R314 The Absolute Certainty of Life After Death

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton about the certainty of life after death. In just a few moments, we'll be opening God's Word to the book of Luke chapter 16 for today's message, the absolute certainty of life after death.

As we open God's Word, know that we're open to speak and pray with you as well. We're connecting on our website right now at www.tewonline.org. Wonderful resources, the loneliness solution, a great book everybody's been asking about, plus all the new book from Dr. Wilton about his time as the pastor of Dr. Billy Graham. Call Saturdays with Billy. You can take a peek right now at www.tewonline.org. We also stand ready to pray for you at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. Now today's teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Would you take a copy of God's Word and turn with me in your Bibles to Luke's Gospel chapter 16. Our subject this morning is a subject that is of vital concern to every person upon the face of the earth, the absolute certainty of life after death. I wonder if you've ever wondered what happens to a person when they die.

I've often wondered that. In my ministry, I've had the privilege, the opportunity that God has afforded me to be at the bedside of a number of people who have passed on from this world and have died. You know, one of the questions that all of us want to know is what happens when a person dies.

It's something that's close to our heart, is it not? Well, the Bible teaches us, my friends, that it is absolutely certain that there is life after death. And you know, one of my favorite verses in the scripture, it goes like this, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Now that refers to people who have given their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Word of God actually tells us that the instantaneous moment that the believer closes his or her life in this present life, they open their eyes in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, transported by the angels to be seated at the feast table of the King. I want us to read a story that Jesus told us in Luke chapter 16, and we're going to try and understand somewhat as to what the Bible teaches about the absolute certainty of life after death. Luke's Gospel chapter 16 and beginning at verse 19, Jesus said, There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

He must have been an American, surely. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. If I could just pause there, someone came to me one time and they said, Dr. Wilton, where do you get this that the angels will transport you? Well, there it is right there. I love that phrase. I believe that God dispatches his angels, gives them permission, gives them the go ahead and says, I want you to go and get him or her and carry them into my presence.

What a wonderful picture. Look at verse 22. The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.

I need to pause again at the same place. The word or the terminology Abraham's side is the Jewish understanding of the place called heaven. Abraham's bosom, the place where Abraham is, the father of the nation of Israel, the father of all people.

That is where God is. And so the word Abraham's side or Abraham's bosom in the authorized text is the word used most commonly in Jewish circles in the time of the Lord Jesus Christ to talk about heaven. Now the rich man also died and was buried, and in hell he lift up his eyes when he was in torment, and he looked and he saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side, so he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

And beside all of this, between us and you, a great chasm or a great gulf has been fixed so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. He answered, Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets.

Let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. And he said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead. May the Lord write his word upon our hearts, the absolute certainty of life after death. Now, there are three absolute certainties that strike us immediately. We begin to study this passage. Number one, it is absolutely certain, according to this passage that Jesus shared, it is absolutely certain that we are all alive.

Isn't that staggering? If you go and look at this passage, Jesus spoke about two living beings, and you're going to say to me, pastor, do you mean to tell me that you came to church today just to tell us something that we all know to be true? It is absolutely certain that we're all alive. Now, as I look around our congregation today, we all look alive. We believe we are alive.

Well, as I look around, some of you think you're alive, maybe you don't look so alive. There are people all around the world today and we are flesh and blood and we live and we move and we have our being. We are living beings. It is a marvelous thing to be alive, is it not?

Life can be such a wonderful, wonderful experience. And here the Bible tells us about two real men, flesh and blood. It is absolutely certain that we are alive and we have a life to live.

And that life affords us with the greatest spiritual opportunity that any person at any time in any place can ever have, all because of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. But I want you to note in the second place, it is absolutely certain that we're all going to die someday. Well, that's what the Bible says.

Look at verse 22. That's what the practical nature of our existence tells us. It is absolutely certain that we're all going to die someday. The Bible says, the time came when the beggar and this man died.

The time came, it came to pass. It is absolutely certain that we're all going to die someday. Now you wouldn't think so if you went to the malls over Christmas time because everybody's trying to live a little longer, aren't we?

