We Have the Truth to Hear

Luke 16:19-31  nkjv 19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 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. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “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.’ 25 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. 26 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.’ 27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 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.’

❓ What do you turn to the most to find the answers for your problems?  The Bible or books about the Bible❓ 

⭐  From these verses, we see how important reading and knowing the Word of God is for our spiritual health and salvation.

💥    We further see that the power to change lives and convert souls comes from the hearing God’s Word and not from the ideas and understanding of humanity. 💥

⭐   The power of God’s Word. v30) IT SUSTAINED LAZARUS’S LIFE.  30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 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.’

1.   When life seemed unfair.  v19) 19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,➣   When the lost are rich and seemingly have an easy life! - Lazarus struggled and begged for food.

• What does it do to our faith when life gets unfair? What do we do when the lost seem to have it easier and better than those who believe?

➣   Lazarus had heard Moses and the prophets and let the truth of God’s Word sustain him when life was hard, unfair and even when he must have felt like God had abandoned him.

2.  When he felt abandoned. v20) 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.

• How much do you like asking for help? 

👉***) Pride often makes us struggle alone when help is standing nearby. 👉  A gauge of our pride is how much do we like to feel we don’t need anyone’s help and we can do it all by ourselves.

• How humbling and humiliating it was to need help from others. How abandoned and humbling it is when God used the world to take care of us.

3.   When his health failed. v21b) …. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

• When he tried to do his best and his health turned against him and he couldn’t afford a doctor.
• Dogs were unclean!  Dogs were not spoken favorably of in the Bible.

4.   When Lazarus’ whole life had been hard and unfair.  He never lost his faith!v25) 25 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. 

💥   This is where the story takes an interesting twist!   💥

⭐  What the rich man thought his brothers needed to see and hear to save their souls is not what Abraham said God had given them to save their souls and change their lives.

A.    ➣  The rich man wanted to use what would (perhaps) frighten, manipulate and emotionally shock his brothers into conversion, but that was not what Abraham said they needed and what had the power to change them!v27)    27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 

B.   ➣   They have the WORD! V29) 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

C.   ➣   The power to persuade and change the heart comes from God’s Word.  v31) 31 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.’

⭐  While no exact statistic can tell us how many people who pray to receive Christ later fall away, research consistently shows that many who make an initial profession of faith do not continue in active Christian discipleship. ➣  The challenge facing the Church is not simply leading people to make a decision for Christ, but helping them learn how to let the Holy Spirit guide and lead them by the Word of God, so that they will become faithful disciples who continue to grow in Him. 

Barna Research Group)  2025

➣  Found that only about 1 in 4 Americans qualified as practicing Christians. They identified as Christians, attended church regularly and considered their faith very important to their life.

➣   Among young adults who grew up in church, Barna found that 64% had withdrawn from church involvement at some point during adulthood after being active as children or teenagers. 

➣  Earlier Barna research found that approximately one out of nine young people with a Christian background said they had actually lost their faith in Christianity, while many more had simply become disconnected from regular church participation.

💥   Some of the older complicated studies have concluded:  “Only 5% of people who make a decision for Christ remain faithful.”or “80–90% of people who make decisions at evangelistic meetings fall away.”

👉  ***)  Josiah going to Brazil was because Barry in Memphis kept seeing the same people saved year after year) ****)

What does this teach?

I.   It is the Word of God that changes the heart and converts our souls! v31) 31 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.’

• You want to be saved?  Read and obey the Word of God. 
  • The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. John 16:13) However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come 
  • Empower you to stand against the storms of life. Matthew 7:24-25)“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:   and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 
  • Set you free from the bondages of pride and life. John 8:31,32) And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

II.   Don’t use gimmicks. v31) 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 

• Emotional repentance is not the same as godly repentance.  2 Corinthians 7:10) For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 

➣   Emotional repentance changes our feelings for a while but it never last because the heart remains unchanged.

➣   Spiritual, godly repentances touches and changes the heart. Matthew 13-1-23)    Jesus Himself spoke about seed that initially sprang up but later fell away under trouble, persecution, or the cares of the world (Matthew 13) 

• Their heart (The ground was unchanged)

III.   Read God’s Word!  v29) 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 

➤ It is the Word of God that changes the heart, soul and mind.  Romans 12:2)

➤    Romans 1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

➤    1 Corinthians 1:21) For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 

➤    Hebrews 4:12) For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

➤   2 Timothy 3:16-17)  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

➤   1 Corinthians 1:18) For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.