The sermon today is titled, “Even if Someone Rises from the Dead,” which is based on the words of Jesus in the passage we read.

You might’ve noticed these words as you were reading. There was a certain rich man who feasted every day and had a pleasurable life. He was always merry as he enjoyed the company of many guests and feasted in his mansion. There was also another man in the passage whose name was Lazarus, a beggar. Because he had nothing, he lived off the food scraps that came from the rich man’s table. His state was most pitiable. What’s worse, he had sores all over his body, but because he couldn’t get treatment, dogs came and licked his sores. Perhaps he was too weak to even drive them away. That was how desperate his situation was.

Later, the rich man and Lazarus died. And where did the rich man go after death? Scripture says he went to Hades. It certainly doesn’t sound like a nice place, does it? On the other hand, the beggar, Lazarus, was carried by angels.

The Bible describes the time humans have on earth like this: “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years.” Of course, there are people nowadays who can live longer than that. Nevertheless, it is difficult for someone to surpass the age of 120. And yet, death is not the end— there is a life after death. There is something called the resurrection. Resurrection means to rise from the dead. Another life will begin after the resurrection, but the problem is that the afterlife is everlasting. For us, eternity is something we can hardly even imagine. Eternity belongs to God. And God, who lives from eternity to eternity, is offering His life unto us. We will, therefore, live eternally after the resurrection.

Another problem is that the quality of life after the resurrection will be different for everyone. What kind of life will we live after the resurrection? The Bible says that, just as the glory of one star differs from that of another, the glory of each person after the resurrection will likewise differ from person to person. You’ve seen the stars, haven’t you? Each one shines with its own brightness. Each has a different glory.

In Seoul, it is difficult to see the stars in the sky. And even if they could be seen, they don’t seem to vary in size. But about twenty years ago, I got a chance to see the stars in clear view in the northeast region of China, namely Manchuria. One night, I was passing through a rural street and as I looked up at the sky, I was absolutely mind-blown that I gave a shriek. It felt as though I was falling inside space. The sky was filled with stars. At first, I thought they were long-shaped clouds high up in the sky. So I thought, why are those clouds so high up in the clear sky? Soon I realized they weren’t clouds. It was in fact the Milky Way. The Milky Way stretches like a long river of light across the sky. Because it’s made up of countless tiny particles, it looks faint and misty—almost like a cloud. And behind that backdrop, there were even more stars. Some of them were enormous—far bigger and brighter than the rest.

It contains hundreds of billions of stars which all differ in their size and color. And the Bible tells us that when we are later resurrected, the glory we will receive will all differ like that—as different as the starts. At the break of dawn, as the sun begins to rise, the stars become less and less visible. By sunrise, the stars all vanish from sight. Yet there is one star that remains visible next to the moon which is called the “morning star.” This star is the brightest in the night sky after the moon, so that it is still visible in twilight even when all the other stars are invisible. After some time, that star also disappears out of sight, and soon the moon becomes faint. And once the sun finally rises, the moon can no longer be seen.

In this way, there are stars like the Milky Way that are innumerable. Then there are stars which we can count and therefore named. Then there is the morning star, the moon, and even the sun. When the sun comes up, all the other stars seem to disappear. Though all these are in the sky together, their glory is different. They all have different brightness.

Similarly, the body we will have at the resurrection will vary in glory. On the earth, people have different living standards, which can be seen as a pattern of what is to come. Not everyone has the same living standard as me. Some people might be doing it very tough, while others may live in great luxury. Whatever the living condition, it will not last more than 120 years. However, the glory we will have after the resurrection lasts eternally.

There is an even greater problem. Though it would be wonderful if everyone could attain such glory after the resurrection, some will end up suffering in Hades—like the rich man I mentioned earlier. In Hades, he longed for even a drop of water to quench his thirst, yet he couldn’t have any. He was in torment in this flame.

But after that comes something even more terrible. The Bible warns of some being ‘thrown in the lake of fire.’ Jesus warned us that we must avoid going there, and He called that place “Hell.” He said, “Do not ever go there! For in that place, everyone will be salted with fire.” What this means is, just as we sprinkle salt to season something, everyone will be seasoned with fire in Hell. Just as the salt touches every part of the food to ensure it is seasoned all throughout, in Hell, everyone will be seasoned with fire and tormented. And that suffering will be everlasting.

