Luke 16: 26-31 (NKJV) 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.’”
We read in the Bible that Jesus left the ninety-nine to look for the one stray sheep, and He had the urgency to preach the Gospel to every city and village. Today, the Holy Spirit sees those around us who are still lost and pleads and compels us in our hearts to go forth and share the Gospel with them. He has given us the ministry and the Word of reconciliation to encourage everyone to return to Him. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to preach the Gospel to all the nations that are represented in our city because we are sent to the world to be witnesses and ambassadors for Christ.
There is a cry within each one of us, and it urges us to do something about the lost. The power is in the Gospel, not in testimonies, and not in miracles even if someone were to rise from the dead. We are not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, first for the Jews, then for the Gentiles.
The departed spirit of the rich man in this passage was suffering in Hades—a place of torment. He was living in regrets that he didn’t believe in God while he was alive, so he asked for Lazarus to be sent as a messenger to his five brothers on earth. We need to remember that there is nothing we can do for anyone once their spirit has departed. No prayer, intervention, or good works will be able to change their destination in eternity.
This passage tells us that there are cries in hell from those who are being tormented, urging their loved ones not to go to that place of torment. The answer to those cries lies in us. We can respond to these cries while we are on earth by sharing the Gospel with those who are unsaved before it is too late.
Sermon Series: God’s Compelling Love
呼喊
路加福音16:26-31不但这样，并且在你我之间，有深渊限定，以致人要从这边过到你们那边，是不能的，要从那边过到我们这边，也是不能的。财主说，我祖啊，既是这样，求你打发拉撒路到我父家去。因为我还有五个弟兄。他可以对他们作见证，免得他们也来到这痛苦的地方。亚伯拉罕说，他们有摩西和先知的话，可以听从。他说，我祖亚伯拉罕哪，不是的。若有一个从死里复活的，到他们那里去的，他们必要悔改。亚伯拉罕说，若不听从摩西和先知的话，就是有一个从死里复活的，他们也是不听劝。
我们在圣经中读到，耶稣撇下九十九只去寻找一只迷失的羊，祂迫切地要把福音传到每个城市和乡村。 今天，圣灵看到我们周围仍然迷失的人，并在我们心里恳求并迫使我们出去与他们分享福音。 祂已将福音的事工以及与神和好的话语赐给我们，以鼓励每个人归向祂。 作为耶稣基督的门徒，我们要向我们城市中的来自所有国家的人们传播福音，因为我们被派往世界成为基督的见证和大使。
我们每个人内心都有一种呼喊，它敦促我们为失丧的人做点什么。 福音本身有神的大能，而不在于见证，也不在于奇迹，即便有人从死里复活。 我们不以福音为耻，因为它是神的大能，要拯救每一个相信的人，首先是犹太人，然后是外邦人。
在这段经文中，财主去世的灵魂正在阴间, 一个受折磨的地方受苦。 他后悔自己生前没有信上帝，于是请求派拉撒路作为使者去见他在地上的五个兄弟。 我们需要记住，一旦他们的灵魂离开了，我们就无法为他们做任何事。 任何祈祷、干预或善行都无法改变他们在永恒中的目的地。
这段经文告诉我们，那些正在受折磨的人会在地狱里发出呼喊，劝告他们的亲人不要去那个受折磨的地方。 这些呼声的答案在于我们。 当我们在世时，我们可以通过与那些未得救的人分享福音来回应这些呼声，以免为时已晚。
讲章系列：上帝激励我们的爱
Image Source: pixabay.com