Friday, September 9, 2016
But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who
was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous
man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after
day. So
you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even
while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. He is especially hard on
those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring
even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. 2 Peter 2:7-10(NLT)
Abraham’s nephew Lot was a righteous
man, meaning he loved and wanted to serve God with his whole heart. Unfortunately, in the day-to-day
decision-making of life, Lot made a poor choice to move into Sodom.
Sodom was a wicked city, infamous for
its sexual reputation. No matter what
the true and living God had said about how humans are to conduct themselves, in
Sodom, it was sexual desire that was god. Sodomy, and whatever other twisted
sexual practices could be imagined, were the norm. It is no wonder Peter describes Lot as being tormented
in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.
For Lot, as for modern day
Christians, when you live in the midst of a majority that holds a different set
of values and morals than you, it is more than problematic, it becomes torment.
For the Christian who strives to be
Godly, living in today’s world is living in Sodom.
So what is a Christian to do?
Well, one thing is true, we must make
an intentional decision to not repeat Lot’s choice to move closer to the place
where wickedness dwells. The oldest
illustration of this is a bride in a snow-white wedding gown working in a coal
mine. At the end of the day that bride
is not going to look the same!
But what if the whole world has gone
mad and Godliness has been forsaken to the degree that you’re in the middle of
it no matter which way you turn? What if
Sodom has moved into your town? This is
not far-fetched, is it? When the Supreme
Court of this nation has decreed that Sodomy belongs in the same category as
holy matrimony, evil has moved-in next door!
And in such times we must follow what
the ancients did. Noah preached
righteousness in a Sodom-like environment…for a hundred years before the flood.
All the prophets stood with JHWH even
when the governing rulers blessed Sodom.
And Peter, when he and the other
apostles were confronted with the possibility of imprisonment and worse if he
continued to preach “in the name of Jesus” told those who threatened them:
“We must obey God rather than any human authority.
Acts 5:29(NLT)
For You Today
It’s not easy to stand for
righteousness in the midst of perverseness which threatens to overwhelm and
change everything. In fact, the more you’re
tormented by even the thought of it, the more you can be assured you’re on the
right track.
Keep holding fast to Godliness; even
in the most wicked culture (which God has destroyed time and again), the Lord
does not forget or forsake the righteous.
But in your holding fast, remember that obeying God includes loving
your neighbor; we lose our way when we get “ugly” in our preaching
of righteousness.
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NOTES
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