John 3:3 (NKJV), “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
 

In Luke 16:19-31, we see Jesus contradicting and exposing the spiritual arrogance of the Pharisees, through a parable. In verses 14 &15, Jesus saw that they believed they were qualified to enter heaven because they were Jews and lived wealthy, blessed lives. However, the spiritual condition of their hearts could not be further than what qualified them to enter God’s kingdom. So, Jesus told the story of a rich man, dressed in fine clothes who passed by a beggar named Lazarus, who sat outside of the gates of his estate, every day. The rich man showed nothing but contempt for the beggar and did nothing to help him. Jesus was implying this rich, well to do man, who the Pharisees of the day would deem suitable for heaven, couldn’t even keep one of the first laws of Moses - to love your neighbor as yourself. The story goes on, where both the rich man and Lazarus died. Both went to a place called Sheol, which is the under-world. Here there were 2 distinct locations, separated by a chasm.  The rich man, to the Pharisees shock, was in a place called hell - where he was suffering greatly. The beggar was across the chasm, in a place called Abraham’s Bosom. This was a real location where all those who had faith in God and lived for Him would go when they died, waiting for the redemption of the Messiah (Ephesians 4:7-10, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Luke 23:43, Colossians 2:15, Revelations 1:18). When the rich man understood his eternal fate, he asked that Lazarus, whom his whole family knew (since he had been outside the gates of his home), would be raised from the dead to warn them. The rich man’s request was denied. He was told that his family have the words of Moses and the prophets. They had sufficient information of the truth, but since their hearts were too hardened to believe, even Lazarus raised from the dead would not change the condition of their hearts. Salvation comes to whoever welcomes and receives the Lord Jesus Christ. Only a heart that is humble and willing to receive the truth of salvation will be able to partake of it. No traditional of man or righteous work qualifies us for eternity with God. We must recognize our need for a saviour in order to be born again. Spend time rejoicing over the miracle of salvation you have in Jesus!