For Whom The Bell Tolls - Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. There are all kinds of things that the culture says. One would be this, that, you know, if I ever went to hell, it would be a relief from how terrible my life is. It will be so much infinitely worse than your life, no matter what it was.

And it's not only infinitely worse, a place of torment and agony. It's eternal. It lasts forever. It never stops. The worm never dies, Jesus said.

It'll never die. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. Luke Chapter 16. And Jesus is going to tell a story here. And in that story, he's going to divide virtually everyone who ever lived into the idea of two different camps.

He wants to just make it as clear as he can so that we all understand this. And so he starts out by saying in verse 19, Now there was a rich man and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in the splendor of every day. He is the success story. He's as successful as a man can be.

He's joyful. He lived all of his life in splendor. He loved his life, he says, in a poor man named Lazarus. Was laid at his gate, the rich man's gate.

The rich man had such an enormous piece of property at his own gate. Lazarus used to be by the gate begging, just hoping to get crumbs from the rich man's table, which Jesus will say. He said he was covered with sores. Two different images couldn't be greater. And he says, longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table.

Besides, he said, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Then Jesus says, Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom and the rich man also died and was buried. What a contrast here. Two men, one rich, one poor, one joyful in life, the other miserable.

Two bodies, two deaths, then two bodies, both buried, and they go to two completely different destinations. You'll learn, as Jesus teaches us, that what he's talking about is the rich man always believed in his own resources. He always believed that he would be fine.

The poor man did not. He believed in the God of the Jews. That's why he ends up in the bosom of Abraham.

He's carried off by the angels. It's interesting that a lot of people today would be a lot like the rich man. You could ask countless people and they would tell you, I'm going to be just fine. God's going to grate on the curve and I'm not a bad guy and everything will work out for me. But nothing in the word of God says that at all.

That's just pretense on our part. Notice then what happens in Hades. He lifted up his eyes being in torment. This is not pleasant for him, he said, and he saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue. For I am in agony in this flame. Terrible.

It's a terrible thing. By the way, he also sort of reveals himself of what kind of man he was and the kind of pride he had. He sees, remember, Lazarus was at his gate. Every day of his life he saw that beggar. He sees him in Abraham's bosom and he says, Abraham, would you take the beggar there, send him over to me so that he could dip his fingers in water and give me a little bit of relief. That's what he thought of Lazarus. Lazarus is not like me.

You see, he can serve me. So he responds that way, but it's clear that he's in torment and it's not a good place for him to be. And then Abraham gives a shocking response. Abraham said to him, child, remember that during your life you received your good things.

Likewise, Lazarus, bad things. But now he is being comforted here and you are in agony. There's the choice. Two destinations for all of us. You'll either be comforted forever or you'll be in agony.

The choice is yours. But he said, that's what happens. He says, and besides all this, between us and you, there is a great chasm fixed so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able and that none may cross over from there to us.

Let me summarize what he's saying. There is no second chance. There is no second chance when the bell tolls for you. Your destiny is sealed. There is no second chance here. You can't come over. You can't work it out later.

And by the way, it's pretty clear that I'll be as specific as I can. There is no such thing in the word of God called purgatory. It does not exist in the word of God. That is a religious institution trying to make something happen.

It's not true. I mean it metaphorically, but that kind of idea could be fatal and come straight out of hell. There is no biblical support for this at all. Remember, where they're at right now is Jesus Christ has not yet been crucified when he's telling the story. He hasn't been buried, resurrected and ascended to heaven. Now, once he ascends to heaven, it says he leaves the captives free.

He takes them in with him. But right now, what happened is if you were when you died, you went to Hades or the grave. Part of it was was the place of torment or judgment.

The other part was a place called paradise. Now, if you remember, when Jesus was being crucified, the thief on the cross, a man who said he deserved to be crucified, a man of what we would say terrible sin, said to Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, what? This day, you will be with me in paradise. He didn't say, no, you know, you're going to go somewhere for 10,000 years and if people light enough candles and give enough money, they might be able to get you out. He said this day. Now, if there was ever a man who deserved a purgatorial experience, it'd be this guy. But Jesus says, no, you put your faith in me this day. You'll be with me, he says, in paradise. So what ends up happening is, is that when Abraham says this chasm is fixed.

There are no other chances. The culture in which Jesus lived is similar to ours, but our culture spends an awful lot of time doing everything it can to diminish the consequences of rejecting Christ. I pray you don't do that. There are all kinds of things that the culture says. One would be this, that some people have, I've heard people say this, you know, if I ever went to hell, it'd be a relief from how terrible my life is. It will be so much infinitely worse than your life, no matter what it was. And it's not only infinitely worse, a place of torment and agony. It's eternal. It lasts forever. It never stops. The worm never dies, Jesus said. It'll never die.