We do everything we can to try and extend our lives. In fact, it's one of my wife's favorite things to do is to go to the mall and get her free squirt of something. Have you ever gone to the mall to get a free squirt? Watch the ladies the next time you go. They walk into these different shops and things and there's a lady standing there and she gives her a squirt of this and a squirt of that and a squirt of this and a squirt of that.

And whenever you leave the shop, you feel quite dizzy in your head. You've had so many squirts and so many different smells and our shops are filled today with all kinds of cosmetic things. Men and women, we try and keep the color of our hair. We try and retain our youthful looks. We have all kinds of surgeries, face lifts, nose lifts, every other kind of thing you can ever imagine to try and make ourselves live just a little bit longer. We take our Pepto-Bismol. We consult our doctors.

We have our examinations at the right time in our lives. We make absolutely certain that we eat the right thing and we have enough fruit and fiber and we go and exercise and we jog and we stand up and we do this and we do that and we do everything we possibly can just to live a little while longer. But I'll guarantee you sometime all of us are going to die someday.

I wonder how many people at the great First Baptist Church of Spartanburg that we all know that have sat in these pews and have been ministered to and have ministered that years ago and months ago have since been transported by the angels to be seated at the feast table of the king and the preciousness of the memories that we have within our hearts. It is absolutely certain that we're all going to die someday. Someday. Doesn't matter how rich or poor you might be. Doesn't matter what club you belong to. It doesn't matter what you look like.

You can look like Mr. Atlas. We're all going to die someday. But there's a third absolute certainty that the Bible tells us and that is simply this. It is absolutely certain that when we do die we're not all going to the same place. Now, beloved friends, listen to the word of God.

The Bible says in verse 22, look at it with me. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him into heaven. The rich man also died and was buried and went to a place called hell. The Bible says that there are two distinct destinations at the moment of death. One is heaven, the other one is called hell. Now I've had people over the years suggest that preachers and ministers and churches should never talk about hell.

You should only talk about the good things. Well, you see, friends, the word of God from Genesis to Revelation is filled with good things because the Bible says that our eternal destination is determined by the decision that we make while we are still alive. That's the wonderful thing about being alive.

The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ breathed his breath into the nostril of man, his nefesh kaya in the Hebrew text. And the Bible says that man sinned and he became separated from God and yet while he is alive in Adam all people die, but in Christ Jesus we are made alive. Isn't that a wonderful thing to know that? You see, the word of God says it is absolutely certain that we're all alive. It is absolutely certain we're all going to die someday. But the Bible says it is absolutely certain, my friend, that when we do die we're not all going to the same place. As a minister of the gospel, I can tell you from personal experience that there is an eternal difference between the funeral service of someone who has died in Christ Jesus and the funeral service of one who has said no to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is an eternal difference, quite literally and practically, it is an eternal difference. And the Bible says when we do die we are not all going to the same place. Where are you going? You say to me, well pastor, can I know where I'm going?

Absolutely. The Bible tells us we can know where we're going. The Bible says we can settle that. And for the born again believer, the word says to be absent from the body is to be present for the Lord Jesus Christ. That we are transported by the angels to be seated at the feast table of kings and the Lord of Lords and so shall we ever be with the Lord. But what happens to the person who is separated from God?

Let's have a look at it together. Number one, it is absolutely certain that after a person dies having said no to Jesus Christ, it is absolutely certain that they will praise the name of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Look at verse 25, look at verse 24. After this man died having rejected God, having scorned and scoffed at him, the Bible says he called to him and said to him, Father Abraham have pity on me. All of a sudden his whole demeanour and his purpose had changed. Have you ever met someone who takes the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in vain?

I'm afraid to tell you that I have. Go to a ball game, sit in a restaurant. You can hardly get a movie today without someone taking the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in vain. I remember many years ago I said to my family, let's go out and eat. We were living in New Orleans at the time and I've never forgotten this. And so we went out to East and New Orleans and we decided we wanted to have some good old New Orleans seafood. We came out on Reed Boulevard in New Orleans and there was a Shoney's restaurant. They had a big sign that said, all you can eat shrimp.

