Rich Man, Poor Man

The Wall Street Journal quoted an anonymous wit who defined money as “an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven, and as a universal provider for everything except happiness.” Now it doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to know that money can’t buy you heaven, and certainly money can’t buy you happiness here on earth.

In Luke 16, Jesus is actually talking about money. Believe it or not, the story of the rich man and Lazarus is set in the context of money and how we use it and what our value systems are about whether we’re right with God; whether our money has become a master of our lives or has become our servant. Money makes a great servant, but it’s a terrible master. Many people are bound by their finances or by their possessions. So Jesus has been teaching, throughout the whole chapter 16, on the subject of wealth or money.

Jesus said three things about money. In verse 9, He said we should use money for eternal purposes. If God has blessed you with wealth, then your wealth ought to be used to advance the kingdom of God. That’s what He is saying here when He says, “Make to yourself friends of the unrighteous mammon; that when it fails, you may be received into everlasting habitation.” Use your money—send it to heaven by using it for eternal purposes, and you’ll have a grand welcoming when you get to heaven.

In verse 14, He’s speaking of the fact that the Pharisees were covetous. He’s telling us in this chapter that we should not covet money. To covet money means that you love money and you put money first in your life; that you’re living to get rich. The Bible says that those who desire to get rich can actually “err from the faith and pierce themselves through with many sorrows.” They drown their souls in perdition. Money can send you to hell if you’re not careful; if you follow after it.

And thirdly, introducing our topic today, wealth is no proof of godliness. That’s the message Jesus began in verse 15. It is related in the story of the rich man and Lazarus.

Do you know that being rich is not an indication of God’s divine favor? Being healthy and wealthy doesn’t mean that you are godly. Some say that godliness is a way to get rich. It’s a popular message that you hear in many pulpits today in many churches and on Christian television. “God wants you healthy and wealthy.” But you can be healthy and wealthy and not be right with God. You can die, leave it all behind and spend eternity in hell. Or you can be poor in this world, have nothing and yet be rich in God and die and spend eternity with God in heaven. So we’re going to see a contrast in this story of the rich man and Lazarus.

It’s a stirring and disturbing story. Why? James Montgomery Boice said, “It’s the only passage in the Bible that describes the actual thoughts, emotions and words of somebody who is in hell.” This story pulls back the veil. It allows us to actually see into hell and find out what this man in hell is actually thinking, saying, feeling and experiencing. So we have a contrast between the poor, rich man and the rich, poor man in three areas: in life, in death and in eternity. We’re going to contrast their lives in life, death and eternity.

First, let’s look at the contrasts in their lives in verses 19-21. Jesus is speaking and He said, “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously…”—or he lived luxuriously—“…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.” What a stark picture we have of this affluent, flamboyant rich man and the absolute poverty of this beggar.

The rich man was mentioned in verse 19: “There was a certain rich man.” He describes him in three ways: clothed in purple, in fine linen and he lived in luxury or flamboyantly. Purple was a dye that was very rare, so if you had purple garments, they were very costly. It was an indication that you were very wealthy. Fine linen was also very rare. His under garments were made of fine linen; his underwear was the best in the land. He spared no expense. He lived flamboyantly. If you watch the television show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, he was featured on that show. And if you watched the other show that talked about multi-million-dollar houses, his home would be featured. His house was gorgeous; it had this beautiful gate and it had everything you could imagine of the lap of luxury. Flamboyant. And he was kind of a member of Who’s Who. He hobnobbed with Hollywood and he was on TV. He was just a very wealthy individual.

Then there is a certain beggar who is introduced in verses 20-21. His name was Lazarus.

Now I want to talk about an issue that some people talk about, and that is whether this is a story or whether it is a parable. I don’t believe you have to have one or the other. I think a parable is a story. But I like to focus more so not on the fact that it is a parable—and it could be a parable; people call it a parable. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But if it is a parable in the strictest sense of the word by definition, it is unique in that it names an individual—Lazarus. No other parable has the name of an individual in it.

