In this section (The Rich Man and Lazarus), I've inserted for your read, "A taste of the hermeneutics of what you can expect to find in this book."
Note: Before reading through, please note that this is copyright material and publication for "A Father's Covenant."
Copyright for "A Father's Covenant"
Copyright © 2015 by William Vargas. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.
________________________________________________
View and enjoy a section of the book below:
The Rich Man and Lazarus:
“In
the New Testament gospel of Luke, we are told about one of Jesus’
parables regarding a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. In this
parable, Luke tells us that Lazarus had died
first and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (a
waiting place of righteousness). Then we are told that
the rich man also died, was buried, and found himself in hell where
he was in torment and in agony because of the fire.
As I read this story, I noticed that in the parable Jesus mentioned
that Abraham told the rich man that “even if someone
from the dead would have resurrected from the grave and went over to
warn his family about hell, they would still not believed, and that
they had Moses and the prophets whom
they can listen to” (Lk 16:19–31).
Okay,
so what is my point in bringing this parable? My point is that Jesus
stated that the rich man’s family had Moses and the prophets, which
clearly shows that before the deaths of these two men, the Old
Testament law was already
established and in effect when these two men lived on
earth. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that these two men lived
when Moses himself was around, but the fact that Jesus quoted Abraham
by saying that “his family had the law of Moses and the prophets”
clearly shows that the rich man and his brothers were Jewish, which
was the same reason the rich
man addressed him as Father Abraham. This also shows
why he was still condemned and sentenced to hell as a sinner by
Moses’ law (that is, "The law points out our sins and condemns us for being sinners'). And it shows us that the rich man wasn’t condemned
for being rich but for breaking God's law. Now this doesn’t mean that
his riches got in his way of
seeking God. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't, but only God knows.
Having money and wealth doesn’t condemn anyone;
it’s the lust of it that does. The only thing we do know is
that “he did not follow after God.”
There
is a lesson to be learn from this parable: the fact that
the rich man asked Abraham to send someone to his family so that they
can avoid ending up in the same place he was, clearly shows that he
may have believed in God and religion may have been a part of his
life, and maybe in his own way he tried to pacify his sins before
God, but he still didn’t
obey Him, and because of it, he lost his soul (Jn 5:45–47).
Second, it is not enough to say, “I believe in God,” and/or,
“I’m a good person.” That is all good and dandy, but it doesn’t
save anyone from God’s judgments. Why? Because we are all sinners,
and if Christ isn’t our Lord, then God’s law has mercy on no one,
and it condemns all men the same
merciless to hell for eternal damnation (Rom 6:23). It doesn’t matter whether one is Jew or
Gentile. The fact that we are all sinners we then are considered
criminals before God. God is love, but at the same time the
scriptures in both covenants teach us that “He is a consuming
fire” (Dt 4:24; Heb 12:29). God is also a jealous God,
and He punishes all sins the same under His law.
Let
this be a warning for those of us who have heard the gospel over and
over again but have not yet made a decision to
believe in Jesus. This parable illustrates two worlds: one of
righteousness for salvation, and the other, of wickedness
for damnation. Either we believe in Jesus, or we don’t! And at the end our decisions will dictate which world we belong
to and where will we spend all eternity, "Heaven or Hell?”
Click on link below for book website:
Note:
