The Christian and Money: The Rich Man and Lazarus

Material wealth can be used to send people to heaven. The Lord Jesus taught that in the parable in Luke 16:1-9. The steward realized that he had to do something; judgment was coming. He was going to lose his job, and so he used his opportunity to make friends who took care of him after he was thrown out. Now, the Lord Jesus doesn't tell us to do things that are unethical and unrighteous, but rather He says, imitate this man's sense of urgency and his wisdom in using his opportunity. Make to yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon. Use your money to send people to heaven. 

Now, you can't buy your way into heaven, we know that. But we can invest our money in ministries, local church ministries, other ministries that will help lead people to Jesus Christ. And so when we die, we go to heaven, we meet people who say, "Thank you because you were faithful to bring the message to me." Again, that doesn't mean you can buy your way into heaven or buy people into being saved. It means use the opportunities you have to make friends for Jesus Christ. Write checks for churches and for gospel ministries and for missionaries. Invest in the future because one day you're going to die; your stewardship will be over. Use what you have to make friends. 

Yes, money can send people to heaven, but money can also send people to hell. And our Lord balances that parable with an account in Luke 16 beginning at verse 19. We are not told that this is a parable. I don't think it is. It could well have happened, and Jesus is just simply pulling back the veil, as it were, allowing us to see into the next world. 

Luke 16:19, "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"

Of course, that’s true, isn’t it? Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, John 11, and in John 12, the religious leaders who believed in Moses and the prophets tried to kill Lazarus and Jesus. Lazarus was alive; he was a living testimony to the deity and power of Jesus Christ. Miracles do not break people's hearts; only the grace of God can change the human heart. 

Now, let's make one thing very clear: this rich man was not lost because he was rich. He was not lost because he was selfish. There are many rich Christians; they’re going to be in heaven. Abraham was there in glory; he was a rich man. David went to heaven—"I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever"—he was a rich man. This man was not eternally lost because he was rich or because he was selfish. We have no evidence here that he ever helped this poor beggar named Lazarus or helped anybody else. This man was lost because he would not repent. He realized that the greatest need was to repent, verse 30. "No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." I did not repent, but they will repent if they see a miracle. 

Now, to repent means to change your mind. The prodigal repented, didn’t he? Luke 15. He said, "How many of my hired servants are better off than I am? They have bread enough and to spare; I'm perishing with hunger. I will arise and go to my father." And he did, and he turned his back on sin. The steward in the first part of Luke 16 repented. One day he was wasting his master's goods; the next day he was awakened to the fact that he was in trouble. He changed his mind about a lot of things. 

Well, when this rich man woke up in eternity, he changed his mind about judgment. There he was in torment. Four times it says that. Torment, torments, being tormented. And by the way, it's Jesus who's talking; it's not somebody else. People think that the Lord Jesus never had anything to say about judgment, about future torment. Well, here we have it right in this narrative. The rich man changed his mind about judgment. There he was being tormented. He changed his mind about believers. He never wanted to have anything to do with Lazarus; now he says, "Please send Lazarus over. Please let him bring a little bit of water and give me a little bit of refreshment from this torment." 

By the way, you'll notice in verse 28 that Lazarus had been testifying to this rich man. Every time the fellow went in and out of his house, Lazarus would speak a word to him about the Lord. And so when this rich man died, the first thing he thought of after taking care of himself was his family, and the first person he thought of was Lazarus. He knows how to testify; send him to my father’s house to witness to them the way he witnessed to me. This man changed his mind about judgment and about believers and about salvation. He never thought much about salvation, but now he wants his brothers to be saved. He changed his mind about wealth. He realized that he was a pauper there, and his wealth was gone. 

By the way, this man illustrates the Pharisees, the Pharisees who were lovers of money. Now, there are three chapters in this man’s life, as there are three chapters in everybody’s life: Life, Death, Eternity. Those are the three chapters. Now, barring the coming of the Lord, you and I are going to experience life, death, eternity. Because it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment. 

Let's take Chapter One: Life. What did life mean for this rich man? Luxury. But let's measure his luxury. Clothed in purple and fine linen, the very finest clothing, the most expensive clothing you could buy. He had an imposing house. Verse 20 says that a beggar lay at his gate. That was not unusual in that day to be at the gate of a rich man because his rich friends would go by and give you some help. But the word translated "gate" in verse 20 means a stately portal. This man must have had a big mansion. He certainly had rich, expensive clothing, and he feasted every day. Now, for a Jew to have a feast once a week or once a month would be a good thing; that would show how wealthy you are. But this man feasted every day. He fared sumptuously. Literally, it means he lived in luxury every day, not occasionally, not just on holidays, not just on birthdays. 

And of course, he could defend this. He’d say, "Well, everybody’s doing this." Verse 15, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." People applauded him; they praised him. He had his cheering section that used to encourage him. He was just going by the standards of society; it’s the way the rest of the people lived. And of course, he had the bad example of the Pharisees to follow, verse 14, the Pharisees who were lovers of money. Somebody would say to this rich man, "Oh, you better be careful, you're starting to worship riches." Why, he said, "What's wrong with that? Look at the Pharisees. The Pharisees are wealthy people; they can serve God and money, so can I." He had their bad example to follow. 

I wonder how many unsaved people are content in their sin because of the bad example of Christians, the way Christians use money, the way churches spend money. I wonder what kind of a signal it gives out to the unsaved people. But you see, he ignored God’s messages to him. His wealth should have brought him to repentance. Isn’t that what it says in Romans 2:4? Romans 2:4, "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" Not the badness of men, the goodness of God. The Pharisees loved money, and God was good to them. Oh, how wonderful they could be so rich! They didn’t realize that money was their god. The prodigal son realized how good his father was. He said, "My father is a generous man," and that brought him to a place of repentance. 