I said, that's me. We went in there, there were people everywhere. They were eating literally hundreds of shrimp. I mean, they were all over the place. In New Orleans, Louisiana, they tell you, you're going to have all you can eat shrimp, that's what you get.

It's marvelous. And so we sat down, people all over the place. This young lady came to serve our table. She looked good, she smelled good. She was a university student at UNO.

She was putting herself through college, very admirable. She took our order, she went back and the boys and mom and dad, we sat there in keen anticipation and all of a sudden, here she comes. She's got the biggest tray of fried shrimp you've ever seen in your life. I mean, they're just hanging over the edge like this, looking at me as they come out of the kitchen. I said, boy, am I going to put at least a thousand shrimp into the ministry today.

There's no doubt about that whatsoever. And as she walks around all gingerly and she comes up to where we're sitting, something awful happened to her. You got it. She tripped. And I tell you something, folks, I've never seen such a catastrophe in all my life. There was bits of glass and bits of plate and bits of lettuce and tomato. There were shrimp jumping all over the place.

I mean, it was just everywhere. And to make matters even worse, my two sons who were just little lads at the time had jumped up on their seat and they were saying, do it again, do it again, do it again. And the whole restaurant was looking at me as though I had tripped her. Well, that young lady went down on all fours, embarrassed. Her face and her countenance changed.

You can imagine. She began to gather in those shrimp and everything, the coffee and everything that had spilled all over the restaurant. And all of a sudden, just two words came out of her mouth. And those two words were the name of my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ, over a dead shrimp. Do you know what the Bible says about that, my precious friend today? The Bible says He is Lord. He alone is Lord. He has risen from the dead and Jesus Christ alone is Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. And I want to say to you, my beloved friend today, that it matters not how much a person has blasphemed, taken the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in vain, has rejected Him, has refused His grace. The Word of God says it is absolutely certain that every single person is going to praise the name of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, but for the one outside of Christ Jesus. It is going to be too late.

It is going to be too late. It is absolutely certain. Note in the second place, it is absolutely certain, my friends, that after we die, we're going to have the capacity to remember. Now this is one that really strikes me. Look at verse 25. But Abraham said to the man who died outside of Christ, Son, remember. Now the word remember means recall to your memory. Remember that you in your lifetime. Now, beloved friends, you're going to say to me, Pastor, how do you explain that?

I cannot explain it outside of God's unsearchable riches. The Word of God, the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that after we die, we are going to have the capacity to remember our lifetime. I've heard some people say to me, I'm just going to end it.

And if I end it, it's going to end all my troubles. I'm just going to blank out, not according to scripture. Death never blanks anybody out. Death is not the end. It's the beginning.

It's just the beginning. The Bible says once you die, you will have the capacity to remember and to remember specifically what took place in your lifetime. What a tragedy. But I want you to note a second absolute certainty there. It is absolutely certain you'll have the capacity to remember your wasted opportunities. You see, the Bible says, my friends, that you don't only remember, but you remember your wasted opportunities. Every time I preach the gospel, every time I see people, I ask myself the question, how many more times has the gospel need to be presented to an individual before they will understand that they must be born again? Has God been speaking to you? Why don't you say yes to Him today right now? Do it right now. Say yes to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is your opportunity.

Why don't you do it now? Forgive the interruption. We'll be back with more of today's great message with Dr. Don Wilton, but he's posed the question right now. Would you say yes to Jesus Christ? We would love to speak with you, pray with you about that. Perhaps the Lord has been stirring in your heart some questions that need to be answered.

Let's discover those answers in God's encouraging word, the Bible itself, as you give us a call. Our number is 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or if you'd rather go keyboard to keyboard, we'd meet you on our website as well at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. We're also having many questions submitted to Dr. Wilton. If you've got a question, let us discover the answers together.

Whether it's online at www.tewonline.org or the phone number, I pray you jotted it down. Store it in your cell, 866-899-9673, 24 hours a day, ready to pray for you. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. The Bible says if death comes, you will remember your wasted opportunity, but I want you to notice something else. It is absolutely certain that heaven and hell are two irreconcilable differences. Look at what the Bible says. The Bible says in verse 26, and beside all of this, between us and you, there is a great chasm fixed.

