Sometimes it seems if it weren't for bad luck we'd have no luck at all. Know anyone like that? Some years ago I had a couple of people working for me who were like that. One of them looked forward to his annual performance evaluation. He was a diligent employee. He received a cost of living pay raise and a merit pay raise. Together they boosted his income just enough to raise him to a different tax bracket and lower his monthly take-home pay. Another one had run into trouble with the law due to a violent temper outburst. He left his home with his electronic shackle on his ankle. His car wouldn't start so he got into a rattly old pickup truck he kept for snow plowing and farm use. On the way to work he got a flat tire. Yes, it was raining. Yes, the sheriff's deputy was waiting for him at work when he arrived. He had been out of range for too long. I hope these are extreme hard luck stories but I fear they aren't. It seems that no matter what we do, sometimes we just can't win.
What about Lazarus in our Gospel passage today? We don't know why he was poor. He just was. He had some health issues, probably related to malnutrition or the inability to groom himself, maybe both. He was a beggar who had nothing. The only solace he could get was the dogs, and their nursing care isn't really the best for people. He was hungry, he was cold in the winter, hot in the summer. This is a hard luck story, no doubt. Lazarus wasn't the kind of person most of us would choose to associate with. In fact, I dare say he was the kind of person that none of us would choose to associate with unless we were doing it from a desire to serve him. We probably wouldn't want to be too near him. If he came in to worship with us no doubt the up-wind seats would be at a premium and he would have a lot of people watching him closely. And if it weren't for bad luck, Lazarus would have no luck at all.
What do we know about the rich man? We don't know why he was rich. He just was. Maybe he had been left a lot of money. Maybe he was a successful businessman. Maybe he was a crook of some sort. People became rich two thousand years ago in the same kind of ways they become rich now. We do get an impression that the rich man doesn't seem too committed to charity. Then again, maybe he is a charitable man. We don't know that he denied beggars access to his trash can. In fact, it may be that Lazarus hung out at his gate because he was fairly liberal with his leftovers. It's altogether possible. We simply don't know. He was rich and Lazarus was poor.
Here's what we do know from our passage today. Lazarus died trusting in the Lord. The rich man died not trusting in the Lord.
Lots of rich people believe. Lots of rich people trust the Lord. Many of them go a lot of extra miles for people in need. Lots of rich people feed and clothe the poor. Many of them are involved in service projects, at least in funding service projects to bring the Gospel and physical relief to people around the world. Having a lot of money is no reason why you can't live out your faith in very positive and concrete ways. And I trust we'd all like to have more opportunities like that. Not one of us would be depressed and discouraged if our Lord brought more money into our lives. And I trust that we would all seriously think about the best way to use that money in Christ's service. Yes, lots of rich people believe and act in accordance with their faith in Christ. There's no reason to doubt it.
How about poor people? Like rich people, some poor people live lives of faith and some don't. I haven't had the opportunity to work much with very wealthy people. But I have had some opportunities to work with poor people. I can testify that nobody is too poor to be a villain. Nobody is too poor to be a liar, a thief, a cheat, and an opportunist. Poor people are, in fact, just like rich people. Some are faithful to the Lord. Some are not. Some will take whatever resources the Lord gives them with rejoicing and try to use them in a godly way. Some won't.
I think in our culture we have a tendency to say that rich people can barely be Christians and poor people are by definition faithful to Christ. But it isn't so. Yet the opposite is not true either. Being wealthy is not a sign of being godly, nor is being poor a sign of being ungodly. That is not what's happening with the rich man and Lazarus.
We need to look to the belief those people have. The rich man trusted in himself and his riches. Lazarus trusted in God. How does this affect their destinations? For those who trust in someone other than God, we see the destiny is eternal torment. there is no relief.
The rich man is in agony. he is surrounded with flames but he is not allowed to burn up. He is going to spend eternity in this fiery torment. He who had resources in abundance finds that he can no longer trust in himself, his bank account, his stock portfolio, his pantry, and his servants. He is in a position where nobody can or will help him. What's worse, he is being tantalized by the knowledge that Lazarus is in a place of comfort and bliss.
Meanwhile, we don't have much of a picture of Lazarus, but he seems perfectly comfortable and at ease. Maybe for the first time in his life he is not being gnawed by hunger and disease. He is at rest. Those who die trusting in the Lord receive comfort and blessing.
