Tag: Luke 16:19-31

The Devil’s Best Kept Secret

by Laurin, posted in Sunday Message

Since Alan is in Texas for the winter, Terry has taken the teaching reins for the next few months. He began with a four-part series on hell that he titled, “The Devil’s Best Kept Secret.” All four parts are included below with audio, notes, and links to Bible Gateway for Scripture references. Be blessed!

Hell – The Devil’s Best Kept Secret, pt. 1

  1. Intro
    • The Watchman (Ezekiel 33)
    • As God’s Church, we need to deal in truth.
    • There are two sides to the Gospel:
      • accept Christ as your Savior – go to heaven
      • reject Christ – go to hell
    • Broad is the way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7)
    • Matthew 25:41 – hell was not made for man, but that doesn’t mean man can’t choose to go there.
  2. Six Questions God Answers About Hell
    • What is hell?
    • What goes on in hell?
    • What is the duration of hell?
    • What is the experience of hell?
    • What has God done to keep us from hell?
    • Why do we need hell?
  3. We Need to Know About Hell
    • Eternity should weigh on our minds.
    • Satan (the current ruler of this world) doesn’t want people to know about hell.
      • If you don’t know about it, you don’t know you need to be freed from it.
    • As a Christian, you can’t say you love someone, if you don’t tell them both sides of the Gospel.
  4. Things the Enemy Says About Hell
    • Satan says, “You will not surely die.”
      • There’s no real consequence for sin.
      • The devil is a liar and the father of lies. He was a liar & murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).
    • There is no hell.
      • Truth has no relevance in our society anymore.
      • Hell is only figurative.
    • Annihilationism
      • The idea that in hell you just burn up quickly & it’s all over.
    • Second Opportunity
      • Reincarnation until you get it right.
      • Purgatory
        • You loved ones can pay or do “penance” to get you out of this temporary holding place.
        • Jesus never speaks of purgatory.
    • Progressive Evolution
      • We just get better and better over time.
    • Good works will outweigh the bad.
    • God is love, so He’d never send someone to hell.
  5. Things Jesus Says About Hell
  6. Conclusion
    • We are eternal beings. He created us to be with Him in this temporary life and for eternity in Paradise.
    • Everything in this temporary life pales in comparison to eternity.

Hell – The Devil’s Best Kept Secret, pt. 2

  1. Review
    • Jesus tells us more about hell than anyone else in the Old Testament or the New Testament.
      • He doesn’t want anyone to perish. What love!
    • The devil’s greatest trick was convincing the world he didn’t exist.
      • The Bible tells us there was a rebellion in heaven (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28).
      • The devil & his minions are here to steal, kill, & destroy God’s creation.
    • If you’re not in the kingdom of light, you’re in the kingdom of darkness, doing Satan’s bidding (whether you want to or not).
    • Lies of the Enemy:
      • There is no punishment for sin.
      • There is no hell.
      • The grave is the end.
      • Annihilationism.
      • You get a second (or 3rd or 4th, etc.) chance.
      • God is only love.
      • There is no God.
  2. Luke 16:19-31
    • God lets us peek into hell & see what it’s like.
      • This is not a parable – names are given (unlike all other parables).
      • Matthew 6:19
      • Matthew 25:41
        • Anyone who is rebelling against God (denying or ignoring or rejecting Him) is bound for hell.
    • v. 20-21: Lazarus
      • poor
      • covered in sores, which the dogs licked
      • longed for even the crumbs from the rich man’s table
    • v. 22: Abraham’s Bosom
      • not heaven – Jesus hadn’t died and risen again yet
      • was a temporary holding place of comfort for those who died in faith before Christ’s sacrifice
      • 2 Corinthians 5:8 applies to believers today
    • v. 23: The Rich Man
      • in hell instantly
      • 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says we are made of spirit, soul, and body
        • spirit & soul go into eternity
          • either heaven or hell
        • body goes into the grave
      • he is conscious/cognizant
        • shows there is no “soul sleep” or “annihilation”
        • is being tormented
        • has memory of his “good life” (part of the torment)
      • sees Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom
    • v. 24: Rich Man Cries Out to Abraham
      • begs for Lazarus to help him (reversal of how things were in life)
        • new priorities (not wealth/power/status anymore)
          • wants just one fingertip of water to cool his tongue
          • is in agony in the flames
        • during his life, he loved his life, the world, and his sin more than God
          • our hearts are hard and dark apart from God
          • Ephesians 2:1-3 – three things set us against God
          • 2 Corinthians 4:4 – people don’t follow God because their minds are blinded
    • v. 25: Abraham Responds
      • “Remember”
        • implies your memories will be intact in eternity
      • reversal of v. 19
        • couldn’t take all his wealth/power/prominence with him to comfort him in eternity
      • not asking for a second chance to correct his wrong against God
      • Matthew 6:33
        • Our priority needs to be God & glorifying Him
        • He will meet our needs
        • This life is temporary
        • The believer thinks about eternity
    • v. 26: Great Gulf Fixed
      • you can’t go from hell to heaven or vice versa
    • v. 27-28: The Rich Man’s Concern
      • send someone to my loved ones, so they can avoid hell
    • v. 29-31: Abraham’s Response
      • they have the Word of God, they don’t need anything else
      • even if someone comes back from the dead, those of hard hearts still won’t believe
        • Jesus died & rose again, but people still deny Him
  3. The Church’s Job
    • to reach others for Christ
    • to share both sides of the Gospel
      • believe in Christ = eternity in with Him
      • deny Christ = eternity in torment