Secondly, you hear people say this. Hell is just a figment of your imagination. It's all based on fear. Well, if it's a figment of an imagination, it's a figment of Jesus Christ's imagination, not mine. And I know enough about Christ to know he's not afraid of anything. So he had no fear. This is not a figment of Jesus's imagination.

He just made it up. Thirdly, one you hear often is, I'll be fine there. I'm going to be with all my friends. It's going to be great. You know, it's just like we'll all get together and we'll spend eternity either in Bourbon Street or Vegas. You see, all we'll do is just have fun. We'll be together. Every inference that I see in the word of God about hell is it's always in solitude. You're not in a big group.

You're not partying on Bourbon Street. You see, that's something we make up. I think sometimes, too, that you'll hear people say, well, how could a loving God send anyone to hell? OK, that may seem like that makes a little sense, but he is a loving God. That's why he sent his son into the world. He sent his son. He sent his son to die for every single person on earth. He died for the sins of the world. That's a loving God. Now, the people in the world that want to reject that, you see, that's up to them. But to say he's unloving because everyone should go to heaven in spite of their sin is not true.

You see, I think that becomes a problem. I remember years ago reading C.S. Lewis, and I've always remembered it because I thought it was so clear.

C.S. Lewis said that heaven is full of people who look to God and say, your will be done. And hell is full of people that God looks to them and says, your will be done. You see, that's the choice that you have.

Each and every one of us, you make their own choice. There is no escape. Notice then what the man does, verse 27. It says, and he said, then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers in order that he may warn them so that they will not, he said, also come to this place of torment.

Take Lazarus and send him back. It sort of takes on an evangelistic idea. You see, from this point of view, Darrell Bock, who's a New Testament Greek professor at Dallas in his commentary on Luke, writes this.

The rich man does not give up. He suggests trying a sign. He seems to argue that the word of God is not enough. But a message from the dead would be more convincing.

The reply is equally clear. Revelation is better than a sign. If God's prophetic word cannot convince or put a crack into a hard heart, neither will miracles. Only an open heart sees the evidence of God's presence and hears his voice. Notice the response that Abraham gives to that request. Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets.

He said, let them hear them. The Old Testament's clear on this. It's the word of God. He then says, but he said, no, Father, Abraham, if someone goes to them from the dead, they'll repent then. And Abraham says, but he said to him, if they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead. By the way, did someone ever rise from the dead in the Bible? Did he ever end a day except him then?

They did not. Remember, they even tried to bribe the guards and say that they came and stole them because they didn't want to deal with it at all, the rejection of Christ. And he says, look, the word of God is what decides. You know, if you are a born again Christian, the reason you're a Christian and I'm a Christian, somebody told you or told me what the word of God says. Somebody told me the word of God says I'm a sinner. Somebody told me that the wages of my sin is death. You see, somebody told me that God sent his son to die for me. Somebody told me if I put my faith in him, somebody told you the same thing and I decided I'm going to believe that.

But you always have the choice that you can reject it as well. You see, what does the word of God say? Go with me to John chapter 10, John chapter 10, verse 9.

Jesus speaking, he makes a picture of himself and this is what he says again. I am the door. All of us know what a door is, right? We know why we use doors, right? You open a door, you go through, you're on the other side. He said, I am the door if anyone, not a select group, anyone, if anyone enters through me, he will be saved. That's what it says. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. It doesn't matter who it is, but I'm the door. Notice all the way over at verse 28, he says, and I give eternal life to them and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

I give them the life. They'll never perish and nothing can change that. Once you walk through that door, you're in his hands and nothing can change that at all. That's what Jesus promises. It's just like when he said, look, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No one can come to the Father but through me. That's his words.

You see, we live in a culture that says, well, his words are wrong. All roads lead to heaven. It doesn't matter what you believe. Anyone who believes anything, they'll be fine. But it's a lie. It's a lie born in hell. You see, it's not true. Jesus has been emphatic about this.

It couldn't be clearer than he is on this particular subject. Go back to John 3 with me, verse 16, very famous verse. In fact, I'll read 14 and 15 because he's talking to Nicodemus who, by the way, at this time, is not a believer. Nicodemus is just like all other religious people but he's a religious leader. I am so religious, God will have to let me in. I do everything that God...

I am a religious man. I am a Pharisee, Nicodemus says. Remember the first words that Jesus spoke to him? He didn't say, hi, how you doing? Nicodemus comes to him and says something nice about the Lord.

I think we think you're from God. And the Lord looks at Nicodemus and says, unless you be born again, you can't see the kingdom of heaven. First words he spoke to him.

Unless you're born again, you're not in. So they start back and forth bantering. And then Jesus says this.

He says in verse 14, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Could it be clear? See, could that be clear? How do I get eternal life? I got to believe in him.

That's the point. He goes on and says this. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Let me repeat it.

Let me give you the motive. It's God's love for you. He said for God did not send his son into the world to judge the world but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in Christ is not judged.

He who does not believe has been judged already. It's the choice for everybody. It's the choice you make.

