Faith, Service, and Crosses

Faith, Service, and Crosses

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. ²⁰ But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. ²¹ He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²² One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’

²⁵ “‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. ²⁶ Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’
²⁷ “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹ “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.'”

Luke 16:19-31 CSB

This account of the rich man and Lazarus points to several very important biblical teachings. This morning I will focus on three: faith, service, and crosses.

Faith, as we know or should know, is the determining factor whether one ends up in heaven or hell. The interesting thing is that the word “faith” is never mentioned in these verses. Neither is “belief” or “trust,” synonyms for faith. What we do have, however, in the case of the rich man, is a demonstration of the absence of faith, or to put it another way, the wrong faith.

The sin that sent the rich man to hell was not that he was rich. If that were the case Abraham should not have been in heaven, for he was very wealthy. We read in Genesis 13:2 that Abraham “was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.”

Neither was the rich man’s sin primarily taking advantage of his riches and living a life of luxury – dressing the way he did, feasting lavishly every day. His lifestyle indicated a deeper sin, a more serious problem, one that would send him to hell. But having lots of money, having lots of nice things – clothes, a beautiful home, nice cars, eating out at spendy restaurants, going on expensive vacations, and so forth – these are not sins in and of themselves. Again, if that were the case, we would have to eliminate from heaven Old Testament believers such as Joseph, King David, Daniel, Esther, Mordecai, and others, who had a pretty plush life (at least at times) and yet were righteous in God’s sight.

So, what was the sin that sent the rich man to hell? It was having the wrong God. It was idolatry. St. Paul tells us in Colossians 3,

“Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient.”

Colossians 3: 1-2

Greed is idolatry. The rich man was greedy for money. He loved his money. He trusted his riches. He said in his heart, “You are my god. You will bring me my heart’s desires. I put my faith in you.” This is why Paul wants Christians to be aware of this very real temptation:

“But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

(1 Tim. 6:9-10).

Notice that this sin of loving riches can send even poor people to hell. You do not have to be rich to be greedy. You do not have to have a lot of wealth and material things to be guilty of this sin of idolatry. All you have to do, Paul says, is to “want to be rich.” All you have to do is have a “love of money,” a “craving” for it. And that applies to rich and poor alike.

So, the question we should be asking ourselves is this: Do I find this sin to any extent – this love of money, this greed, this idolatry, this false god – in my life? If not, you are rare and to be commended.

But for the rest of us, if and when we realize this love of money in our lives, when we find it creeping in, we are to be honest and say, “Lord, this is sin. This is idolatry. This is seeking to replace you. This is terrible. It will send me to hell. Forgive me.” We sincerely confess our sins. And we ask for mercy.

Again, it is faith that determines whether we end up in heaven or hell. Faith in riches will send to hell, because it is idolatry.

But then there is the faith that saves. What is the faith that saves? Look at Abraham again. We read in Romans 4, “For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.” (4:3). He believed God. Which God was this he believed who credits righteousness (and forgiveness, v. 6-8) by faith? Paul tells us in the same chapter: it is the God who raised Jesus from the dead, the same God available to you and me:

“Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

Romans 4: 22-25

Abraham, who had a lot riches, trusted not in his riches but in the God who raised Jesus from the dead and who brought about the promised blessing of salvation. Faith in this God. Faith in this God whose Son, the Messiah, died and was raised. This is the one before whom we confess our sins. This is the one in whom we find mercy and forgiveness and righteousness. This is the faith that saves, and no other.