Sometimes people point out quickly that it is a parable—“It’s a parable”—and they do that because they are motivated by the desire to deny the existence of a literal hell, because that’s what you find in this story. Now even if it is a parable, parables were based on true life. They were based on real life. They’re not fables; they’re stories. “The sower went forth to sow his seed.” “The women came with their lamps trimmed for the wedding.” Parables are always based on a real-life story. So even if this is a parable, it’s based on reality, and it conveys a spiritual meaning. I like to think of a parable as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. So there is significance behind this, but I tend to believe that this is literally a story that Jesus is telling, and thus He makes reference to Lazarus.

Now the name Lazarus is an abbreviation of the Old Testament name Eleazar, which means “God has helped.” It’s interesting that when you see his life, you think, “Where is God?” Notice the description of this man: he was “laid at the rich man’s gate,” which indicates that he was crippled, and he had to be placed there because he couldn’t walk; he was “full of sores,” so he was sick and he was hungry, verse 21, because he begged for crumbs that would fall from the rich man’s table. What a contrast: the flamboyant wealth and abject poverty; rags and riches.

Now Jesus is not teaching here that the rich man was condemned because he was rich, or that the poor man was blessed because he was poor. There is nothing intrinsically evil with having money. Somebody will say, “Amen. Preach it, brother! I love that. Hallelujah!” So if God has given you money, don’t go freaking out and saying, “Oh, no! The preacher’s gonna tell me I have to give it all away!”

No. But you have to make sure you get your money in a godly way, in a righteous way. You have to recognize that it comes from God, and use it as a steward for the kingdom of God. If not, then you’re in trouble. It takes a steady hand to hold a full cup. If God has blessed you with a lot of material wealth, then you need God’s help to handle it properly.

So the rich man was not condemned because he had money. He’s being condemned because he didn’t use his money in the right way, and he didn’t live for the eternal; he only lived for the temporal. In life he was all wrapped up in his wealth and with his money. The poor man was in poverty and hunger and sickness.

It is true that riches can be a problem. The Bible says how hard it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom.” It doesn’t say it’s impossible, so there are some people who are wealthy who come to know God. What a blessing that is, but certainly not something that happens all the time.

And conversely, poverty can be a blessing; it can bring us to God. It can show us our need for God. But there are some poor people who hate God, and there are rich people who love God. So basically the lesson of the story is that a person’s wealth is not a test of their state before God.

Sometimes we get the wrong idea and think, “Look at this guy. He’s sick. He’s suffering. He’s out of work. He must have sin in his life. He must not be right with God. There must be something that he’s done wrong. God must be punishing him.” Not so. Remember the story of Job? He was a righteous man, yet he suffered. God was using Job to testify of God’s goodness. He was putting Job to the test. No one was more righteous than Job, yet he lost everything; he went from riches to rags overnight. So it’s no indication.

And then there are people who are poor, and sometimes they are angry at God and upset with God. You may be thinking like that right now. You may be thinking, “Why am I a Christian? I can’t pay my bills. I’m out of work. I’m sick. I’m going through hard times. Why be a Christian?” Stay with me; by the end of the story, you’re going to be glad you’re a Christian. You’re going to be glad you know God.

I always like to stop at the end of verse 21 and ask the congregation which they would rather be. “Would you rather be the rich man?” “Oh, yes. Thank you, Jesus! Give me that million-dollar mansion. Give me money. Give me that palace. Give me that fame.” Which of the two would you rather be? You know, you read the story, and who wants to be Lazarus? He’s sick. He’s at the gate. He’s begging for crumbs. No one wants to be him. But when you get to the end of the story and go beyond the bars of death, everyone wants to be Lazarus, and no one wants to be the rich man.

How do you view people? When you see someone affluent, are you immediately attracted to them and try to cater to them? Do you know that God looks on the heart? God does not look at our bank account. God doesn’t look at our clothes. God doesn’t look at what kind of car we drive. I’m glad; aren’t you? God looks at our heart. God doesn’t look at our outward appearance or our status or our wealth.

So the main point in this first section is that a person’s earthly wealth isn’t a test of his state before God. It’s all about your values, and we need to see people as God sees them.

