BEYOND THE SERMON
It's Hell, But Heaven's Coming
Message 2: Hell Is No Party
Pastor Rod Meyers • Covington Community Church • Key text: Luke 16:19-31 (NIV)
Message Overview
When most people hear the word hell, the Bible is not the first place they go. Pop culture gets there first: rock songs, t-shirts, cartoons of little red devils with pitchforks, the old line that "at least all my friends will be there." Gary Larson's Far Side gave us a hell where the coffee shop only serves decaf and the only music is accordion. We chuckle — and the humor quietly takes the sting out of a very serious subject.
Here is the sobering truth: Jesus never joked about hell. He spoke about it more often than He spoke about heaven, and you will not hear many sermons on it because it is not popular. It is popular to wear the t-shirt and crack the jokes; it is not popular to think about hell in a religious sense. But Jesus talked about it because He loved us and did not want any of us to go there. He is the ultimate firefighter — He rescued us from the flames.
This message sets the cartoons aside and listens to what the Bible actually says. First, the language Scripture uses for hell. Then Jesus' own teaching in Luke 16. Finally, what it means for us right now.
Key Scripture
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"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'" |
Read the rest of the account in Luke 16:27-31, where the rich man begs for his five brothers to be warned — and Abraham answers that if they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Word Study: Five Words for Hell
The Bible uses different words to describe hell, and each one gives us a deeper view of what is at stake.
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The Language of Scripture Sheol (Hebrew: שְׁאוֹל) The Old Testament word for the place of the dead — the grave, the underworld. Not always a place of punishment; in Jesus' account in Luke 16 the realm of the dead has two sides, Abraham's side and the place of torment. (This two-sided picture is where the later doctrine of purgatory tried to take root, but Scripture gives no second chance after death — see below.) "You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay" (Psalm 16:10). That is a promise about Jesus — and because of Him, about us. Hades (Greek: ᾅδης) The New Testament equivalent of Sheol: the grave, the pit, the underworld. A temporary holding place until final judgment — think county lockup, not the penitentiary, but no pleasant place and no place for jokes. Peter applies Psalm 16 to the risen Christ in Acts 2:27: "You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead." He was not afraid to go to the lowest place and set the captives free. Gehenna (Greek: Γέεννα) Jesus' word for eternal fire, drawn from the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem — once a site of child sacrifice, in Jesus' day a burning garbage dump that reeked of death (see Message 1). More than a sermon illustration: "It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out" (Mark 9:43). Tartarus (Greek: ταρταρόω) Used only once, in 2 Peter 2:4: God "sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment." This is angel hell — designed for the fallen ones who rebelled against God, though people will go there too (Matthew 25:41). Perhaps the best physical picture we have is a black hole: so violent it bends and swallows light, endless, outside our cosmos, hot, dark, and eternal. The Lake of Fire The final destination. Hell and Hades are temporary; at the great white throne, "death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death" (Revelation 20:14-15). Eternal separation from God — not symbolic, and forever. This will come up again when we study Revelation 19-22 later this season. |
Five words, one clear message: hell is real, conscious, and eternal.
Two Men, Two Destinies
Jesus does not actually call the story of the rich man and Lazarus a parable — we do. It is a story and a teaching meant to convey spiritual reality, and it makes you wonder whether it is a real account. The rich man stays generic; he could be a lot of people. Lazarus is named, and there is every reason to think he was real. Either way, the lesson is the same: two men, two destinies.
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The rich man |
Lazarus |
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In this life |
Purple and fine linen; feasted every day (Luke 16:19) |
Laid at the gate, covered in sores, longing for scraps; dogs licked his wounds (Luke 16:20-21) |
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What he trusted |
His wealth and comfort |
God alone — he had nothing else |
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At death |
Died and was buried (Luke 16:22) |
Carried by angels to Abraham's side (Luke 16:22) |
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After death |
In Hades, in torment and agony in the fire (Luke 16:23-24) |
Comforted at Abraham's side (Luke 16:25) |
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His request |
A drop of water — denied. A warning for his five brothers — denied (Luke 16:24-31) |
None; his faith was rewarded |
Death came to both. Everyone dies — black or white, officer or enlisted, rich or poor, we all end up in the grave. But our destinies are different, and they turn on choices we make now.