It's the choice I make. Go with me to Acts chapter 4, the book of Acts, Peter's words, Acts 4 verse 12. Verse 12 says, Peter speaking, there is salvation in no one else.

For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. That's it. That's the option. That's your choice.

You see that's your choice. There's only one name by which we must be saved. It's not the name of an organization. It's not the name of a church. It's not the name of a group. It's his name.

The name of Jesus Christ. That's it. That's the option. That's the decision I pray all of you have made for Christ and if you haven't I pray you do. I pray you do.

I'm not trying to get you to join an organization or join a church. I'm trying to change your eternal destiny and that's what you're going to face. The bell will toll for you and when it tolls for you the choice will have already been made. If you've never trusted Christ I'm begging you.

Trust him. He makes all the difference in the world. Death is life's greatest reality. There will be a time if this church is still here in the future when not one person in this room today, including me, will be here.

The bell will have toll for all of us. At first you'll only be a memory and some will remember you. Then only a few will remember you. Then no one will remember you. That's the reality of death.

Physical death for us. But if you make that choice it changes everything. That's what's so important about this. There was a man who came into our 8 o'clock service this morning and I didn't use this at the 8 o'clock. But he came in and he was talking to someone at our door. One of the guys at the door and he was talking that he had gone to a funeral. And he said, what was amazing, he said, it's only the second funeral I've ever gone to that a born again Christian was being buried. And he said, there was a joy there that I've never seen.

He said, I've been to countless funerals through the church. Never saw any of the joy. Never saw any of it. And I saw it there. That's the difference that this makes.

That's what we're talking about here. The two long-term members of our church who died this week. I knew them both. I knew them well. And I knew they had peace about this. Real peace. You see, they had peace that was beyond all understanding. They had peace. They knew the bell would eventually toll and they had peace about that. But what was more amazing to me was talking this week to their spouses who are still alive.

Both a husband and a wife. Speaking about the love of their life lost to death. And there was a genuine sorrow and unspeakable joy. Just joy.

Why wouldn't there be? You see, the bell will toll for all of us. And they had joy even in the midst of the sorrow. Because that's what Jesus Christ does. They had an assurance. You see, when I was talking to them, they knew something. They didn't lose their spouse. They knew exactly where their spouse is.

You see, they weren't lost. That makes a difference. That's what faith in Christ can do when the bell tolls not only for you but for a loved one. Not that long ago, a pastor who grew up on the West Bank of New Orleans. He went to Dallas Theological Seminary and I met him there. And he eventually became the pastor of Temple Bible Church.

A very successful church and he was a remarkable successful pastor. He fought life's final battle with pain. And he died of cancer. Not very long ago.

His name was Gary DeSalvo. And his widow, Bev, is an extraordinary spiritual woman herself and she's a very creative writer. And she wrote this and I read it online. She said tears are a holy offering of worship when we bow down our pain before the Lord. He sees our grief. He hears our groans. And he cares more than we can comprehend.

This is divine comfort. Then she quotes scripture. She says therefore we do not lose heart.

Though, he said, outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. And then she said this and I thought this was amazing. She said as Gary was dying, I was holding his hand with family and friends in the room.

He sang and taking his last breaths. And she said we were all singing good, good father. Wow.

But shouldn't that be the way it is for us? You see the difference. He's a good, good father. What a wonderful thing. You see, death may be life's final reality, but our final reality goes beyond the grave. All because of Jesus Christ. Physical death is inevitable. The bell will toll for you and for your loved ones. But death will lose its sting. Death will not have the victory when it meets the faith of one who puts it in Jesus Christ.

Let's pray. Father, you have given us an instinct to have an aversion against death and we are grateful for that. But we also, Father, in reality understand that it awaits all of us unless your son comes for us sooner. Father, I pray that as we lose loved ones or as we approach death ourselves, we realize that this choice that we made to put our trust in the person of Jesus Christ that has finished work on the cross has changed everything. He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. He has assured us to be absent from the body and in your presence. A place that the Bible says there is no more sorrow, there's no more tears. That where we get to realize what we were created for, an eternal, intimate, loving relationship with you. Father, if there's someone who's hearing my voice, but they've never put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, I pray, Father, that your spirit would compel them to do so today. That they would settle that issue between them and you. That they would put their faith and trust in him and what he accomplished for them. And they have the assurance of the word of God that they have been born again into your family.

Father, we understand the reality of death, but we put our faith in the reality of Jesus Christ our Lord. In his name we pray, amen. And you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online. At that website you will find not only today's broadcast, but also many of our previous audio programs as well. At Fellowship in the Word we are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help this radio ministry continue its broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly or with just a one-time gift. Support for our ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word 4600 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, Louisiana 7006. If you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format, that is as a sermon that Pastor Bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible Church, then you should visit our website, fbcnola.org.

That's fbcnola.org. At our website you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for you can listen online or if you prefer you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember you can do all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.