However, this suffering was not intended for mankind originally. Hell was prepared for a fallen angel, namely the Devil, whom we cannot see. Hell was intended for God’s enemy, where he is to be punished and tormented. In God’s eyes, however, mankind is standing on the Devil’s side. They keep siding with the Devil who rebelled against and renounced God and brought chaos to God’s kingdom. On the other side – which is God’s side – are people who confess, “I cannot live without You God! I am Your creation! God! You are my Master!” But those who are on the Devil’s side daringly say, “I am the master of my own life! I will do whatever I want! Don’t meddle in my life, God. I can take care of my own life! What about sin? If I’ve sinned, I’ll pay the price. I don’t need to go to heaven. I’ll just go to Hell!” If they choose to stand on the Devil’s side, they will unfortunately go to Hell along with the Devil. But the real problem with that is they will be there forever.

So what is Jesus’ earnest wish? He doesn’t want anybody to go there. Yet the problem is—people are already determined to go there. Who determined that? Humans themselves have chosen to be on the Devil’s side. Therefore, Jesus warns everyone to come out of there. “If you remain on that side, you will perish! You will be doomed! You will be cursed!” When Jesus spoke about Hell, He illustrated just how painful it will be there. “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched!” We can see from His words; just how tormenting and terrible a place Hell is. No one needs to go there to find what it’s like.

This is why Jesus came to the earth—to exhort mankind to escape from Hell and instead be resurrected to have eternal life. In order to give us that eternal life, it was not as simple as just saying, “Choose it and live.” We had sinned. So what could be done? He made a way for us to escape. We were rescued from it. Jesus paid the price for our sins.

When Jesus, God’s Son, came to this earth 2000 years ago, He didn’t die after saying some fancy words like Confucius or Buddha; rather He was executed. And He didn’t attempt to escape but accepted the death penalty in silence. But He had already foretold of His death to His disciples: “I will go to Jerusalem. I will be handed over to men and put to death. But I will not resist it. Why? Because this is not suffering forced upon Me—it is what I have chosen. This is the commandment God has given Me!” In other words, for Jesus, even being killed—being executed—was God’s commandment. That is why He accepted it just as it was.

Even Jesus didn’t want to go through it. That’s why, in His final prayer, He cried out, “Father, do I really have to drink this bitter cup? If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me! If I don’t have to drink it, then please—let it pass from Me.” In saying that, He was not grumbling about His situation but making a genuine proposal to God, for the final time. But He added, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will (Father).” He prayed like this not once, but three times. Finally, He fully accepted it—and through that, He paid the price for all our sins.

After He died, He was buried in the tomb. But on the third day, God raised Jesus to life. In doing so, Jesus was proven to be the sinless One by God. The Sinless One had died a death He did not deserve. It’s like paying for a meal you never ate. Instead you pay for someone else’s meal. Similarly, Jesus paid the price for our sins through His death. We deserved to go to Hell, but now, we don’t have to, as long as we accept Jesus’ merits. By relying on Jesus’ merits, we can escape Hell and enter Heaven. This is why He came.

As we are living in an age of advanced natural science and modern technology, people tend to ignore this truth because they cannot see by reason. However, if this was merely a deception that was out there to deceive countless people, it could not have lasted until now. Furthermore, in this age of advanced modern science and technology, people would have no interest in it.

However, it is the truth. And we have much evidence for it. Can we show you the evidence? Yes, we can. But that evidence is not revealed to just anybody. God follows a specific order of steps. When you rely on Him—when you put your trust in Him—He will show you the evidence. But if you say, “I will only believe if You first show me the evidence,” God has no reason to do that.

He is not in need of anything. The ones in need are us. We have to admit that we are lacking. We need to realize we are in need. Otherwise, we cannot meet God. Our relationship with God is that of the Creator and His creation, the Master and His servant, and the One who gives life and the one who should be saved. Hence, we cannot act arrogantly as though we are the boss and He is our subordinate nor say, “Show me the proof first, then I’ll believe!” It is when we cry out to Him, “Save me!”—that’s when He reveals Himself to us.

You must understand the order. If you are thinking, “First show me, and then I will believe!” you are treating God as your subordinate, not as the One whom you must worship. Remember that He is God. We are not trying to believe in a servant. We are trying to meet the Most High, the One who not only saves us but even gives us eternal life. We are not seeking to meet a servant like figure who will please us and do whatever we say.

