If the Dead Could Speak
Introduction
A. Spiritism is the belief and attempt to communicate with the dead.
- People want to keep in touch with departed loved ones.
- They want to know about life after death.
- If the dead could speak, what would they say?
B. The Bible does not leave us to wonder.
- The rich man lived “sumptuously” or flamboyantly. He lived in luxury.
- Lazarus lived in abject poverty. Hunger gnawed at him daily. Mangy dogs tormented him by licking his unbound sores.
- They both died, but they had different eternal destinations.
- The Lord gives us the clearest glimpse into the life beyond. This tells us what the dead would say if they could speak.
If the Dead Could Speak, They Would Say That Hell Is Real.
A. Jesus taught it.
- Some say, “God is too good to allow anyone to go to hell.” Which God are you talking about: the God of the Bible or the god of your imagination.
- God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance, 2 Peter 3:9.
- Anyone who goes to hell goes there against the will of God.
- Vance Havner said: “It is better to scare men into heaven than to lull them into hell.”
B. Justice demands it.
- I cannot believe that Billy Graham and Adolf Hitler will live together in eternity.
- I cannot believe that Mother Teresa and Jezabel have the same destiny.
- You cannot have freedom without responsibility. You cannot live as you please without sitting down at the banquet of consequences. You cannot have liquor without a hangover. You cannot have an affair without guilt. You cannot have pleasure without conscience. And there can be no heaven without a hell.
If the Dead Could Speak, They Would Say That Hell Is Final.
A. Abraham said, “Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. Separation from God is permanent.
B. Jesus was crucified between two thieves. “One thief was saved that none might despair. One was lost that none might presume.”
C. Punishment does not cure. Prisons are full of second and third-time offenders.
D. Death is the point of no return. If the dead could speak, they would say so.
If the Dead Could Speak, They Would Say That Hell Is Urgent.
A. The rich man pleaded, “Send someone to my brethren and they will repent.”
B. Repentance is urgent.
C. The tragedy is, if the dead could speak, we would not listen. Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets; they would not hear if one rose from the dead.”
Conclusion
If the dead could speak, they would say that hell is real, final, and urgent. It is urgent that you decide your destiny today. Either Christ and heaven, or death and hell. Which will it be?