While some atheists and liberal theologians deny Hell exists, others say God was unfair to “The Rich Man,” in Luke chapter 16. Jesus spoke of this man along with the beggar Lazarus. Luke 16:22-23 says, “The Rich man also died and was buried and he went to the place of the dead. There in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance…” This man clearly went to a literal Hell where the man had all of his physical senses, for in verse 24b the rich man says, “I am in anguish in these flames.”
Atheists and liberal theologians who admit Hell is real are very angry that this rich man went to Hell where he will suffer eternal torment. These people say this proves God is vengeful and capricious, since these people insist God had no reason to punish this rich man, whom they find innocent. They assume the rich man did not even know about the poor man Lazarus. Ancient and modern cultures often assume wealth is a sign of God’s blessing. Poverty and sickness (according to them) would be signs of God’s disapproval. For example, look at this mean comment in Job 4:7-8, “Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same,” Job’s “friend” accused Job of being wrong and this was why he suffered. And look at how Jesus’ disciples blamed the blind man for his problem in John9:2, “His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” But Jesus saw rich people’s corruption and he said (in Mark 10:25), “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus seems to be turning people’s expectations around by telling about a righteous, poor man and an unrighteous, rich man. So let’s examine this true story Jesus gave us.
Luke 16:19b says the rich man “lived each day in luxury.” A luxurious life is no sin, and over-eating was only considered a minor sin in Prov.28:7, “The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding but a companion of gluttons shames his father.” Overeating/gluttony is not in a list of seven deadly sins found in Prov.6:16-19, “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” As such, over eating was not a reason for this man to go to Hell. There had to be some other reason.
Lazarus was so weak and ill, he had to be carried to the rich man’s gate (verse 21.) Lazarus begged (longed for) the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. This rich man offered no ointment to cleanse Lazarus’ wounds, so dogs did that (also vs.21.) But we begin to see this rich man’s condemnation when we read about God’s condemnation of Sodom: Ezek.16:49-50, “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.” God was not pleased with this neglect of the poor.
Finally, Lazarus died, either of his wounds or starvation. Angels carried him to “Abraham’s Bosom” which was paradise for lovers of God. Lazarus obeyed and followed the living God. But the rich man opened his eyes in Hell. This rich man saw Abraham in heaven with Lazarus. Note what the rich man said, “Send Lazarus here to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue.” This is the stunning part. The rich man knew Lazarus by name! Lazarus had not been an unknown beggar the rich man did not see. This man was fully aware of Lazarus, and thus of his suffering. This rich man’s heart was so hard, he could enjoy his luxurious feasts without a concern for the suffering of this poor beggar whom he knew!
We don’t even know how Lazarus became poor. The Old Testament said no one was supposed to be poor, Deut.15:4a, “There should be no poor among you for the Lord you God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you.” Also, look at Deut.7:13b, “When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests.” If people fell into hardships, their family or community was supposed to help them out. Look at Exodus 23:11b, “Let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own.” As such, it appears Lazarus suffered due to some injustice. Who took away this man’s means of living? Who stole from him to make him poor? Micah 6:12 says, “The rich among you have become wealthy through extortion and violence.” Even if the rich man did not cause this, he did nothing to stop it. Deut.27:19 says, “Cursed is anyone who denies justice for foreigners, orphans or widows.” And Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed.”
Remember that in Matt.25:34b-35a, Jesus said, “Come to me, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me.” Yet for those others (in verse 41-42), Jesus said “Away from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you did not feed me.” This rich man was one of those people. He watched as the poor man, he knew by name as Lazarus, likely a victim of injustice, suffered and starved to death in cold and pain. This rich man had the ability to save that man he knew.
I understand that it is not illegal to watch another person drown in the USA today. But in Israel’s culture, God expected differently. Look at Lev. 25:25 + 35-36, “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him…If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or temporary resident and allow him to live with you. Show your fear of God by letting him live with you as a relative”
Even in the New Testament, Jesus said (Luke14:13-14), “Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” God expects us to care for the hurting and needy, like Lazarus.
All Israelites, as offspring of Jacob, were “brothers.” This rich man had forsaken his duty to his Israelite brother and instead indulged his selfish flesh. He knew Lazarus’s name and Lazarus’s suffering. That one line is the most remarkable part of this story. It is for this reason that no atheist, no liberal theologian can rightly claim God was too hard on this rich man. He knew Lazarus’s name and situation. He had more than enough to share, but instead he chose to let this man die without even giving crumbs to him.
The Scripture always gives us right answers for atheists, liberal theologians and even sincere doubters who cannot understand why God does what he does, especially when it involves punishment or even Hell. I memorized Rev. 19:2: “God’s judgments are true and just. He has punished the great harlot who corrupted the world with her immoralities. He has avenged the murder of his servants.” In a sense, the rich man was guilty of murder in this story. This man had a lifetime to repent, but he never did. He never would.
Notice again the ending of this story. The rich man never spoke of his sorrow or repentance for having allowed Lazarus, (whom he knew) to die. He continued to only speak about himself, even in death, and still tried to boss around Lazarus. Abraham had to confront this selfish, unrepentant man in Luke 16:24, “during your life time you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.” No matter what the doubters say, people who end up in Hell are NEVER repentant. They still think only of helping themselves or the few people they say they love (like the rich man’s foolish and unrepentant brothers—and I will address that aspect in next week’s post.) They do not love God. They would not want to be in heaven where people eternally praise God (while doing many neat activities too.) This would be Hell to them, because they have zero love and praise for God. They don’t go to Hell because of what they say and do, but because their head and hearts are hateful and this prompts them to do evil. Matt5:21b-22b says, “If you commit murder you are subject to judgment…and if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of Hell.” Look at 1John3:15, “Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” Do they hate? Look at 1John4:20-21, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” This rich man clearly did not love Lazarus. He refused to care for this poor man. That means he hated Lazarus. As a result, this rich man did not love God either.
Hell seems like such a harsh place, but it is the choice of people, not God. I wrote an earlier post called “Since God “Sends” No one to Hell, why Does Anyone Go to Hell?” Please look at that. Hell is the choice of an angry person’s hard heart.
God is totally just, as he was with this rich man. You can trust God. If any part of the Scripture seems harsh, please ask me or talk to your pastor about it. God does not want anyone to go there. But when people are murders and don’t want God, these people will go to Hell.
I am sad to have to write such a serious post. Please know I have a huge list of unbelievers I pray for. I share the Gospel whenever I can. I truly care about people and want them to all go to heaven. But not all people want that! We cannot force anyone to love God or other humans. So I thank you for sharing this much more serious post. Let’s all pray for those we know who have not yet given their hearts to Christ. Thanks for joining us in this post.