Lenox Federated Church - Firm Foundations, Creation to Christ

Lessons Menu Top of Page Online Bible Bible Dictionary

Firm Foundations

Creation to Christ

Lesson 45 - The Foolishness of Trusting Riches

Questions for the LFC Firm Foundations Coordinator may be emailed to firmfoundations@lenoxchurch.org

For this online lesson you may wish to open another window in your browser to view the Online Bible from the link above. A third window may be opened to view the Bible Dictionary as well. During your lesson you can toggle between the windows in your browser. Also, you can open a Word or WordPad/Notepad or other word processing program and use it to record answers to text questions or as a place to jot other questions that come into your mind during the study. Minimize your notes window while you are viewing pages in your browser and then maximize it to record more notes. You will see as you study that God has the marvelous ability to reveal His answers to us at just the right time and when He does, you may record this information into your notes.

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. Did Jesus care for children? Yes, Jesus loves all children.

2. Do children need to be rescued from the power of Satan, sin, and death? Yes, they, too, need to understand and trust in Jesus as their Deliverer, just as adults do.

3. What did Jesus mean when He said that we must become as little children if we are to enter His kingdom? Children find it easier to simply believe than adults. We must trust in Jesus, the Deliverer, just as a little child trusts in his parents.

4. How did the young man who came to Jesus think he would please God and get into Heaven? By obeying God’s commandments.

5. Was Jesus saying that He isn’t good and that He is not God when He said to the rich young man, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone”? No! Jesus is God and is therefore good like God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

6. What did Jesus want this young man to understand? Jesus wanted him to understand that all people have disobeyed God’s laws and that only God is good.

7. Why did this young man go away sad? Because he did not want to do what Jesus had told him. He loved his money more than he loved God or other people.

8. Did Jesus say it is sinful to be rich? No, it is not sinful to be rich, but it is sinful to love riches more than we love God or other people.

9. What is far more important than working for the riches of this world? Making certain that we have our trust in Jesus, the Deliverer.

Are you confronted with a lot of problems?

How about a million dollars?

Would that take care of everything?

Sometimes we might think that it would, but let’s take a look at things in light of eternity.

Many people want the things of this world more than anything else.

- They are jealous of what other people have.

- They think that they would be happy and satisfied if they were rich.

Jesus told these people a parable.

- As we mentioned before, a parable is a story about things in this world, but it teaches us something about God and our relationship with Him. We can tell the difference between a parable and an actual event because parables never use proper names. The following parable does not tell us the farmer's name.

- Jesus told this parable because He wanted the people to realize that our relationship with God is far more important than the riches of this world.

- Even if a man had all the wealth in the world, it wouldn’t be of any benefit to him if he were to go to Hell.

- Believing God and having everlasting life is of far more value than being comfortable and secure in this life.

This farmer thought that he had all that he needed.

- He thought that he had nothing to worry about because he was a very rich man.

- He thought that he could ignore God and live his life the way he wanted.

This man did not take into account that God is the one who gives life and the one who takes life.

Although he did not acknowledge God’s authority over him, God had not forgotten him.

- The rich man made his plans as to what he would do, but God had different plans for him—that very night.

- This is what Jesus said that God had planned.

When God decides that it is the time for a person to die, he will die. No one can do anything to keep that person from dying.

God called this rich man a fool because he made plans without recognizing God and lived only for the riches of this world.

The things that God gives to those who trust in Him are far better than the riches of this world.

- The things of this world only last for a short time, and we never know when we may have to leave them all behind.

- But the things that God gives those who trust in Him will last forever.

- God is warning us to be wise and to invest our time and energy in learning about Him and trusting Him to show us what is really needed in our lives.

Unlike the story we just read about the rich farmer, this is not a parable. We know it is not a parable because Jesus uses the proper name Lazarus.

Some other things to note about this story:

- This is not the same Lazarus that we read about in John 11 back in Lesson 43. That was Lazarus of Bethany and he was not a beggar.

- Similar to the story in John 11, this is also an actual event. This really happened.

- At some time prior to when Jesus told this story, Lazarus the beggar and the rich man actually lived on this earth. When we look at these two men, it would certainly seem that the rich man was better off than Lazarus.

- The rich man seemed to have everything he needed and more.

- But Lazarus was sick, he didn’t have enough food, and the dogs even came and licked his sores.

Listen to what Jesus said happened to these two men.

Think about it:

- Did the rich man’s wealth keep him from dying?

- Were his riches any benefit to him after he died?

- Where did Lazarus go when he died?

- He went to the place where Abraham was.

- What about the rich man?

- Did he go where Lazarus went?

- Jesus said that the rich man’s body was buried.

