The Man Who Was Dead Right

4/12/26

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Sermon Transcript

Introduction

Our lesson today is from Luke 16, but let’s start with a proverb.

Proverbs 21:2 - Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” Think about that for a moment. Not some ways. Not most ways. But every way. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.”

That proverb is telling us something about human nature that we all know — we are remarkably good at convincing ourselves that whatever we are doing or whatever we are thinking is right.

And perhaps nowhere is that proverb more true than in religion. When it comes to questions about God, about the word of God, about what happens after we die — everyone seems so confident. Everyone seems so certain. They all think they are right.

“But the Lord weighs the heart.” That’s how that proverb ends, and it reminds us that we are not the standard of what is right. Not our intentions. Not our opinions. Not our pronouncements. But God. God weighs the heart. And God’s standard, the standard God has given us in his word, is the only standard of right and wrong that will matter on the last day.

And that day is coming for everyone — the day when God does the weighing - the day when everyone will finally know what was right - not in the eyes of man - but in the eyes of God. The day when everyone will finally have all the right answers.

I suspect we have all had the dream. You know the one. You show up for the final exam — but it’s the wrong class. You have all the right answers to all the wrong questions - and you have all the wrong answers to all the right questions! You wake up in a cold sweat, relieved it wasn’t real.

But what if it was real? I want us to look today at a man for whom it was very real - a man who showed up having studied for the wrong class - a man who showed up knowing everything about nothing that mattered and knowing nothing about everything that mattered - a man who was dead wrong in life — but who was dead right in death. Let’s read together from Luke chapter 16.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31 - There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house — for I have five brothers — so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’

I want us to look today, not at Abraham and not at Lazarus, but at the rich man.

And perhaps we should start with the most important thing we can say about this rich man - he is dead and buried!

If we are wondering what this rich man should do now — the answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing. For him, the time for doing was over.

There is nothing he can do other than think about his life on earth, which is exactly what we find him doing.

But the remarkable thing is that, in death, this rich man is finally able to see with clarity what he was never able to see in life.

When we look at this rich man, I think what we will find is that he was both dead and dead right. He learned some things in death, and he has some lessons to teach the living. What are they?

#1: After his death, the rich man had a keen interest in religious matters.

This rich man very suddenly developed a focus on religion that he seems to have never had prior to his death. His discussion with Abraham was likely his first religious discussion with anyone in a very long time.

We can be sure that this rich man had been religious - but what had likely been only casual, superficial, and routine suddenly became urgent, desperate, and sincere. This rich man was now very interested in what Abraham had to tell him!

We live in a world that is awash with distractions and clicking and scrolling. Our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter.

But God wants our attention; God wants our complete and undivided attention. And someday God will get that complete attention from everyone on earth.

The day is coming when theology will be everyone’s favorite subject and when the Bible will be the only book anyone wants to read. The day is coming when the distractions will all drop away. Death has a way of doing that.

Samuel Johnson: “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

This rich man suddenly had that focus - he suddenly had a keen interest in religious matters.

#2: After his death, the rich man had a recognition of the truth.

This rich man very suddenly understood that not everything had been well in his life. Prior to his death, he likely thought that he had everything covered; everything under control.

We can be sure that, as rich man, he felt very free in life to do whatever he wanted to do and to go wherever he wanted to go. But now he had lost that freedom. Now he was not doing what he wanted to do, and he was not where he wanted to be. Instead, this rich man was in bondage.

And I suspect that he now recognized the truth - that he had always been in bondage. That he had never been free. That he had been “subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:15).

This rich man finally understood that because of where he found himself, but he could have understood it earlier had he listened to Jesus.

John 8:31-32 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

And that is the choice - what do we do with the truth? Those who obey it find life and freedom. Those who reject it find death and bondage.

This rich man never recognized that truth in life, but we can be sure that he understood it in death.

#3: After his death, the rich man had a genuine concern for the lost.

This rich man very suddenly developed a deep concern for his lost family members. He did not want them to end up where he was, and so he desperately tried to warn them.

