They Have Moses and the Prophets…Jesus told about a rich man who loved himself and despised a beggar, Lazarus, who was covered in sores and competed with the dogs for the scraps from the rich man's table. His only doctor was the dogs that licked his sores. This story in Luke 16 is either avoided or mocked by most people. We don't want it to be true. We're not perfect, but we are nice enough and God does not send nicepeople to Hell. Some Christians struggle with this. We needed to be saved—a little but not very much. Most of us were not really bad sinners, regardless of what God says about us.
Today our look at Dives (Latin for "rich") is about the nature of evidence and its role in turning lost people to God on His terms. When Dives bargained with Father Abraham to get the beggar, Lazarus, to bring him some water, Dives came to realize that he was truly stuck in Hell. Then he thought about his five brothers at his father's house on earth that would certainly join him some day, so he asked Abraham to send Lazarus to testify to his brothers. He thought that all they needed was evidence, someone to talk to them that had been raised from the dead. Evidence would convert them.
It has been pointed out that "the flames of Hell do not atone for sin or purge hardened sinners from their depravity (Rev. 22:11). Unbelief is a moral rather than an intellectual problem. No amount of evidence will ever turn unbelief to faith" (MacArthur). But the word of God has been appointed by God as the instrument of the Holy Spirit to give sinners an opportunity to repent and exercise saving faith in the shed blood and finished work at Calvary's cross.
Abraham told Dives that his brothers had the writings of Moses and the prophets (not the men themselves because they were all dead). What these brothers needed was "persuading." We sing the invitation hymn, "Almost persuaded now to believe. Almost persuaded Christ to receive. Seems now some soul to say, 'Go Spirit, go thy way. Some more convenient day. On thee I'll call'."
Some believe that if unbelievers had a mountain of evidence heaped upon them that they would come to faith in Christ. No, they have Moses and the prophets, the Gospels, the writings of the Apostles, and Bibles in the Dollar Tree for $2.00, less than the price of a hamburger. But according to Jesus' story of Abraham's words, even the evidence of one raised from the dead will not convince many stubborn people. Jesus presented Himself with words and miracles aplenty but only a small minority believed.
If one raised from the dead would do it, then what of the testimony of Christ who was raised from the dead? He who was crucified in the presence of a million Jews on Passover day and died at the time of the evening sacrifice as the promised lamb of God. Crucified under a darkened sky at noon, an earthquake, the ripping of the thick 60' linen veil in the Temple from top to bottom. When He died graves were opened and at His resurrection many of the dead in those opened graves came out and showed themselves alive to many. What about that evidence? (Mat 27:52,53).
The capital city of Nineveh repented at the preaching of pouting, rebellious Jonah whom God raised from the dead after his ride in fish. But that was before Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus said: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here (Mat 12:40,41).
The wicked men of Nineveh repented at the simple preaching of Jonah but many people are "special sinners" who have no interest in repenting and believing on God's terms. Do you want to read Jonah's sermon? And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jon 3:4). Eight words bellowed out over and over again. And the whole city repented. These people had no Moses and the prophets. They had the eight words from God.
…Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation (Heb 3:15).
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Rev 22:17). Ω
Be Careful Little Eyes
--Barbara Carr
Do you remember the children's song: "Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See?" The first verse is:"Oh be careful little eyes what you see. Oh be careful little eyes what you see. There's a Father up above looking down in tender love, so be careful little eyes what you see."
One Sunday not long ago, Pastor Charles Garrison's sermon was on guarding our eyes. He talked about our eyes being a window of the mind; about the eye being like a camera. Our eye is the camera and our brain is a computer. The eye takes the picture and the brain prints and stores it. Then we can open up that picture any time we want to. We can also mix it with our imagination.
I looked up "eye" in e-Sword and found 478 references—enough for several days of study. The very first reference is Genesis 3:5-7.
5) " For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."
Satan used sight to cause Eve to sin: "the woman saw." Satan had painted a beautiful picture of how wonderful life would be if she would follow his suggestions. After eating the apple, Eve would know good from evil and she would be wise. As soon as the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened, they knew their sin and hid. But, sin brought forth death. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen.3:19).
Next in the line of references was Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Then came Lot: "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar" (Gen 13:10).
Lot's eyes saw well-watered gardens in the direction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the "Big Apple" cities. Given a choice, he put himself first and chose the best, leaving the scraps for Uncle Abraham. Lot's wife loved Sodom. Apparently she was a socialite at heart and they had moved up with possessions and prestige.
When the angel of God hurried them out of Sodom, she was heart-broken to leave her things and friends behind. She cast her eyes backward in violation of God's command before she turned into a permanent pillar of salt (Gen 19:26). Her look was not a mere glance but a deep-seated longing for Sodom. Much has been written about this in secular literature. Josephus claims to have seen this memorial statute. Jesus admonished: "Remember Lot's wife" (Lu 17:32).
When David saw Bathsheba, he could have turned his back and walked away, but the Bible says she was, "beautiful to look upon." He gazed upon her. His eyes took a picture of her. Lust took a picture of her and he had to have her. He was King and it was in his power to do so. Read II Sam 12 for the story of how the Lord handled this.
We have a command from God to guard our eyes. We can't keep from seeing things that are evil, but we have a duty to look away immediately. We should not take the picture and store for later examination or to ponder upon and take action. We may think, "I don't have a problem with what I see." Are we not tempted by beautiful things that God has told us to stay away from? Do we not long for the luxuries of wealth? Are we closer to God than David? He was the apple of God's eye. Consider:
"Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes" (Deu 11:18).
The hymn "Look and Live" says, "Tis recorded in His Word, Hallelujah! It is only that you look and live." Based upon this verse: "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live" (Num 21:8).
Remember the song: "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See." We will look at another verse next week. Ω
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