So, believe on the Lord and receive eternal bliss. Don't believe on the Lord and receive eternal torment. This seems like a serious no-brainer. Why is it so difficult then? Could it be that we desire to earn merit on our own? Could it be that we spend our time and effort trying to figure out whether we are believing well enough? Could it be that we are looking for signs of God's blessing, like adequate riches, to show us that we are really faithful? Could it be that we are busy counting how many opportunities we have had to share the Gospel in our workplace? Could it be that we are tied up with thinking about how we fall short in solving world hunger? Maybe we fall into doubt about whether we are doing enough for our Lord. And in our attempts to serve our Lord faithfully we end up trusting in ourselves. Or maybe we fall off the horse in the other direction. Salvation is by grace through faith, so it doesn't matter if we give any food to those beggars. Salvation is by grace through faith and it is applied to me so it doesn't matter if I do any good works. After all, I'm safe. It doesn't really matter if my neighbor is suffering. Helping him won't earn me any merit, so I'll just stay to myself. Both directions are wrong.
Salvation is by grace through faith. Let us make no mistake of it. Jesus Christ, the savior of the world has come to seek and to save that which was lost. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. This is public knowledge. It is all over the Bible. We don't need someone to come back from the dead to tell us. We don't need Lazarus to rise and tell our brothers. They have Moses and the prophets. For that matter, they have us as well. Many people will not be moved to believe, even though they are confronted with Jesus who rose from the dead. People seem more ready to accept some sort of secret knowledge and a false gospel that requires them to earn their own merit than they are to accept the true Gospel that Jesus has lived and died on our behalf, right out in front of everyone, and requires only that we believe he is who he said he is and he has done what he said he has done. But this is the liberation of the true Gospel. Salvation is accomplished in the finished work of Christ. And this is the critical message that our world needs to hear. It is a life and death matter.
Our Lord has given godly leaders, like the elders, the church council, pastors, and like you who believe Jesus. He has entrusted this precious Gospel to people like you and like me. Let us go forth, then, believing the Gospel, bearing the liberating news of God's grace to our world. Let us encourage one another in this faith. And let us do it all with the precious Word of God, given to proclaim the freedom of the Gospel of Christ.
Let us rise to pray.
Lord, create in us a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within us. Cast us not away from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of Your salvation. We pray that you would make us people who trust in you, whose lives are transformed to lives of hope in the promise of blessing and grace which you have given us. Use us also as servants of that precious Gospel, that we may bear it with us into every situation you place us in. May we see how to bring the good things that you provide as a blessing to our neighbor, showing forth the mercy and grace given to us by our Lord. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
What about Lazarus in our Gospel passage today? We don't know why he was poor. He just was. He had some health issues, probably related to malnutrition or the inability to groom himself, maybe both. He was a beggar who had nothing. The only solace he could get was the dogs, and their nursing care isn't really the best for people. He was hungry, he was cold in the winter, hot in the summer. This is a hard luck story, no doubt. Lazarus wasn't the kind of person most of us would choose to associate with. In fact, I dare say he was the kind of person that none of us would choose to associate with unless we were doing it from a desire to serve him. We probably wouldn't want to be too near him. If he came in to worship with us no doubt the up-wind seats would be at a premium and he would have a lot of people watching him closely. And if it weren't for bad luck, Lazarus would have no luck at all.
What do we know about the rich man? We don't know why he was rich. He just was. Maybe he had been left a lot of money. Maybe he was a successful businessman. Maybe he was a crook of some sort. People became rich two thousand years ago in the same kind of ways they become rich now. We do get an impression that the rich man doesn't seem too committed to charity. Then again, maybe he is a charitable man. We don't know that he denied beggars access to his trash can. In fact, it may be that Lazarus hung out at his gate because he was fairly liberal with his leftovers. It's altogether possible. We simply don't know. He was rich and Lazarus was poor.
Here's what we do know from our passage today. Lazarus died trusting in the Lord. The rich man died not trusting in the Lord.
Lots of rich people believe. Lots of rich people trust the Lord. Many of them go a lot of extra miles for people in need. Lots of rich people feed and clothe the poor. Many of them are involved in service projects, at least in funding service projects to bring the Gospel and physical relief to people around the world. Having a lot of money is no reason why you can't live out your faith in very positive and concrete ways. And I trust we'd all like to have more opportunities like that. Not one of us would be depressed and discouraged if our Lord brought more money into our lives. And I trust that we would all seriously think about the best way to use that money in Christ's service. Yes, lots of rich people believe and act in accordance with their faith in Christ. There's no reason to doubt it.
