Bible students are understandably troubled at times by the fact that there are so many biblical stories and promises that link salvation to holiness rather than to believing in Jesus. In the previous lesson, for example, we read how Jesus declared that salvation had come to Zaccheus’ house after he repented of his greed. Not a word was said in Luke’s narrative about Zaccheus believing in, or having faith in, Jesus. Why didn’t Jesus tell Zaccheus (as He did Nicodemus), “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16)?
To the chagrin of those who explain this troubling fact by claiming that Jesus advocated “salvation-by-works” during His old covenant earthly ministry but that “salvation-by-grace” was inaugurated under the new covenant, there are many examples in the New Testament epistles of the same troubling fact[1]. For example, the apostle Paul, certainly a preacher of salvation by grace, wrote in his letter to the Roman believers:
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Rom. 2:5-10, emphasis added).
And there are plenty of other passages in the New Testament epistles that hinge salvation upon holiness.
The only way to harmonize all that the New Testament has to teach regarding the roles of both holiness and faith in Christ in personal salvation is to conclude that (1) everyone’s ultimate salvation or damnation is determined by their deeds (as Paul so clearly wrote in the above passage of Romans), and that (2) genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ begins with repentance and continues with obedience. That is why the apostles always preached repentance (Acts 2:37–38; 3:19; 5:31; 17:30: 20:20-21; 26:19-20), and why Paul summarized his preaching as a solemn public testimony of “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). His goal was to “bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles” (Rom. 1:5, emphasis added).
I think it is safe to say that Zaccheus is an example of someone whose repentance was spawned by His faith in Jesus. He repented when he encountered Jesus. His faith was not the kind that is advocated in many religious circles, that is, a faith that says, “I’m not trusting that my good deeds will get me into heaven but rather, trusting that Jesus will get me into heaven no matter how I live my life.” Zaccheus believed, not in theological doctrine about salvation, but in a divine Person who was God in the flesh and Lord, who thus should be obeyed, and who was warning that the unrepentant will perish (Luke 13:3, 5; see also Matt. 4:17; 11:20-21; 12:41; Luke 5:32; 15:7, 10; 24:47). Zaccheus was saved “by grace through faith.” God’s grace forgave him, but it didn’t give him a license to continue sinning.
All of this is to say, people who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ repent and start striving to obey Him. Those who don’t repent or who don’t start striving to obey Him don’t believe in Him. They may think they believe in Him, but as I stated in the first chapter, they have only carved an idol of their own design and named it “Jesus.”
The Issue of Assurance
“But how can anyone have assurance of salvation if there is a standard of holiness required for salvation?” some ask. The answer is simple. Assurance of salvation comes from knowledge that one is meeting the standard. John wrote an entire letter on that topic in which he repeatedly listed three standards by which one could gain assurance that he is born again and has eternal life. Those three standards are (1) believing in the Lord Jesus, (2) obeying His commandments (which John said are not burdensome; 1 John 5:3), and (3) loving other believers. Below are samples of those standards from 1 John. As you read them, look for the word “know,” for which “have assurance” could be substituted:
(1) These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13, emphasis added; see also 1 John 5:1, 5, 10-12).
(2) By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected (1 John 2:3-5, emphasis added; see also 1 John 3:4-10, 24; 5:2-3)(3) We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death (1 John 3:14, emphasis added; see also 1 John 2:9-11; 3:10, 16-18; 4:7-8, 20-21; 5:2).
All of the passages I’ve quoted and referenced above are contained in the New Testament. Anyone who thus claims that basing one’s assurance of salvation on a self-examination is “trusting in their works” contradicts the apostle John and the Holy Spirit who inspired him. Genuine, ongoing faith in the Lord Jesus results in obedience and love. God does not want anyone to have “assurance of salvation” whose “faith” is fruitless. He wants them to truly believe and bear fruit “some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matt. 13:23). And we should all be striving for the hundredfold mark!
In this lesson, we’re going to consider a man who became a believer, but it was too late for him to repent. Like the Parable of the Rich Fool and the story of Zaccheus’ salvation, it is found only in Luke. It is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. No one knows if it was a parable or true story. Either way, it speaks to us.