Now we move to the second contrast. There’s the contrast in life, and now there’s the contrast in death. Notice in verse 22, “And it came to pass…”—How much time elapsed, we don’t know. But it says—“…that the beggar died…”—He was the first to die—“…and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.” Abraham’s bosom is a reference to paradise or heaven. I think it’s pretty cool that this poor man had angels as his pallbearers. Then notice what it says in verse 22: “The rich man also died, and was buried.”

Did you know that death is the great equalizer? Do you know that billionaires die just like poor people do? Death equalizes us. Proverbs 22:2 says, “The rich and the poor meet together. The Lord is the maker of them all.”

Perhaps when Lazarus died, no one knew about it. It wasn’t in the news. No politicians attended his death. No movie stars. No famous people. It wasn’t in magazines. It wasn’t on TV. And perhaps they just took his body; you notice it doesn’t say he was buried. What they did with poor people in those days was they put them into the rubbish heap and their bodies burned. It’s called the Valley of Hinnom. We get our word “Gehenna” from that, which is a reference to hell. This valley, on the south side of the city of Jerusalem, was filled with rubbish and trash. It was always burning; perpetual fires burning. They would throw poor people into the garbage heap and their bodies burned and incinerated. No one even knew about them. No tombstone. No place to visit. No pomp or circumstance; they would just throw them away in the Valley of Hinnom.

But what a funeral this rich man no doubt had. All the celebrities were there. It was in the news. Everybody was talking about what a tragedy it was. What a wealthy man he was. How wonderful a man he was; how awesome he was. The flowers. The beautiful casket. I can’t believe how much money people spend for the elaborate funerals that take place. But God looks differently than we do. What a contrast there is in their deaths. Both equally died.

The Bible says, “It is appointed every man once to die, and after this, the judgment.” We all have an appointment with death. We don’t know when it is. We don’t know, but God does. Our days are set, and one day the Lord’s going to come to take us.

So we find that death is a separation of the soul from the body. Let me describe death for you. In James 2:26, it says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” It uses the analogy of the body without the spirit. Here’s the Bible definition of death: your spirit, your soul, the immaterial part of you leaves your body. It is an exodus, a going-out. The word “death” literally means “separation.” It doesn’t mean cessation. Poof! And you cease to exist. You’re like two little eyeballs floating around in the cosmos. You actually exist. You leave your body. You’re departing your body. You’re going out from your body.

Spiritual death happens when you are separated from God, and eternal death is separation from God in hell throughout all eternity. So we’re spiritually dead, we’re going to die and if we don’t know the Lord, we’re going to be eternally separated from God.

But death for the Christian is only the beginning. Even for the unbeliever. It’s the beginning of eternity. But for the Christian, death is a friend, not a foe. Did you know that when a Christian dies, we should actually celebrate? I know that seems weird, but death is a coronation. We grieve and sorrow, “but not as those who have no hope.” We’re not crying for them; they’re in heaven. They don’t have to live on earth anymore.

I had preached for almost 40 years at a church I pastored in San Bernardino. I saw the city deteriorate and the crime and the smog. It’s not known as the vacation capital of the world. “Where are you going on vacation?” “San Bernardino.” I grew up there. Pastored there. I used to think, when people in the church would die, “God delivered them from San Bernardino. Why are we crying? Cry for us; we have to live here longer.” They are in eternal bliss. They’ve gone to their reward. If you’re a Christian, you don’t need to be afraid to die. What an awesome thing that is. You can’t really enjoy life until you’re ready to die and you understand where you’re going to go when you die. So the truth is that for a Christian, death is a friend, not a foe.

What a contrast for the rich man. It was a great, great tragedy. I believe this tragedy is made very clear when we move to our third and last contrast. In verse 23-31, notice the first words: “And in hell…”—This is where the rich man went—“…he lifted up his eyes, being in torment and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” So we see the contrast in life: the poor, rich man and the rich, poor man. We see the contrast in death: they both die, but one went to his reward, and the other one went to punishment and torment. What a stark awakening.

Only seconds after his death, the rich man is in hell. The word “hell” is the Greek word “Hades.” We understand from the New Testament, in Revelation 20:13-14, that Hades is one day going to give up the dead that are in it. Only the wicked dead are in Hades. The righteous dead went to paradise or Abraham’s bosom or heaven. One day the wicked dead are going to be resurrected, as Christians will be resurrected, but the wicked will be resurrected to damnation. Christians will be resurrected to eternal life and bliss. The Bible says they will stand before this great white throne of judgment, and the books will be opened. Their names will not appear in this book of life.

Then they will be taken, and they will be thrown into the lake of fire, the Bible says, which is the second death. Why the second death? Because they died physically, and now they are going to die spiritually; they’re going to be separated from God for all eternity. That’s the eternal hell that we know of. But now they are in this temporary place called Hades, but it is a place of punishment and of torment.
When the poor man died, he also went to Abraham’s bosom. Notice verse 23. It’s a place called paradise. What a contrast. Jesus said there are two gates leading to two abodes, leading to two destinies. All of humanity—every human being—is on one of those two roads. You either go through the narrow gate—you follow the narrow way—which leads to life, or you’re following the broad road, which many are going down, which leads to destruction.

So there are only two roads. Which road are you on? Are you on your way to hell, or are you on your way to heaven? Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Are you born again? Do you know the life of God is in your soul? Maybe you believe in God. Maybe you come to church. Maybe you’ve even been baptized, but you’ve never really been born again. You’ve never been regenerated. You’ve never been given new life.

A Christian is a person who has the life of God in their soul. That’s the definition of a Christian: the life of God in the soul of man. You know whether that’s happened to you or not. If you don’t know, then you need to make sure today; that you have God’s life in your soul, that you’ve been born again and that you’re on that narrow road that leads to eternal life.

But what a contrast of the two in eternity. Minutes after Lazarus died, faith became sight, and everything he believed became completely fulfilled and came to pass. Sometimes the reality of heaven hits me, and it’s overwhelming; to think about someday I will actually look upon the face of Jesus.

The Bible says that not only is death for sure, but life is short. It’s like a vapor of smoke: it appears for a moment and then is gone. I just thought I’d encourage you. You say, “What did the pastor say today?” “He said I’m gettin’ old quick.” You know, you peak at 25. Everything from 25 is downhill. I’ve been going downhill a long time. The farther you go downhill, the faster it goes. “Aah! Slow this sucker down!” It’s like all of a sudden you can’t do what you used to do. You’re 65; don’t try to skateboard anymore. That’s just called insanity. So you hit that peak at 25, and then you start down the back side, going downhill, and it goes faster and faster and then—poof—you’re in heaven. “Wow! I just graduated from high school, and I’m already in heaven!”

You know, the day’s going to come when we all of a sudden realize that it’s here. It’s arrived. I’m in heaven. I’m with God. It’s all over. And He wipes away every tear from our eyes. And there’s no more pain. No more sorrow. No more suffering. All the former things have gone. In the presence of the Lord. We’re reunited with our loved ones.

But for the rich man, not so. He didn’t go to his reward; he went to his punishment. He was shocked. The reality hits him. In a way this rich man did become richer in certain things. And he now knows and believes that God is real, heaven is real and hell is real. He didn’t believe it before. He didn’t live for it before. The Bible says that “The fool has said in his heart that there is no God.” I imagine he thought, “Why do I need God? I have money. Why do I need God? I have treasures on earth.”

Wealth is one thing that makes dying hard, because you have to leave it all behind. I’ve never seen a funeral procession with a hearse followed by a U-Haul. You don’t take it with you. Heaven is real. God is real. Hell is real. And the rich man was shocked.

An amazing thought to me is that everything this rich man believed has been turned around; the minute he got into eternity, everything was flip-flopped. For Lazarus, nothing had changed; he already believed in God. He knew God in his life, and he experienced God in the world after. But for the rich man—he rejected God, and now he’s experiencing God. You know, he’s actually no longer an atheist. Do you know there are no atheists in hell? You say, “Well, Pastor John, I thought you said atheists would go to hell.” “I do. But once they get there, they’re no longer atheists.” “Oh, I actually believe in God now. I actually believe in hell.” They come to believe, but it’s too late.

