People You Will Meet in Hell Lk 16:23 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The fact that you are listening to this radio broadcast today is really not an accident. If you are saved, this sermon is a stark reminder to you that people who refuse to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ go to hell; they need to hear this truth from you so that they can make an informed decision concerning Christ. If you are not saved yet, then this message is particularly addressed to you because you need to remember when you get to hell that, “I told you so.” I don’t say that gleefully but rather “provokingly.” We want you to do something about your condition before it is too late. If you die without Christ, here are some of the people you will meet in hell.
The Rich Man and His Brothers – Lk 16:19-31 – they neglected Moses and the prophets. If you will pick up a Bible and read it and believe what it says, it will lead you to Jesus and his salvation. If you will go to a Bible-preaching, gospel-preaching church, you will hear the gospel to which you can respond by trusting Jesus. If you neglect to hear the gospel you will wind up in hell with these guys. The rich man will say, “I tried to warn you.”
The Rich Young Ruler – Lk 18:18-27 – he trusted his riches. When you trust your wealth and possessions you won’t trust the Lord. Wealth obscures faith. A friend of mine would not trust Christ for the longest time. Yet, after he lost half his wealth, he told his wife one morning, “I need to get saved.” Right there beside their bed, he received Jesus Christ as his Savior. If you trust your riches and reject Christ, you and this rich young ruler will regret your loss for eternity. You will lose both your fortune and your life.
Caiaphas – Matt 26:57-66 – he was blinded by his religion. Motivated by envy and constrained by his religion he rejected Jesus. Religion is the biggest opponent to simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about it. Religion teaches that you must do something to make yourself acceptable to the Lord so that he will give you eternal life after you die. You must continue to appease the Lord until you die or else you won’t make it to heaven. It’s a perfect set up to keep you under the control of the church and the priest. But you will miss heaven because the work of salvation was completed by Jesus Christ. His righteousness is obtained by faith and not by works. At the first sight of Caiaphas you will realize how wrong you and your religion were.
Felix – Acts 24:22-26 – he just kept putting him off. Felix waited for a convenient season to receive Jesus. But receiving the Lord is never convenient because once you do his desire is to take over control of your life through your willing surrender to him and that’s not convenient. Things are going to change. Felix was willing to listen to Paul just like many are willing to listen to the gospel from time to time. At some point you need to be born again. Poor old Felix ran out of time and you will too if you keep putting this decision off. Your time will suddenly expire and there you will be with Felix crying out, “Why did we keep putting this off?” Too late!!
Festus – Acts 26:22-25 – he was a skeptic. Festus thought Paul was mad. As a result of his skepticism he rejected the preaching of the gospel. Education, pride, false teaching, hypocrisy, and numerous other excuses often result in skepticism. When you refuse to believe the gospel the Holy Spirit will reprove you of your unbelief. If you don’t repent you will wind up in hell. There you and Festus can compare your philosophies of life and wonder for eternity where you went wrong.
Agrippa – Acts 26:26-28 – he was almost persuaded. He heard the gospel preached, he knew the prophets and was even aware of the account of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Yet he came to the precipice of salvation and stopped short of getting saved; almost but lost. You cannot stop short of salvation and be saved. If you do you will wind up in hell. And once there, you and Agrippa will be screaming throughout eternity, “I believe” but it will be too late. Now is the day of salvation.
Conclusion: Whether it’s neglect of the gospel, riches and possessions, religion, inconvenience, skepticism or just plain reluctance that keeps you from trusting Jesus Christ, when you get to hell you will be in the company of a world full of people who put off trusting Christ for the same reason. Then you will cry for eternity that you didn’t get saved today after hearing this message. Unfortunately, these folks that you meet in hell will be no comfort to you, at all. And, by the way, when you get there, remember that I said, “I told you so.”