No Isolation

I've been thinking about the incident of the poor beggar Lazarus and the rich man. (God's child--He calls him by name--Lazarus; and a man most people would have liked to have been--before he died.) It's a sobering story that should stimulate our concern for the lost. Note: the rich man was not in torment because he was rich and had a good earthly life. Nor was he in torment because of his despicable apathy toward Lazarus. Doing nothing is a sin. No, he was in torment on the same basis that his brothers would or would not be there: "they have Moses and the prophets, let them believe them." We now have the Gospel more clearly delineated in the New Testament. But the criteria is the same: Believe and live. Or reject God's loving provision and perish in your sins. Personally, I think the greatest suffering of the rich man was wondering what would happen to his brothers whom he had influenced while he lived. He would never know. We do not live a life in isolation.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."