Remember Adam and Eve? They were created to live forever in paradise! But Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and they found themselves naked, lost, childbirth became painful, marriage problems began, work became hard, and they lost their immortality.
But Adam and Eve were still blessed and became the first parents!
Cain sinned with his offerings and God was not pleased; but God offered Cain a way to return to God. Cain, instead, killed his brother and curses fell on him and his descendants.
People went against God with ungodly marriages and lives were shortened. And in Genesis 6:11 we read, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” During Noah’s time, what did God do to the whole earth because of its wickedness??
God judged the whole world by flooding it and destroying everything. Oh wait a second,
did God destroy everything in the world??
Even though the whole world was wicked, God saved Noah and his family and some animals.
In the first 6 chapters of Genesis, we can learn that God is an Almighty God who can create a universe by just speaking it. We can learn from the very beginning that God is a Holy God; He is pure, right, and perfect! What should we always tell people? If you’re going to pick a god, ……………… (pick a good one!)
The God of the Bible has the power and obligation to judge everything that is not right. But, we can also note that this Holy God is loving! Because God is Almighty, Holy, and Loving, He will judge evil but will always show His mercy. This is a main theme of the Bible. Over and over again in God’s Word, God describes His holiness, power, and love.
Our text this morning is a good example. When God says something over and over again, do you think He is trying to make a point?
When one of my daughters was very young, she kept saying “Pongo, Pongo, Pongo”; I thought there was something mentally wrong with her. I really thought she was an odd kid, until I sat down with her and watched the movie “101 Dalmatians”.
I pray that you don’t see God as odd as we read about Him this morning.
Open your Bibles to Genesis 19. Although I will read from the NASB, a different translation from our church Bibles, follow along with me…….
Sodom was an ungodly city with wicked people.
And remember who Lot was? Lot was Abraham’s nephew.
Abraham of course was the godly man whom God gave the great promise of land and descendants. You see, Lot was a believer of God but chose to live away from God and live in a wicked city! Lot was a worldly believer! Lot knew about God through Abraham but he enjoyed the worldly life.
It was common practice to be hospitable during lot’s day. But what was Lot doing in the evening waiting for people to come to the city?
Lot was looking for a “good time”.
Now, somehow, the people of Sodom found out about the beautiful strangers in Lot’s house. The people certainly knew who Lot was. But I wonder if Lot’s house was known as a party house? In any case, Lot was a poor testimony for God in the city. Lot likely realized that the men who he invited were godly men, so Lot tried to protect them. But again Lot’s testimony for God was awful when he offered his young virgin daughters to evil people. Look again at v7………….
Lot should have known better. He thought he could stop the wicked people, but it was too late! Lot got himself stuck in a horrendous situation! We can say that Lot got himself in lots of trouble, and he couldn’t escape from it.
But what happened? Look at v10, the men, the angels of God, miraculously pulled Lot back into the house and blinded the wicked people. God again revealed His power.
Now look again at v12-13…………..
God warned Lot’s entire household about God’s judgment of evil and was willing to save them!
But the sons-in-law treated God’s Word a joke and eventually suffered the consequences.
God is merciful and will provide a way out of judgment if people would only listen. And look again at v16……
Praise the Lord, even when people hesitate, God will sometimes miraculously pull people out of danger anyway because He is merciful. And because of His love, God even answers selfish prayer requests! God answered Lot’s request for easy travels.
But let’s note that God’s mercy and love is God’s choice not ours! God the Creator of the universe will do whatever He chooses! We, the created ones, need to be concerned with our own choices, not God’s!
Now look again at v24-26 with me………………
Because God is Almighty, Holy, and Loving, He will judge evil but will always show His mercy. But God’s mercy is only as good as one responds to it.
Was God merciful to Lot’s wife?? But Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt. What did she do wrong??
Right now, it’s okay to look back to v17……
Lot’s wife simply did not follow God’s instructions.
What do we need to know for our lives today?
God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Have you accepted the fact that God is Almighty, Holy, but loving? God has to deal with sin. All of us have sinned against God, with our thoughts, actions, speech, and emotions. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God is Holy and has the right to judge us. But because God is also love, God has provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sins. Forgiveness of sins is available to anyone who truly believes in Jesus Christ as Savior and God. Believe in Jesus Christ, the only way to be saved from judgment! Are you a true believer of Christ?
Lot was a believer of God. But what can we learn from Lot’s story??
1. Be careful of loving the world.
2. Be careful of who you hang out with.
3. Warn family & friends about God’s judgment.
4. Believe that God is in control.
5. Never stop praying.
6. Positively respond to God’s instructions.
How are you doing in each of these areas??
What practical things can you do??
Jesus said, “the truth will set you free!” But the truth will not set you free unless you believe it. The truth is what God says. Believing in what God says will set us free. Lot’s wife did not believe in God’s Word not to look back and she was enslaved as a pillar of salt. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life!” Believe and follow Jesus and you will know the way, you will have truth, you will have eternal life, and you will be free!
