“And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
(Luke 16:31)
Christ tells the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, and one truth He teaches in this narrative is the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures as the appointed means of bringing sinners to repentance. In the narrative, both Lazarus and the rich man died; Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side and the rich man was tormented in Hades.
Not wanting his five brothers to suffer the same torment, he asked Abraham to send someone from the dead to warn them, imagining that this would accomplish what ordinary revelation had not. Yet Abraham’s answer overturns that assumption. He tells him that if men refuse to hear Moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded even by one who came back from the dead.
God has not left us dependent upon uncertain messages. Instead, He has spoken sufficiently in His Word. Scripture contains everything we need concerning the way of salvation and the whole duty of man. Scripture supplies doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. What is needed for faith, repentance, holy living, and preparation for eternity has already been revealed in God’s Word.
No messenger could know more clearly what sinners need than the God who created them. No angel, departed spirit, or extraordinary visitor could possess greater wisdom concerning salvation than the Lord Himself. The blessed and good God has shown what is good and has given sufficient guidance by which sinners may be directed to Himself.
Moreover, the gospel displays the wisdom of God. It warns sinners of dreadful threatenings, shares gracious promises, and tells us of the incarnation and death of Christ, the reality of judgment, and the hope of eternal life. Nothing more necessary could be added. God need not provide another heaven, another judgment, another Christ, or another sacrifice to make His call more persuasive.
Nor does His Word lack living application. God calls pastors and teachers to explain and apply the Scriptures. Their authority does not arise from personal experience but from the truth they proclaim. Even the most impressive testimony of one returned from the dead could only repeat what God has already declared concerning death, judgment, repentance, salvation, and eternity.
The resistance of sinners therefore cannot be blamed on the insufficiency of revelation.[1] If men remain unmoved, the fault lies not in the weakness of Scripture but in the hardness of the heart, for His Word possesses all truth, authority, wisdom, and persuasion necessary to direct sinners to repentance.
The need is not for a more astonishing messenger, therefore, but for ears that hear, a conscience that yields, and a heart persuaded by the Word. The same Scriptures that leave the stubborn without excuse are fully sufficient, under the blessing of God, to lead the receptive soul toward repentance and life.
Contemplations:
- Make Me Hear What You Have Already Spoken. You have not left me without light. Your Word speaks plainly concerning sin, repentance, judgment, mercy, and the way of salvation. Give me ears that hear with submission. Let Your Word reach beyond my mind into my conscience. Make me responsive to the truth You have already placed before me, and keep me from despising ordinary means while secretly wishing for something more dramatic.
- Keep Me from Craving Extraordinary Signs. I might think that some astonishing event would make faith easier or repentance more certain. Yet You have taught that one rising from the dead would not persuade those who refuse Your Word. Preserve me from this restless desire for something beyond what You have appointed. You have already given truth sufficient for every need of my soul. Teach me to honor Your wisdom by receiving the means You chose rather than inventing the means I think would be better. Let me rest in the sufficiency of Scripture and seek grace to obey it.
- Persuade My Heart by Your Truth. Your Word contains arguments stronger than anything human imagination could devise. You have revealed judgment, mercy, the cross of Christ, the promise of eternal life, and the horror of final ruin. Yet knowledge alone does not move the stubborn heart. Work within me so that the truth I read becomes truth believed, loved, and obeyed. Let the threatenings awaken me, the promises draw me, and the revelation of Christ humble and encourage me. Make Your Word effectual in me according to Your gracious power.
- Teach Me to Trust Your Appointed Means. You have given Scripture as well as faithful teachers to explain and apply it. Keep me from undervaluing these gifts because they appear familiar. Rather, give me patience to hear, humility to receive correction, and diligence to search what You have spoken. Let me not become dull through repetition or indifferent because I have heard the same truths before. Make me increasingly persuaded that Your Word is enough, and that my great need is not further revelation but a heart ready to submit to what You have already revealed.
Prayer (Supplication):
Gracious God, give me a heart that hears Your Word with faith, reverence, and obedience. You have already spoken sufficiently concerning everything necessary for repentance, salvation, and holy living. Keep me from acting as though something more extraordinary must happen before I take Your truth seriously.
Deliver me from desiring signs, wonders, or unusual experiences as though they could accomplish what Your Word cannot. You know the heart of man perfectly, and You have appointed the means best suited to awaken, instruct, correct, and guide it.
Make me teachable beneath the Scriptures. Let their warnings reach my conscience, their promises strengthen my faith, and their revelation of Christ draw me toward repentance and obedience.
Bless the ordinary ministry of Your Word. Give faithfulness to those who preach it and humility to me as I hear it. And keep me from measuring truth by the impressiveness of the messenger. Let the authority of Your own voice in Scripture be enough.
Where my heart resists, overcome that resistance. Where I delay, make me prompt. Where I question what You have made plain, give me submission.
Through Jesus Christ, make me one who hears Moses and the prophets, receives the whole counsel of Your Word, and is persuaded by the testimony You have already given.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
Luke 16:29; Dan. 9:13; Exod. 4:1; Acts 28:23
[1] Thomas Manton, A Fourth Volume Containing One Hundred and Fifty Sermons on Several Texts of Scripture, (London: J. D. and are to be sold by Jonathon Robinson .., 1693), 671-673.