The rich man also began to believe in prayer. The story is fascinating to me, because this man begins to pray in hell. Notice it in verses 24-26. He prays for himself. “And he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham…”—So here he is in hell. He can see Lazarus comforted in Abraham’s bosom—“…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’….”—What a graphic picture!—“…But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received the good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou are tormented. And beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us, that would come from hence.’” It’s funny that he now believes in God, heaven and hell, and he believes in prayer and prays for himself. So the rich man becomes the beggar, and the beggar becomes the rich man.

His praise is in the wrong place; he’s in hell. I make a recommendation to you: Start praying right now; don’t wait until you go to hell. Don’t wait until after you die. “Ooh, all of a sudden that now I’m dead, I believe in God! I believe in prayer!” So he starts praying after he goes to hell. He’s praying in the wrong place, and he’s praying to the wrong person; he prays to Abraham. We need to pray to God. The only way we can get to God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is “the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.” And there is one mediator between God and man—Christ Jesus.

People pray to all kinds of crazy things. He prayed in the wrong place, he prayed to the wrong person and he prayed for the wrong reasons: “Send Lazarus.” Maybe he thought Lazarus was still his slave or servant. He asked Lazarus to “dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for…”—listen to his words—“…I am tormented in this flame.”

When you look at this story, you see some interesting facts about hell. You see that it is a place of torment, verse 24: “I am tormented in this flame.” There is no soul sleep. There is no purgatory. There is no purging of your sins. It is a place of memory, verse 25: “Son, remember.”

Can you imagine being in hell and being able to remember when you were maybe at Revival Christian Fellowship on a Sunday morning, the preacher gave you an opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ, you rejected that and now you’re in hell? “Son, remember those times when I called you by name, and you rejected me.” Or “Remember that you, in your life, had the good things; Lazarus, the evil things. Now he’s comforted, but you are tormented.” He had memory.

We also see in verse 26 that hell is a permanent place: “There is a great gulf fixed, and you cannot go from one side to another.” I believe the Bible teaches that once you die, your eternity is fixed; there are no second chances. People can’t pray you out of hell to heaven. People can’t get baptized for you in hell. You don’t get purged of your sins and then get graduated to heaven. It’s a permanent place for all eternity.

Then the rich man begins to pray for his brothers. He believes in God. He believes in heaven. He believes in hell. He believes in prayer. Now he also believes in evangelism. Notice verse 27. He said, “I pray Thee, therefore, father, that thou would send him…”—that is, Lazarus—“…to my father’s house….”—He began to be concerned for his family—“…For I have five brothers, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into 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 went unto them from the dead, they will repent.’” The rich man recognized there was a need for them to repent, to change their mind and turn from their sin. They needed a miracle; something that would really prove to them. “And he said unto him, ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded…”—and God is trying to persuade you today—“…though one rose from the dead.’” Now the rich man believes in evangelism. Now he is concerned about the souls of his family.

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, said, “I wish I could take my captains and my soldiers—my army—and dangle them over hell a couple of seconds. Let them feel the flames and hear the cries, see the agony and put them back on the street to evangelize, knowing that would motivate them to win the lost.” Sometimes as Christians I think we forget about hell, because we’re on our way to heaven. And we forget that people who don’t know Jesus Christ are going to hell: your family, your friends, your coworkers, your neighbors. If they’re not born again, they’re going to hell; they’re on the broad path.

I pray to God that we would be more motivated to seek to win the lost. If you’re on a walk some afternoon or evening in your neighborhood, you see your neighbor’s house on fire and you see the family in the dining room all enjoying a nice dinner together, would you just leave it be? Wouldn’t you knock on the door or yell “Fire” and tell them they had to get out of the house? “Well, I don’t want to bother them or upset them; they might think I’m weird. I wouldn’t know what to say.” How about saying, “Fire!!!”

