06/01/2026
Looking Forward to the First Sunday after Trinity with C.F.W. Walther
But what did Abraham say? "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them' (Luke 16:29). Then the suffering man remembered that he, too, had heard the Word of God but failed to convert. He responded, "No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent" (Luke 16:30). But Abraham remained unmoved. "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." Abraham thus declared that nothing in heaven and on earth could save a person who is not saved by God's Word.
Today, many people still believe as the rich man did. The Word of God, they are convinced, is not sufficient to convert and save. Many upright people, they say, find much in the Bible that is offensive to them, and knowing that their reason is a gift from God, they cannot believe that Scripture, which is incomprehensible and contradictory to them, has any value at all. Therefore, if God wanted all to believe in Christ, they conclude that the Word is not sufficient and some completely different means is necessary for conversion and salvation. Surely they would see the light if they witnessed an undeniably great miracle, if the dead rose to report on the fate of believers and nonbelievers on the other side of the grave, or if a multitude of angels clothed in heavenly glory came into the world to announce the eternal will of God regarding man. Of course, the best scenario, in their mind, would be for God to present Himself visibly to people and tell them what He expects in order for them to be saved. This, undoubtedly, would bring all doubters and unbelievers to faith instantly, as well as transform all enemies of Christianity into its best friends.
But all of this is the product of twisted thinking in the unrepentant human mind. When Israel was in doubt about its future, the prophet called: "And when they say to you, 'Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,' should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn" (Isaiah 8:19-20).
Therefore, what Abraham replied to the rich man in our text remains true for all: "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead."
--"God Grant It," pgs. 486-87