We move on to the subject of service. The word “service” is not found in our text either. However, service is a theme here when we consider the obvious lack of service by the rich man toward his neighbor. Let me quote Martin Luther here on this text. He says,

[The rich man’s] heart was attached to [riches], sought them, trusted in and chose them, and … found in them all his joy, delight and pleasure; and made them in fact his idols. … Behold, this is the secret sin which today’s Gospel punishes and condemns.…Out of this blindness follows further that his heart becomes so hard…and unmerciful that he has no desire to do a kindness to his fellow man; … Consequently it follows that he does not look after the sick, poor and despised people, to whom he could and should be helpful and profitable…

(Lenker, vol. 4)

For from this [saving] faith man knows God, how he is good and gracious, that by reason of such knowledge his heart becomes so tender and merciful, that he wishes cheerfully to do to every one, as he experiences God has done to him. Therefore he breaks forth with love and serves his neighbor out of his whole heart, with his body and life, with his means and honor, with his soul and spirit, and makes him partaker of all he has, just like God did to him. Therefore he does not look after the healthy, the high, the strong, the rich, the noble, the holy persons, who do not need his care; but he looks after the sick, the weak, the poor, the despised, the sinful people, to whom he can be of benefit, and among whom he can exercise his tender heart, and do to them as God has done to him.

(Lenker, vol. 4)

So not only are Christians not to trust in their riches, but they are to use whatever riches they have to help and serve others. Paul tells Pastor Timothy:

“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.”

1 Timothy 6:17-19

If you are blessed with wealth, you may enjoy your wealth with a clear conscience, but you are also to be generous and use your riches to help and serve others.

This is one of those things that sets Christianity apart, not only when it comes to wealth, but with anything we may have and with anything we may be. Everything we have and everything we are, according to the Christian worldview, can be and almost always ought to be used in the service of others, for the benefit of others.

But we live in a crazy “me” oriented culture. The name attached to this usually is narcissism – life revolves around and is all about me. Self-fulfillment, self-realization, “you deserve a break today,” “follow your dreams,” “follow your heart.” Everything you have and everything you are – your looks, your knowledge, your status, your position, your vocation, your wealth, your belongings, your degree, your abilities, your goals, the conversations you have, your health or lack thereof, your success – it’s all about me, and making sure I am fulfilled and satisfied.

Now there is some truth here. Many of the things we pursue or become or have, do bring with them a degree of fulfillment and satisfaction. But just like with riches, we do not put our trust in them. AND, we see in them God saying to us, “Use what I have given you, use your vocation, use your abilities, your time, your resources, your position, to serve others.” It’s not about “me,” it is about “them.”

Let me give one specific example. In Proverbs 31, the last half of the chapter is dedicated to the praise of the “Wife of Noble Character.” She is a merchant, she is involved real estate, she is involved in agriculture, she rises early and goes to bed late, she makes and sells clothes, she has obtained all kinds of knowledge and wisdom. Sounds pretty satisfying and fulfilling. But it never mentions whether she is. The only thing that comes out clearly is that what she is and what she does, is for sake of serving and the benefit of others, specifically her husband and children. And for that she is praised.

Our ultimate example of course is Christ. He did not come to earth and say, “I am here for me. I have come so I can have all of you and everything I am serve me.” No. He said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). So, our epistle lesson says, “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19).

Service.

And finally, there are crosses. Poor Lazarus. He had no riches, terrible health, he suffered greatly, there was no one to help him, and he probably died a horrible and early death. He had to bear a very severe cross.

There will be times in our lives where we will have real joy and a sense of satisfaction as we rest in Christ and as we carry out our vocations, as we give generously, as we serve others. But what we will also have our crosses. St. Paul said, “It is necessary to go through many hardships (tribulations) to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). He also wrote, “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Tim. 3:10-12).

This is a reality for us Christians, especially as we see what is happening and will happen in this crazy world we live in. This is why we need each other and why we gather together in God’s house around Word and Sacrament. It is why we need to meditate on Scripture, and take comfort in the words of Christ, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30).

Like Lazarus, our day of lasting comfort and God-created fulfillment is coming. Until then we put our trust in the God of all mercy who raised Jesus from the dead and will raise us as well, until then we serve our neighbor whenever we can with whatever we are given, and until then we bear our crosses, crosses that always remind us of and point us to another cross – the cross of the one who bore and paid for all our sins. And then one day, like Lazarus, we know that God will

“…then from death awaken me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
O Son of God, Thy Glorious face,
My Savior and my Fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ,
My prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.”

(ELH, #406:3)

Amen.

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