The rich man ignored God’s word. He had Moses and the Prophets. He went to the synagogue, I’m sure. He heard the reading of the law and the prophets. I wonder if he remembered hearing Amos 6:3-7. "Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, who cause the seat of violence to come near; who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall; who chant to the sound of stringed instruments, and invent for yourselves musical instruments like David; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint yourselves with the best ointments, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." What’s going to happen? They’re going to go into captivity. Sounds like luxury today, doesn’t it? Wonderful furniture, lovely homes, music, fine food, fine perfumes, beautiful things. And the prophet says that’s the end. Better enjoy it now; it’s not going to last very long. 

I wonder if he ever heard that read, or if he ever heard Ezekiel 16:49. "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit." 

His life meant luxury. He ignored the word of God, he ignored the goodness of God. Lazarus died first; did you notice that? Here’s a death at your doorstep. That should have shaken this man up a little bit; it didn’t. It didn’t. Lazarus died. They carried the corpse away. Ah, but the soul went off to be with Abraham in Abraham’s bosom, that place of blessing and paradise and joy. 

His life meant luxury; his death meant poverty. Poverty. Everything was going to change now. Job has something interesting to say about that. Job 21:13, listen to this verse: "They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave." That’s quite a startling statement, isn’t it? Listen to Job 27:16. "Though he heaps up silver like dust, and piles up clothing like clay—he may pile it up, but the just will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. He builds his house like a moth, like a booth which a watchman makes. The rich man will lie down, but not be gathered up; he opens his eyes, and he is no more." 

Poverty. Death is the great leveler. God made all of us. Proverbs 22:2, the rich and the poor were both made by God. God made us, and God calls us to account. You know, there are four kinds of people in this world: There are those who are rich in this world and poor in the next. There are those who are poor in this world and rich in the next. There are those who are rich in this world and rich in the next—Abraham would be a case in point. There are those who are poor in this world and poor in the next. 

Here was a man, death came to him, and death leveled him. He was broke. He was poor. He was bankrupt. He had nothing. We brought nothing into this world, and we shall carry nothing out of this world. Jesus said, "Woe to you who are rich." (Luke 6:24-25) Now that means people who are living on their riches and living for their riches and loving their riches and worshipping their riches. "For you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep." 

Death is the great leveler. In life, luxury; in death, poverty; in eternity, misery. Positive suffering out there in eternity. Four times "torment." Jesus says there is going to be suffering and no relief. They can’t leave and go someplace else. We can’t pray for them and relieve them. Think of the miseries this man went through. The torment physically—I don't know how that works, I don't want to know—but it's there in the Bible. You can go through your Bible and it teaches positively that there is pain throughout all eternity. 

Proverbs 14:21 says, "He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he." This man did not have mercy on the poor. He did not show his faith by his works, by loving that man at his doorstep. When he cried out for mercy, he received no mercy. That’s what Proverbs 14:31 says, "He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy." This man was living for himself. 

There's the misery of suffering. There's the misery of memory. "Son, remember." Remember all the opportunities you had. Remember how you wasted your opportunity, wasted your wealth that I gave to you. There's also the misery of anticipation. He knew he had five brothers who were going to join him. I’ve heard unsaved people rather arrogantly say, "Oh, I don't mind if I go to hell, I'll have a lot of company." This man isn’t talking like that. This man’s not saying, "Well, wonderful, within a few years my brothers will join me, we’ll have a great time together." No, there’s no friendship in hell. There’s no fellowship in hell. It’s a lonely place, a place of eternal loneliness. And the anticipation of his brothers coming. 

This is a contrast to what Jesus taught in the parable. He said you can anticipate going to heaven and having people greet you there because you use your money wisely to the glory of God. Well, he prayed, but he prayed too late, didn’t he? He prayed and God did not answer, and God would not answer, because he himself was not a believer. It was too late to pray, too late to repent, too late to start all over again. 

The Lord Jesus made some interesting statements about wealth. Here’s one of them, Mark 10:23. The Lord Jesus Christ said something about wealth that you and I need to hear: "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!" Beware, money can send a soul to hell. 

I thank God I've got a body that's working. I was almost killed by a drunk driver one night, so I'm alive. And every day I give my body to the Lord, and I try to obey my doctor so that I'm not hurting myself. My mind—I think it would be an awful thing to wake up in the morning and say, "Who am I?" I'd have to learn the alphabet all over again. What's my phone number? I thank God for a mind that is working. I'm thankful for the church of Jesus Christ. The true riches are the things that plug into eternity. And if I am using what God has given me for the building of His kingdom, when I get to heaven, I'm going to see what He did with it. 

Most people don't realize what a great time we're going to have in heaven. They think we're going to be sitting around playing harps, and of course, some of them are harping a lot down here on earth, but that's not what's going to be. It's going to be labor for the Lord, depending on what we did when we were here. And we are preparing now for our ministries in heaven. And so I'm grateful that I'm saved, I'm grateful for the Bible, and I am so thankful for the grownups who, when I was a kid Christian, taught me. I can see their faces, I can hear their voices. I'm grateful for the word of God. I'm grateful for the people God has brought into my life. Now all of this is a part of His plan, and a part of His plan for me is, those who are serving the Lord, here's the ones I want you to support. They're doing a good job; help them. And if you enjoy receiving, pray that God will help you enjoy giving.