What Jesus Teaches About Hell in Luke 16
Conscious existence after death
The rich man was fully awake and aware — eyes wide open. He could see Abraham and Lazarus. He could feel anguish. He had emotion and memory. He was living it, not in this flesh but in the afterlife.
Memory, separation, and regret
He remembered his life and his brothers. He begged for a drop of water — denied. (Had he shown Lazarus any comfort in his lifetime? None.) He begged for a warning to reach his family — denied.
A great chasm fixed
No second chance. No crossing over. No do-overs, no mulligans. Once you are there, you are there (Luke 16:26; Hebrews 9:27).
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Hell is… |
Hell is not… |
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Torment |
A party |
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Awareness |
Annihilation — it does not simply "vanish off into history" |
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Separation — complete separation from God |
Community — "all my friends will be there" is a lie |
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Final, eternal, irrevocable |
Reversible |
Jesus Went There to Set the Captives Free
Psalm 16 says God would not abandon His Holy One to Sheol — but did Jesus go there? He certainly did. In the synagogue at Nazareth He announced that He had come "to proclaim freedom for the prisoners" (Luke 4:18-19). That includes the captives from the very beginning — those already gone, held not only by the lives they chose but by the grave itself. He was not afraid to go to the lowest place and liberate them. And for the believer, "to be away from the body" is to be "at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). We will not see corruption, because of Him.
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What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? |
Application
- Hell is real, and Jesus warned us in love. He spoke more of hell than heaven so He could save us from it.
- Wealth is not security. The rich man thought he was untouchable: plenty of money, people who loved him, health, a great retirement. Not so fast — everyone perishes and gives an account. Lazarus had nothing but his faith, and God is a rewarder of faith (Hebrews 11:6).
- Now is the time for decisions, because after death our destiny is sealed. Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is not promised. "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
- We must warn others. The rich man begged that his brothers be warned. We have the chance now to warn, to love, and to invite people to Christ.
- Jesus is the warning. He is the One who came back from the dead — and He is the One telling us this story.
Who Are Your Five?
If you know the Lord today, ask yourself: who are your five brothers? Who are the people you know who do not know Jesus — maybe still wearing the "Highway to Hell" t-shirt? Look around at the empty seats. You need to tell them. You need to warn them. That is our job and part of our gospel message. Let's live and share the gospel as though heaven and hell are real — because they are. Let's make it hard to go to hell in Covington.
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My five |
One step I can take |
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Reflection Questions
1. Where did your picture of hell come from before you read the Bible — movies, music, cartoons, jokes? How has humor about hell "taken the sting out" of it for you or for people you know?
2. Jesus spoke about hell more often than heaven, "because He loved us and didn't want any of us to go there." How does it change the topic to hear warnings about hell as an act of love rather than judgment?
3. Read Luke 16:19-31. Which detail of the rich man's experience — awareness, memory, thirst, the chasm, the denied requests — strikes you most, and why?
4. The rich man felt secure in his wealth, his comfort, and his health. What are the things people in our community trust to keep them "safe"? What do you find yourself trusting? Read Mark 8:36.
5. Abraham said the brothers would not be convinced even if someone rose from the dead — and then Jesus did. Why do people still refuse the warning? What would it take for your five to listen?
6. "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Is there a decision toward Christ — salvation, a closer walk, coming clean — that you have been putting off? What is keeping you from making it today?
Further Study
- Psalm 16:8-11 and Acts 2:25-32 — David's promise and Peter's application of it to the risen Christ.
- Ephesians 4:8-10 and 1 Peter 3:18-20 — Christ descending "to the lower, earthly regions" and proclaiming to the spirits in prison.
- 2 Peter 2:4-9 and Jude 1:6 — the angels held in chains of darkness for judgment.
- Revelation 20:11-15 — the great white throne and the second death.
- Matthew 25:31-46 — the sheep and the goats: "eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
- 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 — at home with the Lord, and giving an account.
Next week the Women of Graham share their testimonies. The following week: the finale on hell — but it's not the end of the story.