Now that word fixed means it cannot be changed. It is an absolute absoluteness in its form here in Scripture. Jesus said it will never be changed. Heaven and hell will never come together. I've heard some people say to me, pastor, what I'm going to do is I'm going to die and I'm going to go into a place where God will purge me of my sin.

And after I've been purged of my sin, ultimately all people are going to be taken out from this place and put into heaven, not according to the word of God. There is a great gulf fixed. It is fixed.

It is sealed. And death is the dividing point. But I want you to notice a further point. It is absolutely certain that those who die outside of Christ will beg for those who've been left behind. Look at verse 27.

He answered, then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Do you know that I'm convinced based upon that Scripture that there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who died outside of Christ, who even as we look at God's word today, are joining with all the precious men and women on this earth who are praying for their loved ones, begging, begging for the souls of those who are still upon this earth, who refuse to receive the grace of God. I cannot explain that to you. All I can tell you is that God's word is very clear. I've had people say over the years, Pastor, don't ever preach about hell.

Don't get onto this side of life. God is a God of love. How can a God of love send anybody to hell? Friends, that's why he is a God of love. God doesn't want anybody to go to hell.

He doesn't want anybody to perish. That's what the grace of God is. That's why I'm so excited about being a believer. And beside all of that, he said to him, you've got Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. It's not God's plan for evangelism that dead people should come back from the grave to warn us.

If a dead person walked in here right now, we wouldn't even have to have a message, let alone an invitation. That's not God's proven or chosen method of evangelism. What is God's method of evangelism? There it is, Moses, the word of God, the law of God, the prophets, the people of God, the preacher of God. You say to me, Pastor, are you a prophet?

I could never claim that. I'm simply a sinner saved by the grace of God, but there is one thing that I know, beloved friends. I know that God reached down from heaven many years ago and called this wretched sinner to be a pastor and a preacher.

I'm absolutely convicted of that. I'm convinced in my heart that God has called me to break the bread of life and to love people and to shepherd the flock and to tell you about Jesus Christ. Do you know him today?

Do you really know him? As many people across the auditorium are bowing their heads, perhaps you need to stop where you are. Take a moment and just hear it from the pastor's heart. You've heard him preaching from Luke chapter 16.

Now hear Dr. Don Wilton from his heart. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin, and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God. This is exciting news.

And by the way, don't go away because I'll be right back in just a minute. Did you just pray along with Dr. Wilton and give your life to Jesus Christ? Or perhaps the Lord's been stirring your heart throughout the entire day. We have some friends that I know accepted Christ earlier in the broadcast. Either way, you need to know you are not alone in these next steps. One of the great joys of our ministry at The Encouraging Word is walking you through and putting resources in your hands that will bless you. Absolutely free, Dr. Don has resources for you. If you've given your life to Christ or rededicated your life to Jesus today, call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. We're also connecting on our website as well at www.tewonline.org, and we have a number of resources that could bless you in remarkable ways, one of which is the brand new book, Saturdays with Billy, with Dr. Don. Hello, everyone. I'm Don Wilton, and I know that most people in the world would identify Dr. Billy Graham as the man who preached the gospel to millions of people around the world, friend of presidents and prime ministers, queens and kings. But what was Mr. Graham like in person? I had the extraordinary privilege and honor to know Mr. Graham as both a friend and as his pastor. Over the years, I would drive every Saturday to visit him right there in his home in North Carolina.

We'd sit and walk and talk about families and politics, sports and faith, all the things friends share with each other. My friendship with Mr. Graham changed my life, and it is my hope that some of the stories in Saturdays with Billy will bless you as well. God bless you. The number to get your copy again is 866-899-WORD. You can call right now, 866-899-9673, or order your copy online as well at www.tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org. And while you're there, sign up for the daily encouraging word, email from Dr. Don or consider following us on our socials. We would love to get socially connected with you as we connect you with God's encouraging word. Until next time, take care and God bless.