Calvary Road Baptist Church
“A
GREAT GULF FIXED”
Luke
16.26
We
know from God’s Word that there is a spiritual realm in addition to the
physical universe our five senses relate to. There is an unseen region of the
spirit that men only occasionally come into conscious contact with. The
patriarch Jacob had an encounter with this spirit realm, the record of it being
found in Genesis 28. Turn to Genesis 28.10 and begin reading with me:
10 And Jacob
went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11 And he
lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was
set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his
pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he
dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to
heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And,
behold, the LORD stood above it, and said,
I am the LORD God of Abraham thy
father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give
it, and to thy seed;
14 And thy
seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the
west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in
thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And,
behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither
thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave
thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16 And Jacob
awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD
is in this place; and I knew it not.
Turn to Second Kings
6.8, where we read of a conscious encounter Elisha had with the spirit realm:
8 Then the
king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants,
saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
9 And the
man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such
a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
10 And the
king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him
of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
11 Therefore
the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called
his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for
the king of Israel?
12 And one of
his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is
in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy
bedchamber.
13 And he
said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was
told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
14 Therefore
sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night,
and compassed the city about.
15 And when
the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host
compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto
him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he
answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they
that be with them.
17 And Elisha
prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open
his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD
opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Of course, there are
many other passages I could have taken you to in scripture. Balaam’s talking
donkey and the angel with the flaming sword, Belshazzar’s feast and the
handwriting on the wall, Joshua’s encounter with the captain of the LORD of hosts, and Isaiah’s vision in the year
that King Uzziah died when he saw the LORD
high and lifted up, are but a few examples of men being given a glimpse of that
region which lies beyond the five senses. There are also in that realm foul
spirits, demons who oppress their victims in a variety of ways. We read of them
in the gospels and the book of Acts, we see their effects in different parts of
the world even now in the lives of those they enslave and mistreat. Their
victims are in Latin America, in East and South Asia, in Africa, and throughout
the Muslim world, poor souls who need no convincing that there is a realm
beyond the physical.
Because
we are time-bound creatures, limited for the most part to what is experienced
by our five senses, we usually give very little thought and attention to the
other realm, to the spirit region, to that domain all of us will become so much
more aware of when we leave this life of physicality. However, with the advance
of technology we are able to gather information more quickly than ever before
about infrequent encounters with the other side, and can rapidly verify that
some of the things those with near death experiences claim to have seen and
heard seem to be genuine, out of body observations of things taking place far
away during unconsciousness that have been verified by objective scientific
investigators. Evidence is mounting that even Bible critics have difficulty
refuting, pointing to the existence of a realm alongside time and space, a
sphere of existence that everyone will gain entrance to through the portal of
death, and that some who have come very close to death have already glanced
through to see glimpses of this parallel region. Of course, God’s Word is the
only authoritative source of information about this other realm, so that while
some have experiences they claim are real and memorable, such claims are
difficult to verify even if they are thought to be true, and separating
objective facts from subjective opinions that may result from delusions or
medications is almost impossible.
Thus,
we are safest when we stick with the Bible, the inspired record given by God
with facts that do not change, written from a divine (which is to say an otherworldly)
perspective. Therefore, admitting that there is another reality alongside the
realm of our physical universe and our five senses, I want you to turn to Luke
16.19, to read what may be a familiar passage to you. However, today’s message
will focus on but a single phrase of what we are about to read. If you have
found the verse where we will begin, please stand and read along silently while
I read aloud:
19 There was
a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day:
20 And there
was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table:
moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he
cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may
dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in
this flame.
25 But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented.
26 And beside
all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which
would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would
come from thence.
27 Then he
said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s
house:
28 For I have
five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this
place of torment.
29 Abraham
saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he
said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will
repent.
31 And he
said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead.
The rich man died. During
the course of his natural life, it is likely he had no experiences with the
spirit world like those we have briefly considered. There is, as well, no
evidence if poor Lazarus had any such experiences during his physical life
either.
However,
direct your attention to verse 26, where Abraham responds to the now dead rich
man’s plea for mercy, for but a drop of water for his tongue to ease his
torment from the flames. In addition to the other things he says to the rich
man, notice that Abraham observes, “between us and you there is a great gulf
fixed.” May I speak to you about the great gulf Abraham remarked about, the
great gulf the now dead rich man no doubt saw himself once he had died?
