How to Get to Heaven

Trinity 1| Luke 16:19-31| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| June 22, 2025

Jesus’ story about the rich man and the poor man Lazarus teaches us four important lessons, which are taught throughout Scripture. First, heaven and hell are real. And everyone will go to either heaven or hell when he dies and will spend the rest of eternity there. The rich man suffered torment in Hades, which he calls a flame. Abraham tells him that he may have no relief nor may he ever leave. Lazarus on the other hand is taken by angels to the bosom of Abraham, which is a description of heaven. Everyone likes to talk about heaven. Even people who are not religious, when a person dies, are happy to say that the person surely went to heaven. Few people like talking about hell. But few people like talking about cancer, war, and genocide. But these things are still certainly real. And if we are going to believe the words of our Lord Jesus and Holy Scripture, we must confess the existence of hell.

Jesus says in Matthew 8 that many will come from the east and west to sit at the feast of salvation with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but that the children of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He says in Matthew 10, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” In chapter 13, Jesus says that at the end of the age, He will send His angels to gather all the wicked to be thrown in the burning furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (vss 42, 50). And in Matthew 25, Jesus says, “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Jesus describes hell in Mark chapter 9, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”, quoting from Isaiah 66. The prophet Daniel says that some shall awake to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2). St. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1 writes that those who do not know God nor believe the Gospel of Christ “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might.” (vs. 9).

And there are other passages in Scripture which attest to the existence of hell, a place of punishment, described with burning fire, gnashing teeth, and consuming worm, which will last forever. The only reason to deny the existence of hell is because you don’t want to believe in its existence. But Scripture could not be clearer. So, we should take this as a solemn warning. We should not live like the rich man, who as Abraham said, received his good things in this life. That is, the rich man chose this life as his treasure. But remember the words of our Lord Jesus, “What profits it a man if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul?” (Mark 8:36) So, we should live our lives today storing up treasure in heaven, not on earth. We should guard ourselves, so that we do not become like that rich man, who is consigned to live in regret and great torment with no relief for the rest of eternity!

Instead, we should set our hopes on going to heaven, where we do not suffer even from the heat of sun nor cold of frost, where we neither hunger nor thirst anymore, where we are comforted without sin, guilt, or sadness, and where we will live forever in the presence of Christ Jesus our Savior with the saints and holy angels. Yet, how do you get to heaven? This introduces the second important lesson in Jesus’ story: The only way to go to heaven is through the faith of Abraham.

Poor Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom, which at first seems like a strange image of heaven. Yet, if you are familiar with Holy Scripture, this is a very rich and descriptive picture of heaven. Abraham is the father of the people of Israel, the first patriarch of their religion. God called him from his father’s house and country and brought him to the promised land of Canaan, which God said He would give to His descendants after him. Yet, even more importantly, God gave to Abraham the promise of the Messiah, that is, the Christ, who would be the Savior. God said to Abraham, “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” That Offspring of which God spoke is the Christ, as St. Paul writes in Galatians 3, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ.” (vs. 16) That is why Paul also says, “in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (vs. 14) and “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (vs. 29) This is why St. Matthew begins His Gospel in chapter 1 verse 1, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

That poor Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom means that angels carried him to be with Christ Jesus, who came from Abraham’s flesh as the promised Offspring to bless all people by becoming a curse for them on the tree. That heaven is pictured as Abraham’s bosom means that heaven is where Jesus is. It is won for us by Jesus who suffered and died for our sins and rose again from the dead. It is impossible to get to heaven without Jesus. To go to heaven is to go to be with Jesus. And the only way to get to heaven is through faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus Christ is the faith of Abraham, because Abraham believed God’s promise of the promised Offspring.

