From the Pulpit...

After reading Proverbs 21, we learned the story of two men and a book. Actually it is a lot more than that. This story has one main point and several sub-points that we can learn from.

There is debate as to whether this is a parable or the report of an actual occurrence. I take it to be a parable, but one that is so reflective of real life that it may be like a historical fiction where just the names have been changed to protect the innocent (or guilty). In any case, the story is so effective that it transports us right into the events so it might as well be real for us, because in effect it will be real for every human someday.

There are a couple of interesting points about the rich man. He was in Hades. He proves that misery in fact does not love company. Also, we learn that he is very interested in evangelism, to call his living brothers to repentance. But he cannot go back to the land of the living. He learns that the Scriptures are a sufficient witness to those who are alive--the very book that he rejected while he was alive.

Finally, Pastor Postiff addresses the idea of power evangelism, which is explicitly refuted by this parable.