Misery may love company, but this rich man did not want any company. And perhaps we should admire him because of his concern for others. This rich man couldn’t have been worse off, but he could have been worse. He loved his brothers, and he did not want them to end up where he had ended up.

Do we have that same concern for the lost? Do we have that same love for those without Christ?

We see this rich man’s concern for his brothers in death - but what had been his concern for them in life?

I think we can say that this man’s concerns for his family’s spiritual health was a concern that developed very late in life - so late in fact that it came after his life!

This rich man suddenly had a genuine concern for the lost, but that concern came too late.

#4: After his death, the rich man had a proper understanding of material wealth.

No doubt he had relied on his great wealth and trusted in his great wealth while on earth, but now he understood that his reliance and his trust had been misplaced. When he needed it the most, his great wealth was nowhere to be found.

This rich man very suddenly had his priorities straight. He suddenly understood what was permanent and what was temporary when what had seemed so permanent was now nowhere to be found.

And how rich was this man? How much did he leave? The answer to that question is always the same - he left all of it!

1 Timothy 6:7 - for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

Material wealth provides many advantages - but only in this life. Material wealth provides no advantages in the next life. And this rich man now knew that - he was in torment and anguish, while poor Lazarus was comforted. On earth that rich man had everything, but now he had nothing. His money could not save him.

Matthew 16:26 - For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

That is a question that everyone answers, and so many people sell their soul, not for the whole world, but for just a few trifles. I think Satan usually shops at the bargain table! But, great or small, they will eventually all know the terrible trade they have made.

This rich man knew that - now. He suddenly had a proper understanding of his material wealth.

#5: After his death, the rich man had a willingness to admit mistakes.

This rich man was suddenly very willing to examine his own life and admit where he had gone wrong.

Had he been that way prior to his death? Most likely not. I suspect he thought he was doing everything right up until the moment he discovered that he had been doing everything wrong.

There is something about human nature that resists admitting we are wrong. We justify. We excuse. We shift the blame.

But none of that survives the reality of eternity. In death, there are no excuses. There is no blame-shifting. There is no self-deception.

1 John 1:8 - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

And I think this rich man had learned that. He is not defending himself. He is not saying, “This isn’t fair.” Instead, this rich man knows where he is, and he seems to know why he is there.

And that is the tragedy — at last, he is finally willing to take an honest look at his life, but it is too late for that honesty to help him.

2 Corinthians 13:5 — Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.

The question is not whether we will ever do that — we all will. The only question is when - when will we examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith. If we wait as long as this rich man, it will be too late.

This rich man suddenly had a willingness to admit mistakes, and he certainly had the time now to examine those mistakes.

#6: After his death, the rich man had a proper understanding of consequences.

This rich man suddenly understood a great truth about mankind - while we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions.

What we do in this life matters - in fact, it matters for all eternity. The things we do in this life affect us in this life and in the next life. The things we do in this life affect others in this life and in the next life.

This rich man had five brothers headed for the same place - what sort of example had he set for them while he was alive?

There are other people who are depending on us to teach them - who are depending on us to show them the right way - who are looking at us for an example of how they should live. What are the consequences if we fail to teach them that and show them that?

What are we planting? The answer is obvious - we are planting whatever we are reaping.

Galatians 6:7 - Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

This rich man finally understood that - he suddenly had a proper understanding of consequences.

#7: After his death, the rich man had a proper understanding of time.

Prior to his death, I suspect that this rich man had lived as if he had all the time in the world. But this rich man should have listened to another rich man - King Solomon.

Solomon saw time as one of the great sources of vanity in life. Time, in fact, is why everything under the sun is vanity - it doesn’t last. Nothing in this world escapes time. Time moves forward relentlessly — and it takes everything with it.

And so what is the solution? The solution is to rely on that which stands apart from the tyranny of time - and to understand that time is a gift - a gift that God expects us to use wisely while we have it.

