We just finished a good gospel meeting with James Bond. He did a fine job preaching the gospel. At one point, while talking about the rich man and Lazarus, he mentioned that the rich man could see Abraham in the Hadean realm. The record says “and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” (Luke 16:23).

Yes, Abraham was afar off, after all, there was a great gulf between them (Luke 15:26). Nevertheless, while he was in torment, the rich man could literally see Abraham in comfort. What a terrible situation—being so close to the comfort of paradise, yet impossible to get there. So close, and yet, so far away.

One of the sad truths found in the realm of religion is that many people are really close to being saved, yet they are not. After hearing the gospel preached, King Agrippa said to Paul, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). What a sad statement. King Agrippa, as far as we know, never obeyed the gospel. He had a wonderful opportunity, having a great teacher like Paul present the gospel to him. The truth made sense when he heard it, and he came close to doing the right thing, but all indications are that he never did. He never obeyed the gospel; thus, he too is in the Hadean realm, able to see those in comfort, while he dwells in torment. So close, and yet, so far away.

Many people are in that situation today. There are people who, for all practical purposes, are living good lives. They are honorable, good husbands and wives, doing an excellent job raising their children. They are hard workers on their respective jobs. However, for whatever reason, they have no interest in God and His Word. It could very well be just the way they were raised, but they have no spiritual interest at all. If they wanted to be Christians, it would not take a whole lot. Much of their lives would stay the same, except, of course, there would be more of an emphasis on spiritual things. They could easily make it to heaven, if they would only accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior by obeying the gospel. They are so close, and yet, so far away.

There are many religious people in the world who are lost. They too are good people. The difference between them and the previous group is that they are already religiously inclined. Now, believe it or not, their religious inclination might put them further away from being saved than the first group. Their passionate attachment to a man-made church or religious system sometimes makes it harder to pry them away from error than it is to convert a person with no religious leanings. Still, there is not a lot that needs changing in their lives either. With regard to many of them, the only thing keeping them from seeing and believing the truth is a better understanding of simple issues like Bible authority. Now, getting some of these people to actually leave their denomination or false religion is almost as hard as it would be for the rich man to pass over the chasm that separated him from the right side of the Hadean realm. It is not impossible for them to do it, as it was the rich man, but it is very difficult due to their present mindset. It is very sad that they know of Christ and, even, have some degree of love for Him, just not enough to truly obey Him. They are so close, and yet, so far away.

Perhaps the saddest example of this is of those who have actually obeyed the gospel, but are not faithful to the Lord, especially, those who have not completely left the faith. Some leave the faith and go to some denominational church, and that is very said. However, I’m really thinking about those who are simply not committed to the degree they should be and are unfaithful in the slightest of ways. I am referring to the child of God who just will not come to Bible class on Wednesday night. So close, and yet, so far away. I have in mind, those who will are right in almost every way, but refuse to stop gossiping. So close, and yet, so far away. What about those who will not work for the Lord and, therefore, they do not bear any fruit. Even though they attend all the services of the church and live morally upright lives, Jesus Himself said that such a one is like a withering branch that is only good for firewood (John 15:6). They are so close, and yet, so far away. I pray that we might avoid being half-committed children of God because being so is to not really be committed at all, and that leaves us a long way from heaven.