Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
February 10, 2002 AM
An Appointment We Will All Keep
Reading - Luke 16.19-31
Death... It breaks our hearts... Brings tears to our eyes... And sadness into our lives. For many today, death has become their greatest fear. Our fear of death has caused us to invent euphemisms so we don't have to say the word.
But we must know this morning that... There is nothing wrong with death and dying... The words are used over 1300 times in our King James Bible. In fact, Solomon once wrote in Ecclesiastes 7.4... The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning... But the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. Solomon is saying... Those who refuse to take time to think about death and dying are fools.
Have you ever given any thought as to how we will die? Most of us envision dying at a ripe old age between two crisp hospital sheets... holding the hands of our spouse and children. But, the truth is, when we look at history, this is unlikely.... Few die in this manner.
Most people die before they expect to, and in unexpected ways.
- David's son Amnon died rip-roaring drunk.
- Annias & Sapphira died lying.
- Goliath died boasting.
- Many of the Jews died in the wilderness... complaining... murmuring.
- Job's ten children died at a party.
- Jesus and Stephen died in prayer.
- A young man in Acts 20 died during the worship service.
Of course the question again is NOT WHEN... WHERE... Or HOW... But are we READY?
Access a worship bulletin... And let's see what we can learn about this subject.
The first point I want to make is that death is the separation of BODY & SOUL. I am six feet tall... weigh 193 pounds... have dark brown hair with a lot of gray... Green eyes and dark skin.
If I were to die during this sermon... I would still be six feet... weigh 193 pounds and have gray hair and green eyes... But Randall would be missing. How do we explain this?... It's difficult isn't it? You see... Death is a mystery. Over the years, science has struggled with defining death and determining exactly when it occurs.
- Some would say... Death takes place when one stops breathing.
- Others would maintain that it is when the heart stops.
- Today... Scientists would point out that death occurs when brain activity ceases.
But perhaps the best definition is that death is the separation of the body and soul. According to Ecclesiastes 12.7... Death is when the body begins to return to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Secondly... Even though death is sometimes a mystery... It is inevitable. You see, because of sin, death has become a natural part of living. Forrest Gump's mother, Sally Fields, was correct when she said... Son... Death is a part of living. Solomon declared... There is a time... A season for everything under the sun... A time to be born and a time to DIE.
Church... If we are blessed with life and the joys of living... We will die... It is inevitable:
-George Bernard Shaw wrote... The statistics on death are impressive... One-out-of one will die.
-The Hebrews writer tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment.
-James tell us that life is only for a short time-like a vapor-a mist that appears and then is gone.
-David wrote... Each man's life is but a breath.
-Job said... Life moves as fast as a weaver shuttle.
-Jesus compared life to a flower that is here today and gone tomorrow.
Methuselah lived 969 years... But where is he today? If there are no gaps in the Genesis chronology... Methuselah died in the year of the flood... You see, there is no escape. Unless Jesus returns in our lifetime, we will all DIE!! Church... We must know this morning that we will not get out of this world alive... We will die... It is inevitable!!
We see from our text this morning that death can be a blessing or a tragedy. Four times in this narrative... The rich man said... I am in agony... Tormented in these flames. In the death of Judas, it is stated it would have been better if he had never been born. Paul tells us in Second Thessalonians that this torment, this agony is reserved for two groups of people--Those who know not God... And those who obey not the Gospel.
On the other hand... Lazarus was seen as being in a place of comfort and rest. In the Philippian letter, Paul said... For to me, living is Christ and dying is (WHAT CHURCH?)... Dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better... But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Paul maintained in Second Corinthians 5.6... That for the child of God... To be absent in the body is to be present with God... (WHY??) I believe Romans eight answers this for us... Because there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ!!
No wonder...
- No wonder David wrote...
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.
- No wonder John was instructed to write in Revelation 14.13...
Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord... They will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.
You see... These verses tell us beyond a doubt that death can be a blessing...
IS a blessing if we die as children of God
James Burton Coffman writes in his commentary on Luke...
Basic teaching from this parable include the state of happiness for the righteous and the state of torment for the wicked... With no time lapse whatever between death and the entering of the soul into one of the other of the Hadean compartments. The wicked life will not wait one second after death to begin reaping the rewards of unrighteousness. And yet, the eternal reward for both classes will not actually begin until the judgment.
Question!!... If we were to die this moment... Would our death be a blessing or a tragedy?
Now... Based upon our text... I want to spend the rest of our time this morning helping us better understand what death does not do.
First... Death does not destroy consciousness.
The rich man and Lazarus are dead... Abraham had been dead for almost 2000 years... Yet all three are very much alive in our narrative. They are not unconscious... They are aware of what is going on around them. This is not the only place in the Scriptures that this truth about the dead is taught. For instance... Jesus reminded the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection that God had told Moses... I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Notice the tense of the verb... I AM!!