Did this rich man learn all of that? He did. But he learned it all too late. The time to learn about time is while we still have time.

James 4:14 - What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

This rich man suddenly understood the brevity of his life - he suddenly had a proper understanding of time.

#8: After his death, the rich man had a proper understanding of death.

Prior to his death, I suspect that this rich man had lived as if death was something that came only for others. But now he knew otherwise. He may have lived in denial of death, but no one can deny death after they have died!

This rich man in Luke 16 seems to have had much in common with another Biblical rich man - the rich man in Luke 12. And we all remember what God said to him.

Luke 12:20 - But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

And that is the proper view of death - it can arrive at any moment, and so we must always be prepared.

Death is on everyone’s appointment calendar - but we don’t know where it is on that calendar. Maybe it is years from now; maybe it is moments from now. All we know is that it is coming.

When did this rich man finally learn those lessons about death? Only when he experienced it. And he was not prepared.

Hebrews 9:27 - And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.

This rich man met that appointment, as will we all - and he suddenly had a proper understanding of death, as will we all.

#9: After his death, the rich man had a proper understanding of judgment.

Prior to his death, I suspect that this rich man had lived as if he would never be held accountable for anything. Perhaps he thought he could buy his way out of any trouble that might arise. Maybe he had his lawyer on speed dial!

But we all have a coming court date where no earthly lawyer will do us any good. In fact, as Luke 16 teaches us, our destiny is determined at the moment of our death. All that remains for the judgment day is to hear that judgment and receive what is due.

2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Notice the basis for the judgment in that verse — “what he has done in the body.” Not what he intended to do. Not what he meant to do. Not what he almost did. Not what he was planning to do someday when he finally had the time. But what he did.

And I think this rich man finally understood the truth about God’s judgment. He does not ask to be released. He does not ask for a second chance. He does not ask for a new trial. He knows that the final judgment is just that - final.

This rich man suddenly had a proper understanding of judgment.

#10: After his death, the rich man had a proper appreciation for opportunities.

We may not appreciate our opportunities in this life, but I don’t think that will be true in the next life. In fact, I suspect that when it comes to people who are lost, all that they will ever think about in the next life are opportunities - the opportunities they missed, the opportunities they neglected, the opportunities they rejected, and the opportunities they postponed.

Often we don’t really appreciate something until we no longer have it - and I think that is certainly true about our opportunities.

Yes, we have many opportunities - many open doors from God. But do we think we will have those opportunities forever? Do we think those doors will remain open forever?

This rich man seems to have thought so, but he quickly learned otherwise. Those opportunities went away as quickly as he did. Those open doors closed, never to reopen. He waited too long.

The time to take advantage of those opportunities is now. The time to go through those open doors is now.

2 Corinthians 6:2 - Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Now is the time! Does “now” really mean “now”? Just ask this rich man. He suddenly had a proper understanding his opportunities - and especially his lost opportunities.

Invitation

We have looked this morning at ten lessons taught by a dead man. Ten things that he understood only after it was too late. Ten things that he got wrong in life, but right in death. Ten things that he got dead right - but dead right only after he was dead.

And what about you? What about me? There is a reason Jesus told us about this event in Luke 16 - God wants us to learn these same lessons now, before it is too late. Jesus came so that we could be dead right about the things that matter - both now and in the life to come. Jesus is the the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And no one comes to God the Father except through Jesus. Obedience to the gospel of Christ is the only way to be right with God.

And there are things you must do to obey the gospel and be right with God - not just things you must think, but things you must do. Although this rich man was still thinking, he was past the point of doing - but you are not. For you, the door remains open.

And what must you do? You must obey the gospel of Christ. You must hear it, you must believe it, you must repent, you must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and you must be baptized in water for the remission of your sins. That was the gospel in the first century, and it is still the gospel today in our century.

If you have not done these things - then now is the time for you to act. If you are outside of Christ, don’t delay like this rich man did. For that rich man it is too late, but for you it is not too late - yet. Now is the time! Please come!