By F. D. Adkins
This past week I studied the Book of Luke, chapter sixteen, focusing on the story of the rich man and the beggar. I have read and heard that story many times, but for some reason, this week the story struck me in a whole new way. I stopped and thought about the need to share the Gospel, and how we are to tell others about Jesus. But the thing that hit me the hardest is that in these verses, Jesus paints a clear picture of what happens if we fail to obey God and tell the world about Him. Yes, it is up to each person whether he or she chooses to accept Christ as Savior, but as Paul puts it in Romans 10:14 (KJV), “…how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher…?”
As you know in the verses of Luke Chapter 16, Jesus is telling a story about a rich man who led a luxurious life and a beggar who waited at the gate of the rich man’s home just hoping for a few crumbs left from the rich man’s meal. The beggar died and went to Heaven, but the rich man fell into hell.
- “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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.” Luke 16:23-24 KJV
But see, it was too late for the rich man to beg for mercy. He had his lifetime to do so but had chosen otherwise. When the rich man realizes that he has no chance to escape the eternal torment he has chosen, he asks for his five brothers to be warned so they would not make the same mistake.
- “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” Luke 16:27-28 KJV.
As Christians, we long for Heaven. We long to be in our eternal home. We long to stand face to face with the Savior who loves us so much that, not only did He give His life, but He suffered great torture to spend forever with us. So, when we tell other people about our Savior, we share all about how great Heaven is going to be.
- Jesus refers to Heaven as “paradise” (Luke 23:43 KJV).
- And of course, we have to share how their will be no more tears or pain. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain…” (Revelation 21:4 KJV).
And maybe we add some descriptions of the beauty of Heaven.
- “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.” (Revelation 21:18 KJV).
- “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it…” (Revelation 21:23 KJV).
- “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Revelation 22:1 KJV).
But… when we share the Gospel, do we also share the warning? Do we let them know that eternity does not only exist in Heaven? The rich man did not want his brothers to suffer as he was. He wanted them warned.
Yes, we tell them of a great Savior who took the punishment for our sins so we can live in an eternal paradise with Him. We tell them how Jesus stood in our place, and as a free gift to us, took our punishment. We tell them they must confess their sins and accept that gift (believe Jesus died for them).
But as we share the Gospel, do we ever warn others how horrible it will be if they don’t accept Jesus’s gift… if they have to take the punishment themselves? In the story above, we already know the Bible says there will be torment, but here are a few more descriptions from the Bible.
- “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:11 KJV).
- “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 KJV).
- “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:49-50 KJV).
- “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 KJV).
Going back to the story in the book of Luke chapter sixteen, the rich man has asked for his brothers to be warned. This is the response given in Jesus’ story. “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29 KJV). To me, Jesus is saying that our warning is clearly stated in the Bible, God’s Word. So, I believe that when we share the Gospel, we need to share the Good News of what Jesus has done for us. We need to share the greatness of God’s love. We need to tell how He loves us so much that He gave His Son so that we could spend eternity with Him. We need to share the joy and the beauty that we will experience in Heaven. We need to share all of that because it is in God’s Word. But I also believe that we need to share the alternative to accepting God’s love. Why? Because the warning along with a clear description of hell is also found in God’s Word to us.