- Where did he go when he left his body?

When people die, they either go directly to be with God or immediately to the place of punishment. Abraham had been buried hundreds of years before these other men died, but he was still living with God.

You will live forever with God in Heaven, or you will be forever in the place of fire and punishment for sin.

Let’s see where Jesus said that the rich man went after he died.

Jesus knew where Lazarus and the rich man went after they died. He is God, and so He knows where every person is, even after he has died. Lazarus went to the place of happiness and acceptance with God, but the rich man went to the place of fire and everlasting punishment.

Think about it.

- Right now, perhaps two thousand years later, the rich man is still in Hell, and he will suffer for all eternity.

- Lazarus is still with God and will be with Him for all eternity.

There is great suffering in Hell. All who refuse to believe what God says in His Word go there and suffer.

God hates sin.

- God is not merely threatening about the punishment for sin.

- All sin must be paid for in full.

- Consider:

Did Lazarus go to the place of happiness and acceptance with God because he was poor on this earth? Did the rich man go to the place of punishment because he was wealthy? Does God reject the rich and accept the poor? No! That is not what made the difference between the two men. The rich man went to Hell because he did not agree with God that he was a sinner and he did not trust in God and His promises to send a Deliverer to rescue him from the power of Satan, sin, and death. The rich man didn’t take time to think of God or to believe His Word. He just lived his life on this earth to enjoy his riches. He lived for himself and did not care about God (or people). But Lazarus was different. Lazarus agreed with God that he was a sinner, and he trusted in God and His promises to send the Savior, just as Abraham did when he was alive.

Once a person dies and goes to Hell, there is no way he can be delivered.

- There is no way of escape.

- He will be there forever and ever.

If you refuse to listen to God’s Word and die unacceptable to Him then you, too, will go to Hell. Those who die separated from God by their sin remain separated from God forever.

Even though he was in terrible suffering, the rich man still remembered his brothers and his relatives.

- People in Hell still remember this world.

- They remember what they did when they were alive, and they remember the relatives and friends that they have left behind.

Think about it:

- Why did the rich man want Abraham to send Lazarus back to the home of the rich man’s five brothers?

- What did he want Lazarus to say to his brothers? The rich man wanted Abraham to allow Lazarus to come back to earth to warn the man’s relatives so they wouldn’t also go to the same terrible place of punishment where he was.

Was Lazarus allowed to return to this world? No! God will not allow the dead to return from Hell.

How did Abraham answer the rich man?

Abraham told the rich man that his brothers should take notice of the things which Moses and all of the prophets wrote in the Bible.

- No one needs to go to Hell.

- If we listen to God’s Word, He will teach the way to everlasting life through the Lord Jesus.

If people refuse to believe God’s written Word, they will not believe even if God did send someone back from the dead to warn them. Even though the leaders of the Jews saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, they still would not believe.

The Enemy has really deceived people about living for today. Money, things, even health seem more important than God to many people.

Before we close, let’s draw a time line.

The line in the middle represents time. You’ll notice that it stretches endlessly in both directions. Around two thousand years have passed since Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Both of these men are still in the same state as when Jesus told the story:

- Lazarus is with God.

- The rich man is in Hell.

There is no changing places; their future was decided while they still lived on earth.

- Lazarus believed God.

- The rich man didn’t, at least not while he was on the earth. But once he was in torment, he cried out to Abraham to send Lazarus to warn the rich man’s relatives against the punishment that they too were going to face.

- But there was nothing Abraham or Lazarus could do.

- Abraham said that the rich man’s relatives had the testimony of Moses and the prophets.

What about us?

Look at where we are on this time line. How long do you think your life will be?

- Fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty years?

- How long a span would that be on this chart?

- How long is it compared to eternity?

Think about it.

Eternity is a long time.

Whether or not you believe God’s Word and trust in His provision for your sins will determine where you spend all eternity. Jesus said it clearly:

QUESTIONS:

1. What is much more important than being rich?

2. Who decides when we will die?

3. Is the story of the rich man and Lazarus a parable?

4. What is the difference between a parable and an actual event?

5. Where do people go when they die?

6. Will anyone ever be released from the place of punishment?

7. What did the rich man ask Abraham to do?

a.

b.

8. What did Abraham tell the rich man that his brothers should do?

9. How can we find the way to God and to everlasting life?

Suggested Daily Bible Readings:

Day 221: Jeremiah, Chapters 1 and 2

Day 222: Jeremiah, Chapters 28 and 29

Day 223: Jeremiah, Chapters 30 and 31

Day 224: Jeremiah, Chapters 32 and 33

Day 225: Jeremiah, Chapters 34 and 35