February 17, 2020
Knowledge of God Is Not Enough to Save Us; We Must Have a Relationship with Him.
Luke 16:19–31
Tom Bliss
Central Truth
We cannot earn our way into heaven, nor is knowledge of God enough to save us. Christ paid for your entry, but you are required to choose to have a relationship with God, reconciled through Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit.
Key Verse | Luke 16:31
"He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"
Luke 16:19–31
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. 1 16:22 Greek bosom; also verse 23 The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Dive Deeper | Luke 16:19–31
Quick observations: the rich man doesn't argue where he ended up, and he recognizes and calls him Father Abraham; he knows of Moses and the Prophets.
For me, an important point of this passage is that the rich man (audience: Pharisees loved money, Luke 16:14) had knowledge of God and godly people, but didn't have a relationship with Him.
Jesus closes the parable with the observation: "He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'" (Luke 16:31)
Knowledge of God is not enough as "[e]ven the demons believe—and shudder!" (James 2:19) Moses and the prophets had a relationship with God, unlike most Jewish practitioners who were hoping to be good enough at keeping the laws. Unfortunately, they missed the Messiah because they rejected Christ's teaching. He asks them, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?" (Luke 6:46).
I was a nominal Christian most of my adult life, just checking the "religious" boxes and living a "fire insurance" type of attitude while I pursued my personal desires. In late 2017, my wife filed for divorce, and my idols came crashing down. Thanks to an awesome neighbor—love you, Mark!—and others from Watermark who loved me and modeled for me what a relationship with Christ looked like, I got into a community group while attending re:generation and Divorce Recovery. I attended Equipped Disciple classes after commencing re:generation. I learned to surrender and meet God where I am, not where I thought I needed to be. It started to shift for me when I acknowledged I was broken, that I fall short of His perfection, and there was nothing I could do to control it. I could choose Him to be my Savior. He loved me just as I was—a sinner.
Only He, a true and loving God, could be my Savior and die in my place, washing me clean with Christ's blood to reconcile me. I walk confidently in knowing I am God's adopted son. Through my relationship with Him, I will recognize my resurrected Lord when He comes. I hope you accept His reconciliation gift and recognize Him, too.
Discussion Questions
What does your relationship with God look like today? Do you consider Him your Father like in Romans 8:15? Do you believe you have eternal life in Christ like in John 3:16? Do you consider yourself as crucified with Christ like in Galatians 2:20?
At Watermark, we have some diagnostic questions we use to help understand where people are on their walk:
1. If you died today, on a scale from 1–10, 10 being the most confident, how confident are you that you would go to heaven? If your response is anything other than a 10, you can review your relationship with Christ and His grace through your faith (Ephesians 2:4-9).
2. If God asks you why He should let you into heaven, what would your answer be? Again, nothing we do will get us even close to God in heaven (Ephesians 2:4-9).
3. Wherever you are in your walk, are you done trying to earn your salvation by being good enough or just not too bad? Ignoring your sins, or just trying to handle them in your own strength? Please consider attending re:generation at a location near you. We are all broken, and yet God loves us and longs for us to surrender ourselves completely to Him—to be 100% reconciled. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)