions and fame will not be rewarded with ease in eternity (v.24)
1. Mark 8:36,37 - "what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
2. those who leave God out of their life are headed for destruction - Job 21:13-21
5. the pursuit of temporal things and the neglect of eternal things will haunt those in hell (v.25)
1. remember when that wimpy, goody-two-shoe Christian tried to tell you about Heaven and Hell
2. those in hell will remember that they rejected Christ, what horrible memories they will have
6. when death comes, saints and sinners are eternally separated (v.26)
1. it’s hard to imagine having no other companions than the ungodly - Revelation 21:27; 22:14-15
2. they will never see a saved love one, and they will never enjoy the company of a lost loved one
7. there will be no prayers answered from hell (v.24,27-29)
8. those who are lost when they die, are eternally lost (v.26,29-31) read Revelation 14:10-11