Trinity 1 – June 22, 2025Psalm 13; Deuteronomy 6:4-13; 1 John 4:8b-21St. Luke 16:19-31
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When it comes to the question of ‘what
happens when a man dies?’ the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is perhaps the
largest single chunk of Scripture to provide an answer, especially concerning
those who die in their sins. Therefore, we will concern ourselves with the
doctrine of hell and how Lazarus is saved and the Rich Man condemned.
Hell was created by God as a prison for
the devil and his angels, those demons who rebelled against God alongside the
devil. After the fall of man, the jurisdiction of this prison was widened to
include all wicked and evil men, those who die without faith in Christ.[1]
In one sense, we can say that God is the cause of the existence of hell, for He
created it as the place to exercise His just and righteous wrath against the
wickedness of the devil. In another sense, we can say that the wickedness of
the devil (that is, sin) is the more direct cause as this is what moved God to
create such a place of torment.
God created no one and nothing for the
purpose of eternal death in hell. As the prophet Hosea says, “You have
destroyed Yourself.”[2]
Even the devil was created as a holy angel until he rebelled against the
Almighty and was cast out of heaven.[3]
For this reason, we should not be bothered that God is the remote cause of
hell. The sin of satan brought the full wrath of God upon himself and all the
angels who followed him. So too, the sin of Adam brought the wrath of God upon
all mankind, who now “were by nature children of wrath.”[4]
Because God is just, He cannot be anything but angry at apostacy and sin. From this
wrath follows the most just and serious punishments for sins, not only temporal
punishments but also eternal ones.
That the punishments of hell are eternal, that is without end, is easily shown from the words of Holy Scripture. Isaiah refers to the permanent flames of hell, and that its smoke goes up forever.[5] Ezekiel 26 records the words of God that “I will thrust you down with those who go down into the pit to the everlasting people.”[6] Similarly, when Daniel speaks concerning the resurrection of all flesh, he says, “Some will awake to shame and everlasting contempt.”[7] The New Testament uses phrases like “eternal fire;” “eternal punishment;” eternal death;” eternal destruction;” “eternal chains;” “the smoke of the torments will go up forever;” and the wicked “will be tortured day and night forever and ever.”[8]
Logically, we can also determine, from
the witness of Scripture, that the punishment of hell is eternal. God is
eternal and infinite, therefore His justice is also eternal and infinite. Then
it follows that His judgment against the wicked and His declaration of
punishment is likewise eternal, enduring forever.
As for the nature of this punishment,
we can describe it in two parts – internal and external. The internal
punishments regard crushing despair, the loss of all hope, and loneliness
beyond comprehension. This loneliness is also twofold. Those condemned to hell
know who God is and that He exists but are eternally separated from His love
and His gifts. They are also eternally separated from the comfort and blessings
of the saints in glory. There is a great gulf fixed so that the damned cannot
even receive comfort from other men.
The external punishments of hell are
likewise terrifying. Fire that burns but does not consume and worms that feast
but do not devour will be the constant physical torment of the accursed. Then,
just as one of the souls in hell grows accustomed to his pain, it will invert
to the other extreme. If he finds himself getting used to the heat of the fires
of hell, he will immediately be thrust into bone-chilling cold such that the
frost touches the bones and the chill cracks the skin. There is no relief in
the change of external punishment, only increased torment.
Regarding the location of hell and how
it is constructed, Scripture is not specific. It is called a great pit and
compared to a gaping mouth. As tempting as it is to imagine hell being at the
center of the earth, there is little to support this idea. Hell will last
forever and yet the earth will be destroyed on the Last Day, replaced by the
new Earth. Just as we think of heaven as being above us but don’t insist on an
exact location in the heavenly spheres, we ought to think of hell as being
below without insisting on an exact location.
It is not pleasant to think about hell.
It is not enjoyable to think of the eternal torment of the damned, but it is
necessary. It is necessary because Scripture speaks of hell. It is also
necessary as a preventative to sin. What God has revealed about the nature of
hell is for the purpose of revealing the severity of sin. God takes sin very
seriously and we should, too.
The doctrine of hell is also necessary
as a description of God’s justice. His justice does not contradict His mercy.
Both exist in the same measure within God, that is, His justice equals His
mercy. He is the perfectly holy and Almighty God, who punishes evil. This is a
good thing. It means that He is perfectly able to make judgments regarding the
righteousness of man. It means that we can trust His Word, especially when He
has forgiven your sin. If He takes sin so seriously as to condemn the
unrighteous, then His forgiveness is not given lightly. He takes forgiveness
just as seriously. His Word of forgiveness is just as relieving, comforting,
and pleasurable as His Word of condemnation is terrifying, chilling, and full
of despair.