We must clearly understand what kind of attitude allows us to meet God. A self-righteous and proud person who claims, “I can take care of my own life! I don’t need God! I’m fine without Him!” cannot meet God.

In the passage we looked at, the rich man in his torment cried out to Abraham. Remember that Abraham is a significant figure in the life of faith. The rich man said to Abraham, “I have five brothers, who know nothing of the afterlife—that there is a resurrection after death. Please send Lazarus to them. Though I am stuck here and cannot go, please send Lazarus to them. Even if I’m stuck here, even if I’m cursed and can never leave this place, at least Lazarus was carried up by angels. Please send him to my brothers!” What does he mean by these words? If Lazarus were to go back, he would rise again—it means he who was dead would rise again. The rich man is saying, “Let Lazarus rise and go to my brothers and tell them, ‘‘When I died, I saw both Heaven and Hell! There is a terrible reality awaiting us after death. Therefore, you must repent and come to God! Don’t let your life end without doing so!’”

But what did Abraham say in response? He said, “If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded—even if the dead rises from the dead.” The rich man still went on, “No, Father Abraham! But if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent!” But Abraham said again, “No. If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they repent!” Not think about it. Isn’t it remarkable if someone who died actually comes back to life? And that very person to rise again and testify, saying, “Heaven does exist!” Wouldn’t that be a shocking to hear? His words may certainly be true since he came back from the dead.

Nevertheless, it says that, even if one rose from the dead, people will not be persuaded. So, we need to make our position clear. What is my attitude like before the One whom I am trying to meet? It shouldn’t be, “You show me the proof first, then I’ll believe!”

The One whom we are trying to meet is not someone to be treated like that. He is most high and lofty. He is greater than kings. He sits above the king of kings. He created heaven and earth, including all the stars I mentioned earlier, and He sustains every one of them so they don’t fall. He governs over man’s life and death. Hell is His, and so is Heaven. Therefore, it is utterly nonsense to say to Him, “Show me first! Then I’ll believe!” We must have the rightful attitude before Him that is fitting.

Abraham said to the rich man, “Let them hear Moses!” What was Moses’ teaching? Moses taught about the Law. You are probably aware of the Ten Commandments which are the foundational commandments of the Law. What does it say in the Ten Commandments? They are quite straight forward, and they aren’t many. I assume you’re familiar with some of them: “Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not bear false witness.” Now let me ask you, do you think a person who is confronted with the Law will be able to stand with confidence? The deeper we examine the Law one by one, the lower our heads will droop to the ground. Let’s say there is a person who claims he never sinned (committed a crime). If he is presented with the Statutes of South Korea and made to read through them, he will discover that there are thousands upon thousands of rules and regulations, which define what it considered illegal. After reading through it, do you think he’ll say, “Wow, I feel great!”? No—he would’ve broken at least one.

In the same way, no one is guiltless before God’s law. The Law says, “Do not murder,” and some people might say, “I’ve never murdered anybody!” However, the Law still says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor anything your neighbor has!” In other words, to covet is a sin. Are you jealous of the lifestyle and living conditions that others have? To even think, “I want to be in that person’s position!” is a sin. That is the same as murder. Therefore, there is no one who can say to God, “I am sinless!” Everyone is a sinner. That is why it says, “They must hear from Moses.”

So, we’ve come to the point of realizing that we are sinners deserving of death before God. But does that mean we should fall into despair? No. We have to listen to the Prophets. What did the Prophets say? The reason God wants to teach us that we are sinners is not so that we perish but to save us. When a doctor tells a patient, “You are diagnosed with such and such disease,” it is intended to provide the patient with the treatment required, not to offend. Similarly, God tells us, “You are a sinner,” it’s not to offend you, but because sin will surely lead to death, to destruction, and to hell—and He wants to rescue us from it.

That’s why we are told to listen to the prophets. They proclaimed, “There is One who will save you from eternal damnation. He is God. He is Jesus Christ, whom God has sent!” Therefore, we must first listen to Moses and the Prophets—because only then can we repent. We will be able to come before God, confessing, “I am a sinner! I need Your salvation!”

These steps were exactly what I experienced when I first came to church and met God. At that time, I was a very self-righteous person. Ever since I was a kid, I was well-behaved and obedient to my parents. I also did well at school and was even class representative a few times. My parents didn’t have a hard time raising me. You can imagine then, how self-righteous I was.