The Story
We are not told how the rich man in the story gained his wealth. It is possible, of course, that he gained it legitimately, providing value to willing customers. If that was the case, he was not guilty of greed in how he acquired his wealth. But we don’t know for sure.
Jesus did reveal, however, that the rich man was self-indulgent. He “habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day” (Luke 16:19).
In Jesus’ time, purple clothing was a sign of wealth and high social status because the dye used to produce it—known as Tyrian purple (or royal purple)—was extraordinarily expensive and labor-intensive to make. The dye came from the mucous gland of certain species of sea snails, commonly harvested near the Phoenician city of Tyre in modern-day Lebanon. The process involved collecting tens of thousands of snails to produce just a small amount of usable dye. The snails had to be crushed, and then the tiny gland was extracted from each snail. The mucous that was collected had to be given time to ferment in the sun as the color shifted from white to yellow-green to the final deep purple-red or violet shade. The final step of dyeing fabric in vats required repeated dips for richer color.
This labor-intensive process made Tyrian purple dye one of the costliest substances in the ancient Mediterranean world. In some periods, it was worth its weight in silver or even gold. The rich man in Jesus’ story didn’t just wear purple for special occasions; he wore it “habitually” and likely “every day.” He flaunted his wealth.
Lazarus, by contrast, was literally starving, and he was gravely ill. He not only was partially paralyzed, but also afflicted with some form of skin disease that resulted in running sores. His paralysis apparently prevented him from walking, so that compassionate (and likely poor) friends laid him at the rich man’s gate in hopes that he might gain some compassion from the rich man. His paralysis (or perhaps extreme weakness) also prevented him from being able to keep street dogs from licking his open sores. His was a horrible lot.
Being laid strategically—so that the rich man could see him in his plight as he ate his meals—allowed Lazarus to also see the rich man at the same times. Jesus told us that he was “longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table” (Luke 16:21). But the rich man just ignored him. It was a blatant violation of God’s commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself. It was also a form of greed related to how the rich man used his wealth. He could have easily relieved a considerable amount of Lazarus’ suffering, but preferred spending his wealth on luxuries, like purple clothing, for himself.
Both men in Jesus’ story died but found themselves to be very much still alive in an afterlife. Lazarus’ death was not surprising, but I can’t help but wonder if the rich man was caught off guard.
Regardless, the rich man found himself in a place called “Hades,” where he was being tormented by flames, thirst, regret and despair. He was no longer wealthy. He quickly realized that he was being punished for his sins.
Lazarus found himself in “Abraham’s bosom” with Abraham, who had died about 2,000 years earlier. During his earthly life, Abraham’s wealth was somewhat comparable to Job’s (whom we will consider in our next lesson). Scripture tells us that Abraham “was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold” (Gen. 13:2). Late in his life, one of his servants testified about him: “The Lord has greatly blessed my master, so that he has become rich; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys” (Gen. 24:35; see also Gen. 13:5-9; 23:16; 24:53; 10-11 for more indications of Abraham’s great wealth.) Abraham employed over 300 men (Gen. 14:14), and he must have been a gifted businessman and leader. All of this would seem to once again affirm that possessing wealth, in itself, does not make one guilty of greed. Abraham was not guilty of greed in how he obtained his wealth, and we can also be sure that neither was he guilty regarding how he utilized it.
The Worst Part
Whether you believe that hell is eternal conscious torment or temporary justice followed eventually by annihilation, this story from the lips of the Son of God should give us pause to think.
Surprisingly, the rich man could see both Abraham and Lazarus in their paradise. It was, obviously, part of his punishment. He surely realized that he was reaping exactly what he had sown—just as God has promised everyone (see Gal. 6:7). Previously, Lazarus had “longed to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table” (Luke 16:21). Now, the rich man longed for just a single drop of water from Lazarus to cool off his tongue. Their circumstances had been reversed.
On earth, the rich man had not extended even the smallest mercy towards suffering Lazarus, and now, in Hades, he did not receive the smallest mercy from Abraham or Lazarus. God was “repaying him according to his deeds,” just as we previously read in Romans 2:5-6 that He will do to everyone.