These two sides of the same coin are seen in Lazarus and the Rich Man. Everything Lazarus lacked in this life, he received in orders of magnitude greater than he could imagine in Abraham’s bosom. Everything the Rich Man enjoyed in this life was thrown into a grave, and he received orders of magnitude more in suffering and torment in hell.
The distinction between the two was not
the amount of money or stuff they possessed. Details are given concerning how
they lived as a reflection of their faith. The Rich Man is not condemned for
being rich, but the description of his riches tells us that he trusts in daily,
sumptuous feasts and fine clothing. I don’t doubt for a second that he was
considered a very pious man by his community, always in the synagogue and
giving money to the Temple. But from his interactions with Abraham, we can see
that whatever he heard in the sermons of the Pharisees, the Word of God rested
on his earlobes, never making it into his heart and mind. Even in the torments
of hell, the Rich Man remains impenitent, blaming God for his condemnation. ‘If
only there had been greater miracles, I would have believed. This is your
fault, God.’
Conversely, Lazarus is depicted as
being entirely helpless. He cannot feed himself. He didn’t call the dogs to
lick his wounds, something that apparently has medicinal qualities. Or if that
isn’t the case, he couldn’t drive them away. Even in death, he doesn’t ascend
into heaven but is carried on the arms of the holy angels. And yet it is not
his poverty or sickness that saved Lazarus. Father Abraham clearly tells us
what is necessary for salvation: to believe the witness of Moses and the
Prophets, to believe the Word of God. It is not about an academic understanding
of every nuance of the texts but about trust that the Word of God is true; that
what it says is true and is true for you. And if you believe it is true, if you
trust in this Word of God, understanding will necessarily follow. A lifetime of
searching the Scriptures for wisdom and knowledge of the truth will be born of
the faith delivered by the Holy Spirit. This is what saved the beggar Lazarus, the
Word of God as received by the divine gift of faith.
Every prayer, every canticle, every
hymn, every response spoken, sung, and prayed in the church is to be believed.
The words used every Sunday, at every Baptism, at every celebration of the
Lord’s Supper, every ordination, wedding, or funeral, is spoken because it is
true and must be believed. How are these things believed? They are believed by
faith. They are received by faith.
Again, this faithful reception is not
an esoteric idea of emotions or magic, or even an action of the intellect. The
faithful reception of the Word of God is to hear it and believe it. The
Christian must consider what is said, sung, confessed, and prayed on Sunday
morning each day of his life. If you are to add your ‘amen’ to any statement,
you must know what is said and believe it. The prime example of such faith,
given by Christ Himself, is children. “Then Jesus took a little
child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms,
He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name
receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent
Me.”[9] This is
faith.
If man does not believe the Word of
God, not even if one should rise from the dead will he be convinced. If you
treat the Word of God as though it were faerie stories, or pretty words for
greeting cards, or little more than nice sentiments which make you feel better,
then you do not believe in the Resurrection of Christ. The one who would rise
from the dead and yet not convince the brothers of the rich man is none other
than Jesus Christ himself. To treat the Scriptures flippantly is to deny the
resurrection of Christ. To deny the Resurrection of Christ is to ensure an
eternity of torment alongside the rich man.
On the other hand, to make diligent use
of the Word of God ensures eternal bliss and rest. Faith which receives the
Word of God and trusts in the truth of Scripture is certainty that your name is
written in the Book of Life. Faith and trust of the Word of God does not mean
you will understand everything. That is not possible for man. Faith desires to
be fed even from the crumbs of the Word of God. Lazarus desired the crumbs. So
did the Syrophoenician woman and prodigal son. Faith seeks wisdom from our Heavenly
Father, even when faith does not comprehend the fulness thereof.
This faith is then born out in love.
Trust in the Word of God results in actions which are also in accord with the
Word of God. Like blessed Lazarus, these resulting actions do not gain heavenly
bliss. His entire life was passive. He did nothing for himself. Yet he believed
the Word of God and trusted in God’s promises. Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him as righteousness. This is our salvation.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
[1]
St. Matthew 25:41.
[2]
Hosea 13:9. See the KJV for this particular translation.
[3]
Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:1-11; Revelation 12:7-9.
[4]
Ephesians 2:3.
[5]
Isaiah 33:14; 34:10.
[6]
Ezekiel 26:20.
[7]
Daniel 12:2.
[8]
St. Matthew 18:8; 25:41; Jude 7; St. Matthew 25:46; St. John 8:51; 11:26; 2
Thessalonians 1:9; Jude 6; Revelation 14:11; 20:10.
[9]
St. Mark 9:36-37.