Three
observations concerning this great gulf that separates sinners from God, as
well as separating sinners from saints, those who are God’s children:
First, THE GULF
EXISTS
About
this great gulf, it existed before the rich man died. It existed before poor Lazarus
died. It no doubt existed before Abraham died, the domain on one side honoring
Abraham by being named for him for a reason I will offer in a moment. Though
God’s Word provides few details about this great gulf, I am convinced it came
into existence when Cain slew his younger brother, Abel, when God created a
domain or region in the spirit realm to be a repository for righteous Abel and
those who followed him in death until the resurrected Savior would come to take
them to heaven. The great gulf is not really a thing, you see. Rather, it is a
gap, a separation if you will, between two things. If Hell actually refers to
the entirety of that other world to which all who leave this life pass through
death to, that domain created by God as the temporary abode for the righteous,
and first inhabited by Abel, is Abraham’s bosom, paradise. That domain created
by God as the temporary abode of the unrighteous, and first
inhabited by the first unrighteous sinner to die, which place we normally think
of when we think of Hell, is where the rich man was. It is a place of torment. It
is a place of fire.
The
gulf is what separates the two domains. However, that gulf that separates
Abraham’s bosom, or paradise, from that place of torment where the rich man
agonized is not a gulf that exists only in the afterlife. That which separates
the righteous from the unrighteous does not separate them in the afterlife
only, but separates them in this life as well. Recognize that experiencing
physical death, by which means one passes from here to the hereafter, does not
change a person’s spiritual status. No one who is righteous here becomes
unrighteous there, and no one who is unrighteous here becomes righteous there. What
you are at the conclusion of this life you will remain in the hereafter,
despite what nice things are said about wicked people at their funerals. Thus,
you see that the gulf that the rich man and Lazarus saw, the gulf that
separated them, the gulf that Abraham spoke of, presently exists, and exists in
our world, though it cannot be perceived by our five senses. What does this
mean? It means that a Christian mom is presently as separated from her unsaved
daughter as Lazarus was from the rich man in our text. A Christian dad is
presently no less removed from his unconverted son than Abraham was from the
rich man. Can you see and talk to each other? So could they. That does not
negate the truth of a great gulf separating them, or separating you from a
Christian.
Next, THE GULF IS
IMPASSIBLE
Abraham’s words were,
“between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass
from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from
thence.”
We
seem to take it for granted that the great gulf that separates those reconciled
to God from those who are not reconciled to God is impassible in the next life.
Except for Roman Catholics, who believe you can pray for the welfare of someone
already dead and actually alter their eternal state, it is generally recognized
by people that the Bible teaches once you die, that is it. You are done. Your
fate is sealed. There are no second chances after you pass over. What people
are less inclined to want to think about is that the great gulf that separates
the righteous dead from the unrighteous dead also exists in the realm of the
living. Think about it. Abraham observed that in the next life those on one
side of the gulf cannot pass over to the other side, and those on the other
side similarly cannot pass over in the other direction. The fact of the matter
is that the same is true in this life. Just as no unsaved Christ rejecter can
pass over to the realm of those who are in Christ, so those who are in Christ
cannot pass back to the realm of those whose sins are not forgiven. Listen to
me now, I refer to this life.
Think
about it for another moment. How is one who is dead to God, dead to Christ,
dead to the truth, and dead in his own sins, as Ephesians 2.1 says all unsaved
people are, to become a part of that which is alive to God, alive to Christ,
alive to the truth, and forgiven of all his sins? It is not by works of righteousness
that we have done, Titus 3.5. It is certainly not accomplished by anyone’s
attempts at righteousness, Isaiah 64.6, which are like so many filthy rags to
God. Thus, there is quite simply nothing any sinner can do to abandon the realm
of sin and death he exists in that he might somehow gain the realm in which
Christ rules, the realm of peace and beauty and love and holiness. Contrariwise,
no one who is a child of God, a Christian, can cross over from the side of the
great gulf wherein the righteous and the spiritually alive dwell to the side of
the doomed, the damned, the depraved, and the deluded who are convinced they
are safe from destruction. First, why would the delivered want to cross over to
the region of the damned? Second, such a thing may be thinkable, but it is
certainly not doable. Concerning those who have eternal life, Jesus declared,
“they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man
is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
So
you see, in both this life and in the afterlife, it really is the way father
Abraham said it was: “they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can
they pass to us, that would come from thence.” As in our text, we can see
between the two realms. As in our text, we can speak between the two realms. However,
just as in our text, in this life it is impossible to pass between these two
realms, the realm of the damned and the realm of the delivered. Every night,
when you pillow your head, you do so with the knowledge that you are separated
from your mother, from your father, from your son, from your daughter, from
your spouse, from your brother or sister, by a great gulf that is impassible. It
is too vast to cross over by feats of strength or cleverness of the mind. It is
too imposing to bridge by works of righteousness. Though you can reach out and
actually touch the other person, you cannot spiritually go to where that person
spiritually exists unless you are already on the same side of the great gulf,
unless you already have the same relationship with Jesus Christ, unless you
already have the same relationship with God.