We have all these excuses why we don’t want to talk to people about Jesus. How about heaven and hell? Eternal life. We’re so quick to tell people, “Believe in Jesus. He’ll forgive your sins. He’ll give you joy. You’ll know God. Purpose and meaning comes into your life, and when you die, you’ll get to go to heaven.” We forget the other part: if you reject Him, harden your heart and you die in your sins, you will be eternally in hell separated from God. The Bible says, “The worm dies not, and the fires are never quenched and there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So this rich man is in torments, and now he’s saying that he wants his brothers to know. “I want them to come to believe in God. I don’t want them to come to this horrible place.” For people to repent, they must hear God’s word.
Abraham says, “Look. Even if someone comes back from the dead, they’re not going to believe.” Miracles will not convince people of their sin and their need for God. If someone believes in a miracle, that’s a shaky foundation. The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” In the Greek, that’s literally a sermon preached about Jesus; the Good News that God sent His Son to die on the Cross. You need to become aware of the fact that you are a sinner. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.” You need to repent, or change your mind and turn from your sin and trust in Jesus Christ, if you’re going to be saved. We need to understand that people come to faith by hearing the Word. So they have Moses and they have the prophets. He’s basically saying that they have God’s Word. Let them open their hearts and their minds to hear the Word of God and what God has to say.

There is one last thing that this rich man in hell came to understand and believe in, and that was the most tragic and horrifying of all. It is that he learned it’s all too late. He now believes in God, in heaven and in hell, but it’s too late. He now believes in prayer, but it’s too late. He now believes in evangelism, but it’s too late. Nothing can be done; he missed his opportunity.

God had spoken to him in so many ways. God had given him wealth. The Bible says, “The goodness of God is meant to lead you to repentance.” God had given him a witness; Lazarus was a witness to him. No doubt that the rich man was there and could have helped Lazarus and change his own heart and mind about his wealth. And I believe there is even a possibility that Lazarus witnessed to this rich man as he passed through the gate. The rich man obviously recognized Lazarus when he got into hell, and he saw Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. The rich man no doubt went to synagogue and Sabbath, and he heard Moses and the prophets being read. He heard the Word of God, he had the witness.

Do you know that knowledge brings responsibility? Just by being here today and hearing this sermon makes you responsible; to respond in obedience to God. If you die in sin and go to hell, you can’t blame anyone but yourself. If you hear the message and you’re given the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ and you reject Him, you’re to blame. People ask, “How can a God of love send anyone to hell?” He doesn’t. God doesn’t send anyone to hell; you choose where you’re going to spend eternity. You make the choice. You can go to heaven if you want, if you want to believe in Jesus Christ. Or you can reject Him and reap the consequences of your unbelief and disobedience. God doesn’t send you to hell; hell’s made for Satan and his angels, and those who follow him will spend eternity there with him. So for the rich man, it was all too late.

But guess what? It’s not too late for you today. It’s not too late for you here who hear this message. I thought, “Why did I pick this text?” It’s not a happy, feel-good kind of text. But it’s true. Life, death and eternity are real. It’s appointed unto everyone once to die and then the judgment. Like Lazarus and like the rich man, you will die.

My question to you is: Where are you going to be ten seconds after you die? Are you going to be in heaven, or are you going to be in hell? Will you spend eternity with God in bliss and reward, or will you spend eternity in torment and in punishment? Will you experience the judgment of God in hell? It’s all up to you. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever…”—here it is—“…believes in Him, will never perish but have everlasting life.” It’s for you. It’s a gift.

The rich man didn’t go to hell because he was rich. He went to hell because of unbelief. And the poor man didn’t go to heaven because he was poor. He went to heaven because he believed in God, and he trusted in God. It’s not a matter of how much money you have in the bank or of how good you’ve been. It’s a matter of whether you’re reaching out by faith and taking the hand of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “By grace you have been saved, but not of yourself; it is a gift of God. Not of works lest anyone should boast.”

God is offering you a free gift today, and you just have to open your heart and receive it by faith. If you do, the life of God will enter your soul, and you’ll be born again. That means you’ve been born physically; now you’ve been born spiritually. Then that means you’ll only die physically; you won’t die spiritually. But if you haven’t been born again, you’ll die physically and you’ll die spiritually; you’ll be separated from God for all eternity.

I want to give you an opportunity today. Before we finish this service, if you’re here today and you do not know God, and you haven’t trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, don’t leave earth without Him. Make sure that you’re ready to go to heaven.