A Modern Lesson From The Ancient World Series

A Modern Lesson From the Ancient World

Text: Gen. 19:1-29

Introduction

1. Illustration: Billy Graham once said, "If God doesn't judge America He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah."

2. Another godly man, who recently passed away, Chuck Colson said, "The ship is sinking. We’re not going to have any society left if we don’t protect the marriage bond. And the homosexual movement is trying to unravel it. You’ve got to stop it. We have got to talk about this lovingly, openly and honestly. I think this is the #1 domestic issue facing America today, and I don’t see how any self-respecting preacher can ignore it."

3. This is an issue that is dividing not only society, but also the church. However, we cannot ignore what the Bible says about homosexuality. It plainly says that homosexuality is a sin and perversion of God's order and plan for the human race.

4. In the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah we learn that...

a. God makes the rules; not society.

b. We must stand for the truth regardless of the costs.

c. We must not compromise.

5. Let's all stand as we read together Gen. 19:1-29

Proposition: Homosexuality is not an alternative; it is a sin!

Transition: First, we must understand...

I. God Makes the Rules; Not Society (1-11)

A. Don't Do Such a Wicked Thing

1. Our story begins after Abraham's intercession that the righteous of Sodom be spared God's wrath.

2. The text begins by telling us, "That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground.

2 “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”

a. The entrance of the city was the meeting place for city officials and other men to discuss current events and transact business.

b. It was a place of authority and status where a person could see and be seen.

c. Evidently Lot held an important position in the government or associated with those who did because the angels found him at the city's entrance (Life Application Study Bible).

d. Even though lot was living in a wicked city he still demonstrated the same kind of hospitality that his uncle Abram had displayed.

e. He bows to the strangers as a sign of respect then invites them to come to his home so he can wash their feet and make them something to eat (Horton, 155).

3. After Lot convinced the visitor's to spend the night with him trouble soon began. In verse 4 we read, "But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

a. That all the men were involved in this demand is emphatic and shows that Abraham's hope that there would be 19 righteous men simply was not true.

b. It shows that homosexuality was not considered a sin in Sodom. Their consciences were seared as with a hot iron (Horton, 155).

c. There are some that have suggested that the sin here is not homosexuality but rape.

d. However, the verb for sexual aggression is nowhere in this text. The issue is not one of sexual aggression, but of men wanting to have sexual relations with other men (Hamilton, 35).

e. The men wanted Lot to surrender these visitors to their evil lusts.

4. Lot tried to protect his guests against the evil desires of his neighbors. He tells them, “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”

a. He calls the men of Sodom "my brothers" and begs them not to do this wicked thing.

b. He felt responsible for his guests safety, which was a common belief held by tent dwellers, and in fact, is something still practice by tent dwellers to this day (Horton, 157).

c. He offers to substitute his two virgin daughters in place of his guests.

d. This may seem like a calloused thing for Lot to do, and it is hard to say why he makes this offer.