If
you are reconciled to God in this life, you will be reconciled to God in the
next life. If you are not reconciled to God in this life when you die, you will
remain unreconciled to God in the next life. To die doomed here is to be doomed
there. To die damned here is to be damned there. To die unforgiven here is to
be eternally unforgiven there. To anticipate judgment here is to actually
suffer judgment there. Your destiny is anticipated before death, but will be
fulfilled after you die.
YET ABRAHAM AND
LAZARUS, BOTH BORN TO ONE SIDE OF THE GREAT GULF, PASSED OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE
. . . BY FAITH.
Here
is where we come to understand how Abraham’s bosom is referred to in Luke 16.22
as Abraham’s bosom. Abraham certainly was not the first to inhabit paradise
after he died, though he is held up in the Bible as the prototype of
justification by faith. Therefore, however it came to be that poor Lazarus,
though he was born into this world a sinner just like everyone else, was
escorted by angels into Abraham’s bosom when he died, his arrival to paradise
had to be accomplished by the same means as Abraham’s. How does one start this
life as a sinner and end this life forgiven? How does one enter this world
condemned by inherited sin, yet leave this world with no condemnation for sin
hanging over your head? How is it that though all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God, Abraham did not end up suffering torment in the flames of
Hell, but ended up in paradise with that place then named after him? It was
because of Abraham’s experience. In Genesis 15.6, we are told that Abraham
believed in the LORD and it was counted
unto him for righteousness. In Romans 4.1-5, and in Galatians 3.6, Abraham is
held up by the Apostle Paul as the New Testament prototype, the prime example
of how a sinner comes to be reconciled with God. It is by means of faith.
By
faith, that which is impossible is accomplished. When His disciples asked
Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” in Matthew 19.25, the Savior replied, “With men
this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” It is impossible for
men to be saved from their sins, to pass from the realm of the damned across
the great gulf to the realm of the redeemed, but with God all things are
possible. It happened with Abraham by means of faith. It had to happen with
Lazarus in the very same fashion as Abraham, since he ended up where Abraham
ended up. It can happen with you in the very same way.
Jesus
Christ, the eternal Son of the living God, left heaven’s glory to be born of a
virgin named Mary in the village of Bethlehem. In due time, He was crucified,
suffering the death of the cross, the Just for the unjust that He might bring
us to God. When He told the true story of Lazarus and the rich man, it was in
part to show the impossibility of crossing the great gulf separating the saved
from the lost by human means, and to show that after death and passing into the
eternal state it is impossible by any means. What is impossible for men is
possible for God, and God has provided in this lifetime only that sinners might
be reconciled to God by means of faith (as were Abraham and Lazarus), so long
as a sinner’s faith is fixed upon its proper Object, Jesus Christ.
You
see, it is not faith that saves, but it is Jesus Who saves. Jesus saves no one
in the next life who is not saved in this life, for what spiritual condition
you are in when you die is the condition you will be in forever. However, Jesus
does save some sinners in this life, those whose faith is set upon Him. When a
sinner turns from his sins to Jesus before he dies, that sinner is
instantaneously delivered from the kingdom of darkness and is translated to the
kingdom of God’s dear Son, Colossians 1.13, where he shall then forever be. Thus,
that great gulf that separates death from life, sin from salvation, doom from
deliverance, truly is impossible for anyone to cross over, but is by a miracle
(the miracle of the new birth) overcome and spanned by God’s own Son, Jesus
Christ, when the sinner comes to Him.
Read
our text again and you will see that Abraham spoke to the rich man, but offered
him no hope. Though they could communicate across the great gulf, there was no
use to witness to the man of the salvation that could only be found in Jesus
Christ. You see, once he had died there was no salvation to offer him. It was
too late for him. He was past all hope of redemption. However, in this life
before physical death, though the saved are separated from the unsaved by that
same great gulf, communication with the unsaved across the unseen gulf is both
possible and beneficial, because while it is impossible for any sinner to save
himself and cross over to the other side, he can be urged to come to Christ to
be translated to the kingdom of God’s dear Son.
When
a person dies and moves from the physical to the nonphysical existence of the afterlife,
which which cannot be seen with the eyes will become all too clearly seen. However,
by then it will be too late for remedy of any kind, since the salvation which
is available through Jesus Christ is not available after the sinner has died. The
gulf so great will be so easy to see then, but the faith in Christ needed to
bring you into the arms of the savior will by then be completely out of reach.
No
wonder, then, that Paul wrote, “Behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.”[1]
Do hurry, my friend. Do not delay. Come to Jesus quickly.
Question? Comment?
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