“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith"

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 16:19-31:

Greed! This is the subject of this entire chapter. We have covered the commendation of the greedy unfaithful servant (1-8); how Jesus applied this to His greedy audience (9-13); how the greedy Pharisees reacted and how the Lord would respond (14-15); and finally, Jesus would illustrate a truly faithful steward, John the Baptizer (16-18).

This last section of this chapter deals specifically with the perverted attitude of the Pharisees which held that righteousness and wealth were synonymous. They literally held the tradition that the more blessings you received in this life; the more righteous you are.

This final portion of this chapter deals specifically with this misconception and that their created tradition was not going to work out for them like they hoped!

Text #1:

Luke 16:19-21 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.”

Certain: This term, which is used at the beginning of a parable, denotes that the Lord is introducing this illustration as a parable. This term denotes that the illustration does not depend on who these individuals truly are (literally any rich man and anyone named Lazarus, which was a very common name of the day). We see this in many other parables:

Matthew 18:23 – “A certain king”.

Matthew 22:2 – “A certain king”.

Luke 7:41 – “A certain creditor”.

Luke 12:16; 16:1 – “A certain rich man”.

Luke 13:6; 14:16; 15:11 – “A certain man”.

Based on the teaching of the Pharisees, the rich man was righteous and poor Lazarus would have been a sinner and receiving his just reward on earth for his unrighteousness.

This illustration opens as a parable. Remember a parable was a spiritual message cast beside something in everyday life to illustrate. At the end of verse 22, the parable ends and becomes an illustration or story (vs. 22-31). As such, the Lord is not attempting to present it as a historic or accurate depiction of the afterlife. We must remember as we read this story that the Lord is using an idea familiar (Pharisee tradition) and current to their day to teach that just because one was wealthy, that alone does not favor a good outcome! Therefore, to trust in riches is not wise!

There are some who wish to teach this as an accurate depiction of the afterlife; I myself used to be one of them. However, there are some very important considerations that must be considered here that make this hard to reconcile, note:

• There is no allusion to this specific teaching in the New Testament.
• No New Testament writer quoted or even mentioned the same teaching.
• The Jews, this was spoken to did not see this as an accurate depiction of the afterlife, but the concept of greed leading to destruction or they would have challenged the Lord, as this teaching does not exist in the Old Testament.
• Along that line there is no mention of Abraham's bosom in the Old Testament; no mention of the gulf in either of the Testaments; and finally, no instruction anywhere advising prayer to Abraham.
• Neither soul nor spirit, are mentioned here.
• There is far more evidence that this is teaching a moral verses a factual account of the afterlife.
• In addition, the gulf mentioned is far more representative of the divide between the teaching of the Pharisees and the Law of Moses and the prophets which is the result of the different outcomes of these men.

The Bible is very vocal concerning the afterlife in other places where this is the point and focus of the teaching.

Matthew 25:41-46; Luke 23:43; Acts 2:25-31; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2 Peter 2:1-11; etc…

These are some very important things to chew on before teaching this as an actual presentation of the afterlife, verses an illustration of a life devoted to greed and the assumption of it ending well! There is no misleading by the Lord concerning the afterlife as this is not the point of His teaching. At any rate, it is simply the presentation of certain evidences that we must consider. So, I have reported and you must decide!

With this vast amount of information to digest and the point being given and universally it can be agreed on (serving greed is not going to produce the results that the Pharisees think it will); the text speaks rather simply for itself.

Text #2:

Luke 16:22-31 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'”

Again, the point of this lesson is that in their own established righteousness, the Pharisees were unwilling to adhere to the teaching of the Law and the prophets to establish true righteousness. This would continue to the destruction of many of them even after the Lord would rise from the dead and establish His laws of righteousness for the kingdom.

Covetousness: The Pharisees were lovers of money and served it as their master (vs. 13-14). This was a behavior condemned from the very beginning – Exodus 20:17; Psalms 10:3; Proverbs 28:16; Jeremiah 6:13; Ezekiel 33:31; Micah 2:2; Habakkuk 2:9.

Jesus already established this with the brother who was unsatisfied with his inheritance.

Luke 12:15 “And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

The Apostle Paul taught that covetousness was not to be named among Christians and was the source of idolatry.

Ephesians 5:3 “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;”

Colossians 3:5 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Next: “Offenses, Faith, and Duty”