How about poor people? Like rich people, some poor people live lives of faith and some don't. I haven't had the opportunity to work much with very wealthy people. But I have had some opportunities to work with poor people. I can testify that nobody is too poor to be a villain. Nobody is too poor to be a liar, a thief, a cheat, and an opportunist. Poor people are, in fact, just like rich people. Some are faithful to the Lord. Some are not. Some will take whatever resources the Lord gives them with rejoicing and try to use them in a godly way. Some won't.
I think in our culture we have a tendency to say that rich people can barely be Christians and poor people are by definition faithful to Christ. But it isn't so. Yet the opposite is not true either. Being wealthy is not a sign of being godly, nor is being poor a sign of being ungodly. That is not what's happening with the rich man and Lazarus.
We need to look to the belief those people have. The rich man trusted in himself and his riches. Lazarus trusted in God. How does this affect their destinations? For those who trust in someone other than God, we see the destiny is eternal torment. there is no relief.
The rich man is in agony. he is surrounded with flames but he is not allowed to burn up. He is going to spend eternity in this fiery torment. He who had resources in abundance finds that he can no longer trust in himself, his bank account, his stock portfolio, his pantry, and his servants. He is in a position where nobody can or will help him. What's worse, he is being tantalized by the knowledge that Lazarus is in a place of comfort and bliss.
Meanwhile, we don't have much of a picture of Lazarus, but he seems perfectly comfortable and at ease. Maybe for the first time in his life he is not being gnawed by hunger and disease. He is at rest. Those who die trusting in the Lord receive comfort and blessing.
So, believe on the Lord and receive eternal bliss. Don't believe on the Lord and receive eternal torment. This seems like a serious no-brainer. Why is it so difficult then? Could it be that we desire to earn merit on our own? Could it be that we spend our time and effort trying to figure out whether we are believing well enough? Could it be that we are looking for signs of God's blessing, like adequate riches, to show us that we are really faithful? Could it be that we are busy counting how many opportunities we have had to share the Gospel in our workplace? Could it be that we are tied up with thinking about how we fall short in solving world hunger? Maybe we fall into doubt about whether we are doing enough for our Lord. And in our attempts to serve our Lord faithfully we end up trusting in ourselves. Or maybe we fall off the horse in the other direction. Salvation is by grace through faith, so it doesn't matter if we give any food to those beggars. Salvation is by grace through faith and it is applied to me so it doesn't matter if I do any good works. After all, I'm safe. It doesn't really matter if my neighbor is suffering. Helping him won't earn me any merit, so I'll just stay to myself. Both directions are wrong.
Salvation is by grace through faith. Let us make no mistake of it. Jesus Christ, the savior of the world has come to seek and to save that which was lost. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. This is public knowledge. It is all over the Bible. We don't need someone to come back from the dead to tell us. We don't need Lazarus to rise and tell our brothers. They have Moses and the prophets. For that matter, they have us as well. Many people will not be moved to believe, even though they are confronted with Jesus who rose from the dead. People seem more ready to accept some sort of secret knowledge and a false gospel that requires them to earn their own merit than they are to accept the true Gospel that Jesus has lived and died on our behalf, right out in front of everyone, and requires only that we believe he is who he said he is and he has done what he said he has done. But this is the liberation of the true Gospel. Salvation is accomplished in the finished work of Christ. And this is the critical message that our world needs to hear. It is a life and death matter.
Our Lord has given godly leaders, like the elders, the church council, pastors, and like you who believe Jesus. He has entrusted this precious Gospel to people like you and like me. Let us go forth, then, believing the Gospel, bearing the liberating news of God's grace to our world. Let us encourage one another in this faith. And let us do it all with the precious Word of God, given to proclaim the freedom of the Gospel of Christ.
Let us rise to pray.
Lord, create in us a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within us. Cast us not away from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of Your salvation. We pray that you would make us people who trust in you, whose lives are transformed to lives of hope in the promise of blessing and grace which you have given us. Use us also as servants of that precious Gospel, that we may bear it with us into every situation you place us in. May we see how to bring the good things that you provide as a blessing to our neighbor, showing forth the mercy and grace given to us by our Lord. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com
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