The faith of Abraham means to have faith in Christ Jesus, the promised seed of Abraham. This means that you do not get to heaven by your works. St. Paul writes in Romans 4, “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’” And so, as Abraham was justified through faith, so all of Abraham’s children are justified through faith. The rich man may have called Abraham, father. But he was not Abraham’s child, even though he was a physical descendent of Abraham. Again, St. Paul writes in Romans 9, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of flesh who are children of God, but the children of promise are counted as offspring.” (vss. 6-8) And so, flesh and blood avails you nothing. Neither your birth nor your works according to the flesh can save you, but only faith in Christ Jesus, the Savior in whom Abraham trusted.

Jesus indicates this by naming the poor man Lazarus. Lazarus comes from the Hebrew name Eleazar, which means God is my help. God told Abraham that his servant Eleazar would not be his heir, but his own son would be his heir. However, Eleazar is still blessed through the Seed of Abraham. And so, Lazarus, whose help is in God, is a true son of Abraham through faith in Christ.

(This is also why it is wrong to say that Christians are obligated to support the nation of Israel. Some of you may have heard a certain senator say that he learned in Sunday School that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel, and that is why he supports Israel in its conflict with Iran. However, in that passage from Genesis 12, God promises to bless those who bless Abraham, and to curse those who curse Abraham. And as we have just learned, those who belong to Abraham are not simply ethnic Jews, but those who share the faith of Abraham. So, God promises to bless those who bless the Christian Church, but to curse those who curse the Christian Church. This passage does not teach us to support the nation of Israel.)

Yet, you may be saying, if the faith of Abraham is the only way to be saved, why does Jesus focus on the rich man’s excessive lifestyle and lack of love? This is the third important lesson we learn from Jesus’ story: True saving faith produces love. St. John says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” When the rich man left Lazarus starving outside his home covered in sores and refused to help him, his lack of love betrayed his unbelief. Yet, when we have faith in Christ who loves us, then we ought to also love one another.

Finally, the fourth important lesson we learn from Jesus’ story is this: The only source of true saving faith is Holy Scripture. If one does not listen to the Word of God from the Bible, then he will never believe. This is what Abraham means when He says, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” By Moses and the Prophets, Abraham means the writings of the Holy Scriptures. At the end of Luke’s Gospel, before He ascends into heaven, Jesus says, “everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” And after opening the disciples’ minds to the Scriptures, He said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (vss. 44-49)

Scripture is the source of all Christian teaching. A person cannot come to faith apart from the message of Scripture. Not even a man rising from the dead will convince a person who rejects Scripture. Jesus rose from the dead and the chief priests bribed the guards to stay quiet. No scientific evidence will convert a person. Only the words of Holy Scripture. Which means that our preaching must be founded on Scripture alone. Church traditions may be useful, but only if they find their source in the Bible.

Apart from hearing the Word of God, you cannot come to faith or remain in the faith and be saved. St. Paul writes in Romans 10, “So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.” When we consider the first lesson of this story, that hell is real and that people who do not have true faith in Christ go to suffer there for the rest of eternity, you would think that people would take this more seriously. Yet, most people ignore God’s preaching and Word. They miss church for silly reasons and even stay away for months at a time. They don’t listen to Moses and the Prophet, let alone Christ and His Apostles. Meanwhile, they call themselves Christians. Well, the rich man called Abraham his father too. But he ended up in hell.

So, we must take this more seriously. Saving faith only comes through hearing the words of Christ, which we find in Holy Scripture. You must not let your sinful and unbelieving flesh convince you that you do not need God’s Word. You may think, “I already know the Gospel. I’ve already heard a sermon.” Yes, and you already know what a hamburger tastes like. Yet, you still enjoy it when you eat it. And it does you good by nourishing your body. How much more should you enjoy hearing the words of eternal life, which rescue you from eternal damnation and tell you of your sweet Savior Jesus, who died for you? How much more good does hearing the Gospel do you than a meal you’ve had many times before?

So, let us learn these four lessons well, so that we recognize the eternal consequences of our life on earth and seek true faith in Christ and love for our neighbor by gladly hearing Christ’s Word and believing in Him for our salvation. Amen.