Even more significant, we see that God had designed their contrasting habitations so that it was impossible to travel from one to the other. In response to the rich man’s request for a tiny bit of relief, Abraham explained to him: “Between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us” (Luke 16:26).
The first part of what Abraham said to the rich man contains an important point that many readers overlook: That God-designed chasm served a two-fold purpose. Not only would it prevent those suffering in Hades from escaping to Abraham’s bosom, but it would prevent those in Abraham’s bosom from crossing the divide to relieve the sufferings of those whom they could see in Hades.
That tells us something very significant about the difference between those who ultimately found themselves in Hades and those who ultimately found themselves in Abraham’s bosom. The former were merciless at heart, while the latter were merciful at heart. Had it been possible, Lazarus would have relieved the rich man’s sufferings.
That should remind us of Jesus’ solemn declaration: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy,” (Matt. 5:7), as well as James’ antithetical declaration: “Judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy” (Jas. 2:13). The rich man certainly realized those sobering truths when he was denied the minuscule mercy of a single drop of water.
Not Only a Believer, but an Evangelist
Having lost all hope of gaining any mercy for himself, the rich man entreated Abraham to have mercy on his five brothers, all still alive, by sending Lazarus to warn them, lest they join him in his torment. He was not only now a believer, but also an evangelist of sorts. His request, however, was also denied because, as Abraham explained, the rich man’s brothers had already been warned many times when they heard Moses and prophets read in the synagogue on Sabbath days. They all knew that God expected them to “love their neighbors as themselves” (Lev. 19:18). They are analogous to so many church-going Christians who ignore what they’ve heard.
No doubt the rich man had also many times heard the commandment to love one’s neighbor. Now, however, it was too late to repent. Had anyone asked him what his five living brothers needed to do to stay out of Hades, I doubt he would have said, “They only need to accept Jesus as their personal Savior!” On the contrary, he would have mentioned the necessity of repenting of greed as it relates to caring for the poor.
It is important to note that Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus to a crowd that consisted, at least in part, of Pharisees who were, as Luke described them, “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). Seconds earlier, they had been “scoffing” (Luke 16:14) at Jesus’ warning that, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Luke 16:13). Had anyone asked those Pharisees, “Do you love God?” I suspect all would have affirmed that they did. In their hearts, however, they actually loved and served money, which proved that they didn’t actually love God since “no one can serve two masters.” They were fooling themselves, but not Jesus. Still, He mercifully warned them by telling them a story about a rich man who represented all of them. I hope no reader is similarly as blind.
I once heard a very famous evangelist preach to the approving roar of his large audience: “The rich man didn’t go to Hades because he was rich any more than Lazarus went to Abraham’s bosom because he was poor.” That is certainly true, but Jesus could not have made it more clear why the rich man found himself in Hades. He was merciless, and “judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy” (Jas. 2:13). He showed no mercy, so he received no mercy, just as God had warned him.
Obviously, Jesus used an extreme example of a hyper-indulgent and uncaring rich man who could see at his gate an exceptionally disadvantaged man who was hungry, sick, and disabled. The story, however, has application to lesser extremes. I hope no reader is saying to himself, “If I ever become so rich that I start spending tens of thousands of dollars on my clothing, I will stay on the lookout for anyone who is lying outside my house who is starving, diseased and disabled surrounded by dogs licking the open sores on his skin! And if and when that ever happens, I will surely bring him a plate of food!”
I wonder if the apostle John had the story of the rich man and Lazarus in mind when he penned:
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth (1 John 3:16-18).
The All-Important Questions: Do I possess a biblical assurance of salvation because of my believing, obedience and love? What is waiting for me after death if I reap what I have sown and God repays me according to my deeds (since I’ve been born again)? Is my life characterized by mercy, including mercy to the poor? Has God allowed me to be aware of someone’s plight concerning which I have some ability to provide relief?
[1] It is also erroneous to claim that, under the old covenant, salvation was attained by works. God has not changed from old to new covenants, and salvation has always been offered to sinful humanity by grace through faith. Paul taught that both Abraham, who lived prior to the old covenant, and David, who lived during the old covenant, were both saved by faith; see Rom. 4:1-8. And faith without works has always been dead, useless and unable to save (see Jas. 2:14-26).