Hell – The Devil’s Best Kept Secret, pt. 3

  1. Intro
    • If they reject God in this lifetime, they will reject God for eternity.
      • The rich man didn’t ask for forgiveness (Luke 16:19-31).
  2. Aspects of Hell
    • Mark 9:48
      • the worm does not die
      • the fire is never quenched
    • Revelation 14:11
      • the smoke of their torment goes up forever
      • no rest day or night
      • 24/7 pain, torment, remembering
  3. This lifetime is all that we have to choose where we will go for eternity:
    • At the moment of death
      • the believer goes to rest in paradise with God
      • those who reject Christ go directly into the fires of hell
        • no rest for the soul
      • Luke 23:39-43
        • Even at the 11th hour, a soul can be saved.
  4. There are Two Deaths
  5. There are Two Resurrections
    • First Resurrection
    • Second Resurrection
      • Revelation 20:11-15 – Great White Throne Judgment
        • all are on an equal playing field before God
        • courtroom scene
          • books are opened
          • spiritually dead will be judged according to their deeds
      • To have your name written in the Book of Life is to believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior.
  6. Another Myth of the Devil
  7. Conclusion
    • We need to cry out to the Lord to mine the dark recesses of our souls, so we can be single-minded and focused on Him.
      • Let God bring us to victory over sin through the Refiner’s Fire.

Hell – The Devil’s Best Kept Secret, pt. 4

  1. Intro
    • One other aspect of hell
      • There are degrees of damnation (opposite the rewards for believers)
        • false teachers will go to deep darkness
      • Based on the amount of Light we receive (accountability)
  2. But God…
    • 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 – One day the Restrainer will be removed
    • The most important thing God has done is to send His Son.
      • We messed up in Genesis 3
      • We are renewed at salvation
        • He restores our relationship with Him
      • God broke the power of sin in the life of a believer
        • by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
      • God restored Paradise
        • it is in spirit form within believers today
        • will be manifest at His Second Coming
      • He adopted us as sons & daughters in the family of God
        • joint heirs with Jesus Christ
      • He gave us a new heart
        • central part/core of who we are
        • our hearts are deceitful apart from God (Jeremiah 17:9)
        • from our hearts comes wickedness (Matthew 15:18)
        • He takes out our heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26)
  3. What is taking place now?
  4. Our Duty
    • The Church is supposed to sound the alarm about the fires of hell.
    • We need to let our loved ones know the truth.
    • We are watchmen set on the wall, and we need to do our part, to help rescue the perishing.
    • To do this, we need to seek God first and always (Matthew 6:33).