Are You As Evangelistic Minded As A Man In Hell?

Are You As Evangelistic Minded As A Man In Hell?

Today I want to talk to Christians. I have a question for those who have been born-again; for those who have truly repented from their sins and surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. Yes, I’m speaking to those who are followers of Jesus Christ our Lord. The question is: are you as evangelistic minded as a man in Hell?

Seriously. This is one hundred percent a real question. Do you care as much for the lost as a man that’s been burning in Hell for over 2,000 years? Do you weep and pray over lost souls? My fellow believers, do you cry out for God to save your lost family members, friends and even strangers? If you truly have eternal life, are you sharing the glorious Gospel with others? Are you as evangelistic minded as a man in Hell? Are you truly concerned for lost souls and the eternal damnation that they are headed toward?

Maybe the best place to start is with the evangelical man suffering God’s eternal wrath in Hell. Luke 16:19-31 says: “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table.

The Rich Man Died And Was Buried

Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hell, being in torments, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’

And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

This Is Not A Parable

Please notice first off, this is not a parable. Jesus never used proper names in parables. When Jesus tells us about Lazarus and the rich man, He obviously uses Lazarus’ real name. So again, this is not a parable. The second thing to notice is that Heaven and Hell are real. Jesus tells us that Lazarus went to Heaven while the rich man died, was buried and then he was in Hell.

So as Christians, we should always keep in mind that everyone we meet will eventually go to Heaven or Hell. There is no third option. Purgatory is the imagination of Roman Catholicism. There is no such thing as sort of bad people who merely burn away their sins for a short time.

The Bible says that none of us are righteous. So good people don’t go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell. No, we are all bad people. We’ve all sinned against God. The difference is whether people have repented and put their trust in Jesus or if they are still in their state of rebellion against Almighty God.

Are You Covered By The Righteousness Of Christ?

People who die that are followers of Christ are covered by His righteousness, by His shed blood and they go to Heaven. All others, no matter how religious they are, die, are buried and find themselves in Hell. Make no mistake, Hell is a place of torments. People are not partying in Hell. People are not drinking or having sex in Hell. They are in utter misery and suffering unimaginable pain and misery.

Please notice what the rich man asked for originally. He pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus to just give him a drop of water from Lazarus’ finger to cool his tongue. The rich man is crying out in agony and no wonder, Jesus said Hell is a place where people are weeping and gnashing their teeth. Have you ever gnashed your teeth because you were in so much pain? Think of doing that for all eternity.

So the first thing the rich man wants is a little relief from his suffering. When that didn’t work, the rich man then begged Abraham to send Lazarus to the rich man’s brothers so he could warn them to repent and not end up in Hell. He doesn’t want his brothers to suffer in torments for all eternity, like he is going to do. The rich man became a fervent evangelist.

Are You Evangelistic Minded?

So I ask you again Christians, are you as evangelistic minded as a man in Hell? Are you as concerned over lost souls as the rich man was for his brothers? Do you share the Gospel with others? Do you warn people to flee from the wrath to come? Brothers and sisters in Christ, do you plead with people to repent and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ our Lord?

In the very first message that Jesus preached during His earthly ministry, He called people to repent.  Now when he (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent For The Kingdom Of Heaven Is At Hand

Jesus preached “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ (Acts 3:19-23)

Rich Man Pleaded For His Brothers

The rich man pleaded for Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to call them to repentance. He knew that if they did not repent from their sins, they would end up in Hell, just like he did. The rich man became an evangelist after he died and wound up in Hell. But you see, it’s too late then. You can’t share the Gospel in Hell. Everyone in Hell will suffer eternal damnation, just like you will. That is, if you die in your sins and go there.

Even though the rich man became evangelistic minded, it did him no good. He couldn’t save his own soul and he couldn’t witness to a single person where it would make a difference. So even though I’m asking Christians if you are as evangelistic minded as a man in Hell, you really have to be more evangelistic minded than the rich man. If not, it will do no good, and you can’t share the Gospel in the next life. You must do so now, in this world and there’s no better time to start than now.

Abraham told the rich man that his brothers have Moses and the Prophets. In other words, they have the Law and the Prophets. The Law points to the fact that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. That none of us are righteous. You can look at the 10 Commandments and see that you are a sinner.

We Have Broken All Of The Commandments

None of us have put God first in our lives, at all times. We have made false idols at some time during our lives. None of us have kept the Sabbath day holy, every single Sunday. No human has honored their parents their whole lives. We’ve all lusted, coveted and stolen something, even it was small. Every single one of us have broken all the Commandments.

The punishment for disobeying God is death. We physically die for our rebellion against Him and those who die without Jesus as their Lord, suffer the second death, never-ending death for all eternity. The soul that sins, it shall die. We all die; none of us cheat death.

That’s why we need a savior. The Law – the 10 Commandments shows us that we are sinners and we fall woefully short of God’s perfect standard. In addition to the Law, Abraham also mentioned the Prophets. The Prophets point to the Savior, to Jesus Christ. Even though we couldn’t keep the 10 Commandments, Jesus perfectly did. He was fully God and fully man and He never sinned, not one time.

Jesus Took The Punishment That He Did Not Owe

Jesus went to the cross to take the punishment of guilty men and women that He did not owe. He willingly did this out of love. Love for His own creatures. Jesus suffered, bled and died to save His people from their sins. He was the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means the wrath was satisfied. God’s anger over sin was satisfied when He poured it out upon Jesus as He hung on the cross.

But Jesus didn’t stay on the cross. He was buried and rose victoriously from the grave three days later. Jesus defeated sin, death, Hell and Satan and God offers eternal life to each and every person who repents from their sins and surrenders their life fully and completely to Jesus. For those who don’t repent and trust Jesus, the guilt of their sins remains upon them. God’s wrath still abides upon them and will continue for all eternity for those who die with Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Are You Sharing The Gospel With Others?

Oh fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, are you sharing this glorious Gospel with others? Are you proclaiming God’s truth to this lost and dying world? Are you as evangelistic minded as a man in Hell? Christians, Are you pleading with God for lost souls? Are you pleading with lost souls to submit their lives to King Jesus? Remember, the rich man was evangelistic minded, but it did him absolutely no good.

Tell others about our risen Lord. Share your testimony with others. Hand out Gospel tracts. Give out Bibles to people. I’m convinced more than ever about the necessity to hand out Bibles. God’s word is powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. God’s word does not return void. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Also, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). Are you ashamed of the Gospel? If not, tell it to others. Don’t be afraid. Be more evangelistic minded than a man in Hell. Plead with people to repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Today is the day to start if you are not already doing so.

(This message was lifted up at Missouri State University on March 6, 2019)