Thus, when I first came to church in 1990, I believed I could stand before God with my own righteousness. I remember the way I sat in the church—it’s almost funny looking back now. I had my arms crossed and sat at the back of the second floor. Our worship place had two floors, and I chose the highest spot at the back, my arms still crossed, looking down over everything.

On that particular Lord’s Day, we did Holy Communion. In those days, our Senior Overseer used to wear a white suit for the Holy Communion. He also wore matching white shoes. For someone who had never seen a white suit and white shoes before, it all seemed quite bizarre. In addition, the singing of hymns and giving of offerings were almost comical. And I started criticizing everything one by one. At the end of the service, I told the person who brought me to church and said, “Your church is really weird,” and I went on making all kinds of comments. I was a just proud and judgmental. Was I able to meet God? No, though I went to church several times after that, I couldn’t meet God. As I said, I went to church here and there from 1990 to 1992, although I was half forced by the efforts of the evangelist. Nevertheless, I thought to myself, “All these people in the church are deceived!”

However, it was two years later, in 1992, that I met God. Before that time, no matter how many times I went to church, I couldn’t meet God—because I was always sitting on my hands. I wasn’t able to meet God—because I had no clue about who it was I was coming to church to meet, and I didn’t even have a clear understanding of who I was.

But two years later, I met God. So what changes took place in my heart during those two years? There was definitely a change in my heart. I realized this: “I am doomed! If Heaven and Hell are real, I will certainly be going to Hell! Perhaps this world is Hell itself! I am not the only one accursed—everyone is! There is nothing eternal in this world. But why is there in me this longing for the eternal? This is horrible!” I was longing for the eternal, but I couldn’t find it. And that was the curse, I realized.

Finally, I could hear the words of my friends telling me, “You are a sinner! But you can be saved!” And I began to confess, “Yes, I am a sinner!” From then on, I started to take the pastor’s sermons seriously. I realized this truth: “I am a sinner. And if there are places called Hell and Heaven in the afterlife, I am surely destined for Hell! Why? I’m already accursed on this earth, so I am bound to go to hell!”

Yet I was told I could be saved—that I won’t have to go to hell. When I heard that, I wanted salvation. I didn’t want to remain under a curse. So I began to heed their words.  They told me I needed to confess to God what I came to realize, that I shouldn’t only confess before men, but before God. Thus, I knelt before God and cried, “God! I still don’t know You! I haven’t met You yet!” Furthermore, I realized Jesus had already diagnosed me as a sinner in the Bible, which was exactly what I became aware of. Neither Confucius nor Buddha diagnosed mankind that way. Yet God has declared man is a sinner. His diagnosis of man is that man is cursed and doomed to hell.

I agreed with His diagnosis. Hence, I began to pray, “Yes God, I am a sinner! And there is no way for me to escape on my own! But I seek Your help! Please meet me, God! If You are alive, I want to meet You God!” That is how a change came about in me.

If anyone does not hear from Moses and the Prophets, he will never be able to come before God. Everyone must first accept God’s diagnosis in order to receive His grace. Let’s say, someone attempting to teach you about God, starts talking about Noah’s Ark and even provides scientific evidence for the ark: “Noah’s Ark is a historical truth! There have been remnants of the Ark found on a mountain in Turkey!” However, you still won’t be able to meet God. You might think, “Oh, maybe that’s true,” but that alone will not lead you to Him. Even if you say, “Show me that God is alive, and then I’ll believe,” and He actually shows you—still, you will not meet Him. Why? Because you have not listened to the exhortations of Moses and the Prophets.

The important question is this: Who am I before God? We will be able to meet God when we confess, “I am a sinner before God! I have no right to assert. I am a sinner who cannot escape the curse I’m under. But You, God, are the only One who can save me! Please save me! Please deliver me!” In Jesus’ name I pray that you will all meet God— and not only be delivered from the curse but enjoy God’s happiness abundantly. I’ll pray.

Thank You Father God for allowing us to hear this wonderful news. We know that every soul gathered here wouldn’t be here if You did not call them. Indeed, we are all sinners—accursed and doomed to eternal punishment. We acknowledge this and long for Your grace. Help everyone to receive Your grace. Help them to possess and enjoy God’s happiness eternally. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.