"The Price of Sin"
Genesis 19
INTRODUCTION
In this passage, three men (angels) had come to tell Abraham and Sarah that Isaac would be born. They then turned toward Sodom. God determined to destroy Sodom because of the gravity of their sin. Abraham interceded for Sodom, and god agreed to spare Sodom if ten righteous people were found. The three men then departed for Sodom. Their journey teaches some important truths about the price of sin:
I. SIN KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES (19:1-5).
A. The two angels went to Sodom and found Lot at the gate. Sodom was one of five cities in a very fertile plain. It is believed to have been located under what is now part of the Dead Sea.
B. Lot was a picture of shame. He wanted to get them home and then get rid of the heavenly visitors.
C. The angels said they would stay in the town square. But Lot knew what would happen if they did, and insisted on taking them home.
D. The men of Sodom wanted to have sexual relations with Lot’s guests. Jude 7 establishes the fact of homosexuality – “as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” The “strange flesh” speaks of sexual perversion and immorality.
E. Sadly, it seems a growing number of people today are being drawn away into this sin. It is nothing new or fashionable. But it is destructive and against what God desires for the life of His people.
II. SIN DISTORTS OUR SENSE OF VALUE (19:6-11).
A. Look at Lot. To protect the angels, he offered to allow the men of Sodom to rape and molest his virgin daughters! Wow! What a kind and loving father Lot turned out to be! This shows how distorted and twisted Lot had become as a result of choosing to live in the cesspool of Sodom. Things that would have been unthinkable to him before he lived in Sodom had actually become viable options in his thinking.
B. The men of Sodom hated Lot for trying to discourage their lust after the men (angels) in his home.
C. People who blinded by and deadened to sin can become capable of monstrous acts.
III. SIN BLINDS US TO IT’S CONSEQUENCES (19:12-15).
A. The angels warned Lot to take his family and leave Sodom.
B. The family laughed at the thought of judgment. People that laugh at God today will cry on the day they realize that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
IV. SIN MAKES US SLOW TO OBEY GOD (19:16-22).
Lot was fond of Sodom. He lingered. God takes us by the hand and urges us to leave our Sodom – our life and patterns of sin. For us it may not be the specific sins of Sodom, but all sin is against God and is destructive to our lives. What is your Sodom? It may be bitterness, gossip, addiction, etc. Don’t linger any longer at Sodom.
V. SIN BRINGS DESTRUCTION (19:23-25, 27-29).
A. Sodom was destroyed by fire. The fire was so great that Abraham saw it from miles away.
B. Lot was spared for Abraham’s sake.
C. We never think our sin will result in pain and devastation. Satan lures us with the thought we can get away with it, and it won’t harm ourselves or anyone else. But “the wages of sin is death . . .” Sin ALWAYS brings destruction – if not immediately, later.
VI. SIN KEEPS US LOOKING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION (19:26).
A. Lot’s wife is a picture of the danger of looking back to the past. The danger of looking back is that you cease to move forward.
B. Looking back fondly at the old life – the life of sin – is a result of:
1. Pride – living on past accomplishments and experiences
2. Laziness – It’s easier to look back than to move forward into new experiences and challenges.
3. Forgetfulness – We often forget the heartache of a sinful past and only remember selfish pleasure.
CONCLUSION
We can be so thankful that God will free us from the power and control of sin. Sin does not have to control your life! Through the power of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven and can overcome the strength of sin. “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” He has paid the price of sin for us! Let us live in His victory!