Then Jesus adds... God is not the God of the dead... But of the living. God rules over those who exist... Those who live.
-In the great sheep and goat judgment scene in Matthew 25.45... Jesus said... Those who rejected Him and disregarded His will, will go away into eternal punishment.
-Again... Paul said... To be absent in the body is to be present with God.
-In Revelation... Chapters 4 & 7 we are given a glimpse into the throne room of God... There we see the souls of the saved in ages past.
-In First Thessalonians 4... Jesus is pictured at His Second Coming bringing the souls of the saints... The souls of the saved with Him. These are not dead souls... Souls don't die... Bodies die. The soul lives forever. When the Scriptures say... The soul that sinneth shall surly die... It is saying that that soul will be separated from God...tormented forever. This does not sound like unconsciousness... RIGHT?
Secondly... Death does not destroy IDENTITY.
In this narrative...
- The rich man was still the rich man...
- Lazarus was still Lazarus...
- And Abraham was still Abraham.
On the Mount of Transfiguration...
- Moses was still Moses...
- Elijah was still Elijah...
And they were still recognizable for who they were.
The witch of Indor called Samuel from the other world... and Saul talked to him. Read it for yourself in First Samuel chapter 28.
Note in our text... That in his conscious state... The rich man even knows that he has six brothers still in the world of the living... And he seems to be aware of their continued behavior.
Death does not... Cannot destroy our IDENTITY!!
Death may change a lot of things...
- We are severed from things material...Our monetary gains...Our possessions are no longer ours.
- Our bodies return to indistinguishable forms of dust.
- Everything physical perishes...
But death cannot change who we are. Folk... That means, if we do not like who we are today, we had better start changing... Because who we are here... Will be who we are there.
It is remarkable how people think that death will work for them some marvelous transformation. We cannot live as sinners, outside of Christ here, and think that death will forgive our sins and make us saints. Folk... Only the blood of Jesus will do this... You see, death does not change who we are... Nor does it change who's we are... Who we serve.
Death does not destroy our memory.
Abraham said... Son... Remember!!... Look back into your past life... See how you lived.
- The rich man could remember his former life...
- He could remember his behavior...
- He could recall the circumstances of Lazarus.
- He could remember his brothers and how they behaved toward God and His word.
Perhaps the greatest torment of hell will be remembering the chances we had in this life to obey God... The opportunities to do good and right... and didn't!! No doubt we will be able to recall every excuse we offered at every invitation song... Over and over and over again... SON!!... REMEMBER!!
There is no doubt that our memories will deepen and magnify the joys of heaven, and it will agonize and intensify the regrets of those condemned in hell. May God help us to start today to think... talk... have the attitudes and behavior that will bless us in eternity, instead of bringing us regrets... RIGHT??
Then... We note that death does not destroy or change our destiny.
Last Sunday, we studied the Second Coming Of Jesus. The bottom line of our lesson was... ARE WE READY FOR HIS COMING? Our text this morning tells us... That if Jesus doesn't come in our lifetime, then we are to be ready for another event... DEATH. In practical terms, the Second Coming of Christ occurs at our death. Because...
- How we live is how we die...
- And how we die... We will live eternally.
Death allows no changes. Folk... It is foolish to think that we can live like the devil... Die... and go to heaven. There are two terrible things about this torment...
- One is its intensity.... It is so bad, that the rich man asked for just one drop of water to cool his tongue. I don't think we have any idea how intense this suffering was...Or is for the condemned.
- Secondly... It is eternal... There is no end to the suffering torment..
The rich man was told that there is a great gulf between the two destinies... And there can be no travel between the two. This narrative teaches us that the division of the saved and the lost is...
- Absolutely fixed...
- It is permanent.
You see... Death is really just a door... A door that we will all walk through.
- A door form one existence... One economy to another...
- From this world... to His world...
- A door from time into eternity...
- From this life to heaven or hell.
And walking through that door will not change our...
- Consciousness...
- Our identity...
- Memory...
- Or Destiny.
Anthropologists tell us that people are dying at an alarming rate of...
- Two per second...
- 120 each minute...
- 7,200 and hour...
- 170,000 a day...
- That is over 8,000 since we started this service.
One hour my name... And yours will roll up... Are we ready?... Do we want to die in our present condition?
Well... We must stop... But we note that God in His love... mercy... and grace has providently provided each of us with one more opportunity to be right with Him. There is not one of us who have to share this torment with the rich man. We can spend eternity with God... and with one another by becoming His child today.
Become a child of God this morning by faith... repentance... and New Testament baptism. If you need to make some things right with God... or with others, do so now; so that if Jesus comes today... or if we face death today...
We will be saved eternally.
God awaits... Jesus and the church invite as we stand and sing this invitation song.
Will you come!!
