Friday, September 9, 2016

Living in Sodom

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.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
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NOTES

[i] Title Image: See page for author, via Wikimedia Commons

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