Our Faith Rests in the Luxury of God's Word :: Luke 16:19-31

Then [Abraham] said to [the rich man], If they do not hear of Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one should rise from the dead (v 31).

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I heard you all confess that you believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. But do you believe in hell? I need to ask you this question today because there are too many people who call themselves Christians who don’t believe in hell, or Hades. They don’t believe God will consign those who refuse to listen to Moses and the Prophets to burn in the unquenchable fire he prepared first for the devil and his minions. They don’t believe in sin, and they don’t believe that unrepentant sinners will suffer punishment forever too. 

Far more people today believe in heaven than believe in hell. Go figure. More people are looking for a positive experience in church. More people want to hear an inspiring message that teaches them a good word about good living, that teaches them how to be better Christians. To be sure we can do that, too. But more people want to believe that the God of Love loves you so much that he would never punish you. More people want a religion that never talks about eternal damnation. Just give us the good news, they say!

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Brothers and sisters in Christ ... He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!

I pray you actually believe that. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is so plainly proclaimed in our Gospel text today, is in fact one of the most important doctrines of the Christian church. Those who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, do not actually have saving faith. As Saint Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith vain. Then we would be found [to be] false witnesses against God. ... If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins (1 Cor 15:13-16). To believe in the resurrection of the dead, we must first hear of Moses and the Prophets. As Jesus recounted for us, If [you] do not hear of Moses and the prophets, neither will [you] be persuaded if one should rise from the dead (v 31).

To be sure, in our Gospel reading for this First Sunday after Trinity, Jesus is indeed giving us a lesson on loving each other, and caring for the poor and widowed. He is teaching us not to look down on one another. He is teaching us to set aside hate for one another, forgiving each other just as Christ forgave us (Eph 4:32). He is teaching us to have confidence on the day of judgment. He is teaching us about life and death ... of the Promised Land and of Hades. He is teaching us to listen to God’s Good Law and his inerrant instruction. He is teaching us the difference between godliness and ungodliness. He is teaching us to listen to his call to repent ... and to prepare yourselves to receive the Lord’s Supper every time we meet. He is teaching us that ... 

RICH OR POOR, YOU HAVE THE LUXURY OF GOD’S WORD

This is our theme. So let us pray ... 

Lord Jesus Christ, giver and perfecter of our faith, we thank and praise you for continuing among us the preaching of your Gospel for our instruction and edification. Send your blessing upon the Word ... of Moses and the Prophets ... which has been spoken to us. By your Holy Spirit, increase in us the faith you gave us through your Word, that day by day we may be strengthened in your inerrant divine truth so that we may finally receive the good things you have prepared for us through your eternal feast of forgiveness, for you live and reign with the Father and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

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Brothers and sisters in Christ, we don’t talk about eschaton enough ... that is, the last things. So let me remind you: When our Lord returns, judgment will be final. No appeals will be allowed. Those who go to hell will burn in its fire forever. Those who go to Promised Land will enjoy the feast of forgiveness forever. There is no inbetween. As Abraham told the rich, between us and you a great chasm has been established, in order that those wishing to pass through from here to you won’t be able, nor may they pass through from there to us (v 26). 

As Luther once explained in a sermon on this text: Here, we see the judgment of God upon the believers and the unbelievers, judgment which is both dreadful and comforting. It is dreadful to the faithless ... and it is comforting to the faithful. You who have faith are blessed. In the rich man we see the nature of faithlessness ... And in Lazarus, we see the nature of faithfulness.

What we must not do today is view these two men by what they look like. This text is all about the unseen heart. It has nothing to do with wealth or poverty. Notice that Jesus never accused the rich man of adultery, or murder, or robbery. He never accused him of expressing hate or of being violent. In fact, he never accused him of having done anything that our world would condemn. The rich man appeared to be honorable and respectable in his life. Look at him ... he was clothed in purple ... the color of royalty ... and clothed in fine linen, a sign of wealth. Some would say that meant God had blessed him. He feasted sumptuously ... or I should say, he rejoiced throughout the day in splendor (which is what the Greek really says). And just like the older son in the Parable of the Prodigals, which our Gospel reading is linked to, the rich man can be heard saying ... look at how faithful I have been ... aren’t you proud of me? (Lk 15:25-32) 

On the flip side, we also should not judge poor Lazarus by the signs of sin. Seriously, who wants to associate with a guy who lays around all day, begging for scraps? Who wants to be literally cast aside? Who wants to associate with what appears to be someone addicted to meth or crack? Where is their service to their neighbors, right? 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, when the rich man died, he was not punished because he indulged in the good things of life, nor was Lazarus exalted because he had suffered on earth. The rich man was sent to hell because he refused to listen to Moses and the Prophets! He refused to acknowledge his sinfulness and believe he needed a savior for that sin. Even when he had been sent to Hell, he refused to confess. Instead of looking to God for help, he appealed to his heritage as a child of the congregation. Even in death, he thought only of himself. Father Abraham, have mercy on me, he cried. Send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue (v 24). Notice, he wasn’t even praying to God. He didn’t appeal to God at all. He appealed to his heritage as a son of Abraham. He looked upon those who begged at his door to serve him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, repent! Confess your sin and your need for a savior. Repent of becoming numb to the world around you. Repent of telling yourself that since you don’t “bow” to some golden calf, that you don’t have an idol. Repent of telling yourselves, that since I am here most Sundays that I don’t despise preaching. Repent of trying to convince yourselves that you don’t hate or steal ... that you don’t commit adultery. Behold, the eye of YHWH is toward reverence of him, on those waiting for his covenantal love (Ps 33:18). 

Rich or poor, you have the luxury of God’s Word. You can open your eyes and ears to Moses and the Prophets. The Word they speak will in fact point you to Holy Baptism and rejoice in the unending feast of forgiveness that is the Lord’s Supper. These are the riches of God’s Word. They show us Christ, who was given for our highest and greatest good (LC V 67). 

1.

Our Easter cry has been fading away ... like it does all too often every year. But you can’t remind yourself of it too often. As Jesus reminded us today, because you hear of Moses and the prophets ... you can now be persuaded if one should rise from the dead (v 31).

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah! The Law kills but the Gospel gives us life.

Our Lord Jesus was born for this reason. He was born without sin so that he could do what you can’t ... obeying the full counsel of Moses. He lived without sin and thereby fulfilled the prophecy of becoming the Perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. More than that he suffered all of God’s wrath for your sin so that you can receive God’s righteousness. So we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us (1 Jn 4:16). On account of our faith in Jesus, he has cast aside our fear, for fear has to do with punishment. 

And now we have true hope that will carry us to the resurrection. God loved us in this way: he gave us his only begotten son so that whoever has faith in him may not perish but may have eternal life (Jn 3:16). Which is why Abraham told the rich man, Child, remember that you received your good in your life, and Lazarus likewise the bad things. But now he is comforted here (v 25).

Though he had nothing our world calls good, he has luxury of faith in the son of God. He has faith that apprehends what Moses and the Prophets told us: Our Savior has taken away your sin and given you eternal life. This is the point today! This is your treasure today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Word of the Gospel is all sufficient. It comes in Word and sacrament. And, oh, what a joy these means of grace bring! God has united you with himself in baptism. He declares you innocent on account of Christ, who paid for your sins. And he has clothed you in his righteousness ... the very robes you wear as he calls you forward to be nourished by the unending feast of forgiveness that we call the Lord’s Supper. 

In this Gospel, our faith rests ... in Jesus’ name.